Dark Space - SPOILERS

[Chirugal]

My laptop is still broken, so I can't hang around, but I just wanted to dash on here to squee over Dark Space!

Warning: Spoilers follow!

Congratulations, Marianne, you've done it again! ^_^ I loved this book - space opera is something I've not read much of, so I was a bit worried I wasn't going to be able to get into it, but it was so easy to read.

Mira is very, very different from Parrish, which I think is a good thing. She's really vulnerable, especially with Vito always in tow, which made her kind of endearing. I was so happy she found Insignia at the end - after all she'd been through she definitely deserved it!

Trin is, as we often say in the north of England, a right bastard. XD Completely despicable, but yet for some reason I would be upset if he died or anything. He's a really complicated character, and I'm really interested to see where this thing with Djeserit will lead (if I spelt her name wrong, then oops! I don't have the book with me!).

I also thought it was really clever how you treated Tekton as just another character, not as a villain, and that for over half of the book we don't (or, I didn't!) realise his sections and Jo-Jo's are further back in time than Mira's and Trin's. Very cool, I love stuff like that. ^_^

Araldis as a world, I really liked too. It was harsh enough climate-wise, before the invasion, to make it properly dangerous when everything kicked off.

Now I'm pissed off I'm going to have to wait a year or more for the next installment! ;D Oh, and Marianne, if you kill Rast I'm going to have to hunt you down and force you un-kill her!

[JM]

I agree with you about Rast, I just finished the book 5 minutes ago and loved it so very very much. I she dies I'll you help hold Marianne down while she re-writes Rast in.

I think the whole idea is that it IS different from the Parrish novels, the characters are so completely seperated from each other (unlike the Parrish novels where everyone knew what was going on. You have to read this series not as something by the authour of the Parrish novels but as something written by the authour of Dark Space.
But hidden there is Marianne's special writing style, I can actually read her writing it...but that's from reading her other novels too much.

I started reading about 3pm yesterday and finished now, that's about 12 hours straight. I spend less time finishing computer games, I just couldn't put it down. I thought I new what was going on, then everything twists out from under me.

So well done Marianne, you managed to write something so utterly different and somewhat pornographic that I can happily call it a Great Work of Literature (it really deserves the capitals)

[marianne]

Hi guys (lol)

thanks for the comments, I really appreciate them. And never fear, Rast isn't going anywhere. I PROMISE!

As you know the great A. C. CLarke was the first SF I ever read -'Rendezvous with Rama'. I was totally hooked after that. I read most of his work over time but his final novel in the Rama series touched me so much I cried over several readings of it.

You can imagine how I felt then when I read this quote yesterday...

[Dark Space] Modern SF at its very best. A worthy successor to Arthur C Clarke, and thoroughly believable.

www.gatewaymonthly.com/fantasy.html

I don't know how to say this without sounding cliched. But you MUST pursue your dreams. You must!

Jamie, I think the photo of you holding the book is awesome and I'm proud to have it on the board.

Chir, I'm glad you could enjoy space opera even though its not your normal fare. I hope this stimulates your own writing.

hugs to you both
M DP

[marianne]

p.s. Sorry so long in between... but I have something else on the boil that might beat it out. Fingers crossed.

p.p.s speaking of noting things like the different timelines, Chir, I had a couple of very subtle connections in there. Did either of you realise who the damaged hybrid biozoon Sal was? If you didn't - see if you can work it out and e-mail me off board. I'd like to keep it hidden from those that don't get it - for now anyway.

m

[JM]

I finished my review. It's crap compared to others I've read, but it's my first one so it's allowed to be not as good.

users.livejournal.com/_jamie_/126615.html#cutid1

[Chirugal]

Still offline, damn it (that's the last time I ever send off my laptop to be repaired by you, Cartridge World!). So I'm really sorry I'm being a useless mod at the moment.

YAY for the preservation of Rast! *puts away angry protest banners* I don't know what it is about me gravitating towards the gay characters (Ibis, Rast, Doll) ... I'd hate to think I'm becoming one of those stereotypical militant lesbians. *lol*

PM is heading to your inbox re Sal, Marianne... I think I got it but I could be misinterpreting.

marianne said:

Chir, I'm glad you could enjoy space opera even though its not your normal fare. I hope this stimulates your own writing.

Hee hee, thanks. I've just finished my degree and now don't even want to think about my futuristic-UK-governed-by-madman plus assassins thing until I've seen what the lecturers think of it! I'll probably wait a few months before I pick it up again... all that editing just made me sick of the whole thing.

Anything you can tell us about the possible other story thing? Is it that idea you were bouncing around a few months ago?

[morbius]

Marianne,

Congratulations on the book being so well received.The cover, the trailer and the positive press have been great for anyone who wants to find out about the book, and I can't wait to see it on the shelves here in Canberra, next to Nylon Angel

I enjoyed the Nylon Angel books, but found the change of style for the main character to be terrific. I really enjoyed the depth and atmosphere of the rich and diverse series of different cultures that Marianne set up in her descriptions. The different cultures felt fully fleshed out and almost real. A long way from the two-dimensional "backgrounds" in a lot of sci-fi books that I have read over the years.

When I finished reading the book, I thought that there are just so many other areas and directions that can be explored in this series. I can't wait to see where Marianne takes this next.

Craig

[bluetyson]

I think I'd have to see the second book before I got Arthur C. Clarke out of it.

Hamilton was the first that came to mind.

[marianne]

Here's a new review of DS from the US which is well worth reading:

www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2008/04/dark_space_by_m.shtml
MDP

[Chirugal]

Ooh, that review glows so much that I'm almost blind. ;D Totally deserved, Marianne.

[Airesyll]

I just read this book, and it was great. Ran out and bought Chaos Space right after I finished Dark Space.

I think the word "Dark" in the title should have been bolded and underlined because wow. Araldis was like the male chauvanism equivalent of District 9. There are no decent men in this book; they are all horrible people.

So my thoughtpoints/expectations/speculations:

Mira/Rast: Totally on that bandwagon. Rast seems like the perfect counterpart to Mira, and is capable of doing what Mira can't/won't do. Also, Rast is probably my fav character thus far. That and all the men are completely undateable.

SPOILER: Click to show

Mira should abort the rape baby and kill Trinder, either herself or use Rast as proxy for it. I really don't see the abortion happening though, so the child being a girl and being raised to abuse Trinder the way he abused his mother would make for a poetic substitute.

Mira gaining the ability to defend herself would be awesome. It was really painful to read her being constantly helpless and abused. My heart sank and I nearly tore through the book when Trin raped her. Kudos for excellent writing though, Mira's story arc was tearing at my heartstrings the whole way through the book.

Rast.......erovich? Bastard child perhaps? Jancz seemed to know who Jo Jo was, and Rast served under Jancz.

[stellar]

Jul 1, 2010 19:34:41 GMT Airesyll said:

SPOILER: Click to show

"Mira should abort the rape baby and kill Trinder, either herself or use Rast as proxy for it. I really don't see the abortion happening though, so the child being a girl and being raised to abuse Trinder the way he abused his mother would make for a poetic substitute."

I have a feeling Marianne used Dune for inspiration here, so I am guessing the baby is going to be a focal point of the story. I remember the Kwisatz Haderach from the Dune novels, which accidentally turned out to be Paul Atreides. Not to mention Mira's existing Innate talent. An abortion would be missing the point?

Mira gaining the ability to defend herself would be awesome. It was really painful to read her being constantly helpless and abused. My heart sank and I nearly tore through the book when Trin raped her. Kudos for excellent writing though, Mira's story arc was tearing at my heartstrings the whole way through the book.

Rast.......erovich? Bastard child perhaps? Jancz seemed to know who Jo Jo was, and Rast served under Jancz.

"Jo Jo Rasterovich"- "Rast Randall". Different names. Of course, only MDP knows all, but I'm guessing that's only a tenuous link at best. Still there is so much going on in here, one can only contemplate.

[Airesyll]

I agree with you, that is why I had the negating sentence right after the initial thought. Now that I am working my way through Chaos Space, I see additional focus on it. I'll jump on over the the CS thread when I finish the book.

I've been absorbing knowledge about feminism and patriarchal culture recently, some of it on specific cultures that are particularly bad offenders. That, combined with how immersed I was in the book, set me on the warpath. It is amusing really, that I would pick this book up on a whim and it would fall neatly into a coincidence string, which seems to be one of the prevalent themes in the book.

[marianne]

Hi Airesyll,

thanks for your thoughts and kind words. Yes, it is quite feminist series with some strong commentary about patriarchal society.

Be interested to hear your thoughts when you get to the end.

best
MDP