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Angel Station
Orphans born in the depths of space, they were engineered to range the galaxy in search of fortune. Misfits and outlaws, they defied the huge interstellar cartels that ruled space, always one jump ahead of the authorities.
Ubu Roy was the strong young bossrider of the starship Runaway, who held all of history in his remarkable memory. Beautiful Maria was an ace star shooter and cybernetic witch, who could bend spacetime to find the perfect singularity.
Ubu Roy was the strong young bossrider of the starship Runaway, who held all of history in his remarkable memory. Beautiful Maria was an ace star shooter and cybernetic witch, who could bend spacetime to find the perfect singularity.
393 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1989
97 people are currently reading
646 people want to read
About the author
Walter Jon Williams
238 books894 followersWalter Jon Williams has published twenty novels and short fiction collections. Most are science fiction or fantasy -Hardwired, Voice of the Whirlwind, Aristoi, Metropolitan, City on Fire to name just a few - a few are historical adventures, and the most recent, The Rift, is a disaster novel in which "I just basically pound a part of the planet down to bedrock." And that's just the opening chapters. Walter holds a fourth-degree black belt in Kenpo Karate, and also enjoys sailing and scuba diving. He lives in New Mexico with his wife, Kathy Hedges.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
September 20, 2020
2020 reread. Holds up very well for an early work. The storytelling never falters, and the ideas and execution are really, really good. Strong 4 stars
Here's the author's essay on writing, editing, and proofing the book:
http://www.walterjonwilliams.net/2011...
That's what you should read first. No spoilers to speak of. Possibly TMI.
Excerpt:
"Possibly there was just a little too much going on in that book. You have space adventure, caper stories, espionage, rivalry between clans, economic theory, and a first-contact story with aliens. All with a couple juvenile protagonists who have lots of sex (particularly once they hit port), and play lots of music, and there’s all sorts of drugs lying around. Plus Ubu’s a four-armed synaesthesiac with weird memory problems, Maria’s a subatomic witch, and they’re both haunted by the ghost of their father, who’s insinuated himself into the ship’s computer.
Also there were a few serious ideas floating around. I wanted to work with the idea of frontiers. On the American frontier, first contact between nations wasn’t between Colonel Launcelot of the U.S. Cavalry and Big Chief Thundercloud, it was always between guys nobody ever heard of, between Little Big Fart and Hans Dypschytt, and both of them so terrified they were pissing their drawers and liable to make crucial mistakes. Contact was between people on the margins of their own worlds, people who were on the frontier because they were despised or down on their luck or had nothing to lose."
Here's the author's essay on writing, editing, and proofing the book:
http://www.walterjonwilliams.net/2011...
That's what you should read first. No spoilers to speak of. Possibly TMI.
Excerpt:
"Possibly there was just a little too much going on in that book. You have space adventure, caper stories, espionage, rivalry between clans, economic theory, and a first-contact story with aliens. All with a couple juvenile protagonists who have lots of sex (particularly once they hit port), and play lots of music, and there’s all sorts of drugs lying around. Plus Ubu’s a four-armed synaesthesiac with weird memory problems, Maria’s a subatomic witch, and they’re both haunted by the ghost of their father, who’s insinuated himself into the ship’s computer.
Also there were a few serious ideas floating around. I wanted to work with the idea of frontiers. On the American frontier, first contact between nations wasn’t between Colonel Launcelot of the U.S. Cavalry and Big Chief Thundercloud, it was always between guys nobody ever heard of, between Little Big Fart and Hans Dypschytt, and both of them so terrified they were pissing their drawers and liable to make crucial mistakes. Contact was between people on the margins of their own worlds, people who were on the frontier because they were despised or down on their luck or had nothing to lose."
July 26, 2012
July 2012 bookgroup selection.
I initially read this about 1990, while I was in college, probably suffering though some math or calculus class. I remembered enjoying it. Fast forward 23 years, add in the world of social networking, and it came to my attention that this might be worth a second read. I have to say it was, and I know I got more out of the universe portrayed in the book now than when I first read it. A little life experience can do that.
We have the economics of space life, where it’s every trader for himself and family. Where one bad run can end one’s livelihood and indenture that spacer and spacers family to planet life or indentured to one of the big Companies.
We have first contact. Not between governments, but between the little guys. Both sides want to make a buck and keep doing what they want to be doing.
We have cool aliens. I like a book with interesting aliens.
We have rivalry between the traders themselves as they fight tooth and nail to keep doing what they are doing. And what happens when one trader ultimately succeeds in doing what the rest have been striving for.
We have some good science fiction with the singularity jumps and the shooters who navigate space. We have an electronic witch, able to manipulate electrons, but not always good enough to stay out of trouble.
So, ultimately, I thought this was a pretty darn good read the second time round.
I initially read this about 1990, while I was in college, probably suffering though some math or calculus class. I remembered enjoying it. Fast forward 23 years, add in the world of social networking, and it came to my attention that this might be worth a second read. I have to say it was, and I know I got more out of the universe portrayed in the book now than when I first read it. A little life experience can do that.
We have the economics of space life, where it’s every trader for himself and family. Where one bad run can end one’s livelihood and indenture that spacer and spacers family to planet life or indentured to one of the big Companies.
We have first contact. Not between governments, but between the little guys. Both sides want to make a buck and keep doing what they want to be doing.
We have cool aliens. I like a book with interesting aliens.
We have rivalry between the traders themselves as they fight tooth and nail to keep doing what they are doing. And what happens when one trader ultimately succeeds in doing what the rest have been striving for.
We have some good science fiction with the singularity jumps and the shooters who navigate space. We have an electronic witch, able to manipulate electrons, but not always good enough to stay out of trouble.
So, ultimately, I thought this was a pretty darn good read the second time round.
January 21, 2021
Williams, Walter Jon. Angel Station. Tor, 1989.
Angel Station is, perhaps, the most original of all Walter Jon Williams’ novels, and rereading it after many years impressed me anew. Evidently, Williams himself had a similar experience. When he first published it, he thought it was a mess, but he says that reformatting it for ebook publication, he was surprised at how well it worked. It is a far-future first-contact story with all the pop and sizzle the best cyberpunk. Its main characters, Ubu Roy and Beautiful Maria are sibling “shooters,” who have the gene- and drug-enhanced reflexes to navigate their FTL ships through artificially generated singularities. But, they are young, down on their luck, and haunted by the holographic ghost of Pasco, their dead father. He created them through gene-splicing. Ubu Roy, the ambitious “bossrider” of their ship, has four arms and catlike reflexes. Beautiful Maria, his sister and sexual partner, is a “subatomic witch” who, with the proper drugs, can perceive and manipulate the electromagnetic spectrum at a quantum level. Their lives become more complicated when they meet a hive-mind alien with problems of its own. The alien is itself a well-developed character, and there is some surprising thematic complexity incorporated in the novel’s structure. If you missed this one, I would put it on your list.
Angel Station is, perhaps, the most original of all Walter Jon Williams’ novels, and rereading it after many years impressed me anew. Evidently, Williams himself had a similar experience. When he first published it, he thought it was a mess, but he says that reformatting it for ebook publication, he was surprised at how well it worked. It is a far-future first-contact story with all the pop and sizzle the best cyberpunk. Its main characters, Ubu Roy and Beautiful Maria are sibling “shooters,” who have the gene- and drug-enhanced reflexes to navigate their FTL ships through artificially generated singularities. But, they are young, down on their luck, and haunted by the holographic ghost of Pasco, their dead father. He created them through gene-splicing. Ubu Roy, the ambitious “bossrider” of their ship, has four arms and catlike reflexes. Beautiful Maria, his sister and sexual partner, is a “subatomic witch” who, with the proper drugs, can perceive and manipulate the electromagnetic spectrum at a quantum level. Their lives become more complicated when they meet a hive-mind alien with problems of its own. The alien is itself a well-developed character, and there is some surprising thematic complexity incorporated in the novel’s structure. If you missed this one, I would put it on your list.
November 4, 2018
IN SHORT: Sex, Drugs, Rock n Roll. Oh, and spaceships and , too.
An imaginative, cyberpunkish,and sometimes mildly psychedelic or cartoonish sci-fi story. Setting alternates between planetside and space/spaceships.
Stars two capable young people who don't like clothing, get freaky a lot, snort uppers & downers (completely legal and sometimes necessary), and have run after run of increasingly bad luck -- some of it self-inflicted.
Then they accidentally encounter something extraordinary, possibly quite dangerous, and certainly life-changing. Now if only they can figure out how to profit from it, and clear their names...
VERDICT: 3.33 low-grav boinks. Different, mostly entertaining, memorable. Not high on realism, loveable characters, or characters with common sense or good interpersonal communication skills. But overall, good escapist fare with some mild humor (but no laugh-out-louds for me).
TRUTH IN COVER ART? LOW TO NOPE, except that Beautiful Maria does have long dark hair. Some of the alternate covers are worse, though.
SIMILAR-ish TO THIS YA BOOK:
ENTANGLED by Amy Rose Capetta: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
An imaginative, cyberpunkish,and sometimes mildly psychedelic or cartoonish sci-fi story. Setting alternates between planetside and space/spaceships.
Stars two capable young people who don't like clothing, get freaky a lot, snort uppers & downers (completely legal and sometimes necessary), and have run after run of increasingly bad luck -- some of it self-inflicted.
Then they accidentally encounter something extraordinary, possibly quite dangerous, and certainly life-changing. Now if only they can figure out how to profit from it, and clear their names...
VERDICT: 3.33 low-grav boinks. Different, mostly entertaining, memorable. Not high on realism, loveable characters, or characters with common sense or good interpersonal communication skills. But overall, good escapist fare with some mild humor (but no laugh-out-louds for me).
TRUTH IN COVER ART? LOW TO NOPE, except that Beautiful Maria does have long dark hair. Some of the alternate covers are worse, though.
SIMILAR-ish TO THIS YA BOOK:
ENTANGLED by Amy Rose Capetta: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
September 25, 2009
I just finished re-reading this book for the umpteenth time. Fortunately it had been long enough that it almost read like a new book.
The setting is well-developed. No super surprises, but very vivid images. Nothing too far-fetched, and interesting perspectives. Taking the givens and running with them, the plot moves along in a very satisfying fashion.
I've read several of William's books, and really enjoyed them all. Especially the three in Ten Points for Style.
For some reason, I had it in my head that the author was deceased. But I just ran across a novel published in 2008, so I googled and am now overjoyed to find that I was mistaken! Yay for me, now I have more reading to look forward to.
The setting is well-developed. No super surprises, but very vivid images. Nothing too far-fetched, and interesting perspectives. Taking the givens and running with them, the plot moves along in a very satisfying fashion.
I've read several of William's books, and really enjoyed them all. Especially the three in Ten Points for Style.
For some reason, I had it in my head that the author was deceased. But I just ran across a novel published in 2008, so I googled and am now overjoyed to find that I was mistaken! Yay for me, now I have more reading to look forward to.
March 28, 2018
Ah yes, a classic scifi tale from the 90s. Put together a little augmentation, some high quality drugs, some loose morals, and some damned-if-you-do options, and you've got a space-opera romp. Despite(?) that, this was a very well put together book, with some surprises and double-crosses to keep it interesting.
This author, along with early Stephensen and a few others, really led the way into cyber-psychedelic stories before VR and the Cloud ever existed.
This author, along with early Stephensen and a few others, really led the way into cyber-psychedelic stories before VR and the Cloud ever existed.
March 2, 2025
Great read! Two orphans down on their luck trying to survive in their universe. The character development is incredibly imaginative I thought, written in a way that made me empathize and stay invested in their journey and interactions. Really enjoyed it.
September 18, 2015
I loved loved loved this book when i read it in 1990. Certain elements of it stuck with me for a long time after i'd forgotten its title and author. It was those unique things that i remembered that helped me find it again just recently. Angel Station is just as good now as i remembered it being.
August 2, 2018
will review at www.fantasyliterature.com
April 20, 2020
Good space opera by Williams! Beautiful Maria and Ubu were created by a 'shooter' (e.g., a FTL pilot) named Pasco. As humanity consolidates among the stars, the 'free traders' are getting pinched by the corporations, being pushed into the very fringes of space. Maria and Ubu are barely getting by on their ship, but when a contract falls through, they are stranded at Angel Station and their ship seized for landing fees, etc.. Against the odds, they seek one more score...
Williams builds an intriguing universe with Angel Station that reminded me a bit of Firefly with the free trades/smugglers barely making a living on the outskirts of space. Throw in lots of drugs and sex, along with some rock and roll, something akin to Mick Farren's work, and we have a story of survival and the (modified) human condition. The two main characters, Maria and Ubu, were not really developed much and the supporting cast is wooden to say the least. Nonetheless, events pull the story along some surprisingly twisty paths to reach a grand ending. As far a 80s scifi goes, this is a winner. 3.5 stars.
Williams builds an intriguing universe with Angel Station that reminded me a bit of Firefly with the free trades/smugglers barely making a living on the outskirts of space. Throw in lots of drugs and sex, along with some rock and roll, something akin to Mick Farren's work, and we have a story of survival and the (modified) human condition. The two main characters, Maria and Ubu, were not really developed much and the supporting cast is wooden to say the least. Nonetheless, events pull the story along some surprisingly twisty paths to reach a grand ending. As far a 80s scifi goes, this is a winner. 3.5 stars.
October 25, 2025
Great characters and worldbuilding that permeates throughout the book, while the story itself takes the back seat. Some interesting ideas and technologies but the strength of it is the complexity of the characters. No one is purely good or evil and the book doesn't even live in those terms; there are just people (and other things) on different sides of situations with incredibly flawed protagonists and occasionally admirable antagonists. This is where W.J. Williams really excels. However, the development of the storyline itself might as well have taken the back of the bus, as it really takes its sweet sweet time for anything to actually happen.
March 14, 2018
Dear lord what a slog.
I'm sure there are plenty of people who really liked this book. However, I wasn't one of them. Shallow. That's the one word that comes to mind thinking back on it. The story was shallow. The characters where shallow. There wasn't a likable character to be found in the whole book. For a book that covers multiple star systems and months, if not years of time, the whole thing is held together by coincidence after coincidence.
A pair of down on their luck freight haulers set out to a random star system hoping for a one-in-a-million score. An alien ship arrives in the exact same system while they are there, and guess what, they're down on their luck looking for a big score too! Not only can they communicate, they will happily take the crappy computers off the humans hands. And oh, no problem, they can make tons of legal, but valuable, drugs in return. Throw in a double cross from a character the reader knows is going to do it from their first scene, a few more scenes to make the already unlikable cast even more unlikable and it finally, thankfully, all ties up in a neat bow at the end.
The whole thing reads marginally better than fan fiction, but not by much. And hell, this is the first novel I've ever bought that had an errata page stuck in it due to printing/editing errors. I've got two more of this author's books on the shelf. It took me a year to get through this one. I don't see myself starting another one any time soon. Eventually, but not soon.
I'm sure there are plenty of people who really liked this book. However, I wasn't one of them. Shallow. That's the one word that comes to mind thinking back on it. The story was shallow. The characters where shallow. There wasn't a likable character to be found in the whole book. For a book that covers multiple star systems and months, if not years of time, the whole thing is held together by coincidence after coincidence.
A pair of down on their luck freight haulers set out to a random star system hoping for a one-in-a-million score. An alien ship arrives in the exact same system while they are there, and guess what, they're down on their luck looking for a big score too! Not only can they communicate, they will happily take the crappy computers off the humans hands. And oh, no problem, they can make tons of legal, but valuable, drugs in return. Throw in a double cross from a character the reader knows is going to do it from their first scene, a few more scenes to make the already unlikable cast even more unlikable and it finally, thankfully, all ties up in a neat bow at the end.
The whole thing reads marginally better than fan fiction, but not by much. And hell, this is the first novel I've ever bought that had an errata page stuck in it due to printing/editing errors. I've got two more of this author's books on the shelf. It took me a year to get through this one. I don't see myself starting another one any time soon. Eventually, but not soon.
October 14, 2017
Great story.
This story is great sci-fi with a setting fully realized. I enjoyed all the slang and the interesting characters. If you enjoy great story telling you'll enjoy this book.
This story is great sci-fi with a setting fully realized. I enjoyed all the slang and the interesting characters. If you enjoy great story telling you'll enjoy this book.
November 20, 2024
An interesting book that fits right in the middle of Hardwired and the Praxis series in terms of style and content. I should be the exact target audience for Angel Station: a hard-ish dark space opera mixed with cyberpunk and a somewhat significant focus on romance/love, but WJW isn't quite able to pull it all together in a convincing or satisfying manner. A solid 3.5 overall.
The book is difficult to get into - the first (and longest) chapter is extremely dense with world building and an overabundance of nouns. The reader is bombarded with people, places, clans, companies, economics, etc and it's really hard to figure out what's important or even who the main characters are. That said, things even out around chapter 3 or 4 and I was able to get in the groove and blazed through this in only a couple days.
I found the overarching plot-- two down-on-their-luck traders who just want to make a big score, to be extremely boring. Their main motivation is simply that they need to make money so they don't get arrested/imprisoned on a planet and it never gets deeper or more complex than that. They fail a lot until they don't. However, the characters themselves and the world were compelling enough to keep my attention and I was always curious to see where things were going. There is a decent amount of plotting, intrigue and espionage to keep things interesting.
The arrival of the aliens midway through the book is definitely the highlight; WJW spends a surprising amount of time developing them-- they're quite alien and definitely the most interesting part of all of this. Obviously, a significant amount of disbelief must be suspended, but it's all engaging enough.
Things develop well enough (if, more or less, expectedly) and overall it's pretty engaging to read.
It's easy to see how he'd go on to write the Praxis novels as there are a lot of similarities, however it makes me like those books even less because almost all the missteps here are amplified there.
The characters are all very grey which I enjoyed. However, WJW seems to repeat the same archetypes (similar to Hardwired and Praxis) which makes things unbalanced - the male lead is focused mostly on duty and logistics and is forced to kind of hang around making sure things go according to plan so he has to stay put on the ship and there are large parts of the story where he is basically irrelevant. Conversely, the female lead has a special ability and is allowed to be more free range so she is able to go off and do interesting things, interact with additional characters in other locales, and is therefore able to be more developed and nuanced. Sadly none of the characters are terribly likable; they're interesting which is enough, but it's difficult to get significantly invested in them or their story.
Similar to the second Praxis trilogy, we're given a romance element which initially seems integral to the story and to the character's actions, however by the final third this seems to have been forgotten and the two mains separate to do their own thing and their connection is never given a conclusion. For example, I would've appreciated Ubu's development concerning the aliens, and Maria's trek on Marco's ship a lot more if there wasn't this unresolved weird romance thing hanging in the background.
I did like the ending here;
Overall it's worth a read for fans of the style, and it still holds up fairly well ~35 years later.
The book is difficult to get into - the first (and longest) chapter is extremely dense with world building and an overabundance of nouns. The reader is bombarded with people, places, clans, companies, economics, etc and it's really hard to figure out what's important or even who the main characters are. That said, things even out around chapter 3 or 4 and I was able to get in the groove and blazed through this in only a couple days.
I found the overarching plot-- two down-on-their-luck traders who just want to make a big score, to be extremely boring. Their main motivation is simply that they need to make money so they don't get arrested/imprisoned on a planet and it never gets deeper or more complex than that. They fail a lot until they don't. However, the characters themselves and the world were compelling enough to keep my attention and I was always curious to see where things were going. There is a decent amount of plotting, intrigue and espionage to keep things interesting.
The arrival of the aliens midway through the book is definitely the highlight; WJW spends a surprising amount of time developing them-- they're quite alien and definitely the most interesting part of all of this. Obviously, a significant amount of disbelief must be suspended, but it's all engaging enough.
Things develop well enough (if, more or less, expectedly) and overall it's pretty engaging to read.
It's easy to see how he'd go on to write the Praxis novels as there are a lot of similarities, however it makes me like those books even less because almost all the missteps here are amplified there.
The characters are all very grey which I enjoyed. However, WJW seems to repeat the same archetypes (similar to Hardwired and Praxis) which makes things unbalanced - the male lead is focused mostly on duty and logistics and is forced to kind of hang around making sure things go according to plan so he has to stay put on the ship and there are large parts of the story where he is basically irrelevant. Conversely, the female lead has a special ability and is allowed to be more free range so she is able to go off and do interesting things, interact with additional characters in other locales, and is therefore able to be more developed and nuanced. Sadly none of the characters are terribly likable; they're interesting which is enough, but it's difficult to get significantly invested in them or their story.
Similar to the second Praxis trilogy, we're given a romance element which initially seems integral to the story and to the character's actions, however by the final third this seems to have been forgotten and the two mains separate to do their own thing and their connection is never given a conclusion. For example, I would've appreciated Ubu's development concerning the aliens, and Maria's trek on Marco's ship a lot more if there wasn't this unresolved weird romance thing hanging in the background.
I did like the ending here;
Overall it's worth a read for fans of the style, and it still holds up fairly well ~35 years later.
April 14, 2025
Weird yet compelling, Angel Station is a meandering space opera full of biotech mutants, space “bossriders”, cyberwitches, and one of the most bizarre—yet effective—alien POVs I’ve read in a while. Walter Jon Williams throws a lot at the wall here—alien trade negotiations, genetic modifications, psychic contamination, societal drift—and while not everything sticks, enough of it lands to make the book a worthwhile read.
The characters are a highlight, even if they feel like they’re from different novels. Ubu, four-armed and constantly moody, is a brooding mess of a man, and his eventual transformation into something closer to alien consciousness is . . . well, it’s weird. It kind of works, kind of doesn’t. It’s not bad, mind you, but it leans more confusing than revelatory. Still, didn’t mind the mess.
Beautiful Maria, on the other hand, is excellent—until she isn’t. Her choice to get captured is one of the few moments that really pulled me out of the narrative. It felt like a character decision made for drama rather than something anyone would actually do. Which is a shame, because otherwise, she’s intelligent, introspective, and strong. Her getting high for multiple chapters was a chore to get through, but it was fiiiine.
Twelve is easily the best part of the book. His alien biology, his psychology, his evolving relationship with Beloved—it’s all weirdly poetic. His chapters breathe with a sense of otherness that feels earned, not gimmicky. So many SF writers could learn from Williams on how to make a unique but engaging alien here.
Worldbuilding-wise, it’s rich and layered, but let’s be honest—I see a lot of people saying this is cyberpunk. This ain’t cyberpunk. Just because there’s biotech and a scrappy underclass doesn’t mean it checks the genre boxes. This is way more space opera, with hints of philosophical sci-fi thrown in. And while the ideas are there, the story doesn’t always know what to do with them.
That’s really the book’s biggest flaw: it meanders. It’s a novel with a lot of interesting parts but not a strong sense of direction. The pacing stutters just when it should ramp up, and plot threads don’t feel completely resolved. It’s not bad—just uneven. You get the sense that a tighter edit could’ve elevated it from “cool and weird” to something great.
Still, despite all that, I liked it. There’s a strange beauty to the whole thing, even when it doesn’t quite make sense. It’s one of those books that feels like it shouldn’t work—but somehow, it mostly does. A flawed, meandering, but memorable piece of science fiction.
The characters are a highlight, even if they feel like they’re from different novels. Ubu, four-armed and constantly moody, is a brooding mess of a man, and his eventual transformation into something closer to alien consciousness is . . . well, it’s weird. It kind of works, kind of doesn’t. It’s not bad, mind you, but it leans more confusing than revelatory. Still, didn’t mind the mess.
Beautiful Maria, on the other hand, is excellent—until she isn’t. Her choice to get captured is one of the few moments that really pulled me out of the narrative. It felt like a character decision made for drama rather than something anyone would actually do. Which is a shame, because otherwise, she’s intelligent, introspective, and strong. Her getting high for multiple chapters was a chore to get through, but it was fiiiine.
Twelve is easily the best part of the book. His alien biology, his psychology, his evolving relationship with Beloved—it’s all weirdly poetic. His chapters breathe with a sense of otherness that feels earned, not gimmicky. So many SF writers could learn from Williams on how to make a unique but engaging alien here.
Worldbuilding-wise, it’s rich and layered, but let’s be honest—I see a lot of people saying this is cyberpunk. This ain’t cyberpunk. Just because there’s biotech and a scrappy underclass doesn’t mean it checks the genre boxes. This is way more space opera, with hints of philosophical sci-fi thrown in. And while the ideas are there, the story doesn’t always know what to do with them.
That’s really the book’s biggest flaw: it meanders. It’s a novel with a lot of interesting parts but not a strong sense of direction. The pacing stutters just when it should ramp up, and plot threads don’t feel completely resolved. It’s not bad—just uneven. You get the sense that a tighter edit could’ve elevated it from “cool and weird” to something great.
Still, despite all that, I liked it. There’s a strange beauty to the whole thing, even when it doesn’t quite make sense. It’s one of those books that feels like it shouldn’t work—but somehow, it mostly does. A flawed, meandering, but memorable piece of science fiction.
October 13, 2024
Still an amazing book second time around
I've been looking this book for decades to read again, but not successfully. Fascinating story, crafted expert!y by the author. A complex narrative you have to pay attention to in order to keep up. That's a good thing, honestly. Ubu and Maria's story is unlike anything I've ever read and I read a lot of SciFi. If you like books that challenge you, this is it. This world the author created has many unknowns in it, words cleverly coined to fit the unusual universe he made, adding a richness to it all that sucks you in and makes it real.
Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys complicated stories you can sink your teeth into. Probably not a good fit for younger readers - some naughty bits and other elements that might not be considered suitable. A good read a bit different from the norm. enjoy!
I've been looking this book for decades to read again, but not successfully. Fascinating story, crafted expert!y by the author. A complex narrative you have to pay attention to in order to keep up. That's a good thing, honestly. Ubu and Maria's story is unlike anything I've ever read and I read a lot of SciFi. If you like books that challenge you, this is it. This world the author created has many unknowns in it, words cleverly coined to fit the unusual universe he made, adding a richness to it all that sucks you in and makes it real.
Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys complicated stories you can sink your teeth into. Probably not a good fit for younger readers - some naughty bits and other elements that might not be considered suitable. A good read a bit different from the norm. enjoy!
November 15, 2017
A strange novel with strange (too strange?) protagonists, crammed with ideas (too crammed?) and tangents, but nonetheless hit the spot - I was looking for "hard sci-fi" that was still fun, a crew of a ship getting tangled up in intrigue on some sort of space station. Angel Station is that and much more, and then when Ubu and Beautiful Maria accidentally make first contact with some hive-mind aliens... things get really strange. I like Walter Jon Williams - his Dagmar trilogy was great present-day near-speculative fiction. This was fun in a different way, complete with unexpected ending.
October 22, 2017
Better than a novel I previously read by this author called "Hardwired", the characters in this novel are much more believable. Some interesting science fiction and the plot relies on more than simple action as in "Hardwired". I would have enjoyed hearing more details about how the protagonists plan to save the shooters worked out in the end.
October 24, 2019
Reading Willams' older work after finally reading the Praxis, dragged an advance copy around for years but glad I could read the first three wham bam. These older ones are giving me a picture of the early 80s scifi I missed while in the commune...and I'm understanding a lot more of what's going on now from these past future-thought experiments.
October 27, 2017
Stranger than expected
A full departure from anything in typical sci-fi, which is actually good. The characters are far from perfect people and they had complex and interesting lives. The story was solid and full of surprises. Recommend!
A full departure from anything in typical sci-fi, which is actually good. The characters are far from perfect people and they had complex and interesting lives. The story was solid and full of surprises. Recommend!
May 21, 2021
3.5. Too much time spent on human filler, not nearly enough on the main characters, the aliens. Rare that you see first contact treated so casually, though, like, it's barely a big deal to anyone except how can it make them money?? Maybe that's sorta the point...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2023
Williams plays with a lot of ideas that are fascinating here, and I love it for that, but it was hard to love the story that's at the center of this book, which is all about some increasingly marginalized independent freighters trying to make ends meet, and due to a first-contact situation, end of scoring hugely and being transformed in turn by circumstances. There's also some pseudo-incest here that's just not pleasant at all to read, even if it's sort-of-not-really-but-it-is. The larger issues of space economies really are quite striking, and the final chapters show an amazing amount of escalation.
December 31, 2018
I was a great book but it lost at the end. Not every book needs a fairytale ending.
August 27, 2019
I lost interest in Angel Station and did not finish listening to the audiobook.
May 6, 2020
I'm stubborn so I finished this. A weak 3 at best. There was not one likable character. Maybe if I had read it closer to when it was written?
January 19, 2021
Too bad the cover art is so damn cheesy - almost put me off the book entirely.
March 30, 2023
Fun stand alone. Kind of fell flat at the end. It felt like there wasn't a clear vision for the plot so it was all character driven and they weren't well enough defined to carry the book.
August 26, 2025
Even though they were bioengineered, the ick factor of brother and sister banging like bunnies kinda destroyed my enjoyment of this book. And the unsatisfying happy ending.
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