The Sword and Laser discussion

I have just finished reading this book and thought I would share a few thoughts here before the end of the month and the wrap-up.

This was a charming book in many ways, with its varied cast of characters and nicely drawn setting. I enjoyed seeing how the different tales of the guests and staff of the Abeona were woven together, with characters disappearing from one story only to pop up again later (view spoiler)[ Mr Corinth isn't dead after all! Although he doesn't have all his teeth any more and he isn't so handsome :( (hide spoiler)]

The writing felt deft, with touches of humour (especially with Ooly Mall and his gross eating habits) as well as moments of genuine peril -- Mrs Appleseed was scary! -- and pathos.

The way the book was structured did make it feel weirdly slow, and it took me much longer to read than I expected, as it isn't a long book. Skipping from one character and one story to another meant that it didn't really build up much momentum, and the actual ending did feel rushed to me, with the reveal of the Lamplighter's identity leaving me feeling a bit... meh? Don't get me wrong I still enjoyed it, but it definitely felt like I enjoyed each section individually and then found the book as a whole less than the sum of its parts.

The other thing that was slightly 'off' about this book was that the space setting felt not just un-science-y (which I don't mind about, I'm not a stickler for hard SF rules) but un-space-y. There wasn't much sense of scale and the vastness of the galaxy. In fact I often found I was slipping into imagining the Abeona as, not so much a modern cruise ship, as some kind of giant luxury steampunk airship travelling around a world that was vaguely reminiscent of the 1930s or 1940s. Then there'd be a reference to stars and the possibility of aliens and I'd be jolted back into the 'reality' that this was supposed to be a space ship.

I guess the Casablanca influence came through in the end with the resistance and the general retro vibes. And all the drinking while someone plays piano.

This wasn't a perfect book by any means, but it was one that charmed me, and I will look out for more by this author.

The ending seemed very abrupt. I supposed the clues were there throughout, but it just seemed to stop. It didn't feel like the mystery had been solved so much as the answer was handed out at the allotted time.

(view spoiler)[ Given that the empire's meant to be quite ruthless I'm surprised the crew actually seemed to be able to go on with their lives afterwards. The same with the scientists really. It sounds like their conclusion was essentially heresy and the the powers that be were fine with that because of an NDA, meanwhile other parts of the state apparatus are trying to hunt down and disappear someone who knows too much.

I guess the Lamplighter was meant to be one of the emperor's clones? One that was spiteful that another clone got the job? Maybe that's what feels like it's missing, a POV chapter from them as a coda.
(hide spoiler)]

I'm not sure I could recommend this unless it gets a really good sequel at some point.

I was really, really disappointed. The Blurb promised Casablanca but delivered the Love Boat. Here is this big bad "Imperial" paranoid enough to chase the mysterious Lamplighter yet this same "Imperial" never showed up in any of the backstory? I know it not polite to take a writer to task for not writing a tale the way I wanted the tale to be written, but who brought up Casablanca? I should confess that all thru my high school & college years I had a full size poster of Humphrey Bogart taped to my backside of the bedroom door, in which, before I left to start my day, I reminded myself to be more like Bogey.

Alan wrote: "The ending seemed very abrupt. I supposed the clues were there throughout, but it just seemed to stop. It didn't feel like the mystery had been solved so much as the answer was handed out at the al..."

Agree that a coda chapter from the Lamplighter would have helped to round things off and make the ending feel less abrupt. I have no idea if Curtis is planning a sequel or not. I would certainly be happy to read some more semi-connected books in this 'verse, a la Becky Chambers' books.

For me, I don't think it really hit the "found family vibe", and I wonder if the structure of the novel had something to do with it. I felt like we didn't get to see a lot of the characters' relationships with each other. It felt more "a bunch of coworkers stuck together" rather than deep relationships I think I was expecting.

Since this one left me a little disappointed, I immediately started reading The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal, and am enjoying it so much more than Floating Hotel. I am completely in love with her narration abilities and will probably listen to anything she puts out.

Jen wrote: "Since this one left me a little disappointed, I immediately started reading The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal, and am enjoying it so much more than Floating Hotel. "

Your mention of The Spare Man reminds me of one of things that Kowal included: the increasing time delay on communications with Earth as the ship got further away. It gave a real sense of Being in Space that Floating Hotel lacked.

Stephen wrote: "I was really, really disappointed. The Blurb promised Casablanca but delivered the Love Boat. Here is this big bad "Imperial" paranoid enough to chase the mysterious Lamplighter yet this same "Imperial" never showed up in any of the backstory?"

I can't remember which backstory it was, but I think one of them mentioned someone being taken away for questioning and being returned to their family in a box.

With the element of mystery around the Lamplighter I'd expect there to be several red herrings but I wasn't expecting the conclusion to essentially make use of none of them. (view spoiler)[ They had crew members with (reluctant) experience in organised crime, participation in some form of organised resistance to the regime, someone who grew up as a pirate and someone who was not only a jewel thief, but also successfully faked their own death once. (hide spoiler)] Any one of them might have had the makings of a less drastic solution.