Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson

[Surtac]

... is the July Babbler.

I finished it earlier this evening. Anyone else ready to discuss it?

[Kokipy]

Yes, but happy also to wait for others.

[ready]

I'm twirling myself, but am ready to discuss as needed.

[starexplorer]

I had planned to read it during my current vacation, but couldn't find my copy before leaving. At this point, I honestly and unfortunately don't know that I'll get to it before starting on the August Babbler.

[the mule]

Stand not upon the order of your going...

[Kokipy]

Well, I liked it pretty well, on the whole. It was a very imaginative premise, and I thought there was logic and psychological realism in how he carried out the concept. People acted the way they would probably act under those situations. I had some reservations about the characters, whom I did not like so very much in some ways, and there was something kind of depressed about the tone of the writing. But it hung together well, I thought. On the whole, quite an achievement. I liked the Mars subplot, and the manipulation of time was intriguing. Although there were a lot of different things going on I thought it hung together well.

[Surtac]

As I was reading it, I found myself wondering how on Earth it had won a best novel Hugo, but when I looked up the competition it had had that year (2006), it started to make more sense to me – it was not an inspiring field of nominees to choose from.

It did have some of the characteristics of certain previous Hugo winners: the Big Dumb Object idea of a Ringworld or a Rendezvous with Rama; the epic timescales of a Foundation and so on. And there were definitely touches of ‘sensawunda’ in the seeding Mars storyline.

But overall I didn’t find it to be all that compelling in the end, and I think it’s down to the characters. I simply did not warm to or engage with any of the principals: Tyler, Jason or Diane. I only kept reading because I wanted to see where he was going with the central concept and what he was going to do with it.

Overall, I’ll give it a pass mark, but no more than that.

Btw Mule, I think I can guess where you’re heading with the Macbeth reference, but I’ll wait for you to elucidate in your own time.

[the mule]

Tac, I fear you may be reading more into it than was intended, which was merely prompting you all to not delay your discussion

I haven't actually started it yet as the current glorious weather has had me out of doors rather than reading (do I hear cries of "Sacrilege!")

[smartcat]

Here we are at the end of July and I have finally finished Spin. I don't have a problem with BDO fiction but have many problems with this book. Some of the descriptive passages are beautifully evocative but as a whole the book did not engage me. (No desire to stay up all night reading.)

There is little or no sense of growth in the characters over the forty years or so of the timeline. There are actions that imply growth, going to college, starting a career etc. but when they open their mouths they sound like very young adults. I know from the story when it is in the past and when it is in the present, but there is little difference in attitude between the times. Yes, these are Tyler's memories, but good writing gives us the emotions and milieu of the past overlaid by the knowledge of the present.

And now we come to the women. Unbelievable is the best description. It is weird that Carol would treat or allow Belinda to be treated with the casual meanness that seems define their relationship. The avowal of love has no basis in the reality of the book. If Belinda were still alive I would not have blamed her for punching Carol's lights out. I can accept (sort of) the Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name, but I cannot accept that Carol would not have a strong, supportive friendship with Belinda. Being an alcoholic does not preclude being a decent person.

Diane seems to exist only as a counter foil to Jason. I HATE it when supposedly smart people have to become dumb to meet plot needs. I could believe Diane rejecting her family, but not her becoming such a cypher. I fully expected Diane to go off and start some anti E.D. movement. Instead she sloshes around like trash caught in a back water.

I don't feel that all female character have to be strong leaders. I just want them to be consistent within the context of the story. Wilson's women are like interchangeable paper dolls.

I wish I liked Spin more. I like the setting, the idea of the spin and post-spin world, but the writing would have to be lot a more engaging for me to read another book by Wilson.

[Kokipy]

I actually read the sequel, but remember even less about it than I do Spin. I think all of us are saying the same thing, basically - the characters let the story down. I agree it isn't up to what I would have thought was Hugo standards.

[Raskolnikov]

It's been awhile, but I remember quite liking Spin. Sense of scale to the proceedings, and throwing a series of complications into the plot that brought a bigger and bigger picture. For characterization it's quite hard to speak to at this point, but I thought it adequate and relatively engaging.

The sequel, Axis, was very weak though. Wholly unnecessary and rather dull.

As to winning a Hugo, that's an award that's fallen on worthy and unworthy alike. Hominids, Starship Troopers and Goblet of Fire are among the less deserving recipients by my judgement. I don't think Spin was a misjudgment, although Learning the World probably deserved it more.