Usurpation by Sue Burke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So, the good and the bad.

First, the good: I really wish there was a lot more idea-centric SF, ones that push all those boundaries that need to be pushed. The idea of sentience may be old hat, but when it comes to those species right here on our planet, and how often we ignore them because they're different, it feels like THAT is a field that needs to be explored ever more deeply. So, enter Sue Burke, who gleefully does just that in the first two novels.

And then, at the end of the second book, shows us that the differently intelligent is coming home to Earth. That left me ecstatic.

This book was the promise, and a lot of that promise panned out in the third.

Now, for the bad: While the writing wasn't horrible, the novel didn't start out with a whole bamboo-takeover of the planet. Indeed, there was mostly just humans being idiots and hateful (no surprise there) and a war that seemed just so unnecessary. I'm not saying it was unrealistic, but I kinda felt like we should have gotten something more than a dystopia with a bunch of sentient species kinda wringing their hands wishing that people (all kinds) oughta just get along.

Yeah. Well. That's kinda the whole thing. People like me have been crying about that since we were young and are unpleasantly shocked, as if we're total morons, every time that others get ugly. Like when they just want to burn it all down.

Of course, that completely ignores the follow-up question: what comes after? Burke gives us a long time-span to ask and answer that question, but it still feels unsatisfying. Mostly, everyone is locked in a life-and-death battle of ennui.

Unfortunately, I came out of this feeling like I ate bland soup. No salt, no spices, and few chunks of anything hearty. It's just broth for my synesthesia.



Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to DM requests. I think it's about time I get some eyes on them.

Arctunn.com




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