In the Company of Others [Mass Market Paperback]

I did like most of Ms. Czerneda's minor characters, and enjoyed her perspective of what life on an actual space station might be like. But compared to "A Thousand Words for Stranger" or "Beholder's Eye," this book is extremely disappointing.

It seems to go on too long; I'm not sure why this is. Some of the description is absolutely essential, and I buy into that. And I like the two main characters separately; I just don't believe in their romance.

Maybe I'm a romantic at heart, and that's the main reason I'm downgrading this book. But in her other novels, the romances make sense and are believable; here, it doesn't make sense on Gail's side (although I can see why Aaron would like her, as she accepts him for who he is), and that's why the romance wasn't believable to me.

Another person may find it differently than I did.

In addition, as I said before in re-reviewing these novels, Ms. Czerneda is one of my favorite writers. I hold her to a higher standard. And that's the main reason this book gets 2 1/2 stars (not two -- I gave it that before because I didn't know you could give fractions in a review) . . . it has some very strong pluses as well as the minuses.

But the writing is good, mind, and the premise makes sense (with the exception of that romance). I'd just rather people started with "A Thousand Words for Stranger" or "Beholder's Eye," which are much better and involving novels, than this; "In the Company of Others" just isn't as interesting to me as the other works, which is why I give it two and a half stars...

What do I mean? Czerneda's preface declares that writing third person is difficult; I suspect she talked herself into making it more difficult than it really is and ends up goofing. For example, there is ample italicized inner monologue, a device most often used to allow a third-person narrative to slip into first-person mode; Czerneda, for some reason, maintains the third-person perspective which is jarring. If there is to be no change in narrative voice, why the change in font?

There are other problems. The heroine, Dr. Gail "several middle names" Smith, is a top professor at a major university, commanding dozens of top scientists and with a budget that must be in the trillions. While her age, wisely, is never specified, she is never described as progidy, so she must be at least in her mid-30s - young enough to still be so attractive to every male character in the book, old enough to have reached her position. Yet she falls for a twenty-year old man, and engages in sexual banter with another twenty-year old. Cradle robber? Her personality is also at odds with her position; while our initial impression is of a tough, no-nonsense type, turns out she's weepy-eyed, indecisive, and maudlin. The same is true to a lesser extent of the hero, Aaron Pardell. All of which makes for an at times aggravating read.

Yet there is much good in In the Company of Others. The concept of space stations cut off from Earth with a population fighting off despair is an interesting one that Czerneda pulls off well, and the background story of how humanity got that way is fascinating. The alien Quill end up being satisfying as well, different than the usual bug-eyed aliens and also not a diatribe about human contamination.

If this were a first effort, I would be thrilled by the rich imagination and be looking forward to when Czerneda hits her stride. This is book five, however, and the stride should have been struck by now. I'm not sure if there was enough about In the Company of Others to warrant seeking out the author's other books; In the Company of Others itself will probably warrant another read down the line.

I think the main problems with her books is that her characters just don't have any character. They are almost TOO REAL, which in order to make interesting in a SF novel, requires the talents of an exceptionally good author. I think Ms. Czerneda borrows heavily from A.C. Clarke, which is good, but doesn't have what it takes to bring Clarke's writing style into the 21st Century. The characters in this book are just plain dull, there is very little action to make up for it and the resolution at the end of the book doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. Thanks anyway, Julie, I wish you luck, because I REALLY WANTED TO LIKE YOUR BOOKS!!!!