The Long Way... To a Common Orbit flash group discussion

"I hate this game," Sissix said, frowning over the checkered pixel board. Ashby took a bite of spice bread. "You're the one who wanted to play."

Is there anything better than a seedy galactic spaceport? One of my favorite sci-fi settings. Definitely made me laugh. I enjoyed how Pepper pushed back at Jenks and encouraged him to be thoughtful.

Cue Seedy Galactic Spaceport MUSIC: Kizzy singing "Socks Match My Hat" (which I was singing as I made diner last night) is now on my spaceport music list. She's a bit over-the-top and a skosh stereotypical (the wacky tech) but terribly endearing.

Not that I can be thick, but it wasn't until p.62 of the reread that I realized 'genetweaks' is pronounced Gene Tweaks and not Jeanette Weeks … lmao!

You silly human. Jeanette Weeks?

I understand what you are saying about Kizzy, as I think occasionally felt she was just too much. Of all the characters, she feels the most Firefly-like, like a character derived from the character. But when they explained the song, it was awesome.

I read it "Jeanette Weeks" very early on, too. Maybe "gene-tweaks" with a hyphen would have made it more clear.

"The Job": Oh, there's the plot, and the explanation for the title of our book!

"Port Coriol": The narration feels naive in the very early parts of this chapter--the port is scruffy and kind of seedy, but nothing really nasty happens there. No brain-damaged drug addicts, no sex trafficking? Mm-hmm.

I really enjoyed the descriptions. The market where you can get anything if you look hard enough, the underground mod and bot district, are all so cool. (I'll pass on the cricket sandwiches, though.)

I'm going to put the next bit behind a spoiler wall: (view spoiler)[so there's the older "lizard" (can't remember the name of the race) female in the market that Sissix gives physical comfort to. She is described in ways that make me think that she is on a spectrum, maybe something like autism?... and I also get that same vibe from Corbin. This stranger is cuddled and cosseted; Corbin--part of their crew--is snubbed.

Now, I'm not saying that the crew should be physically affectionate with him against their inclinations (or his). Not at all. Just that there's just a parallel between these characters that the text doesn't acknowledge. The narrative seems to want me to think that Kizzy, Sissix, et al., are the ultimate in nicey-nice but I also see blind spots and a streak of intolerance. Their attitude toward "those Geiist assholes" also made me raise a brow. (hide spoiler)]

I think I will have to get used to the narration stopping for a page or two of explanation every time a new race or concept is introduced. It happened about five times in this chapter. :)

I'm enjoying the episodic-ness. It makes the novel feel like a serial or TV show. I can read a chapter or two at a time without feeling like I'm breaking the flow of the story, which makes this novel a nice thing to read during breaks and before bed!

Heh, you make me laugh with "I think I will have to get used to the narration stopping for a page or two of explanation every time a new race or concept is introduced."

It's interesting; I agree, most of the crew comes off as 'nicey-nice' but within their own limits. Hmm, are you saying your impression is that it comes from a more 'this is the best social norm' perspective and less honoring what people are? My impression of the person in the market was that Sissix accepted her difference and provided her with some appropriate emotional-cultural affection. I agree there was judging about those who didn't support the person. I mean, I get it in all respects. My cousin's son is fairly autistic and in his early 20s and apparently he was complaining to her that he just wants somebody important that isn't family in his life (he does a theater for special needs people). I mean, just because he is autistic doesn't mean he doesn't have emotional needs at times, although they may happen/be expressed/be met in a different way than most are used to. I thought of this scene after she posted about it on FB.

True too on the flow of the story. I did read it fairly non-stop, but it didn't hurt to put it down when I had to go to bed. :)

"Hmm, are you saying your impression is that it comes from a more 'this is the best social norm' perspective and less honoring what people are?"

This comes close to the mark, yes.

"I mean, just because he is autistic doesn't mean he doesn't have emotional needs at times, although they may happen/be expressed/be met in a different way than most are used to."

Yep!

My interpretation of Corbin as on a spectrum--and therefore at least partially at the mercy of his brain structure/functioning when it comes to his dealings with other people--makes me think that the crew's treatment of him is wrong.

It's pretty evident that we're expected to despise the guy. The story and I are just going to have to disagree on that. :)

Heh. I thought of him as the grain of sand who would gradually be transformed (or discovered) to be a pearl, sometimes against his own inclination (ala Jayne in Firefly or the dufus in Kitty Jay).

The pearl still has the grain of sand in its center, after all. I'll buy that as a metaphor.

“The idea of Humans as conquerers had always been a laughable one. Not just because they had meager resources or because the Diaspora could never get anything done, but because the Humans she knew personally were so unassuming.”

I love this quote. It's so interesting thinking of humans having been taken down a notch and because of that learning some humility.


I also found it interesting how irrelevant Earth (or what's left of it) is even to humans in this universe where they basically became a species living in space. Not any ties or loyalty to the old planet, just annoyance at those still thinking of it as something special. I'm not sure whether I like that or not, but it's interesting nevertheless.

The idea that Earth would be irrelevant is interesting... I feel like it would be a cultural touchstone, if perhaps an inaccurate one. Like those commercials for Ancestry, where people say, "I thought I was Italian..." I think they might retain an inaccurate but nostalgic view of the home planet.

I did like the idea that we would be 'unassuming,' but I don't know that that feels very true. Maybe it is in contrast to all the other species??

Beth, your comments here and in the earlier thread nailed one of my dissatisfactions with the story. (view spoiler)[I absolutely feel like we're supposed to dislike Corbin, and he very much struck me as being on the spectrum. IMO, they're actually all straight-out unkind to him--isolating him, stopping all conversations when he's around, etc. Sure, he's not tactful and he parrots racism towards someone who is pretty hateful towards him, but the crew doesn't ever give him the benefit of the doubt the way it does with others. Much of the story's morality centers around tolerance, but the narrative's attitude towards Corbin felt like a contradiction of all of it. It felt wrong to me too, and yet the narrative presents it as utterly acceptable. (hide spoiler)]

I'm not alone!! :D But seriously, thanks, Carly, it's good to know that there's somebody else who isn't comfortable with the narrative's/other characters' behavior toward him.

So, I didn't dislike Corbin. I did sort of feel that we were supposed to dislike him because of his "speciest" comments, but it was all so one-sided. We're bouncing around from one pov to another, but never his. So I had to reserve judgment.

Hmm, good point. Wonder why we didn't spend any time with him. Of course, we hardly spent much time with the captain, either.

Well, we spent time with Corbin after the "reveal". Prior to that though, much of our time with Corbin 2-: front he captains perspective. But mostly it seemed like he was out of sight out of mind unless he was arguing with someone. And Corbin never started the arguments. He just refused to let go unless he got the apology he felt he deserved. Which no one ever gave him. Except Rosemary.

Nataliya wrote: "Not any ties or loyalty to the old planet, just annoyance at those still thinking of it as something special."

There are some people later on in the first half of the book that express loyalty to the old planet, but they aren't presented in a positive light.

One thing that struck me about the Humans is that there's been a flattening and un-diversifying of culture as we've gone out to space. There's the Sol people, and the Exodans, but any other difference or conflict associated with a specific locality, religious faith, race, etc., is absent. Utopian? Maybe, maybe not.

Interestingly, there's some genuine conflict between Exodans and Mars-ites which comes up later on. I found the Exodan flattening effect rather dubious (human history seems to have a pretty strong centrifugal effect on societies), but put it down to a 'Sci-Fi Classic' trope.

The change to the Exodans didn't bother me. It felt like...an extension of the idea of a cult. I mean, considering the fact that there are other humans living with other cultures gave me the feeling that they began as group of people who shared the same mindset/goal.

Feb 2017
Hey hey, A Sequel! A Closed and Common Orbit ... Lovelace gets a book :)
Ciao, y'all!

Thanks, Athena!