Downbelow Station

In Downbelow Stationa space station orbiting the planet Pell becomes in the final events of a long war that has spread its negative impact across the stars. The Company, representative of Earth, and the Union have been at war for many years, the war has not been kind to the Company who has lost control of its Fleet. Between the Company, the Union, and the Fleet are Downbelow Station and Pell, trying to find a way to survive in the midst of the chaos created by these factions and their war. To further complicate matters, there are the merchanters who have their own neutrality and safety to consider, the Hisa - the indigenous people of Pell who are the only other sentient race the humans have encountered in their travels through space, and various factions on Downbelow Station each trying to navigate a complicated and dangerous political web in these volatile times.

Downbelow station is considered by many to be a must read in the Sci-Fi canon and C.J. Cherryh herself is considered to be one of the greats of Sci-Fi literature.

I can certainly see why this is the case. In this novel as in the two other books I've read by Cherryh her world building has been wonderful. While she doesn't necessarily establish an understanding of the science and technology of her world, she builds a multifaceted history and complex cultures and cultural relations that permeate the story. This novel is complex with multiple plots, characters, and political games being played among them.

The excellence of her world building alone makes Downbelow Station a great read. However Cherryh also exhibits in this book as in her others a gift for conveying culture clashes. Distinct populations of humans as well as an alien race interact in Downbelow Station and the feelings of otherness, discomfort, and misunderstanding in these interactions are made palpable.

These great aspects are undermined, however, by a few points which - for me - made it difficult to enjoy as much as I wanted to. The first and largest con for me is the writing style/tone of the novel. Cherry's voice lacks excitement or emotion. The rather dry delivery makes it difficult for the reader to become engaged and invested in the plot. The sentences are short and often feel stilted or strained and often the tone reminded me of an old biology teacher of mine who would drone on and on in a deep monotone voice. I don't doubt he had good things to say, but it was hard to listen because of his delivery.

This distant and dry tone merges with another element, slow pacing, to make the novel a chore to read sometimes. Despite a fascinating plot and various subplots, this novel moves along at a slow and steady pace. Not necessarily a bad thing in some cases but at least the "action bits" could have a bit more speed and intensity. When the slow pacing joins the dry delivery the book becomes a bit of a slog really.

So the lack of a more engaging writing style and the slow pace are a detriment as is the way the narrative is constantly skittering from one character/situation to another. These negatives do not doom the book, but I found myself unable to connect to the characters and their plight and for these reasons I gave the book a 3 rather than the 5 I thought I would be giving it when I picked it up.