Jumpnauts: A Novel

DNF - PG 21

First of all, huge thanks to Netgalley and the publishers (Simon & Schuster) for the chance to read this arc!

Sadly, this book really did not work out for me. At all. Which I am quite upset by, especially considering how much I was looking forward to this book.

First I want to say that I'm pretty sure I've never read any translated work besides manga and a couple of light novels. I don't know how much of my trouble was a cultural thing, maybe the writing style is specifically Chinese, and in that country this is the standard for writing. Because I read predominantly American books - with a few United Kingdom and even fewer Australian books thrown in - my reading preferences are a certain thing - and there are very specific things I do not like that this book does.

So, I didn't really read enough to comment on plot/storyline or, really, most of the characters.

What I want to do is post a few excerpts to illustrate my issues. (You may or may not have the same issues as me, so be informed!) (Also, this is a proof, which means things could change before publishing happens!)

The first truly bad sign for me was at the beginning of chapter one (after a prologue that I didn't much like the writing style of, either).

Jiang Lui tried to tiptoe his way off the plane without waking Uncle Bo, but the plan failed miserably. As soon as he opened the cabin door, a frigid blast of air forced its way in and woke up the steward. The blast also made him realize that his body was definitely not ready for the sudden shift from a tropical island in the Pacific to a wintry city in north China.Du Yibo rubbed his eyes, sat up with half his muscles still asleep, and realized that he was at the wrong airport. The sight of Jiang Lui trying to sneak away on the tarmac enraged him. He was out of his own seat in seconds and chased after Jiang Lui, who gave up the attempt at stealth and began to run like a gazelle.

First of all, if you don't understand my problem, you do you. I, however, have literally gotten headaches from books that insist on head hopping. There are other examples of head hopping, in just the little I read, but this was the big, glaring on. And...also about the writing style - once again, not sure if this is cultural - a lot of things are overblown.

Instead of a person saying something, maybe with an exclamation point, they nearly yelled it. And then seemed to immediately calm down for their next sentence.

There's also some very...suspect science. There's poor math in the whole light-year issue, but, my mind could not turn loose of this:

“Dr. Johnson, I've noticed that in the past year, several pulsars closest to us have exhibited regular changes in their emission patterns. I believe this may be the result of manipulation by extraterrestrial intelligence.”

After Yun Fan comes out with this, she's not ridiculed, no mention is made of this being anything other than typical science. Jiang Liu immediately jumps on board with her assumption (which she doesn't state how she concluded that) and it is viewed as de facto that this...thing is an alien spaceship. No questions asked.

Of course, Jiang Liu isn't going to question Yun Fan because he very, very badly wants to get in her bed.

Which, if I'm being totally honest, is the main reason I pulled the plug on this book when I did, because Jiang Liu just keeps getting grosser and grosser.

“Welcome, Dr. Jiang.”“Always a pleasure to visit a beautiful woman.”Yun Fan pretended not to hear this.

&&

“Not so good to be alone in such a desolate place. Good thing I'm here to protect you.”Yun Fan didn't change her tone. “There's no danger here.”

&&

Jiang Lui could see that he would never get anywhere like this. Telling himself that he was ready to take the long road to his goal, he decided to first show her the data he brought.

&&

“Come on!” Jiang Liu put on an aggrieved expression. “I gave you such good data, and you won't even ask me to dinner? That's so cold. Look, my plane has already left, and I've got nowhere to go. Are you really going to toss me out on the street, hungry and exhausted?”

Then, after she tries to direct him away from dinner as politely as possible:

“No worries. Even if you don't have food here, we can go out.”

Then, when she continued to refuse, politely:

“That's no problem.” Jiang Liu smiled. “I'll take care of it. If I can get us a ride, then you'll come to dinner with me. Deal?”Yun Fan finally laughed in exasperation. “I've never met anyone so shameless. What I really want to say is that I have no interest in going to dinner with you. I was trying to turn you down politely, but you leave me no choice except to come out and say it.”“Well, you didn't deny that we have a deal. That is the same as agreeing. So when the ride comes later, you have to keep your promise.”

This is the point that I stopped reading because the lack of no is not a yes and no does not mean yes.

Once again, I do not know if this is a cultural thing, if this is how men are expected to act in China, to flirt and to let a woman know he is interested. I will say if a man doesn't get the hint and then tries to take the lack of a no as a yes with me, he's liable to get my fist in his face.

(Please note: this review has been posted both on NetGalley and Goodreads!)

He repeatedly disrespects boundaries—but she’s intrigued. He also happens to be an astronomer-hacker who is tall, handsome, wealthy, and an expert martial artist. The first 60% doesn’t stretch beyond that level of groundwork. Once they meet extraterrestrials, the interactions still ring petulant. Also I thought Ken Liu was a better translator. Was he in a rush?

Really disappointed, as I liked Vagabonds and Folding Beijing a lot. This felt preachy and slow. Too much exposition and way way too detailed explaining of characters feelings. Dialogues feel artificial too.

Also, is this supposed to be the late 21st century? And we are still at the 2020 level of debate on the use of block chains and machine learning?