Slan

3.5

I'm forgoing my usual format because I don't have a lot to say on this book. I've long since known that most classic sci-fi just isn't for me, and sadly this one was no different.

I found this book had a few interesting ideas, but little else to hold my interest. I felt the characters were very thin and uninteresting and the plot seemed disjointed at times. Overall, just not really my type of story.

I think my book club really hit on it when they said that the themes in this book were really interesting, but the execution is dated and feels a little sloppy. The idea of “the other among us” and the fear and xenophobia surrounding this trope is sadly as relevant today as it was in WWII. The characters are pretty flat, however, and Katherine and Joanna's storylines are just both deeply disappointing. I see how it set a lot of foundation for mutant tropes, but it wasn't really for me.

I can appreciate that Slan is a sci-fi classic and a landmark in the genre. There are lots of interesting ideas and concepts in the book, many of which are especially impressive given that Slan was written in the 1940s. However, the execution is incredibly poor. The story is difficult to follow and progresses way too fast. I had a hard time visualizing the scenes, and the characters act too mechanically.

I'd heard some things that made me a bit hesitant to read this but overall I enjoyed the pace. On the recording I did find the narrator didn't pause long enough to give you an audible clue of time passing so I was often confused by some sentences until I figured out what happened. The ending came as a surprise and wrapped things up nicely, however I did have a sense of a cliff hanger. I do know there's a second book to this series and assume this is why.

A clear inspiration for many later books, games and movies. The story and setting were facinating. My only reservation is the character of Kathleenm whom I found to be possibly the most interesting person and story arc, however her story arc is cut halfway through. I would have been much happier following Kathleen's story as opposed to Jommy Cross, who was much more two dimensional though despite that I really enjoyed the book.