[Dragaera] some comments on _The Incrementalists_

[Steve Rapaport]

On 29 Sep 2013 23:17, "Philip Hart" <philiph at slac.stanford.edu> wrote:
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> Spoilers for _TI_ below.
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> Seriously spoilful.
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> Go read the book if you haven't.
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> 3. I found the opening difficult to read - there's a lot of jargon in a
short space

No problem here by me. Expected that  and picked it up.

> 5. Some of the handling of the developing friendship and romance ("Ren
laughed, and my heart flipped--flopped") seemed a bit telling not showing,
though actually it probably wasn't.  Maybe I don't feel enough of a sense
of Ren's personality.

Agreed. Falling in love within 24 hours as Phil and Ren do is really hard
to believe but can be pulled off.  SEE True Romance, or the first episode
of six Feet under. I don't think the incrementalists succeeded.

> It's hard to accept her (really anyone) agreeing to be spiked - if you're
not stronger than a soul that has survived many combats, your life
effectively ends.  Ok, in her case she's under a geas. But then it's
difficult to know what's her and what's Celeste - a theme of the book, in
fact, but also a barrier to feeling for the character.

Well stated and I have to agree. And her geas is really more of a childhood
narrative. Not necessarily imperative.
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> 9. It's all in-group stuff.  There's essentially nothing external - a
waitress gets nudged, maybe a bartender doesn't, an entrepeneur is
schmoozed slightly.  I'm not sure I cared quite enough about the characters
for this.  The main characters are a revolutionary cell of sorts, and
presumably this is what it's like to be in one - more instructive than
compelling for me at least on a first read.  Well, there was stuff like
Jimmy saying what they do is evil, but.  And Matsu is certainly cool, and
Oskar having something of a point, etc.

Yes! THIS.  I came for the idea of what the incrementalists could do to the
world, not to each other. Honestly I think the grroup got way too
interested in its own self and it lost focus. It would be like the Amber
series spending the entire story on Increasing detail of the mechanics of
the Trumps. And on Corwin/Dierdre incestuous kissytimes.

Someone really needed to check the outline and reprioritise as per Rule of
Cool.
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> 12. For me it was a bit hard to read this in the shadow of _Last Call_,
which is another novel about deep memory, immortality, possession and
submersion, and Las Vegas (chpater 7 of _TI_ is titled "The Barren [...]
Wasteland").  I think _LC_ is one of the best sff novels I've read, so any
other book on similar subject matter is at an unfair disadvantage.

True.  Yeah LC will be with me much longer.
Also Bester's Computer Connection. Similar premise.

13. Celeste as Brand is a good parallel.
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I would feel better about this book as  a pilot episode for an
incrementalists series.

Steve the Younger