Ohhh... All the Body Fluids

Leckie's Ancillary series is a recent favorite of mine, and if you like those books, then there are plot conceits and themes this story has in common with "Ancillary" that you should find interesting. Every character identifies as (and is biologically) female while the protagonist struggles to understand her purpose and identity itself. The fundamental difference between "Legion" and "Ancillary" is the former's throbbing, "organic" universe compared to the "artificial" element to the latter's machine-assisted existential origins.

The world-sized "ships" in "Legion" and their inhabitants are fleshy things that excrete blood, mucus and feces at the slightest provocation. Why the author chose to slather almost every paragraph with so much bile, intestines and afterbirth is not completely understood by this reader. The important themes and a realistic topography could have been conveyed with less than half the gore.

It's not that the blood and guts are hard to stomach (which some readers will struggle with) but that the descriptions of puss, cancerous sores and shit are just so repetitive. Perhaps it's necessary constantly be reminded of the relationship between human and ecological bodies as systems through this scaler extrapolation? It certainly caused this reader to think about the relationship between biology, creation and determinism, but that may just be one person's projection? Plus, this is what good story telling can and should do, so while I'm wary of the necessity, there is a purpose being served through the muck.

The political story and basic plot points are built upon multi-layered betrayals and motivations. This makes the characters interesting, if a bit unlikeable. But the protagonist's journey and development are compelling enough to propel the story.

There's little science in this fiction and none of the bizarre forces and "technology" at work here are given even a perfunctory hand-waving. Fans of military, hard or even heavily abstracted sci-fi may be disappointed by the fantasy-in-space feel. The word "magic" isn't used, but the monsters and physical forces at work in this universe are deeply fantastical. But genre non-purists, especially those that factor diversity and convention-busting gender explorations should enjoy many of the ideas and characters presented in "Legion".

I may not be extremely attracted to the ever-increasingly explored themes in "Legion". Yet, to Hurley's credit, the author manages to cut through the tonnage of gore to present ideas that matter with characters that can be cared about.

Oh, a final audio-only comment about the book; the narration by both performers is excellent. I will look for stories featuring these narrators again.

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23 people found this helpful

Parthenogenic amazons in space

The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley offers an intriguing slant to a universe operating under different rules. A population of humanoid-like entities, all of which identify as exclusively female (although why sexual identity occurs when there isn't more than one sex is never explained). The entities live on multiple world ships that are quasi-organic and have evolved distinct societies that are competing with one another for either overall control or resources to leave the legion. Two women have a plan for gaining the upper hand (and there really is a hand or arm to gain) over two particularly powerful cliques fighting to gain control of the former out-of-commission flag ship of the force.

Most of the sci-fi elements involve the massive worldships where everyone lives. The texture of the environment is biological with all sorts of human-like fluids oozing and percolating about. In addition, although there is sexual behaviors, women become pregnant randomly without any specific action on their part. In addition, they birth a variety of things that the world decides it needs (the odd gear or cog for example). The mystery of the tale is that one of two main plotters has lost her memory, ends up being recycled into the ship and reprises a journey from the deepest bowels (literally) back to the surface, collecting an odd collection of misfits along the way. There is constant betrayal, along with lots of battles and fighting, adding to the natural gore of the place. There's the distinct sense that the worldships were envisioned as a metaphor for current society.

The choice to employ two narrators was a wise decision as the story flips back and forth between the two main characters and their unique perspectives and motivations. Both narrators perform an admirable job with excellent character distinction by each. While the story itself drags a bit (there are so many levels to climb), the pace and mood were nicely aligned.

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5 people found this helpful

Excellent!

Kameron Hurley has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary authors. Her books are filled with original storylines, strong female characters, and a much-needed feminist perspective in the genre. Hurley has managed an intriguing story and an immense undertaking at world-building so intrinsically enmeshed withing the story there is no separation of the two. I simply can't wait to devour more stories from this author. Thank you, Ms. Hurley!

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5 people found this helpful

Great story

The story is great (and a bit weird at first) and the narrators are just perfect.

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4 people found this helpful

Meh

I am a hard sci-fi fan. Given the rave reviews, I thought I would give this a try. New age ghost in the machine feminist focus was definitely not for me.

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2 people found this helpful

A truly amazing and original book!

Kameron Hurley has done it again! Another innovative sff novel that is gripping, emotional, and just plain awesome!

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2 people found this helpful

HP Lovecraft in Space with Feminism

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

People who are interested in exploration of femininity, pregnancy, motherhood... set in HP Lovecraft style setting. That beings said, I believe there are much better examples of "feminist literature." In particular, I would recommend the "The Dream Quest of Vellitt Boe" as it does a superior job blending those exploration of society and femininity while still giving the reader a good, immersive story that stands on it own without its inner message.

What could Kameron Hurley have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Focused more in characters the world they live in. Hurley clearly has a knack for description and imagination... but it feels like everything, the people, the places, the events are just thinly veiled metaphors for her beliefs. I think she could have spent more time developing her characters and world while strongly representing her beliefs, but it seems like she wasn't really interested on that.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

At first I thought it was just one narrator doing a really good job with the voices... now I realize it is was two people. Still it was overall a pretty good job as each cha

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Stars Are Legion?

I would have probably cut out half of the two dozen times the author uses "afterbirth" to describe the color, taste, or smell of something (it was like she was trying to figuratively rub the readers' noses in it). I probably would have cut out much of the space scenes as ironically I find them unnecessary to the plot and the overall character arc.

Any additional comments?

All writers/artists imbue their works with their own beliefs and I respect that... but I'm not the type of person that accepts subpar piece of art/literature just because of it's lofty ideals. It goes with out saying I'm not really a fan of most modern performance arts as it is often self-indulgence nonsense without a coherence message in it.

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Strangest book ever

I can’t imagine how Hurley came up with this story. It is the craziest space adventure story I have ever heard. The twists it takes you on are plenty and sometimes a little to drawn out but I couldn’t stop listening to it. I fell in love with the characters and the story. Give it a try.

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1 person found this helpful

Lesbian Sci-Fi

Overwhelmingly Lesbian/sexual to the point that it totally distracts from practically anything Sci-Fi about it. If you are in to Lesbian literature, you will likely like this. If not, you may want some other book.

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Interesting

Very interesting world but the characters were half developed and the plot had wasn’t fully explained and had holes that made it hard to follow. The performance was flat and monotone and made it difficult for me to concentrate.

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