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FOREIGNER: Discussion Post #1
Jun. 2nd, 2011 03:54 pmWelcome to the first sixty-one pages, everybody! :D Anyone have anything to discuss?
Some ideas, since this is a reread for me (I will try to walk the delicate line between "discussion topics" and "spoilers") and thus certain details stand out to me:
1. This is the only time in the whole novel where we get an ateva's POV; before and after Manadgi, it's through-human-eyes all the way. Thoughts? (Why do it that way? What do we gain, or what is hidden, by Cherryh presenting the first contact through a nonhuman perspective? What do you get out of it, or wish had been included?)
2. While "Books" within books are certainly something I've seen before, the setup in Foreigner has always felt a little odd to me, with two very short "books" -- almost prologues -- prefacing a third, novel-length story. I'm genuinely curious about why it was set up this way! Anyone have any theories?
3. Personal reactions so far? First impressions of the atevi, or the humans of either/both Phoenix and the station?
I'll be back in a little while to post my own reactions; must run a couple of errands first, but I wanted to get the post out there in case anyone else has finished their reading!
Edit To Add: If you wish to take the discussion down a spoilery path, make any spoilery replies here and then link to them, so anyone wishing to avoid spoilers can do so!
Some ideas, since this is a reread for me (I will try to walk the delicate line between "discussion topics" and "spoilers") and thus certain details stand out to me:
1. This is the only time in the whole novel where we get an ateva's POV; before and after Manadgi, it's through-human-eyes all the way. Thoughts? (Why do it that way? What do we gain, or what is hidden, by Cherryh presenting the first contact through a nonhuman perspective? What do you get out of it, or wish had been included?)
2. While "Books" within books are certainly something I've seen before, the setup in Foreigner has always felt a little odd to me, with two very short "books" -- almost prologues -- prefacing a third, novel-length story. I'm genuinely curious about why it was set up this way! Anyone have any theories?
3. Personal reactions so far? First impressions of the atevi, or the humans of either/both Phoenix and the station?
I'll be back in a little while to post my own reactions; must run a couple of errands first, but I wanted to get the post out there in case anyone else has finished their reading!
Edit To Add: If you wish to take the discussion down a spoilery path, make any spoilery replies here and then link to them, so anyone wishing to avoid spoilers can do so!