X3: Yoshiko, thoughts and questions (Spoilers!)
Posted: Tue, 18. Feb 20, 14:21
Hi! As I just finished reading X3: Yoshiko, and I saw that Nathan Haines hangs out on this forum (and maybe even Helge too), I thought I'd send some thoughts (and some constructive criticism) about the book, along with some questions. I really enjoyed this book -- for my money, it's the best X book yet. I bought it on the Kindle store.
SPOILERS ahead!
As with any sci-fi novel, the initial stretch of introducing the characters can be quite difficult for readers, as they are exposed to a vast array of Proper Nouns that they need to remember. Largely just a property of the medium, but exacerbated by the plot-alternation that occurs between chapters.
The subplot with Iliyana is absolutely great; compelling and dark, it's more adult than I've seen from the X books before, and frequently quite touching. I love the engagement with Yoshiko's drug use, and the 'sisterly' relationship between mother and daughter. It's good to see Yoshiko as a kind of anti-hero, she is very flawed, and sometimes infuriating, but you still end up rooting for her.
The encounter with the CPU ship sometimes veers into territory that's a bit too 'out-there'. It can be difficult for the reader to imagine themself into that space, because there are very few reference points. I found it difficult to get a mental picture of the inside of the ship. This is something that these sections had in common with Nopileos, which had some confusing sections towards the end of the book, although Yoshiko was not as bad as Nopileos for this problem. Some things are difficult to figure out, eg - Why is Marteen Winters there? He didn't seem to fulfil any function. What are the 'black threads'? etc. There's a lot of mysterious mechanics that don't seem to have any real resolution, which would work great in a film, but they seem to inhibit the reading process.
It would have been nice to have more backstory for Ezra Kerp, Iliyana's father. That aspect wasn't explored very much. It would also be cool to have backstory for Yoshiko working as a restrainer for Sendir t'Grrt. There was some dark history hinted at in this direction. The function of a restrainer, while being explored fascinatingly in Nopileos, still remains a bit mysterious to me.
What is the meaning of 'D2-class' ship in terms of X-universe ship classes? Also, what do the ship prefixes "AP" and "FL" mean?
What's the relationship between Ser Alman Jonferson and Jonferco in the game series? Was it ever established that JSDD and Jonferco are the same thing within the game lore? I can't remember if Ser Alman appeared in the games. Also, how does the segment that takes place on Marauder relate to the mission involving Don Marani that takes place in X3: Reunion? (I understood that Julian is Ninu Gardna's son, and he's hinted at briefly in this book as having left Turpentine Station.)
I think that every book should define the Zuran Time sections, because it impedes understanding quite a lot. It's good for flavour, but any human reader has to try to map them onto some rough notion of SI time, which it's very difficult to do with 'inzuras' and 'quazuras'. I use my very basic German to grasp "tazuras" as "Tage", but I don't know enough to do that with the other prefixes.
I found some of the descriptions of the space stations quite difficult to picture mentally. This is not really a flaw of the book, as their complexity makes them quite difficult to describe in general. The consistent use of the word 'bulkhead' is a bit frustrating for me. It's used sometimes to mean 'door', and sometimes to mean 'wall', from what I can see. I would prefer those simpler words.
Why does Iliyana not speak to Cilia Nehla when they meet each other on Fiji? It seems cruel to leave her believing that her sister is dead.
What was the reason for Yoshiko instructing Iliyana to 'trust only Boron' when they were discussing her plan to escape Turpentine?
Will we ever find out why Suzon Parka was killed? A really shockingly dark moment of the book!
Can't wait for the next one!
Dave
SPOILERS ahead!
As with any sci-fi novel, the initial stretch of introducing the characters can be quite difficult for readers, as they are exposed to a vast array of Proper Nouns that they need to remember. Largely just a property of the medium, but exacerbated by the plot-alternation that occurs between chapters.
The subplot with Iliyana is absolutely great; compelling and dark, it's more adult than I've seen from the X books before, and frequently quite touching. I love the engagement with Yoshiko's drug use, and the 'sisterly' relationship between mother and daughter. It's good to see Yoshiko as a kind of anti-hero, she is very flawed, and sometimes infuriating, but you still end up rooting for her.
The encounter with the CPU ship sometimes veers into territory that's a bit too 'out-there'. It can be difficult for the reader to imagine themself into that space, because there are very few reference points. I found it difficult to get a mental picture of the inside of the ship. This is something that these sections had in common with Nopileos, which had some confusing sections towards the end of the book, although Yoshiko was not as bad as Nopileos for this problem. Some things are difficult to figure out, eg - Why is Marteen Winters there? He didn't seem to fulfil any function. What are the 'black threads'? etc. There's a lot of mysterious mechanics that don't seem to have any real resolution, which would work great in a film, but they seem to inhibit the reading process.
It would have been nice to have more backstory for Ezra Kerp, Iliyana's father. That aspect wasn't explored very much. It would also be cool to have backstory for Yoshiko working as a restrainer for Sendir t'Grrt. There was some dark history hinted at in this direction. The function of a restrainer, while being explored fascinatingly in Nopileos, still remains a bit mysterious to me.
What is the meaning of 'D2-class' ship in terms of X-universe ship classes? Also, what do the ship prefixes "AP" and "FL" mean?
What's the relationship between Ser Alman Jonferson and Jonferco in the game series? Was it ever established that JSDD and Jonferco are the same thing within the game lore? I can't remember if Ser Alman appeared in the games. Also, how does the segment that takes place on Marauder relate to the mission involving Don Marani that takes place in X3: Reunion? (I understood that Julian is Ninu Gardna's son, and he's hinted at briefly in this book as having left Turpentine Station.)
I think that every book should define the Zuran Time sections, because it impedes understanding quite a lot. It's good for flavour, but any human reader has to try to map them onto some rough notion of SI time, which it's very difficult to do with 'inzuras' and 'quazuras'. I use my very basic German to grasp "tazuras" as "Tage", but I don't know enough to do that with the other prefixes.
I found some of the descriptions of the space stations quite difficult to picture mentally. This is not really a flaw of the book, as their complexity makes them quite difficult to describe in general. The consistent use of the word 'bulkhead' is a bit frustrating for me. It's used sometimes to mean 'door', and sometimes to mean 'wall', from what I can see. I would prefer those simpler words.
Why does Iliyana not speak to Cilia Nehla when they meet each other on Fiji? It seems cruel to leave her believing that her sister is dead.
What was the reason for Yoshiko instructing Iliyana to 'trust only Boron' when they were discussing her plan to escape Turpentine?
Will we ever find out why Suzon Parka was killed? A really shockingly dark moment of the book!
Can't wait for the next one!
Dave