... concepts are difficult to understand - slow read but great story
593995
If you are not an astro physicist some of the concepts are difficult to understand - slow read but great story
4360545
The story was slow to build, while I appreciate it when the author takes time for character development, in this case I felt like it was taking too long for the book to get interesting.  Minor contextual errors where the author's word processor changed the spelling of a word to something else are minor by itself but when it happened every few pages it got very frustrating.

I came close to giving up on this book while waiting for it to "get good" but I was rewarded with a great ending that almost made the initial suffering worth it.

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
4863763
It took a while to get into the story but the wait was worthwhile! I really didn't want to put it down. A very different book but we'll worth reading!
1097008
The first few chapters of this book are a bit daunting but worth getting through!  This actually turned into a quick read just as I was about to give up on it.  I thought that the story (and the twist at the end) was great.  Some of the British slang can be tough to decipher but anyone who has read other books in this genre should be able to keep up with most of it.  Overall, a fun read!
4546241
The story was captivating and intriguing. However, I found myself got bored quite often. The way the story unfold was too slow for my taste. I do want to continue the series though. The idea is so unique, with a woman who decided to live her life as a man, yet she's not transgender. She just wanted to get the privilege of living as a man (the setting in the book was in an era where women could not go to school, or read, or do anything interesting). It's really a good story
3438639
There's a TON of character development, backstory and trust building... Which also means this story is long AF. And the pace is slow.

This book was a step out of my normal romance lane, so I will admit I'm probably not the target market. That said, I had a hard time with about  of the ebonics/slang used. It was true to the characters and realistically done, but... My bougie, white half was showing, I guess, cuz I had to use context clues like a mug sometimes.

I will say I don't really understand their relationship or how it developed, but that's 98% because it is so out of my norm. I have to give the author props for great plot, wonderful characters, and realism. I just couldn't get fully immersed into the world because I didn't already know all the slang and the pace was extremely slow. Took me a total of 26 hours to read this book, and I generally finish a book of this size in 16-18.
2637059
It had a very  slow start but it  was a good  read
3021957
This is a great read, but read it slowly.  Although the concepts have been around for a long time (as long as Aesop), careful thought is required to assess and implement these skills into your own social communicating framework.
3312560
"Downbelow Station (The Company Wars)" by C.J Cherryh is a difficult read because of the first two books in this 5 book series, they are ponderous, and had I not plowed through them I would have missed this remarkable, imaginative, and original story. After the taxing and boring backstory building the storyline takes off and it's great. Cherryh can be difficult to read, the writing style is unusual or perhaps peculiar is a better reference word. Sentence structure seems backwards many times but once you adjust to it the imaginative, intense, and emotional. storyline takes over and you are off to the races. Were it not for the first two books I would have rated this 5 stars...4 stars!!!
899897
I've heard great things about this book but personally I found it slow and had a hard time getting into it
2699890
It takes a bit to get into the story at the beginning, especially since you're reading things from the point of view of many different characters. However, once you get into it the story is great. Little clues are given throughout so that the reader is not in the dark all the way through the book, but slowly putting together the pieces of the puzzle.
4823806
This book is a fascinating journey back through time.  You end up meeting many different characters, and the focus is on them rather than Meg.  The story weaves together American history, Welsh mythology and L'Engle's own cosmology to tell a tale of how events can accumulate over time to shape history.  In essence the book reads like a collection of serial short stories, one generation of characters following another.

Overall it's a great story, but for me it struggled in two places.  First, keeping all the characters and their relationships to one another straight was at times a challenge, because you're meeting so many people and then moving on to meet others.  The names are kept very similar from generation to generation to try and help with this, but that sometimes just added to the sense of confusion.  Second, the conclusion of the story leaned heavily towards the idea that ancestry was a determinant of character.  The characters, in the end, were slaves to the decisions made by their antecedents.  Lots of older stories have this idea in the background, but in this story the concept was put front and center in the story's eventual resolution.  The story does not present any of the drama of characters struggling against the destinies shaped for them by their ancestors, it simply focuses on trying to ensure that the "right" line is ultimately secured.  It's a conclusion that may or may not work for today's sensibilities.

But, despite that, it's a good read and has a lot of interesting ideas and secrets to uncover along the way.
320235
Personally I struggled a bit to get into the beginning of the story but I'm glad I stayed with it. I can't say that it was a fantastic read for me but it is a good read. The story is well thought out, well written and well edited.
422558
Good story but slow start and sometimes hard to follow. Stick with it, it is worth it in the end.
272443
It took a while to get into this book and several times I had to reread passages as it is so complicated. The way it is written as a dialogue to the main character 's recently dead wife seems very strange at first but actually makes sense at the end. It is not the kind of book that you can put down and pick up a few days later as you have to keep the train of thought going and relate each event to the previous ones and the background. The implications may seem far fetched to some people but stranger things have happened so it doesn't seem all that improbable. This book takes effort but is intriguing and worth it in the long run.
236365
Fairly slow read, with very convoluted connections to the characters. Getting to the end was a long journey, especially after the long period under the sea. Still, Glad it is NOT my universe. Recommended to those who enjoy elegant, graceful descriptions in their reading. The very end explains the title. The art work is key to a much better read. This slipcase hardcover is for those who really love this story. Thanks, Harry!
1225493
While it has a pretty steep difficulty curve (by which I mean it will be a little difficult to understand at first), this is a dense and deep story about the human spirit, stagnation, and a lot of other great themes that I don't need to list.  While this is far-future science fiction, it almost reads more like a fantastical myth than science fiction, and in fact is based on one of the ancient myths (hint: the protagonist's name).

If you peruse the first few pages of this book, don't be put off by the jargon.  Yes, the book starts out a bit slower than many other pop-sci fi books would, and yes it can be difficult to grasp what's happening, but the little bit of work you put in up front will be worth it.  If you like fantasy (real fantasy, not the modern schlock), sci-fi or even just great story telling then this book is definitely for you.  I imagine it has had a hard time finding a very mainstream audience due to the seemingly inaccessible use of language, which is a shame because this is one of the best books I've ever read.

On that note, Phaethon is probably one of the best characters I've ever read.  His strength-of-will in the face of any opposition and even temptation kept me completely hooked on the story.  He's not the only great character, but I don't want to get too wordy so I'll avoid giving a description of my other favorites.

I can't think of too much negative to say.  There's some pacing problems.  I just started the second book, but I'm not sure really what the details of all of the technology are.  For all I know, there are major inconsistencies or even plot holes, but since I don't completely grasp this distant culture's technology I can't be certain.  But, I feel like I don't need to get it 100%.  Sure I could read it slower and really study it out, but the story is what hooked me and all of the sciencey jargon is just a backdrop for the great story and characters.

You probably won't like this book if you're really into the dour, nihilistic sci-fi of yesterday (such as Neuromancer - which is a great book, but can be kind of a bummer).  If you prefer hopelessness you won't find that here.  This book is about big ideas and while it does deal with negative themes, in the end it's uplifting if only to see people who haven't crumbled under the weight of those negative things.

I'd say give it a chance.  You may not love it, but I can't imagine anyone walking away from this saying, "That was a horrible book".  I can only see some people saying, "Well, that wasn't my cup of tea."