REVIEW: The City Among the Stars

The City Among the Stars
Author: Francis Carsac

I love Sci-fi books. Old, new and most anything in between. When I saw that The City Among the Stars was the first English translation of a French sci-fi classic, I jumped right on it. But....I did not enjoy this story as much as I originally thought I would.

First, the translation seems a bit clunky. The sentences don't flow very well....awkward phrases, stilted conversation, strange word choices. I had a hard time keeping my mind in the story as I struggled through awkwardly written sentences. Not a clean translation...needs some work. The story definitely seems to have lost something in translation.

Second, I found the characters annoying. The entire force of the plot is backed by various characters (and cultures) being completely unwilling to bend or compromise in any way. And all seem to be willing to put others in danger to feed their own selfish ends. That gets really old after awhile. And female characters seem to exist to drape over the arm of men. The main character seems to believe all women are in love with him -- and that they enjoy being yelled at constantly. It's hard to enjoy a story when you detest the main character. Tankar Holroy is an asshat.

This story is just not for me. I didn't like the story or the characters. I'm willing to chalk it up to something lost in translation....or maybe that this story just didn't age well. It was originally published in 1962.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Flame Tree Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**