William Emmons

Humorous little story

Revisado: 07-12-23

Great way to kill 14 minutes: a haggard 1950s housewife has an encounter with beings from other dimensions.

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Well-balanced space opera

Revisado: 08-06-18

This novel is about a renegade scientist, Aster, living on the bottom of a generation ship's a social hierarchy due to her skin color and the deck she was born on. Low deckers are subject to work shifts in the fields nourished by Matilda's internal sun Baby. Their proximity to the Baby sun's radiation affects their health etc. The protagonist and the nation she belongs to are medically intersex. However, this is not meditation on a society of true hermaphrodites a la Sturgeon or LeGuin.

Aster and her traumatized friends set out to work out the secret code left in Aster's mother's notebooks that may show the way for Matilda to end its 300 year (ship time) sojourn through the stars.

The story provides a good balance of character, plot and world-building. Aster is toward the end of the autism spectrum that used to be classified as Asbergers. She's brilliant but also has to systematically parse what her interlocutors are saying to understand them. Aster's ASD is a good window for the novel to resonate on the meanings of words and drop lots of medical terminology without losing its flow.

The story is a classic 'chamber opera.' All the action takes place in the environs of Matilda.Solomon adds an Afrofuturist flair peppering the story with lower deck fables that have a West African flavor to them. The novel has an episodic feel throughout but ties up nicely.

Recommended to lovers of folk tales and intricate worlds. Fanatical and casual SF fans alike will enjoy this one..

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Engaging Supernatural Detective Stories

Revisado: 03-07-16

Where does Salsa Nocturna: Stories rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was a unique and entertaining listen. I enjoyed the mixture of police procedural with ghost story. The book is both serious and tongue-in-cheek. DJO's work is intentionally told from the perspective Latino and Black people. This perspective enriches the story and it's clear that DJO has done a lot of historical research on Black history in NYC etc to stretch canvas his story is painted on.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Salsa Nocturna: Stories?

I don't really like this question because it makes me want to spoil things. So I'm going to refuse to answer it. I'd rather people experience the book for themselves.

What does Daniel José Older bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

At first I thought it was pretty hokey that the author was also the performer in this audiobook. I viewed it as a flaw or something a little funny that could be overlooked for some great storytelling. But, truth be told, DJO's style really grew on me and I think his literal voice is one of the best things about this audiobook. He knows how he wants his characters to sound and feel and that comes across in this recording.

Who was the most memorable character of Salsa Nocturna: Stories and why?

All of the main characters are memorable. Gordo, a fat Cuban musicman who deals with the living and the dead, is high on my list. One weakness of the book is that I found it hard to tell the difference between him and the protagonist Carlos in the beginning because the stories are narrated by both of them at different times.

Any additional comments?

This is the only Amazon or Audible review I have ever written in my many years as an Amazon customer. I think people should listen to this audiobook.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas