A review by dianapharah
Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

"Whenever I stop, the blood starts, as though only my constant racked shambling can keep the life inside me. As if I'm truly condemned now, to stagger through these midnight halls like the Flying Dutchman, an endless life of pointless travel."

Much more my speed compared to Saturation Point (thanks to a much more competent character found in Gary Rendell, who actually has personality and wit). The author seems to love endings with a twist as we are now two for two. What I really appreciate about his execution is that it doesn't just come out of nowhere; there's little crumbs of foreshadowing leading up to the 'grand reveal', so it ties up the whole novella rather nicely instead of coming across like a cop-out.

In light of the ending, however, I feel we are retroactively left with a general muddiness around character motives that never quite gets cleared up. Then again, the soundness of one's mind is in and of itself questionable after such long bouts of isolation, so contradictory logic might just be par for the course.