In the Company of Others by Julie E. Czerneda
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(Paperback)
- Pub. Date: June 2001
- 576pp
- Sales Rank: 151,967
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: June 2001
- Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
- Format: Paperback, 576pp
- Sales Rank: 151,967
- ISBN-13: 9780886779993
- ISBN: 0886779995
Synopsis
The Barnes & Noble Review
Aaron Pardell is an illegal inhabitant of Thromberg Station, an overpopulated space station made even larger by the hundreds of unauthorized ships docked to it. The people living in these deteriorating ships are called Outsiders. But it's not where he lives that makes Aaron feel like an outsider, it's his strange ailment. Physical contact not only brings intense pain to Aaron and throws him into shock, but whoever touches him feels that pain as well.
When a ship from Earth docks at the station, the first in centuries, and strange "Earthers" start looking around for him, Aaron tries to hide with the help of his huge Outsider friend Malley. When the Earthers -- led by Dr. Gail Smith -- finally track Aaron down, the action explodes! It seems that Aaron's illness is directly tied to the secret behind how a strange alien race known as the Quill invaded and took control of dozens of terraformed planets almost ready for human colonization.
Another wonderfully wild science fiction blockbuster from Julie E. Czerneda, In the Company of Others is Grade A science fiction. (Paul Goat Allen)
VOYA
Scientist Gail Smith is on a quest to seek and destroy the Quill and to start up the terraforming projects again. When she finds Aaron Pardell, it starts a riot on the station. Aaron is hurt in the riot because of his gift from the Quill. It forces his best friend, Malloy, to join up with Smith, leading to a series of ups and downs, twists and turns in the story. This story surprised me so many times that I lost count. It did not turn out the way I expected. If you have a good mind for puzzles and a sense of action, this is the book for you! It is one of my most favorite books and only a few can compare. Good reading! VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P J S A/YA (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2001, DAW, 562p, $6.99 pb. Ages 12 to Adult. Reviewer: Kelsey Sands, Teen Reviewer SOURCE: VOYA, February 2002 (Vol. 24, No.6)
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YOU WANT CHARACTER DEVELOPEMENT???by Anonymous
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April 24, 2001: The one aspect that keeps me interested in a book is the character developement. They have to be strong and believable. IN THE COMPANY OF OTHERS has strong believable characters and a plethora of them! In the true Czerneda style this stand-alones characters draw you so deeply into the story that you could quite possible lose an entire day to reading. I found the stationers to be so totally different from anything I've ever experienced that they became intriguing. The research crew was completely different from the stationers and their interactions show that. The two sets of characters played off each other extremely well. Within the larger communities there are specific individuals that stand out. These interactions are what round out the intensity of characters. Ms. Czerneda created totally believable relationships in what turns out to be a believable environment. Yes, this is science FICTION but you forget the fiction part after page 2.
Forget the Beach! This is better!by Anonymous
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April 21, 2001: The story begins by acquainting the reader with the Way Things Are, which is Not Too Good. The people of Earth grew weary of looking for 'Others' out there in space and decided that the only 'Others' they would ever find would be themselves. So they set about terraforming suitable worlds to allow the teeming masses of Earth to expand outward into Space. At the same time explorers were searching deep space. These explorers found harmless creatures that they called the Quill. But somewhere along the way things went horribly wrong and the innocuous Quill became deadly. They took over all of the terraformed planets, leaving the eager colonists stranded on the Colonizing Space Stations. The people of Earth refused to let their stranded colonists come home from these stations for fear that they would bring the Quill home with them and Humanity would be forever destroyed. There is low-level conflict throughout the book, yet no enemies or bad guys! The Station factions are the Immies, Stationers, and 'Siders who all co-exist in a delicate balance of needs and power. They dance around each other with their mutual needs just to survive, but conflicts inevitably arise. The characters in 'Company' remain engaging and likeable whichever side of these conflicts they are on because you understand why they do what they do. This book is extremely good at 'putting you there' where the action is. You can almost smell the recycling floor on the Space Station with its unusual staff. Staff like Malley, a large muscular person who is really too intelligent to be where he is, but smart enough to know how to survive. Others on the Station include Pardell, a sensitive man with special problems and special abilities, both of which make him so dangerous that people can't even touch him. Into this mix barges the Earther faction led by Dr. Gail Veronika Ashton Smith, biologist, researcher, and all around determined person who has a novel theory about the Quill and somehow manages to get the research funds to pursue it. The payoff? 17 terraformed worlds ready for colonists. You can almost feel the wind on a virgin planet, and want to laugh and cry at the triumphs and frustrations as you read this book. Unlike many books I've read recently, at the end of this one you care about what happens to the people, and the Quill. Whether you laugh, cry or think, 'Gee. That could happen,' at the ending, my bet is that you will have enjoyed the trip and be looking for more.
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