Vagabonds

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Ken Liu, Hao Jingfang: Vagabonds (2020, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers)

608 pages

English language

Published March 28, 2020 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.

ISBN:
978-1-5344-2210-0
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4 stars (2 reviews)

The first novel from the Hugo Award-winning author of Folding Bejing, Hao Jingfang, translated by the Hugo Award-winning translator of The Three-Body Problem, Ken Liu.

A century ago, the Martian colonies rebelled against the rule of Earth. Having declared an independent Martian Republic, the two planets evolved along separate trajectories, becoming two incompatible worlds vastly different in their scale, economy, sociopolitical system, and, most importantly of all, ideals. Inhabitants of the two planets have come to view each other with suspicion and even hatred. Five years ago, with the apparent goal of reconciliation, the Martian government sent a group of students to Earth to study humanity's home planet and act as goodwill ambassadors from the Red Planet. Now the students have returned to Mars, accompanied by a group of prominent Earth delegates, to see if the two worlds can learn to co-exist in peace and friendship.

Almost immediately, negotiations break …

6 editions

odd, dreamlike, beautiful, political

4 stars

It's a slow-moving story with a focus that shifts between characters without warning, but it paints a beautiful picture of a possible life on Mars. It is clearly an exploration of Chinese tensions between their self-perception and how they are viewed in the eyes of the world. Mars is a prosperous and egalitarian but rigid society. Earth is a dynamic but sometimes cruel society. The Vagabonds of the title are the very few who travel between these worlds and seek to reconcile them. The lack of narrative momentum is what took away a star for me, but it's definitely worth reading, especially if you're looking for something reflective.