Mystery, Murder, Lost Selves, and Editing Choices: "Six Wakes" and "Jane, Unlimited"

[justira]

   

Hello friends! I want to talk about MYSTERIES! And execution and editing and structure. And the experience of reading a book! Let's just do all those at once, sure

I recently read both Kristin Cashore's Jane, Unlimited and Mur Lafferty's Six Wakes (both from Orbit), and for mysterious reasons I had vastly different experiences reading these very different books by different cool women. I'm going to be up front here: I loved Jane, Unlimited and very much did not love Six Wakes. Both books are, at heart, locked-room mystery novels. We are presented with an isolated physical place, a large number of questions to answer, and a central conceit. These are the ingredients to many a mystery, but I want to talk about how these two books succeed or failed for me in terms of structure and experience. Because while these are quite different books, they nonetheless share quite similar preoccupations and problems that I experienced in divergent ways, not just book to book, but compared to a lot of other readers of each or either novel. I'd like to talk about those common elements, those divergent experiences, and how I think some different editing choices could have created a more universal reading experience and made each book's strengths shine.

This post is split into two sections. The first is a spoiler-free dual review, but does contain a general discussion of the each book's format and structure. Then, after a break, follows a more nitty-gritty discussion of editing decisions and structural choices, as well as the resolutions of both plots.

( Spoiler-Free Review )

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( SPOILERS: Plot, Details, and Editing Discussion )

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I discussed editing quite a bit here, and it is only right that I give credit to Bridget of SF Bluestocking for looking over the first draft, and to Jenny of Reading the End for her excellent editorial assistance. My work is shaped by those around me, and I am ever grateful.

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Other People's Thoughts

Jane, Unlimited

• Jane, Unlimited is a spy thriller, space opera, gothic horror story, and more. It’s great. at Vox


• The Book Smugglers


• Pretty Terrible


• Someday My Printz Will Come — this three-person roundtable discussion really helped shape my own thoughts


• Strange Horizons — a more negative reaction than my own


• Impractical Loves: On Kristin Cashore’s Jane, Unlimited and Fan Fiction at Unbound Worlds — loved this take

Six Wakes

• SF Bluestocking — one of the people who helped with this post, and a very divergent opinion from my own


• Reading the End — Jenny was super helpful with helping this post come together, but again her opinion differs from mine


• First Sight Second Thoughts


• Solving Your Own Murder: A Review of Six Wakes at Speculative Chic


• The Book Smugglers (joint review)


• The Speculative Herald


• And There’s Footsteps Loud and Strong Coming Down the Hall at James Nicoll Reviews