Journey into Space [Paperback]

The human race has sent the first generational colony ship, the Armenia, to the stars. On board this ship are 100 individuals, all of whom were chosen for the mission and are aware of how life will be: one where they live and die upon the ship, where breeding is strictly controlled to ensure that the rationing will last and that genetic diversity is always present. With information stored with it, the ship's computer, there is nothing that can't be known and there is constant surveillance of all.

August and Celeste are two of the first children born on the ship, closely related through blood and with interests that differ from the rest of the crew. While the crew continue with their lives August and Celeste meet at the abandoned tennis courts and dream of a world where only they exist. It is through these descriptions and their relationship that the seed is sown to forever change to future of the Armenia and its crew.

Journey Into Space is split into five sections, four large and one small epilogue-type. With the first focusing on August and Celeste and the remaining ones then following their descendants, we have a story that covers a long period in the life of the Armenia.

My first impression of Journey Into Space was that it was a very descriptive novel, one where you could feel yourself getting lost in the images it bought. This was very much to do with August and Celeste and the way their exchanges and daydream-like sections separated them from the reality of life on board a never-changing colony ship. Their relationship - two blood relatives of the same age - is not unusual in one sense, but because of the situation they are in they become ever closer which leads to the inevitable sexual attraction. This whole build up is done effectively, but when it gets to the pay off we switch to the next part of the story, that of their son, Orphan.

It is this switch, and the way in which Toby Litt passes years in sentences, that really affected the flow of the story and, ultimately, my enjoyment. While Journey Into Space isn't a huge book by any means (just over 240 pages), it covers a lot of things and more than one change in the society on board the Armenia. While this in itself isn't a bad thing, it never feels like we get fully to grips with each section and the characters we follow. Speaking of the characters, Litt is more than capable of creating some very interesting ones, although this is more to do with the effect on society they have rather than being genuinely enjoyable to read.

Despite how much I wanted to enjoy this book, I just couldn't settle into it enough - it felt much like a half told story in respect to the characters. Looking at the complete novel only draws me to one conclusion - this is an examination of what could happen on a colony ship rather than a story about the journey, which is a real shame because Toby Litt shows so many times throughout this novel just how good a writer he is.

I make it a rule to never give a book 10 out of 10. With this book, I either need to make an exception or dock a point from virtually every other book I've read to make space.

This is a stunning piece of work. A study of life on a generation starship and the repercussions of the rebellious behaviour of two teens. The writing is hypnotic throughout and keeps you gripped in it's velvet claws and refuses to let you go. The storyline may be slightly predictable at times but when the writing is of this quality I don't care.

The title says it all. This is a perfect book. You need to read it.

This is not a rollicking high octane work of sci-fi with two-headed mutants chasing the hapless crew round a doomed ship. This is a thoughtful, insightful examination of humanity under extraordinary circumstances. August and Celeste are beautifully realised as characters but are allowed to fade out of the story as their children and grandchildren take centre stage. the prose is smooth, slick and absorbing throughout. Litt's focus shifts effortlessly from the intensly personal to a godlike perspective which allows him to skim years in sentences (He skims years in a few sentences near the start as well but not on the same scale as he does later). This book is IMHO brilliant.

If you like your sci-fi to be more thoughtful and serious, you have to read this book.

I persevered with this book but it was a tedious read. Whats up with the current crop of sci fi writers ? Their "Big Brother/X-Factor" shallow style of writing is becoming the norm. This book rambles on for what seems forever as one of the key characters describes weather, grass, and just about every other experience and the other charcater does the same back. Its boring and ridiculous. I got the point after the first experience sharing session between them. There was no need to keep labouring for what really did seem most of the book. But is actually about half of it. Ridiculous. Then it all accelerated as they got older and everything seemed to happen in the last few chapters.

This book is an almost exact copy...in both ideas and plot to James Follett's "Earth Search" series, only without the imagination and story telling. Pathetic and for the first time I can remember I threw it in the recycling bin after ...with a sigh of relief, finishing it.