Let me tell you guys about the revelation I had while reading Saturn Apartments. And I'm not going to lie, this is more babbling than a forward review. Also I'm writing this at 3 am. I am tired. So feel free to ignore this and read something more intelligent.I've read a lot of science fiction. A lot. Even have an entire bookshelf full of Gibson, Haldeman, Heinlein, etc. And yet I don't really consider myself a fan, and I'm always a little cautious about what science fiction books I'll pick up next. For the longest time I figured there has been something I have been resistant to about the genre, and I thought maybe I just secretly found the genre boring unless sword heaving robot kings or Terminators were involved.But I figured it out while reading Saturn Apartments. Iwaoka has this amazing ability to balance good characters and world building. Each chapter is fully character driven, and the art does a great job of showing us how this world surrounds the characters instead of just leaving it as a back drop for some random adventures. At the same time, the world building never takes precedence over character development.In fact I think there's plenty of comics out there that excel at this, especially manga. I feel like I could say the same about A,A', To Terra, I might argue Akira even fits the bill. But I'm not sure I could say the same about a lot of the prose sci-fi I've been devouring since I was a teenager.I really do think it's that balance I'm missing. There's just so many books focused on the world building or the high concept that it leaves the characters a bit flat. Of course, I can think of several books that do a beautiful job of balancing both (I'm partial to some of Le Guin's work myself). I'm just saying I think I know the sort of books I'll be hunting for in the future. Mitsu graduates school and begins working as a window cleaner on the outside of the ring surrounding earth where everyone lives now. There are three levels, the top being the most wealthy and living the best lives, the lowest being the bottom of the barrel where people frequently suffer from not getting any natural sunlight. Mitsu is following in his father's footsteps. His dad disappeared on the job one day and now most everyone is trying to help Mitsu succeed.Clearly this is a dystopia and I am very curious as to whether the story will go deeper into the dystopia or keep following Mitsu as he learns more about his father and those around him. If it follows the dystopia, I am kind of over it. If we follow Mitsu and he doesn't get involved in the government, I could be into it. I am sick of dystopia's.
What do You think about La Cité Saturne - Tome 1 (2009)?
Une jolie série de SF, poétique et pleine de tendresse !
—crystal
A little confusing at times, but a nice little story.
—mrtrohman
High hopes for this gentle, thoughtful series.
—diana
