(no subject)

One of the most disappointing things in life is when you read the first book in a long-established series, really enjoy it, and then discover that all of the rest of the books in the series seem to focus on the least interesting aspects of the first book.

I have been (slowly) reading Downbelow Station by C J Cherryh. It's great, if you want to read a fairly grim and bleak story of a neutral city space station desperately trying to survive the war that keeps happening around them. Things I am really enjoying: political machinations within the station; multiple factions secretly or overtly trying to undermine/save/usurp the station government; complicated human/alien relations; the creeping horror that takes over the book every time we spend time with Union forces; and the definitely doomed relationship between one of the members of station government, his wife, and the mindwiped enemy soldier they've accidentally adopted. Things I do not actually care about: the actual, y'know, war; whatever is happening with the merchanter ships; the Company fleet in general and Signy fucking Mallory in specific.

Reading descriptions of the rest of the series, it seems very concerned with the war, the Company and merchanter fleets, and I guess my efforts to kill Signy fucking Mallory with my mind are not going to be successful by the end of the book.

Ah well. I may try them anyway, or I might just skip straight to Cyteen.