Call number
Genres
Publication
Eos (2002), ARC
Pages
356
Description
Now a motion picture:OtherLife. ANew York Times Notable Book, Borders Original Voices selection, and Nebula, Endeavour, and Spectrum Award finalist. "Suspenseful and inspiring."--School Library Journal "A stylistic and psychological tour de force."--The New York Times Book Review Jackal Segura is a Hope: born to responsibility and privilege as a symbol of a fledgling world government. Soon she'll become part of the global administration, sponsored by the huge corporation that houses, feeds, employs, and protects her and everyone she loves. Then, just as she discovers that everything she knows is a lie, she becomes a pariah, a murderer: a person with no community and no future. Grief-stricken and alone, she is put into an experimental program designed to inflict the experience of years of solitary confinement in a few short months: virtual confinement in a sealed cell within her own mind. Afterward, branded and despised, she returns to a world she no longer knows. Struggling to make her way, she has a chance to rediscover her life, her love, and her soul--in a strange place of shattered hopes and new beginnings called Solitaire. Kelley Eskridge is a novelist, essayist, and screenwriter. Her stories have received the Astraea Award and been adapted for television. A movie based onSolitaire is in development. She lives in Seattle with her partner, novelist Nicola Griffith.… (more)
Awards
Nebula Award (Nominee — Novel — 2002)
SF Site Reader's Choice (2002)
Gaylactic Spectrum Award (Shortlist — Novel — 2003)
Endeavour Award (Finalist — 2003)
Locus Recommended Reading (First Novel — 2002)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2002-09
Physical description
356 p.; 9 inches
ISBN
0060088575 / 9780060088576
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User reviews
LibraryThing member cammykitty
Solitaire starts as a cold upper YA dystopia, and ends as something else. I say upper YA not just because of the realistic sexual content and the drinking, the even Jackal knows is a bit too much. Jackal is 23, and has been raised almost in a management immersion program since birth, much as the
Jackal is also a lesbian. Many middle school readers can handle that, but many adults think they can't. I'm very happy to see lesbian protagonists presented in this way. Jackal is sexual, but it isn't a political issue. It isn't a plot issue. She just is who she is. Many YA books make such a big deal over having glbt characters that it seems forced and prejudiced in the way an old 1960s movie seems now. In the 60s, that inter-racial kiss was a big thing and now seeing a movie that makes a big thing about an inter-racial kiss grates on the nerves as a bit dated and racist.
However, Jackal being a Latina seemed like a nod to diversity, nothing more. She had the appearance and the language of a Latina, but none of the culture. Since this is a near future society, that works but from a diversity stand point, it's a little disappointing. Latinas certainly won't read this book and think Jackal is like them.
Now that we've defined who this book is for and why, lets talk about the book. Jackal Segura lives in a world where Earth has no countries. The countries as we know it are more like states or provinces, and wealthy corporations have been able to build land masses for themselves and therefore reach state status. Jackal is born on a corporate-built island to the company Ko. She was born a few seconds into the new year of the unified Earthgov and is therefore a Hope for her company. A Hope is almost like a king or queen, and when he/she comes of age, he will represent his company in a world court. In the meantime, Ko is raising her as a project manager and puts her in charge of a virtual reality technology project. After a disastrous event involving Ko-built equipment, Jackal falls from Hope to scape-goat in an instant and finds herself incarcerated using the virtual reality technology she had been slated to manage. ... things get worse from here, but saying anything more would be Spoilering.
The book dealt with many subjects: professionalism, privilege, relationships, justice. It's a worthy read which will appeal to a wide range of ages. I found myself uncomfortably tense while reading, and wanted a hanky at the end. I'm glad I've been released from its spell, but yes, I'd read another book by Kelley Eskridge again.
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Dalai Lama has been raised as a religious leader from birth. I feel this scenario will be more appealing to high school readers than to middle school readers because they are closer to a time period where they will go out into the business world. Jackal is also a lesbian. Many middle school readers can handle that, but many adults think they can't. I'm very happy to see lesbian protagonists presented in this way. Jackal is sexual, but it isn't a political issue. It isn't a plot issue. She just is who she is. Many YA books make such a big deal over having glbt characters that it seems forced and prejudiced in the way an old 1960s movie seems now. In the 60s, that inter-racial kiss was a big thing and now seeing a movie that makes a big thing about an inter-racial kiss grates on the nerves as a bit dated and racist.
However, Jackal being a Latina seemed like a nod to diversity, nothing more. She had the appearance and the language of a Latina, but none of the culture. Since this is a near future society, that works but from a diversity stand point, it's a little disappointing. Latinas certainly won't read this book and think Jackal is like them.
Now that we've defined who this book is for and why, lets talk about the book. Jackal Segura lives in a world where Earth has no countries. The countries as we know it are more like states or provinces, and wealthy corporations have been able to build land masses for themselves and therefore reach state status. Jackal is born on a corporate-built island to the company Ko. She was born a few seconds into the new year of the unified Earthgov and is therefore a Hope for her company. A Hope is almost like a king or queen, and when he/she comes of age, he will represent his company in a world court. In the meantime, Ko is raising her as a project manager and puts her in charge of a virtual reality technology project. After a disastrous event involving Ko-built equipment, Jackal falls from Hope to scape-goat in an instant and finds herself incarcerated using the virtual reality technology she had been slated to manage. ... things get worse from here, but saying anything more would be Spoilering.
The book dealt with many subjects: professionalism, privilege, relationships, justice. It's a worthy read which will appeal to a wide range of ages. I found myself uncomfortably tense while reading, and wanted a hanky at the end. I'm glad I've been released from its spell, but yes, I'd read another book by Kelley Eskridge again.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Aerrin99
Solitaire is a gorgeous exploration of human strength and identity and how it is shaped, changed, broken,and recreated.
The core of the story is what happens when Jackal, who finds out that she is not what she has always been told and trained to be, is caught up in a series of events beyond her
The time Jackal spends in solitary confinement is fascinating and powerful, and wonderfully written. It explores what happens to the human mind when we are deprived of social contact and outside stimulus in ways that ring true to what I've read on the subject elsewhere. It is impossible not to ache for Jackal, or to root for her when she is finally freed. The people she meets on the other side of solitary are varied and flawed and interesting, and watching her try to piece her life back together - and possibly to become something more important than the Hope she'd always been told she was - is wonderful.
Eskridge is a wonderful writer with a gift for characterization. Her ideas feel fresh and interesting, and I couldn't stop turning the pages until I knew how Jackal turned out. Definitely worth a read.
The core of the story is what happens when Jackal, who finds out that she is not what she has always been told and trained to be, is caught up in a series of events beyond her
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control and imprisoned for a terrible crime. She is entered into an experimental program and will serve a sentence of 8 years in solitary confinement - inside her mind. Outside, only a few months will pass. The time Jackal spends in solitary confinement is fascinating and powerful, and wonderfully written. It explores what happens to the human mind when we are deprived of social contact and outside stimulus in ways that ring true to what I've read on the subject elsewhere. It is impossible not to ache for Jackal, or to root for her when she is finally freed. The people she meets on the other side of solitary are varied and flawed and interesting, and watching her try to piece her life back together - and possibly to become something more important than the Hope she'd always been told she was - is wonderful.
Eskridge is a wonderful writer with a gift for characterization. Her ideas feel fresh and interesting, and I couldn't stop turning the pages until I knew how Jackal turned out. Definitely worth a read.
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LibraryThing member macsbrains
Overall I enjoyed reading this book. I found the main character to be a different sort than those I usually read (both in personality, and in her occupation as a project manager), and I really liked her relationship with her girlfriend, a character I would have liked to have seen more of.
I found
In summary, the strongest bit of the book is the main character's characterization, but the world building and the sci-fi elements were only half fleshed out, and when put together they didn't fit together smoothly. It is possible I may read it again to see if anything clears up or meshes together better on a re-read. It was an easy read, and not uninteresting - just structural flaws - and I might try something else by the author in the future.
I found
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the plotting uneven, however. There are a couple of things going on with the world building that were - not confusing really, but a bit contradictory. It's a world very much like ours, but also very different, but only when it's necessary for the plot, and I thought some bits of the end didn't really make sense. It seems like the author had a bunch of interesting ideas, tried to put them all in the book, but couldn't give any of them full attention nor get them to link together in a way that didn't seem contrived. In summary, the strongest bit of the book is the main character's characterization, but the world building and the sci-fi elements were only half fleshed out, and when put together they didn't fit together smoothly. It is possible I may read it again to see if anything clears up or meshes together better on a re-read. It was an easy read, and not uninteresting - just structural flaws - and I might try something else by the author in the future.
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LibraryThing member sara_k
(sigh) I finished this books three days ago and I'm still thinking about it. I chose Solitaire from the bookshelf at the independent bookstore because it had glowing reviews by Nicola Griffith and Ursula Le Guin and I've enjoyed books by both women. I bought Solitaire because the blurb looked
The book was in the sci-fi section and labelled as psychological thriller and I suppose it is both of those things but it seemed like more. It is written cohesively, the characters are interesting, and the things they do seem right for them.
Ren (JAckal) Segura is the Hope of her company, Ko, in more ways than one. As the story starts she finds that she has been lied to and she has been terribly wounded by her mother. She struggles to not let down her web of peers, her family, or Ko. Ren is pampered and given prime education and projects and then her world spirals out of control. She loses her web, her family, Ko, and her lover. Her sanity is severely tested as she struggles to find out who she is without all those things which had defined her life and status in the world.
There is a lot of people management theory used and referred to in the story. I'm only generally aware of the field of study and I found it fascinating and not overly didactic; all the theory is rooted in the characters of the story and there is no "bad guy" as all the people have views that ring true for themselves and which invite empathy.
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interesting. I read Solitaire solidly for a day, taking small breaks to help the story last and to give myself to process the story. The book was in the sci-fi section and labelled as psychological thriller and I suppose it is both of those things but it seemed like more. It is written cohesively, the characters are interesting, and the things they do seem right for them.
Ren (JAckal) Segura is the Hope of her company, Ko, in more ways than one. As the story starts she finds that she has been lied to and she has been terribly wounded by her mother. She struggles to not let down her web of peers, her family, or Ko. Ren is pampered and given prime education and projects and then her world spirals out of control. She loses her web, her family, Ko, and her lover. Her sanity is severely tested as she struggles to find out who she is without all those things which had defined her life and status in the world.
There is a lot of people management theory used and referred to in the story. I'm only generally aware of the field of study and I found it fascinating and not overly didactic; all the theory is rooted in the characters of the story and there is no "bad guy" as all the people have views that ring true for themselves and which invite empathy.
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LibraryThing member Menagerie
I did not like Solitaire as much as I thought I would. The very beginning seemed to drag, then it picked up for a few chapters until she actually went into the virtual solitary confinement. I give props to Eskridge because it had to be hard to write one person alone in a room for 'years,' but I
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found myself wanting to skip parts of it. Things became more interesting once Jackal was 'free,' but I never felt like there was a good flow to the book. The last quarter of the story felt very contrived, especially the way she ties up a bunch of loose ends. It all becomes a little too neat and a little too perfect. Show Less
LibraryThing member usagijihen
(crossposted to goodreads)
The premises of a unified Earth government, along with corporations-as-individual-nations, have both been brought up quite a few times in the scifi genre as of late. The betrayal of the corporation with its sacrificial lamb. The horror of losing one's very self. But very
I don't know how Eskridge did it, but she did it. I was racing to catch my breath by the end of the book, and I don't often come out of a reading experience like that. I actually had to put the book down toward the middle of the story (I won't spoil where that particular part is), because I felt those words so acutely I pretty much had a panic attack. I'm claustrophobic as it is, so I can say that Eskridge's words hit home in a very strong way if it's causing me panic attacks.
Toward part three, I was wondering where things were going - I could have used more information in terms of what happened on the outside within those nine months that we as the audience are with Jackal - only clues are given and they're tantalizing in a Huxleyesque dystopic sort of way. And the ending - well, it's the one I would have wanted for Jackal, Snow, and the others. It was the best outcome I myself could have thought of without making the book a complete downer.
I can see why the Nebula committee liked this book, and I really wish that it'd won for the year it was nominated. There are so many scifi books that get nominated that fit into the same old tropes, and so many more that win that I can't help but feel sad that a gem like this got recognized only to be ignored all over again.
If you like dystopian/near-future fiction with a twist, choose this book for your next read. You'll never look at virtual reality consoles (or for that matter, your current vidya game consoles) the same way again.
The premises of a unified Earth government, along with corporations-as-individual-nations, have both been brought up quite a few times in the scifi genre as of late. The betrayal of the corporation with its sacrificial lamb. The horror of losing one's very self. But very
Show More
few books with these premises actually delve into what it feels like to feel the self dissolving, along with what happens afterward.I don't know how Eskridge did it, but she did it. I was racing to catch my breath by the end of the book, and I don't often come out of a reading experience like that. I actually had to put the book down toward the middle of the story (I won't spoil where that particular part is), because I felt those words so acutely I pretty much had a panic attack. I'm claustrophobic as it is, so I can say that Eskridge's words hit home in a very strong way if it's causing me panic attacks.
Toward part three, I was wondering where things were going - I could have used more information in terms of what happened on the outside within those nine months that we as the audience are with Jackal - only clues are given and they're tantalizing in a Huxleyesque dystopic sort of way. And the ending - well, it's the one I would have wanted for Jackal, Snow, and the others. It was the best outcome I myself could have thought of without making the book a complete downer.
I can see why the Nebula committee liked this book, and I really wish that it'd won for the year it was nominated. There are so many scifi books that get nominated that fit into the same old tropes, and so many more that win that I can't help but feel sad that a gem like this got recognized only to be ignored all over again.
If you like dystopian/near-future fiction with a twist, choose this book for your next read. You'll never look at virtual reality consoles (or for that matter, your current vidya game consoles) the same way again.
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LibraryThing member titania86
Ren Segura, also known as Jackal to her friends, is trying to bear the responsibility of being a Hope. Because she was born exactly on the first second new year, she will become a leader in the World Government called EarthGov. Although she has been treated differently all her life and has prepared
Solitaire is a unique science fiction novel that deals with advanced technology that can turn your own mind into a solitary prison. This concept is simply frightening and kept me reading throughout the novel. Before the event that changes her life forever, Ren had found out that she really wasn't a Hope, but still worked hard to be what everyone expected her to be. She worked hard and didn't want to let everyone down even though she knew it was all a lie. Her experience in her personal prison and her life afterwards is the most engaging part of the novel. Her mental prison is a small room inside her head. Over the years, Ren breaks down mentally and tries to erase all the emotions that she has to live with: her love of her girlfriend Snow, her anger at her parents, her sadness and guilt at the deaths of her friends, and an overwhelming depression at her situation. At this point, she is trying to save her self from going insane. A few years into her imprisonment, Ren does something her jailers never expected her to do: she escapes. This portion of the novel is entirely too short. Everything that comes afterwards hinges on her eight virtual years of imprisonment.
After she is unceremoniously released, Ren is forced to live in a slum in North America, where she doesn't know anyone and has never even been to. Normal society shuns her because of her reputation as a fake Hope and a terrorist, so she seeks solace with ex-convicts like herself, which she finds in a bar called Solitaire. Her life before and after her accident are as different as night and day. Where everyone before noticed her as a Hope and looked to her as a symbol of success, now they look in morbid curiosity at the mass murderer. The government is horrible, yet completely believable in this situation. The convicts are not only forced into the mental prisons, but there are no programs in place to help them reacclimate to society. No one also seems to care that each person that was in this program blacks out randomly and return to that prison for varying amounts of time. It's not surprising that the lowest of society would act as guinea pigs to further research and put money into corporations' pockets while getting nothing in return.
Solitaire had some problems that almost made me want to stop reading. The exposition is way, way too long and just bored me after a while. The portion about her virtual containment is entirely too short, considering it's the most important part of the novel. Once I hit this part, I was completely hooked and couldn't put it down. I also felt that the entire upheaval of how the world is governed should have been explained a bit more, but was just treated as a backdrop for the story.
Solitaire isn't a perfect novel, but the latter half is so excellent and unique that I would recommend it to every person who even remotely likes science fiction. This is an admirable first novel and I would love to read more from Kelley Eskridge.
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since childhood to assume responsibility, Ren finds out that she's not really a Hope. Ko, the corporate nation state she represents, and her parents lied to benefit themselves. Not wanting to let her family down, she continues to pretend that she's a Hope, but starts to mentally unravel. Her life completely turns upside down when a horrible accident has her being accused of mass murder and terrorism. To spare her family from an investigation about her fake Hope status, Ren decides to settle outside of court and agrees to undergo virtual confinement, where she will be trapped in her subconscious for 8 years virtual time, 10 months real time. Can she survive being completely isolated for so long? What will happen to her after she is released from her mental prison?Solitaire is a unique science fiction novel that deals with advanced technology that can turn your own mind into a solitary prison. This concept is simply frightening and kept me reading throughout the novel. Before the event that changes her life forever, Ren had found out that she really wasn't a Hope, but still worked hard to be what everyone expected her to be. She worked hard and didn't want to let everyone down even though she knew it was all a lie. Her experience in her personal prison and her life afterwards is the most engaging part of the novel. Her mental prison is a small room inside her head. Over the years, Ren breaks down mentally and tries to erase all the emotions that she has to live with: her love of her girlfriend Snow, her anger at her parents, her sadness and guilt at the deaths of her friends, and an overwhelming depression at her situation. At this point, she is trying to save her self from going insane. A few years into her imprisonment, Ren does something her jailers never expected her to do: she escapes. This portion of the novel is entirely too short. Everything that comes afterwards hinges on her eight virtual years of imprisonment.
After she is unceremoniously released, Ren is forced to live in a slum in North America, where she doesn't know anyone and has never even been to. Normal society shuns her because of her reputation as a fake Hope and a terrorist, so she seeks solace with ex-convicts like herself, which she finds in a bar called Solitaire. Her life before and after her accident are as different as night and day. Where everyone before noticed her as a Hope and looked to her as a symbol of success, now they look in morbid curiosity at the mass murderer. The government is horrible, yet completely believable in this situation. The convicts are not only forced into the mental prisons, but there are no programs in place to help them reacclimate to society. No one also seems to care that each person that was in this program blacks out randomly and return to that prison for varying amounts of time. It's not surprising that the lowest of society would act as guinea pigs to further research and put money into corporations' pockets while getting nothing in return.
Solitaire had some problems that almost made me want to stop reading. The exposition is way, way too long and just bored me after a while. The portion about her virtual containment is entirely too short, considering it's the most important part of the novel. Once I hit this part, I was completely hooked and couldn't put it down. I also felt that the entire upheaval of how the world is governed should have been explained a bit more, but was just treated as a backdrop for the story.
Solitaire isn't a perfect novel, but the latter half is so excellent and unique that I would recommend it to every person who even remotely likes science fiction. This is an admirable first novel and I would love to read more from Kelley Eskridge.
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LibraryThing member JPWickwire
I found this in the bargain books at Border's during one of their annual book sales. I can't believe this is a debut novel; the prose and story are both incredibly well crafted. Very pyschological, and slightly creepy. An engaging read.
LibraryThing member clews-reviews
A little of the movie _Brazil_, with a future sort of like _Snow Crash_ but happening slowly; and perhaps 'really' about being picked as a Chosen One, but given no strengths except acclaim and a great education; and then having that taken away, and rebuilding it.
I expected all the way through that
I expected all the way through that
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there would be a happy ending, but I wasn't at all sure what that would mean. The wrtings is more witty than poetic, but it manages to find a little of both in bureaucratic management-speak; I never expect that. Show Less
LibraryThing member MoochPurpura
This is a nuanced tale about community and isolation. It could have easily worked as with a merely psychological, metaphorical treatment, but Eskridge deftly interweaves this element with the technology that shifts the world she builds. Recommended.
LibraryThing member mentatjack
If William Gibson attempted to combine Clockwork Orange with Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank redemption, the result might be something like Solitaire. Eskridge takes social engineering to new levels by placing a 'project manager' into the glorified role where we expect to see a hacker or a cowboy
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or a fighter pilot. This is speculative fiction that business majors can appreciate, and it's an impressive first novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member senbei
Kelly Eskridge’s Solitaire is mind-bending, fun, emotionally charged read, owing to its multifaceted story, dynamic characters and exotic settings.
I recently read this lovely 2002 piece of science fiction and lesbian literature with a fervor. The plot actually consists of three very disparate
Jackal (who’s real name is Ren) struggles with fulfilling others’ expectations throughout her life: as a child whose fate as state figurehead has been predetermined from birth; as an exemplar of upright conduct to her teenage peers; as a young and talented executive project manager; as a lover to her girlfriend Snow and later as a celebrity murderess.
Solitaire is set in a near future where Jackal has the responsibility of being the lynchpin by which her new citystate becomes a citizen member in a burgeoning world government. Science fiction elements are definitely present in Solitaire via cyberpunk inspired implants, genetic manipulation and the ability to lock someone’s consciousness into a virtual reality. Yet overall, gizmos and future tech take a backseat to Jackal’s development and personal interactions. The mood of Solitaire is definitely melancholy (reinforced by extended imagery of blues and greens as the backdrop to most of Jackal’s life) with forays into depression and loneliness during Jackal’s incarceration. Other themes include a crumbling/false sense of identity, overcoming guilt, fear of interacting and connecting with others (PTSD and shell shock have got nothing on 8 years in solitary…) and the inability to trust.
Compared to her partner’s (Nicola Griffith) books, Solitaire is a very different piece of literature. On the surface the story settings and plotlines feel very similar (to the point where I have sometimes mixed up these two writers’ works in my head), but thematically they are very different writers. Whereas Griffith tends to explore the psychology of her protagonists through dystopia, Eskridge (more of an episodic and short story writer), tends to concentrate on the needs and feelings of the individual in the moment and views the future as being no more dystopic than our present.
One thing I believe Eskridge handles extremely well (probably eclipsing Griffith’s style) is the treatment of sexuality in the future: namely to make it a non-issue that need not draw attention to itself. Solitaire is a world in which it’s perfectly natural for a nation’s representative to the world government to be bisexual and for women to love other women without recrimination from anyone.
Although there were many questions left unanswered in Solitaires and several frustrating cul-de-sacs in the plot, overall it’s a great read. I literally became addicted after I reached Part II and zoomed through the rest of the 500 pages in one night. I am of the opinion that Solitaire could be rewritten today with a minimum of changes to accommodate a fantastic film or mini-series.
I recently read this lovely 2002 piece of science fiction and lesbian literature with a fervor. The plot actually consists of three very disparate
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lives that the protagonist, Jackal Segura, traverses. In the first third, Jackal is coming into her own as a representative to the world government in early 20s (known as a “Hope”) and solidifying her personality, friendships, career along the way. After an apparent accident in which three of her close friends are killed, Jackal is implicated as being responsible and sentenced to prison (specifically virtual solitary confinement) for 8 years. After serving her time, Jackal is released, but unable to go home and struggles to make a life for herself on the other side of the planet from everything she knows and loves.Jackal (who’s real name is Ren) struggles with fulfilling others’ expectations throughout her life: as a child whose fate as state figurehead has been predetermined from birth; as an exemplar of upright conduct to her teenage peers; as a young and talented executive project manager; as a lover to her girlfriend Snow and later as a celebrity murderess.
Solitaire is set in a near future where Jackal has the responsibility of being the lynchpin by which her new citystate becomes a citizen member in a burgeoning world government. Science fiction elements are definitely present in Solitaire via cyberpunk inspired implants, genetic manipulation and the ability to lock someone’s consciousness into a virtual reality. Yet overall, gizmos and future tech take a backseat to Jackal’s development and personal interactions. The mood of Solitaire is definitely melancholy (reinforced by extended imagery of blues and greens as the backdrop to most of Jackal’s life) with forays into depression and loneliness during Jackal’s incarceration. Other themes include a crumbling/false sense of identity, overcoming guilt, fear of interacting and connecting with others (PTSD and shell shock have got nothing on 8 years in solitary…) and the inability to trust.
Compared to her partner’s (Nicola Griffith) books, Solitaire is a very different piece of literature. On the surface the story settings and plotlines feel very similar (to the point where I have sometimes mixed up these two writers’ works in my head), but thematically they are very different writers. Whereas Griffith tends to explore the psychology of her protagonists through dystopia, Eskridge (more of an episodic and short story writer), tends to concentrate on the needs and feelings of the individual in the moment and views the future as being no more dystopic than our present.
One thing I believe Eskridge handles extremely well (probably eclipsing Griffith’s style) is the treatment of sexuality in the future: namely to make it a non-issue that need not draw attention to itself. Solitaire is a world in which it’s perfectly natural for a nation’s representative to the world government to be bisexual and for women to love other women without recrimination from anyone.
Although there were many questions left unanswered in Solitaires and several frustrating cul-de-sacs in the plot, overall it’s a great read. I literally became addicted after I reached Part II and zoomed through the rest of the 500 pages in one night. I am of the opinion that Solitaire could be rewritten today with a minimum of changes to accommodate a fantastic film or mini-series.
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LibraryThing member Citizenjoyce
This is a great example of feminist science fiction concentrating on self discovery, leadership, the workings of large corporations, and terrorism. Jackle, future hope of the Ko Corporation is training to become a project manager. Now, can you think of any idea more boring than that? Kelley
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Eskridge manages to make project management interesting. Of course the project itself is interesting - making people think they are experiencing more time than they actually are. Then she throws in intrigue, virtual reality, solitary confinement, terrorist superheroes, friendship and true love. Show Less
LibraryThing member PhoebeReading
"All one needs for a novel is an intelligent young person and a city."
I was at the end of my academic career when a professor decreed this in a graduate class—I knew then, from the instinctive revulsion I felt at the idea, and the knee-jerk litany I began to compose in my head of other necessary
In some ways, my tastes are still a bit literary: I like beautiful prose and thoughtful thematics. But I need more than an intelligent young person and a city to love a book. I need a story. And sadly, though Kelley Eskridge's SFnal novel Solitaire offers a bit more than a smarty pants in a metropolis, it doesn't offer much more than that, either.
It starts out promising enough. In an interesting subversion of the standard coming-of-age plot, Jackal Segura learns, at twenty-three years old, that she's not nearly as special as she'd previously believed. Up to this point, she's been told that she's a Hope, a special figurehead for a new world government. But at the novel's outset she learns that this was a lie, manufactured by the corporate citystate where she lives.
Eskridge begins to cobble together the story of Jackal's life—the abusive mother, jealous of her daughter's career opportunities; the group of close-knit peers; Snow, her lover, who seems to view Jackal with a sort of continual bemusement; Jackal's corporate teachers and supervisors. But Jackal herself begins and ends the novel as a sort of passive, sullen cipher. I was often frustrated by her choices, but, worse, I never really understood them. I felt that Eskridge held the reader at arms' length, a sensation made more severe by the lovely, but sometimes excruciating detailed scenic descriptors and the book's glacialplodding plotting.
A third of the way into the book, the plot starts in earnest. Jackal is accused of a crime which she didn't commit, but confesses to, anyway (again, I never really understood her motivations, even when they were spelled out for me), and is locked away in virtual confinement, a sort of VR form of torture meant to mimic solitary. The thirty pages or so that we spend with Jackal in VC were, perhaps, my favorite part of the novel, if only because Jackal eventually breaks free into a sort of people-less environment that reminded me quite a bit of the godmod dream level of Inception.
But then it's over. And we still have two hundred pages to sort out, and they're spent following Jackal through the intractable details of her daily life. And most of her days are spent hanging out in a bar alone, or not speaking to people on the street, or thinking about not speaking to people on the street, or feeling grumpy because she's not sleeping well, or avoiding talking to her case manager, or . . . whatever.
I realize that this book is meant to be a treatise on solitude, a sort of reflection on the solitary lives we lead even when we're surrounded by people. But deep down, I just found this all very boring. Jackal rejects contact with the very compellingly drawn characters of the novel's first third, and until very near to the end of the book, fails to forge any new relationships. It's not until the return of Snow, very late in the game, where the plot really develops in any meaningful way, and then it's somewhat hastily thrown together and not always believable. In fact, by the novel's conclusion, it was really only for my small fondness for Snow, as a character, and Snow and Jackal, as a couple (queer and young adult and utterly believable) that I kept reading. Otherwise, I would have likely given up much sooner.
Eskridge is a capable prose artist (she writes stuff like, "They slept tumbled together like socks in a drawer" [317], which is very nice), and I suspect that genre readers with more literary inclinations might actually enjoy Solitaire. But for me, a reader who needs more than "an intelligent young person and a city" to enjoy a book, it simply fell flat.
A review copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher and LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
I was at the end of my academic career when a professor decreed this in a graduate class—I knew then, from the instinctive revulsion I felt at the idea, and the knee-jerk litany I began to compose in my head of other necessary
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components needed for a novel (Plot! Characters! Conflict!), that I'd finally crossed the divide between commercial and literary writing.In some ways, my tastes are still a bit literary: I like beautiful prose and thoughtful thematics. But I need more than an intelligent young person and a city to love a book. I need a story. And sadly, though Kelley Eskridge's SFnal novel Solitaire offers a bit more than a smarty pants in a metropolis, it doesn't offer much more than that, either.
It starts out promising enough. In an interesting subversion of the standard coming-of-age plot, Jackal Segura learns, at twenty-three years old, that she's not nearly as special as she'd previously believed. Up to this point, she's been told that she's a Hope, a special figurehead for a new world government. But at the novel's outset she learns that this was a lie, manufactured by the corporate citystate where she lives.
Eskridge begins to cobble together the story of Jackal's life—the abusive mother, jealous of her daughter's career opportunities; the group of close-knit peers; Snow, her lover, who seems to view Jackal with a sort of continual bemusement; Jackal's corporate teachers and supervisors. But Jackal herself begins and ends the novel as a sort of passive, sullen cipher. I was often frustrated by her choices, but, worse, I never really understood them. I felt that Eskridge held the reader at arms' length, a sensation made more severe by the lovely, but sometimes excruciating detailed scenic descriptors and the book's glacial
A third of the way into the book, the plot starts in earnest. Jackal is accused of a crime which she didn't commit, but confesses to, anyway (again, I never really understood her motivations, even when they were spelled out for me), and is locked away in virtual confinement, a sort of VR form of torture meant to mimic solitary. The thirty pages or so that we spend with Jackal in VC were, perhaps, my favorite part of the novel, if only because Jackal eventually breaks free into a sort of people-less environment that reminded me quite a bit of the godmod dream level of Inception.
But then it's over. And we still have two hundred pages to sort out, and they're spent following Jackal through the intractable details of her daily life. And most of her days are spent hanging out in a bar alone, or not speaking to people on the street, or thinking about not speaking to people on the street, or feeling grumpy because she's not sleeping well, or avoiding talking to her case manager, or . . . whatever.
I realize that this book is meant to be a treatise on solitude, a sort of reflection on the solitary lives we lead even when we're surrounded by people. But deep down, I just found this all very boring. Jackal rejects contact with the very compellingly drawn characters of the novel's first third, and until very near to the end of the book, fails to forge any new relationships. It's not until the return of Snow, very late in the game, where the plot really develops in any meaningful way, and then it's somewhat hastily thrown together and not always believable. In fact, by the novel's conclusion, it was really only for my small fondness for Snow, as a character, and Snow and Jackal, as a couple (queer and young adult and utterly believable) that I kept reading. Otherwise, I would have likely given up much sooner.
Eskridge is a capable prose artist (she writes stuff like, "They slept tumbled together like socks in a drawer" [317], which is very nice), and I suspect that genre readers with more literary inclinations might actually enjoy Solitaire. But for me, a reader who needs more than "an intelligent young person and a city" to enjoy a book, it simply fell flat.
A review copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher and LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
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LibraryThing member anderlawlor
I'm pretty impressed by Kelley Eskridge's ability to make a project manager who loves to project-manage into the hero of a compelling novel. I blew things off to finish this weirdly gripping novel about a PROJECT MANAGER. Talk about science fiction!
LibraryThing member darushawehm
I had this book recommended to me and all I knew was that it was SF and great. Coming in to it with no preconceptions was perfect, as this story twists and turns like a bad wiring job.
The main character, Jackal Segura, has grown up in a corporation-state knowing she has a special position in the
But then her world turns upside down, and things start to get very interesting indeed.
Things go from bad to worse, and Segura ends up in prison. Not just any prison, but a virtual reality that mimics solitary confinement. And she's sentenced to eight years of it.
This story speaks about prison and solitude and what it is to truly be alone. Segura's understanding of her own choices and actions becomes more clear and her character truly changes. It's a great read for anyone interested in corporate culture, virtual reality, solitude or prison. No wonder I loved it.
The main character, Jackal Segura, has grown up in a corporation-state knowing she has a special position in the
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company and in the world. When we meet her, she is young, talented and given more help than anyone else. She's sympathetic, even though the reader sees that her path to success has been more or less paved out for her.But then her world turns upside down, and things start to get very interesting indeed.
Things go from bad to worse, and Segura ends up in prison. Not just any prison, but a virtual reality that mimics solitary confinement. And she's sentenced to eight years of it.
This story speaks about prison and solitude and what it is to truly be alone. Segura's understanding of her own choices and actions becomes more clear and her character truly changes. It's a great read for anyone interested in corporate culture, virtual reality, solitude or prison. No wonder I loved it.
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LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
Reads a bit like a William Gibson novel. A young member of the intellectual corprate elite is sent to prison and learns to deal with a whole new set of problems. I wish the main character had used more of her social-manipulation whiles, but the author blew her load early in regards to those and let
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LibraryThing member KingRat
On starting the book, it seemed almost a science fiction take on the concept in Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. Instead of people born on the cusp of Indian independence, Hopes are people born on the cusp of official word government. Now, in this future the world government has actually
Ren Jackal Segura is the Hope of Ko. Ko is a corporate city-state, the only one of that kind that has been granted rights as sub-government of the new world government. And as a symbol of a corporation rather than a former nation-state, she’s a super project manager rather than an artist or community organizer or similar kinds of things the other governments directed their Hopes to be.
What happens is that terrorists in China cause an elevator holding 200 people to disengage, falling and killing all its occupants. Ren Segura is blamed, even though the elevator included most of her social group of friends. To maintain their relationship with China, Ko throws Segura under the bus. She’s hastily forced into a plea deal that spares Segura’s parents from being implicated. Segura’s sentence is 40 years, but Ko then pushes her into an experimental program where she’ll spend 8 years in solitary confinement instead. It’s experimental because the confinement is all virtual. Ten months of actual time, slowed down virtually in a computer simulated room just big enough to hold a bed and some floor space. But no doors and no view and no other people for all of that simulated 8 years.
Why simulate it when it can be done for real? Because Ko wants commercialize the technology and prisoners are good test subjects. Why Ren Segura in particular? That I could never figure out and it’s one of a number of logical questions I never got. Other than a couple of these but that doesn’t exactly make sense moments, I really enjoyed the book. Being a sometimes project manager myself, I’m happy to see one get a key place in a novel. A good project manager makes the difference between getting shit done, and not getting shit done. (OK, I was totally hoping for something more profound to come out at the end of that sentence, but this is why I blog and don’t write books.)
One fairly interesting thing is that Ms. Eskridge doesn’t skimp on describing the period that Ren Segura spends in solitary confinement. Solitaire does not elide a really important yet generally boring to the participant experience. And it’s actually interesting. Of course, me writing about it won’t be interesting. I don’t have that kind of skill. Again with why I blog instead of write novels.
But by far the most intriguing part of Solitaire is the final section where Ren Segura tries to make a life as an ex-con with P.T.S.D. exiled to the fomer United States. This section, in addition to taking on the plight of parolees, also tackles the macabre fascination about high profile criminals. They simultaneously have a hard time making a living but also get treated as minor celebrities. Kind of like authors. Of course, Segura’s skill as a project manager works out well for her. She can’t get a job as a project manager, but it does mean she’s resourceful under fire.
One point seemed out of place and confused me. Another character even pointed it out later. Despite being an extremely capable person, Ren Segura allows herself to be railroaded into an absolutely awful plea deal when any competent lawyer could have beaten the charges. Segura goes from take no prisoners to cowering victim. Though that can happen to people at times, I really felt like I was missing some context that would make sense of it in this case.
I’ve seen this before in other novels and it always gets me. I’m a capable person. And I’ve broken down under stress before. When my grandfather had a heart attack last year, I lost it for about 4 or 5 minutes as soon as the medical staff got there and I wasn’t needed and hell even just writing about it causes me to relive it in ways I just wish I didn’t have to. Hugging my knees crying on the floor and nurses offering to sedate me. Five minutes of that and I was not better, but I pulled myself together to accompany him to the E.R. There’s a danger in generalizing my personal experience, but I do think smart capable people generally can compartmentalize these reactions so that they can continue to be capable when they need to. And I don’t run across stories that portray that as much as I do extended breakdowns that significantly harm their characters lives. Then again, it is pretty conceited to ask for extra context when a character’s experience doesn’t match my own.
Having just read Ms. Eskridge’s partner Nicola Griffith‘s book Slow River a couple of months ago, the two novels have a very similar vibe, though I can’t articulate exactly how. There’s the obvious parallel that both feature high powered capable women who get thrashed in a near future world and afterward have to live in precarious legal circumstances to ultimately reclaim their lives. The pacing perhaps. Maybe that it’s just so rarely that I read novels where real actual female characters populate the novel (as opposed to characters from the Female Character Flowchart), and both of their books get it right. Both have an ensemble of supporting female characters that are not caricatures. Maybe it’s that they both wrote really good important but clearly secondary characters. Maybe I’m just feeling a Seattle vibe from both. The two books are very much not copies of each other, though. Nevertheless, I think if you like the writing of one, you’ll probably like the other. I did.
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been going on for quite some time. Rather than taking over in one fell swoop, this government has come into being much like the European Community has. But they’ve picked a day, and each country designates one person born at exactly midnight on that day to be their Hope for the new government. It’s just the kind of symbolic crap that governments do, and that most everyone ignores.Ren Jackal Segura is the Hope of Ko. Ko is a corporate city-state, the only one of that kind that has been granted rights as sub-government of the new world government. And as a symbol of a corporation rather than a former nation-state, she’s a super project manager rather than an artist or community organizer or similar kinds of things the other governments directed their Hopes to be.
What happens is that terrorists in China cause an elevator holding 200 people to disengage, falling and killing all its occupants. Ren Segura is blamed, even though the elevator included most of her social group of friends. To maintain their relationship with China, Ko throws Segura under the bus. She’s hastily forced into a plea deal that spares Segura’s parents from being implicated. Segura’s sentence is 40 years, but Ko then pushes her into an experimental program where she’ll spend 8 years in solitary confinement instead. It’s experimental because the confinement is all virtual. Ten months of actual time, slowed down virtually in a computer simulated room just big enough to hold a bed and some floor space. But no doors and no view and no other people for all of that simulated 8 years.
Why simulate it when it can be done for real? Because Ko wants commercialize the technology and prisoners are good test subjects. Why Ren Segura in particular? That I could never figure out and it’s one of a number of logical questions I never got. Other than a couple of these but that doesn’t exactly make sense moments, I really enjoyed the book. Being a sometimes project manager myself, I’m happy to see one get a key place in a novel. A good project manager makes the difference between getting shit done, and not getting shit done. (OK, I was totally hoping for something more profound to come out at the end of that sentence, but this is why I blog and don’t write books.)
One fairly interesting thing is that Ms. Eskridge doesn’t skimp on describing the period that Ren Segura spends in solitary confinement. Solitaire does not elide a really important yet generally boring to the participant experience. And it’s actually interesting. Of course, me writing about it won’t be interesting. I don’t have that kind of skill. Again with why I blog instead of write novels.
But by far the most intriguing part of Solitaire is the final section where Ren Segura tries to make a life as an ex-con with P.T.S.D. exiled to the fomer United States. This section, in addition to taking on the plight of parolees, also tackles the macabre fascination about high profile criminals. They simultaneously have a hard time making a living but also get treated as minor celebrities. Kind of like authors. Of course, Segura’s skill as a project manager works out well for her. She can’t get a job as a project manager, but it does mean she’s resourceful under fire.
One point seemed out of place and confused me. Another character even pointed it out later. Despite being an extremely capable person, Ren Segura allows herself to be railroaded into an absolutely awful plea deal when any competent lawyer could have beaten the charges. Segura goes from take no prisoners to cowering victim. Though that can happen to people at times, I really felt like I was missing some context that would make sense of it in this case.
I’ve seen this before in other novels and it always gets me. I’m a capable person. And I’ve broken down under stress before. When my grandfather had a heart attack last year, I lost it for about 4 or 5 minutes as soon as the medical staff got there and I wasn’t needed and hell even just writing about it causes me to relive it in ways I just wish I didn’t have to. Hugging my knees crying on the floor and nurses offering to sedate me. Five minutes of that and I was not better, but I pulled myself together to accompany him to the E.R. There’s a danger in generalizing my personal experience, but I do think smart capable people generally can compartmentalize these reactions so that they can continue to be capable when they need to. And I don’t run across stories that portray that as much as I do extended breakdowns that significantly harm their characters lives. Then again, it is pretty conceited to ask for extra context when a character’s experience doesn’t match my own.
Having just read Ms. Eskridge’s partner Nicola Griffith‘s book Slow River a couple of months ago, the two novels have a very similar vibe, though I can’t articulate exactly how. There’s the obvious parallel that both feature high powered capable women who get thrashed in a near future world and afterward have to live in precarious legal circumstances to ultimately reclaim their lives. The pacing perhaps. Maybe that it’s just so rarely that I read novels where real actual female characters populate the novel (as opposed to characters from the Female Character Flowchart), and both of their books get it right. Both have an ensemble of supporting female characters that are not caricatures. Maybe it’s that they both wrote really good important but clearly secondary characters. Maybe I’m just feeling a Seattle vibe from both. The two books are very much not copies of each other, though. Nevertheless, I think if you like the writing of one, you’ll probably like the other. I did.
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LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
I picked up this book in a bargain bin because it looked interesting. Beginning to read it, I thought, "wow, stylistically, this book reminds me A LOT of Nicola Griffith" (an author I particularly like). Next time I picked it up, I noticed the dedication: "to Nicola, my sunshine." I looked it up
Ren Segura, a young woman who calls herself Jackal, has had a privileged life. Born at just the right second, in one of the world's largest corporations, she has been designated a 'Hope' - a celebrity, and an example of what is to be a brilliant new era for the world. It's a good life - but a lot to live up to - especially when her jealous mother reveals that her claim to fame is a sham - she wasn't really born at exactly that time. Under a lot of emotional stress, Jackal is then, unluckily, involved in a horrible accident, and comes under media suspicion of actually being a violent terrorist. Convinced by her corporation to plead guilty, her fall is complete - and she is pressured to sign up for a new sort of criminal punishment. Rather than spending 40 years in jail, she will serve out her sentence in an electronically induced state which makes her feel like she is spending time in solitary confinement - allowing her to go free only a short time later - but wiith unknown psychological consequences.
Great characters, interesting situations and a satisfying conclusion... I'm putting this down as one of the best of this year.
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and yep, Kelley Eskridge is Nicola Griffith's partner; they met at a Clarion workshop. Whether or not proximity has influence on style, this is an amazing book.Ren Segura, a young woman who calls herself Jackal, has had a privileged life. Born at just the right second, in one of the world's largest corporations, she has been designated a 'Hope' - a celebrity, and an example of what is to be a brilliant new era for the world. It's a good life - but a lot to live up to - especially when her jealous mother reveals that her claim to fame is a sham - she wasn't really born at exactly that time. Under a lot of emotional stress, Jackal is then, unluckily, involved in a horrible accident, and comes under media suspicion of actually being a violent terrorist. Convinced by her corporation to plead guilty, her fall is complete - and she is pressured to sign up for a new sort of criminal punishment. Rather than spending 40 years in jail, she will serve out her sentence in an electronically induced state which makes her feel like she is spending time in solitary confinement - allowing her to go free only a short time later - but wiith unknown psychological consequences.
Great characters, interesting situations and a satisfying conclusion... I'm putting this down as one of the best of this year.
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