All My Friends Are Fictional's Reviews > Orbital

And now she won :(

Maria wrote: "And now she won :("

It is very telling of how 'Russian culture' is still perceived as special and exotic in English-speaking literature. This is yet another sign that it will be a long road to dismantling Russian cultural hegemony so that tropes like these become less common.

I agree with your review. This book is essentially empty?!

Did I miss something? The talk of Russia was of the Soviet Union and how it wasn’t very good at all..nor was the Russian space program that replaced it..

I don’t want to look up all the examples because there are better books to spend my time with. But believe me, from Ukrainian perspective there were plenty where I had to roll my eyes: Just consider how this book might trigger the Ukrainian reader, while Russia is mentioned dozens of times and the two Russian characters often take the center stage, while their „humanity“ is put on pedestal. These sorts of seemingly apolitical books are one of the reasons Russia can still preserve its cultural hegemony in so many aspects. And get away with waging a war on a number of countries for decades.

Not sure the Russia part of this review is legitimate. Yes, there is a Russian character, but they don't seem forced or focused on in an extraordinary manner.

There’s nothing in my review talking about these characters being forced. Them not being forced is exactly the problem and you’re missing my point. Normalising a colonising aggressor state and romanticising about its people is also why the said state can get away with waging multiple wars without any real consequences.

All My Friends, I dare say 2 stars out of 5 is too much for this book.

Vadym wrote: "All My Friends, I dare say 2 stars out of 5 is too much for this book."
I think we can both agree that Orbital is not a particularly good book. Instead of splitting hairs with people who generally share your opinion, it would be more productive to focus on convincing those who think otherwise. Engaging in these kind of debates with allies is, at best, counterproductive.

You were generous with giving 2 stars for this bs

"Normalising a colonising [sic] aggressor state" You mean like.... the US?

[Yawns] You know I meant Russia and if you think you’re cute or edgy - you‘re not 🙃

"You know I meant Russia and if you think you’re cute or edgy - you‘re not"
And there is nothing cute with your little review bombing either snowflake.
Wow other nations exist and doing actions we don't approve of applies to a fictional book that doesn't affects my day to day living.
LOL
Guess we should stop reading books with muslim characters for "normalizing" islam because their fiqh law states that anyone that leaves islam is to be killed.
Better not read books with islam in it! Because of Christian persecution in those countries.
Better not watch Godzilla 84 because RUSSIA bad.
Man better not read or watch a list of media because of belief's that disagree with me or are actually doing harm in the real world as if fiction somehow is intangible to the real world we are living. Get real bruh

Sunkaiju47 wrote: ""You know I meant Russia and if you think you’re cute or edgy - you‘re not"
And there is nothing cute with your little review bombing either snowflake.
Wow other nations exist and doing actions we ..."

This comparison makes absolutely no sense. Equating concerns about normalizing certain ideologies with something as far-fetched as refusing to read all books featuring Muslim characters because of fiqh law is an absurd stretch. Fiction does not exist in a vacuum—it reflects, influences, and interacts with the real world. Critiquing a piece of media for its impact and context is not the same as arbitrarily banning stories about entire groups of people.

And to address your remark—yes, Russia is actively harming my country, and it affects me directly. Imagine that. My review reflects this very real harm, and it’s not "review bombing" to call out how stories that portray perpetrators in a positive light can undermine a just cause. Fiction shapes perceptions, and dismissing that as irrelevant is both naive and irresponsible.

Also, personal name-calling and condescending dismissals like "snowflake" don’t make your argument any stronger. They only show that, while hiding behind an anonymous profile, you’d rather belittle others than engage in an actual discussion. If your position is so strong, why resort to insults instead of addressing the points being made?

I didn’t like this book for specific reasons, and I presented them through a well-reasoned argument in my review. I wish your response had done the same.

Russians play a large part in space exploration… it would make sense that there are Russian characters in a story about being in the ISS. I understand that there is conflict occurring but Russia is still a huge part of space today. I’m pretty sure Russia is the lead in space exploration or close to it.

I can see the naming of locations around the world is a bit monotonous but I believe that’s the point. They revolve around the Earth 16 times per 24 hours and that is fatiguing, mentally for astronauts. As well as, showcasing how massive Earth is, how many cities, humans, cultures exist in this planet. We as humans often forget that because we are in our bubbles trying to survive.

A lot comments are sounding the same…Russia, Russia, Russia, geography, etc…maybe you folks ought not to read anything but your favorite author every day?

How is Russia romanticized?
It's true that there are Russians in the ISS.
The book is about astronauts.. Russia has been a big player in that field.The first man in space was a Russian man.
It's ok to accept facts. There's no need to deny reality, deny Russian's achievements in the field of space travel just because you dislike a country and their people.

The Russian characters are not put on the "center stage". I actually thought they were not mentioned much, and are more like background characters with just a few personal things about them here and there, but not as much as the others. We weren't in their heads as much as the others. It might just seem like they got a lot of attention because you dislike them and were very annoyed the few times they WERE mentioned.

You didn't have an issue with the other countries represented in the characters.. all the countries they're from have histories that aren't so nice.. if you were South Korean, for example, you would be complaining about the Japanese character being "glamorized" and not the Russians.