Jim O'LoughlinCritiques

This one took me some time to get through but I enjoyed the story and the way it was told. There was some interesting world building and several characters I wish I could have spent some more time with.

I received an ARC of this book thru LT Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review.

The story is told in reverse order with each of three books having 3 stories within thru the point of one character. The book begins well in the future and tells the story of Station, a space station connected to Earth thru a nanotube Cord and Labicitta, a fictional land when the cord is connected to Earth.

Each of the three books tell three stories that take place in roughly the same time period. Then the subsequent book tells a story from prior to that that weaves in some of the later characters. For instance, one character’s father is in an earlier story. But there are myriad connections — a cord that runs thru the book, if you will.

There is a lot of science but not much of it is explained. Mostly it’s just taken as existing and there isn’t much explanation. (Which of course would be the case in a first person story — things are just what they are in the time period they exist.) As such the story is best summed as 9 individual first person accounts. It’s very well done. Certainly some thing lack development and others are explained too much never to return again but on the whole I really enjoyed this and would like to see the author explore parts of the story in subsequent books.

4 stars.

Honestly, I found this book riveting. A story told in reverse, jumping between eras, the only thing that was disappointing was having to say goodbye to one set of characters before jumping into another's tale... but that quickly lessened as those stories intertwined. I was completely sucked into the life on the Station and the island it came from. The setting was fascinating and I felt as if I was there in either setting. Would have happily read a dozen more stories set in this universe and hope there's a chance the author will continue.

I received a free copy of this book as and Early Reviewer on Library Thing.
I'm a bit disappointed in this story. I guess I expected a little more science, i.e., how the space elevator was built etc. The story just assumes the technology all came together to create this device.
When I received this book and saw that the chapters were presented in reverse order, I thought, here we go, another non-linear story. I can't say I care for them. This story is laid out beginning with Book III and going to the Prologue. After reading the entire story, I kind of conclude that the author had a good idea here, because if you read the story beginning with the prologue you will probably stop after Book II. Book III is really an epilogue detailing a possible future of the space station after the Marsites are defeated.

Library Things Early Reviewer

My first thought when starting this book was that there was some mistake. You start with "Book" 3 (chapters 7-9) and then move to Book 2 in the past and finally book 1 even further in the past. But apparently that was done on purpose. It does help give you some reason to already care about the characters in books 1 and 2 since they are mentioned in the previous books.

I find myself getting invested in the story and being disappointed each time the "book" ends. There are always a lot of loose ends that aren't tied up and the story never quite feels finished. Book 1 was the most complete but even then the author spend a lot of time on a character buying a "virtual" memory download vacation type thing that is never mentioned again. The POV shifts from character to character without really completing any stories.

Book two finds us first in the mind of who we find out is the father of a major historical figure from book 1 (though it takes some time to reveal that) and then switches to her POV. It starts setting up the revolution talked of in book one but before we really see much, we jump ahead and it is over. Now we jump back in time again to book 1 and another new pov.

There is a lot of potential in each of the stories, but none of them feel complete and by trying to tell all of them with so many different POVs, I feel as much confusion as I do clarity. I think it is the most frustrating because as soon as I start to get invested in this character or this part of the story- it abruptly ends.

And we end at the beginning - an interesting way to set the story. The Cord connects Station to Earth - an interesting idea where where things can go wrong but get righted in the end or is it the beginning

Review of eBook

In a future time, a space station floats in low-Earth orbit some two hundred miles above its surface, tethered to the planet by the Cord. Known simply as Station, tourists and space explorers alike visit via the space elevator, bypassing the need for rockets.

Here robot repairman Palik stumbles across a conspiracy, teen student Suha falls into the midst of an uprising, and tour guide Jarod endeavors to re-connect with his brother, Graeme, and his family.

The Station gathers visitors and personnel, keeping their secrets and slowly revealing their intertwined stories . . . all connected by Station and the Cord.

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The unfolding narrative in this futuristic tale is told from the present to the past, slowly revealing the interconnectedness of characters and events. Book III, “Leap Second,” focuses on tour guide Jarod and his relationship with Graeme, Imogen, and Ava who are tourists on Station. Book II, “Dead Zone,” tells the story of Station resident Suparman, his daughter, Suha, and Suha’s friend, Shi-Lu. Book I, “Mnemonic Device,” tells the story of robot repairman Palik, his wife, Sheila, and businessman Joshua. The Prologue recounts the adventure of Aditya and his family coming to Labicittá.

“The Cord” offers readers reasonably well-defined characters and a unique space station setting with the appropriate world-building; adding a conspiracy and revolution plot makes the narrative quite intriguing. But each section of the story seems to stand on its own, with limited connections to the other stories. The narrative’s over-arching tie . . . Station and the Cord that allows the space elevator to travel to and from Earth . . . doesn’t seem integral to the telling of the tale.

Readers may find the structure of the narrative impedes the successful telling of the tale. The individual stories focus on revealing the relationships of the characters; the rationale for the present-to-past structure of the narrative is unclear. Sadly, despite the promise of its premise, “The Cord” ends up being a bit of a disappointment.