In terms of gaming, due to the narrative voice I found it easier to imagine how PCs would make these decisions. Sloosha's Crossin' An' EV'Rythin' After was similar. The other stories were more intimate, and so seemed to me less playable for a group.

I di think there were a couple of NPCs here that I would enjoy playing as GM

Anyway, I found the detail provided here was just like that, e.g. the university was like a university, but different in ways that increased my interest as a reader. And the vocabulary was at the right level of oddness.

This was also the story that I actually noticed similarities with the Luisa Rey Mystery., e.g. the car trips. I suddenly realised there was a similar flight to safety in Timothy Cavendish, which I hadn't connected. For me this further undermined the whole reincarnation reading - I started to notice that themes and motifs were what was keeping the stories together.

Have other things to say, but would like to hear from the rest of you ...

I thought our protagonist was well-drawn, and the story and the characterisations believable. I also felt that it continued the kind of world-building I sensed in An Orison. I was a bit disappointed as I continued the book and read the conclusions of the other stories, because I never really got that world-connection across them all. I think that this story improved my appreciation for the Pacific Journal, largely because I saw a reflection in the relations among the Whites, Moriori and Maori with this story. Is this a story of Autua from a different point of view?

At the same time it crystallised some of my doubts about Cloud Atlas as a whole. Perhaps I am just too impatient a reader, but I never really got that interested in riddling out these possible reflections and refractions. In stead I often felt that I was watching someone show off a technical mastery of complexity that was not perfectly suited, or maybe subordinated, to plot and character. Perhaps if I had been more fascinated by the puzzle of it I wouldn't have had this reaction.

For myself, I found this story really difficult to get into, and the cutting it in half didn't help. However I got used to the anchronistic format and started to enjoy the story, although I still don't really see anything that was added by choosing it. I was also irritated with Sixsmith providing spoilers in the next story. Then I found the ending quite a shift in tone, which removed any suspension of disbelief. So not my favourite

When I was reading and got to the end of the first part, I actually asked myself if my ebook was defective, and spent some time checking that. Of course that would not happen if I had a physical book - the page format and numbers would have reassured me. Made me think about how the physical format matters. I like the movie ok (3.75 stars say), and I know that many of us have seen the movie, so I wonder what people thought of what that adaptation did to the structure, and how it might have evoked different responses from us. Likewise, does this structure have any relevance for the structure of roleplaying, and what adaptations would be needed?

One of the reasons I was looking forward to reading this was I am quite familiar with interlocking narratives in the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist context. Every text has a framing narrative, which provides evidence used by historians to produce a history of early Buddhism, as well as materials for a modern biography of the Buddha. Traditional biographies are too full of myth to be reliable for what we want to know nowadays. Then there are a great number of interlocking narratives that are used to explain the workings of karmic cause and effect, which entail the idea of rebirth and previous lives. Last in the Himalayan context there are interlocking narratives used to explain the development of a particular individual or Buddhist deity over many lives. They are sometimes extremely complex (or is it disorganised?) in how they leap from one narrative to another. What I have gotten from reading these is that connected narratives are a powerful way to evoke and educate an understanding of trans-personal motivation.

In CA the connection was that the protagonists had each read one of the stories, and thought about it, and wanted to finish it. What did people think about this (author's projection of hope onto the reader ;-) ? What did we make of the connection the various protagonists in these stories?

There is also an interlocking piece of music for six intruments (CA Sextet) that is vaguely described to us, which is a counter-point to the novel. Would be interested to hear it some day, even though it doesn't exist. Did anyone else find this desire evoked despite its impossibility? What does that tell us about designing interesting or addictive games?

Last, it made me think about the voice used by GMs and rulebook / module writers vs the voices of PCs and players. I wondered how changing the voice during game play might change outcomes in ways not covered by mechanics, and also how personal conflict might be managed by getting mpeople to change the voice used to describe the problem. Any thoughts?

Just checking in to see how everyone is doing with reading Cloud Atlas. Officially September starts in 2 days, but if anyone needs the long weekend to finish up the book, we could start Labour Day. Let me know.

Thanks, BC