Tangled Up in Blue
Joan D. Vinge
2000 · 304 pages · Science fiction
How it reads
Tangled Up in Blue is science fiction (space opera, specifically), and its dominant mood is romantic. The relationship is the engine of the story. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.
It's set in several locations, in the future, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are love, identity and power and politics. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.
It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is bittersweet: it resolves, but at a price. At 304 pages it's a quick read. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something romantic
- you want a complete story in one book
- you're drawn to stories about love
Maybe not if…
- you need something eerie or tense
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- science fiction
- Author gender
- female
- Author experience
- prolific veteran
- Setting: place
- multiple locations
- Setting: time
- future
- Mood / feeling
- romantic
- Pace
- moderate
- Tone / weight
- balanced
- Length
- medium
- Narrative style
- third person, several viewpoints
- Publication era
- modern classic
- Popularity
- moderately known
- Series vs standalone
- standalone
- Themes
- love, identity, power and politics
- Ending style
- bittersweet
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
- DreamfallJoan D. VingeShares: science fiction, balanced tone, space opera, moderate pace
The Trade of QueensCharles StrossShares: science fiction, balanced tone, space opera, set in multiple locations
FoundationIsaac AsimovShares: science fiction, balanced tone, space opera, moderate pace- The Big TimeFritz LeiberShares: science fiction, balanced tone, moderate pace, bittersweet ending
Rainbows EndVernor VingeShares: science fiction, balanced tone, moderate pace, future setting
Childhood’s EndArthur C. ClarkeShares: science fiction, balanced tone, moderate pace, set in multiple locations
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