Simon MacDonald
I don't normally read post-apocalyptic novels, but as I like other books by this author I decided to give it a read. Bleak, brutal, violent, and nilhistic. The good beginning of an ongoing story. I enjoyed it. Probably a 3.5.
3.5 stars. Dark and somewhat nihilistic. I enjoyed it. Can't say anymore without spoilers.
I gave this book a three, but equally it could have been two or four stars. Well written, and some interesting ideas about AI , but there was barely a story there, and the characters were shallow.
The POV skips between reality and a kind of AI simulation, and it is hard at times to work out which one you are reading about, resulting in confusion, and a certain amount of irritation. Perhaps that was the point and I'm missing it
An excellent start to a new trilogy. Interesting characters, a fascinating new world, and some powerful opponents.
An interesting and well written book, with terrific ideas, that turns on it's head, all our comfortable preconceptions of gender stereotypes, and then completely kicks them to bits.
OK, that's the basics; did I enjoy it - I'm not sure, and I'm not sure why. I don't want to go into detail about the story as I don't do spoilers. Perhaps the book was a bit too deliberately trying to make us think, about the horrors of our current society by invoking a total inversion of our attitudes to everything.
Is it worth a read? Oh yes!
Hmmm. A decent story, following multiple characters, in an interesting locale. However there were sections of excessive wordage in the book that I found virtually unreadable. Despite that I enjoyed the book.
I got 40% through the book and gave up. Dark, violent, and gory, which would be OK if any of the characters or the plot were interesting enough. They weren't - just boring. Life is too short to be bored. It was not for me.
More fun than I expected. An intriguing who-dunnit with novel twists. I feel a sequel coming on, if that is at all possible...
** I was given a review copy by NetGalley **
I am a great fan of Alastair Reynolds' books, and I have read most of his work. This book is written in a different style and is set in a new universe.
The story is a fast paced science fiction adventure. The action is set in a decayed planetary system - possibly in the distant future- where the inhabitants live in the Congregation - a swarm of thousands of artificial habitats and planetoids . Civilisation has risen and collapsed many times, and technology is barely understood - a weird mix of alien and human. The dating system of the story is such that it appears to be set in the 18th century - and the writing style gives more than a hat-tip to the likes of Alexander Kent and the naval sea adventures of that time on Earth.
We follow the adventures of young Arafura (Fura) Ness as she absconds with her sister from the boring safety of life on Mazarile, to join the crew of Captain Rackamore, on his decrepit solar sailed spaceship, to hunt for technological treasure from lost civilisations. Along the way we encounter alien beings, nefarious pirates, treachery, and violence, but also friendship.
This is a coming-of-age story as Fura matures from a young girl into a strong and determined woman as she sets out to find her sister who has been kidnapped by pirates.
The pace, and the relative shortness of the book, means that the characters are only lightly sketched out. Similarly the universe of Revenger remains tantalisingly vague, with hints of something bigger happening outside of the scope of the story. Perhaps this is just an introduction to further adventures in this strange cosmological environment.
I feel another story coming soon!
Whilst this was a very enjoyable read, I found the main storyline a little weak. The historical flashback sub-story was more fun, and the very vulgar humour as great as ever. Oh, and we finally meet Sabetha; Bitch!
A long book - the good bits were excellent but there were some passages that I thought were overly long and overwritten and these got a little tedious. A little rest before I start the final (even longer) part
Neither the characters nor the plot gelled with me. In fact I found the character of Riley Paige particularly irritating. At one point I had to stop reading the book and read something else, but I eventually finished it.
Given up at 25% through the book. There is nothing original or interesting about the story. A clichéd hero vs villain super hero narrative , that was so empty of any depth of character, or detail that I had to check that it wasn't targeted at pre-teens.
I can't decide if this is absolute rubbish or an amusing SF spoof. It has a feel of Hitchhikers, but not as well written.
It was good but not that good. I feel there were some events in the plot, towards the end that were just left hanging in the wind.
Probably a 3. Dark humour reminiscent of Disk World, but dunked in a bucket of very crude language. Amusing characters, but not much of a story behind it all. Not sure if I will read any more in the series.
I don't often give a book 5 stars, but this one certainly warrants it. An intense, intricate plot peopled by a cast of the complicated, dysfunctional characters that John Hart is so good at creating. A roller coaster of thrills and emotion. Highly recommended!
A good sequel to Personal with ongoing plotting and action leading to a conclusion that seemed to happen a little to easily.
