Avery
> I felt detached, untethered.
This statement by the main character is also how I felt about most of this book. I don't think it was particularly bad, but for some reason, I found it hard to care about most of the plot beats. Maybe because it felt like the protagonist didn't either.
One explored concept is the potential impact of hardware backdoors and our reliance on a relatively brittle supply chain. To me, this mostly felt too real to be entertaining fiction, yet not explored deeply enough to be informative.
What I wasn't expecting is for this tech-y spy thriller to start giving "This Is How You Lose the Time War" vibes (to be fair, I didn't expect it from that book either). The writing style is less overtly poetic but somehow still had similar energy at times, hidden inside a more grounded narrative style. Maybe as if El-Mohtar's book was crossed with one of Kim Stanley Robinson's half-essay near-future sci-fi explorations (while thankfully staying closer to the first in verbosity).
The afterword by the author made me feel like even though this book might not have been the best fit for me, it might still be worth trying another.
> I felt detached, untethered.
This statement by the main character is also how I felt about most of this book. I don't think it was particularly bad, but for some reason, I found it hard to care about most of the plot beats. Maybe because it felt like the protagonist didn't either.
One explored concept is the potential impact of hardware backdoors and our reliance on a relatively brittle supply chain. To me, this mostly felt too real to be entertaining fiction, yet not explored deeply enough to be informative.
What I wasn't expecting is for this tech-y spy thriller to start giving "This Is How You Lose the Time War" vibes (to be fair, I didn't expect it from that book either). The writing style is less overtly poetic but somehow still had similar energy at times, hidden inside a more grounded narrative style. Maybe as if El-Mohtar's book was crossed with one of Kim Stanley Robinson's half-essay near-future sci-fi explorations (while thankfully staying closer to the first in verbosity).
The afterword by the author made me feel like even though this book might not have been the best fit for me, it might still be worth trying another.
This installment continues to ramp up the stakes satisfyingly, similar to the last book. It's pretty impressive how much mileage Stross is getting out of the general setting/premise while keeping each book feeling fresh.
I feel like either the constant re-explanations that frustrated me with the previous books have gotten less common (or I've learned to tune them out).
What's kinda neat about this one is that its political commentary moves beyond "civil service is clunky and inefficient" to "but it's probably better than the alternative", while remaining true to itself. Definitely some ideas in this one that can still be useful in a world without (mathematical) eldritch horrors.
This installment continues to ramp up the stakes satisfyingly, similar to the last book. It's pretty impressive how much mileage Stross is getting out of the general setting/premise while keeping each book feeling fresh.
I feel like either the constant re-explanations that frustrated me with the previous books have gotten less common (or I've learned to tune them out).
What's kinda neat about this one is that its political commentary moves beyond "civil service is clunky and inefficient" to "but it's probably better than the alternative", while remaining true to itself. Definitely some ideas in this one that can still be useful in a world without (mathematical) eldritch horrors.
Creative take on some fantasy tropes mixed with the series' typical computer science lovecraft math (which is my favorite thing).
I miss Bob, almost dropped the book at first but I'm glad I circled back a few months later.
Creative take on some fantasy tropes mixed with the series' typical computer science lovecraft math (which is my favorite thing).
I miss Bob, almost dropped the book at first but I'm glad I circled back a few months later.
I'm rating this a 5 with a caveat -- I wasn't a fan of the YA-ness of all the characters being teens at school. The thing is, the stuff they were learning was too cool.
The way that the exercises and concepts are described is so perfect -- just enough detail to feel real and part of a huge coherent system.
Also all this talk of cured meats and pickles and heavy breads kept making me hungry.
I'm rating this a 5 with a caveat -- I wasn't a fan of the YA-ness of all the characters being teens at school. The thing is, the stuff they were learning was too cool.
The way that the exercises and concepts are described is so perfect -- just enough detail to feel real and part of a huge coherent system.
Also all this talk of cured meats and pickles and heavy breads kept making me hungry.
