Tom Merritt
This science fiction book, which is not really a science fiction book, tells a story, which is not really a story that is part tone poem, part pulp novel, part experimental romance, and parts of many other things. In fact it's not really a book is it? Just pieces of one. And yet, I love it right in the face.
I loved getting the perspectives from each of the view of the Rocinante. I also loved splitting them up so we can see a little more of what they're like outside of Holden's orbit. My only quibble would be that the story arc leaves me hanging which in show business I believe is called leaving me wanting more. Which ultimately is a good thing but damn. All of the Expanse novels have left you on a hook for the next one but never as intensely as this one I don't think. SO MANY MYSTERIES! ALL THE MYSTERIES!
Ugh. Very good writing. Exceptionally well crafted. Interesting twist and turns. But ultimately disappointing. Small town Midwesterners struggling with rich east coast elites is not new. Manipulative women who take advantage of emotionally unavailable men is not new. So I don't hate the book but to me it's a well written thriller not literature. Which is fine. There is a place for that.
This book started for me as a fascinating challenge in perspective shifting both with the change of personal pronouns and the multiple segment personality of the ship both when complete and when torn as Breq. Left there it would hVe been a good and fascinating story. But Ms. Leckie did not rest on that laurel. By the end of the book I was surprised to learn that not only had my brain been well accustomed to accepting ‘she' as irrelevant to the gender of a subject, but I was enjoying a rich and satisfying science fiction story of intrigue, and depth. This is without a doubt the best thing I've read all year and overhead some very excellent things.
There's an easy brilliance to the OMW series that I think shines at its best in Last Colony. At any moment you may feel like you're reading a light novel with snappy dialog and a straightforward plot. The phrase ‘beach reading' May even flit through your mind. But the. You'll realize that these characters are green super soldiers, alien generals with eye stalks and emotionless guardians of a teenage girl. Then it strikes you that the themes aren't just love and family and such but also war and oppression and politics and the meaning of being human. And that's when you realize that Scalzi is a devilish little genius with a clever plan behind his smile. I believe and fervently hope he uses his powers for good.
What a delightful world. The work that went into researching medieval Spain sows, as does theincrediblemimagination that went into turning the story into its own consistent telling rather than just a metaphor. Now layer on top of that a deep theological debate nested in an other-worldly system where the debate is not between monotheistic beliefs and their prophets, but polytheistic beliefs and the acceptance or rejection of a lucifer-like god as a force for good or ill. Top it all off with strong likable characters prevailing against the odds to save a kingdom a family and a world and you have a masterwork.
My appreciation of this story grew in the reading. At the beginning I marveled at the lovely marriage of a typical fantasy magic story with an underpinning that was not medieval Europe and savored it like a good cardamom tea. But it grew so far beyond just that underpinning. This book is not a gimmick. It's a well-told tale that inverts the journey! You are led to believe a band in the making will set out on the road from Dhamsawat to find a hidden mystery only to have theta,e turned inside out. It's a brilliant master stroke that keeps the reader guessing. Along the way you realize you are also reading a zombie story and some of the classic tropes are woven seamlessly into this other world of dust, Khalid's, caftans and ghuls. It's a delicious blend.
This book consolidates a lot of things I've tight about eating and then adds a bunch of stuff I didn't know on top of it. Darya's ability to combine science and common sense are extraordinarily rare, especially in the realm of nutrition books. My only regret is that there isn't a clearer plan to get started, but then again, one of her points is that everybody's different, so one plan wouldn't work for everyone anyway. If you want to be healthier, you owe it to yourself to add this book to your arsenal of knowledge.
This book was so much more than I was expecting. I wanted a clever insight into what the Star Trek universe would be like from the perspective of the red shirts. I got that. Maybe Ina sort of ‘Galaxy Quest' way but I got it. What I didn't expect was to get science fiction's ‘Stranger Than Fiction' complete with an internal reference to ‘Stranger Than Fiction'. That was awesome. I'm a sucker for breaking the walls, 4th, 5th, 12th, whatever. And wha t I really didn't expect and especially loved we're three codes that built up an emotional summary of what's really important in life and brought few joyful tears. Well done Mr. Scalzi.
One thing that struck me while reading this was how much the Next Generation episode “Relics” drew from this. In Relics it's an actual Dyson sphere not a ring, but a lot of similar issues and problems exist.
But that's only a sideline. I like Niven's aliens. They're believably alien and consistent. Not just humans with weird skin and a different culture.
I was struck with the importance of luck as a predictive value. It's almost magic. Niven does his best to worj through it logically of course, but it's really fascinating.
I'll admit I was unsure ant this one at first. I was very excited to head out with Holden and crew again but it to so,e effort to want to get to know Anna and Bull. But the end it was definitely worth it. As a fanboy I'd always want more of the Rocinante crew, but that work to get to know these characters definitely pays off with an emotional end.
I must admit the first volume kept me interested because of the world and I had to turn a blind eye to a small amount of awkwardness and even some rather dates relationship dynamics. However by the third volume, The White Dragon all of it is worth it and I've fallen in love with Pern. It's clear that McCaffrey knew the world and its history.mit suffuses through everything that happens. I also like that its a world not a series. I don't feel pressure to keep going but instead know that whenever I need a pleasant respite from other worlds, I can easily visit Pern.
Stellar. It starts at breakkneck speed and pulled me in right away. I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic, but this is also a rich version. Howey did a great job of revealing mysteries without revealing them all and keeping me interested in what was going to happen next. I liked that he didn't just keep teasing me. This isn't a suspense novel, it's roller coaster and anything can happen.
I wanted to love this book, as Robinson is a genius, and at times I found it brilliant. The characters are interesting and unfold in a truly intriguing manner. The historical sweep of the universe is really shown off in this book too and a love the bits of future science explaining terraforming and the like. I could have done without the lists personally although I see their poetic function. They just weren't my thing personally. But overall the story just never grabbed me. I wanted it to and I want to say it did because intellectually I admire this story greatly. But for some unfathomably reason likely due to a defect in my own situation or makeup I never found myself wanting to keep reading. I didn't dread it, mind you, I just didn't get that pull of excitement I get from other books. That said if you want good scifi with compelling characters this is an excellent place to find them.