Simon MacDonald

A rumbustious and flamboyant adventure, full of action and intrigue. Excellent; bring on part two!

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

Well, that was a load of bollocks. I've read some of the previous books in the series, and they were reasonably ok.
Apart from the thin plot, the narrative is full of situations from which the hero miraculously escapes. “With a mighty bound he was free... “, and has gorgeous woman all over the world falling for the hero's tousled, roguish, good looks.

As I said - bollocks!

Well, I finally finished this on the second attempt. Not sure what originally put me off, but eventually I enjoyed the story. Don't think it's one of Reynold's best books, but, hey, it was OK.

This is obviously the second part of a larger work in progress. Perhaps the third part will complete the story?

Magic. Gory, violent, with crude language, but well written, with a touch of black humour. We are not in Harry Potter territory.

A great fun, rollicking, steampunk romp. It's also got lots of cats, which is always a bonus

An excellent collection of well written and thought provoking stories.

Quite gory, but amusing in a crude school boyish way

3.5 Great story, well written, interesting characters - I enjoyed it

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!

Milton back on form!

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

A little overwritten and long in parts and much of the plot theme borrowed from LOTR. Nonetheless quite enjoyable.

A cast of dysfunctional, tortured characters, embedded in a powerful plot of politics, crime, violence, and treachery, driven by emotional torments, fear, and of course, love.

An excellent story. Deceit, lies, betrayal, love, murder;it's got it all. Very well written with great characters.

Allegedly there is a story somewhere in this novella. Lots of interesting ideas and dialogue being checked around, but ultimately it's just an exercise of style over substance. A few hours of my life I won't get back.

As usual, from Alastair Reynolds, some great ideas. However I thought the ending was a bit confused, with several unresolved questions. I can't say what they are without spoilers.

That was a hell of a tale. Political chicanery and treachery, dynastic power grabbing set against a lunar landscape. The author suggested it should have been called Game of Domes - bring on. Part 2!

A good book like this always seems too short

Rating 3.5.
A darkly sinister story with some really original ideas. However I found that some of the detailed “technical” explanation got in the way of the story flow.
Looking forward to reading the second installment

A good ole space opera!

3.5 good fun

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.

This trilogy started well but became less interesting with each subsequent book. What can I say about this, the final installment? Tedious.