Random

Reread 2/19/2015

I first read this book over 5 years ago. I rated it 4 stars, and in that time I have never stopped thinking of this book. It improves with a reread, and details and concepts I missed the first time stand out well in the reread.

Downside to this book is that I get so caught up with the concepts raised that I can easily spend more time thinking about about them than actually reading.

I'd also call this a very fine example of what I love about science fiction.

What this book is not:

This is not horror. Granted, it can be creepy as hell, but not for reasons most people would consider horror.

This is not and action or adventure. Don't expect lasers or battles. This is a book about concepts.

What concepts you may ask? Well I leave that up to the reader to discover. It is the discovery and realizations which are half the fun. :)

Reread. This book is actually better than I remembered. Since I've been having a marathon of the series from first to present (publication order), I'm realizing how much I missed the first time around (I initially read these as they first came out). The concepts in the two halves are an interesting mirror/contrast to one another.

While many of the Skolian Empire books seem to be stand alone, you miss so much depth if you haven't read the other books. I don't recommend reading this without having read The Radiant Seas at the least.

Enjoyed the book, but the narrator wasn't a good choice and didn't do that good of a job. Add in all of the miss pronunciations, and I'd recommend sticking with print or ebook editions if possible.