Skolia

This was a decent trilogy but definitely Peter F. Hamilton “lite”.

Very bloated book, I usually like Mr. Baxter's work but the plot moves way too slowly with poor characterizations.

NOTE: The audio version has a terrible narrator.

The TV version is much better.

A decent sequel to “This Alien Shore” but at the same time it's somewhat disappointing, the novel's scope is much smaller than the first previous book and, while that's not a bad thing in itself, the story takes it's time to get moving.

I can't get much into the plot without spoilers so I won't go over specifics, but there are some interesting ideas and characters - although perhaps not as interesting as those explored in the previous work.

The final act of “This Virtual Night” felt anti-climatic to me and was somewhat abrupt (although somewhat abrupt endings is largely a hallmark of C. S Friedman's storytelling.)

If, for some reason, you're reading this review wondering if it's worth a read, the short answer is ‘yes' but I'd recommend not to expect an epic adventure this time around.

While I greatly enjoyed “To Sleep in a Sea of Stars”, this story was interesting but I had issues with the characters, mainly I didn't really like any of them.

The mystery on the planet was interesting but nothing really gets discovered and it ends up being sidelined, much of the time, while four pathetic characters make stupid decisions and mostly complain to themselves.

The main character is going through grief, sure, but he seemed unusually stuck in it. Doesn't his company do psych evaluations? He wallows in his grief so much that it eroded the sympathy I might've otherwise felt.

The expedition leader became an extreme zealot; and seemed too much of a military type than an astrophysicist. Yes, the two aren't mutually exclusive but there didn't seem to be any evidence of the astrophysicist.

The chemist ended up a weak willed and incredibly boring character. First physically incapacitated, later completely useless. Why was he even in the story?

Finally, and perhaps the worst case was the geologist, how was this man even assigned to an expedition with such a hostile personality? It's hinted at that he has connections; that might've made his character more interesting. None of his behavior was a surprise; and I hated him from the start.

The ending was also rather abrupt, it could've used an epilogue.


Audiobook
Jennifer Hale's reading was superb; and while I generally don't like sound effects in non-dramatized audiobooks, in this particular case it was very effective.