Eversion
Ratings43
Average rating4
15
Ratings43
Average rating4
From the master of the space opera, Alastair Reynolds, comes a dark, mind-bending SF adventure spread across time and space, Doctor Silas Coade has been tasked with keeping his crew safe as they adventure across the galaxy in search of a mysterious artifact, but as things keep going wrong, Silas soon realizes that something more sinister is at work, and this may not even be the first time it's happened. In the 1800s, a sailing ship crashes off the coast of Norway. In the 1900s, a Zepellin explores an icy canyon in Antarctica. In the far future, a spaceship sets out for an alien artifact. Each excursion goes horribly wrong. And on every journey, Dr. Silas Coade is the physician, but only Silas seems to realize that these events keep repeating themselves. And it's up to him to figure out why and how. And how to stop it all from happening again.
Reviews with the most likes.
A very cleverly written tale that really makes you think. I perhaps was primed to sympathise with the main character as I too am far from home and dreaming of a white house with a garden, on a hill in Plymouth, not too close to the sea, but not too far.
TL;DR
I hated this book until chapter thirteen, which is two-hundred pages deep. The way our main character talks is just beyond annoying, I know it's because he's in the yee ol' days but it was very rough to read and I didn't like it at all. After chapter thirteen it gets better, same with the story. Interesting stuff actually happens. Average book in my opinion, not bad but it wouldn't be my first recommendation if some one was asking me about a science fiction book.
My Scoring System
I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:
X - Main Story: I was pretty confused at first but as we get deeper in the story we learn more, unfortunately by the end we still have questions left unasnwered.
X - Side Stories (if it applies):
✓ - Characters: I like all the characters, there wasn't anyone who I thought was annoying.
✓ - Setting/Ambiance: We don't get to spend much time on each of these old eras but they were interesting.
✓ - Ending: Question left unasnwered but I really liked the last interaction before the book ends.
Extensive Review
Not much to say here, even though there are quite a few characters we're mainly focused on four. Thankfully they're all interesting, likeable and are part of the entire story.
Pretty light on the science fiction, excluding the obvious that they're in a spaceship pretty much the whole book happens in these old eras of time with old technology.
The story is interesting but we don't learn much in the end. We're left with quite a few questions and I don't like that, it's not vague as in "it's left up to the reader to interpret it" (if it were it would instantly be a one star rating, I hate those endings) but I would have liked some answers. The last few chapters and the ending saved the book from being mediocre.
The ending interaction between two characters in the book in my opinion we're really good.
7/10
A cool idea with a somewhat flawed execution. The first half of the book dragged a bit. It should've been about 20% shorter like many classic sci-fi stories. But the ending was worth it.
In the 1800s a sailing ship named Demeter is among the icebergs up the coast of Norway, looking for something. There's a serious accident. Next chapter it starts all over again. A steam ship named Demeter is sailing up the coast of Patagonia, looking for something. There's a serious accident. Next chapter it starts all over again. Early 1900s, a Zeppelin named Demeter is exploring a giant ice rift in Antarctica, something goes very wrong. Dr Silas Coade is the ship's physician each time, and he's the only person who remembers that 'we've been here before'.
Also, when does the scifi start? I didn't sign up for some sea captain shipwreck story. Reynolds is a master at telling a tale that circles a high stakes crisis while keeping the heart of the story hidden as we inch closer to the truth. This one caught my imagination so that I could not put it down. It was finished in less than two days.
