Brendan Doyle is a scholar of literary criticism. He's greatly struggling, so when an offer of $20,000 comes from an eccentric for him to give a lectuBrendan Doyle is a scholar of literary criticism. He's greatly struggling, so when an offer of $20,000 comes from an eccentric for him to give a lecture about a well-known literary figure he readily agrees. His current research is about a barely known poet and it's driving him mad. The eccentric has developed time travel and wants to take his wealthy patrons back in time to listen to the literary figure in person. Doyle is to serve as an expert authority, basically as a bonus to the actual event. It all goes well until Doyle ends up stuck in the past without any means of survival. The first half of the book is mostly Doyle drifting around in despair, incompetency, and misery. However, there's also a considerable amount of humor. Most of it didn't work for me, but there were a few times where I chuckled. The second half is very different. Time travel is far from the only thing that occurs, as much magic and supernatural phenomenon become involved. Doyle becomes only one of several perspectives, though he's still the primary one. He also becomes less useless.
Although this is the first novel I've read by Powers, I know that he usually does secret history narratives and that's what this is. Various historical figures are mentioned and a few are characters. Why and how some historical events proceeded are given explanations that differ from the official records. There's a lot that's done with this that would be of significant interest and enjoyment for the relevant reader, though in this case I'm not one of them. There are various types of time travel stories. This is one without any paradoxes and where everything is fully resolved by the end. The time travel may be the easiest part to follow relative to what else happens. This isn't a difficult story to follow what's happening, though you may want to keep the changing circumstances and names of some characters in mind.
This is the first book of this current whim of having others determine a book I'll read after they've won a game of luck. If it were otherwise I probably wouldn't have finished this. It's not bad, or uninteresting, poorly written, or disagreeable. However, there's just something about how it's written that didn't work well for me, which is almost certainly a personal problem. I wasn't engaged and I only liked reading about a single character, Captain Jack. This is the kind of book where I can completely understand why others would think it's wonderful and would recommend those who are interested in it to try it for themselves. The first half wasn't to my preferences in terms of how the protagonist should be. It's realistic and understandable, too much so for me in this case. I've read some short fiction from Powers before and found some to be enjoyable, so I know he can write stories that I like. However, I don't think I'll be reading another novel of his unless I have an external reason to do so.
Do you dislike Brandon Sanderson? If so, you may not need to read to any further, as this is a Sandersonian novel through and through. If you enjoy alDo you dislike Brandon Sanderson? If so, you may not need to read to any further, as this is a Sandersonian novel through and through. If you enjoy all things Sanderson adjacent, then you may want to read this as well. McClellan took the same writing class taught by Sanderson twice. The first time Sanderson said he needed to write better and be more creative. The second he said he had great talent and a future in writing. Both seem accurate to me. Maybe eventually McClellan comes into his own voice, or maybe that doesn't matter at all in terms of commercial sales. In any case, here's what it's about and what I thought about that.
Adamat is an ex-police, private investigator, and failed book publisher. He's been summoned to see the field marshal, Tamas, who has just deposed the king, slaughtered the Privileged in their sleep, and will soon publicly execute many hundreds. He's also the second POV. Tamas tasks Adamat to find out what the dying gasps of the Privileged mean. Taniel, the third POV, is Tamas's son and has been tasked with hunting down a dangerous Privileged. When they finish these tasks, Tamas gives them more tasks. Nila, a servant of a noble, is the fourth POV and becomes quite involved despite her station. Most of the book is about putting down the remaining Royalists, being worried about an impending invasion, and it wouldn't be a Cosmere-ish novel if it didn't involve something from beyond.
This book has at least four magic systems. Sometimes it wants to be hard fantasy and at other times it's as soft as it comes. There's the Privileged, who are elementalists and who can renounce their powers to be able to nullify magic. The Marked snort gunpowder as if it were magical cocaine with similar effects plus being able to mentally control bullets. The Knacked have one arbitrary magical ability. Then there's the one that isn't really understood but uses dolls and other stuff with a variety of abilities. That seems like an excessive amount to me.
Everything about this book is on the borderline of adequate and inadequate. The characters aren't notable or especially distinct, but that's fine. The dialogue is lacking, but it works. The plot doesn't do enough and not the way I prefer. The magic is cluttered and overdone. The worldbuilding suffices. Its greatest flaw may be its lack of focus and coherence.
Promise of Blood is tolerably written and has a lot that I could like, which makes it become rather disappointing in its failure to do enough with its content. For me this is a case where an author's reach has exceeded his grasp. McClellan's skill isn't matched by his ambitions. There could've been a book I would've loved to read here, but then it would be an entirely different book. I haven't the slightest interest in continuing. That's why I'm rounding down. However, you may like it considerably more than I did since these are mostly personal issues.
Simon is a fourteen year old orphan who has been raised among the kitchen staff since birth at castle Hayholt. His days are filled with menial chores,Simon is a fourteen year old orphan who has been raised among the kitchen staff since birth at castle Hayholt. His days are filled with menial chores, which he often doesn't complete to satisfaction, as he'd prefer to explore the castle grounds, daydream, or listen to stories. After a time he becomes apprenticed to the castle's wizard, from whom he hopes to learn magic, but finds instead he first must undergo an education. These pleasantly indolent days are not long to last. A dark being from ancient days rises once more. Having stumbled upon the truth, Simon must flee everything he has ever known to survive.
The preceding paragraph is an overview of Part One, which covers about 25% of its length. Depending on your preferences, its leisurely pace with much description and abundant lore may feel comfy and immersive or slow and lecturing. That goes for the entirety of the book, but especially so for Part One. There are several songs, pages at a time of lore, readings from a book, and much else in terms of exposition. Simon isn't the only viewpoint character, so at times there will be others who are doing their own separate thing that builds up what's going in the world outside of Simon's quest.
Where they are is called Osten Ard, probably meaning Eastern Earth or similar. It's their year of 1164. I would say that it's Arthurian if it weren't for that the king is literally called John Presbyter, a legendary Christian figure who was said to have reigned in the East. There's also considerable influence from a Norse-like people. Osten Ard was settled by this story's version of elves and then men came and started a war in which humans triumphed. Another notable race are the trolls, one of whom Simon travels with, though it's certainly a different take on what a troll is. It was nice though.
Based on this first book it seems like a fine enough standard quest fantasy series. The series name refers to the three legendary swords that may be needed to defeat the Dark Lord, which I assume they travel around to various locales in their meandering way to obtain. This isn't really my preferred sort of fantasy and I didn't find Simon to be a protagonist I wanted to spend more time with, but I didn't find anything particularly bad about it. Simon seems like he's in for a considerable amount of suffering despite the easygoing opening, so it doesn't seem like it'll be casual and lighthearted adventuring.
What I've written is reductive, it's considerably more complicated that that, but it remains smooth and easy reading. Most everything outside of Simon's perspective seemed extraneous to me, which may have been because I wasn't fully engaged with the narrative. I won't be continuing this series, but I'll try Williams other novels at some other time since I've liked his short fiction, though I don't know that I'll give them as much of a chance as I gave this one....more
Empire of Silence is an autobiographical novel told from the perspective of the protagonist at roughly a thousand years old. I assume that's after theEmpire of Silence is an autobiographical novel told from the perspective of the protagonist at roughly a thousand years old. I assume that's after the entire series has concluded. Each book seems to cover an era of his life, which I take to mean that the series ought to be considered as a single work split into several books.
In 16136 Hadrian Marlowe is the eldest son of the ruler of a planetary prefecture of the planet Delos, which is part of the Sollan Empire. The Empire is the largest polity, composed of roughly 250 million worlds, nearly half of all that have been colonized. Humanity has come across 49 intelligent species and has enslaved 48 of them. Only the Cielcin have been able to resist and so humanity has waged war against them for centuries.
Hadrian has no interest in being the next ruler, or in being anything one has told him to be. He wants to be an adventurer, like those in the stories he's read from ages long ago, finding new species and whatever marvels that still remain unfound throughout the galaxy. That doesn't go quite to plan and he finds himself stranded on some world. The rest of the book is the beginning of his rise from almost nothing except his genetic heritage, which is extremely valuable, and a few symbols of his past.
This novel is a reworking of many novels and other specific creative works. The foremost among them that I was reminded of was Dune, Hyperion, and The Shadow of the Torturer. These are excellent choices, but often I felt that Ruocchio was leaning too heavily on other works. There doubtlessly were several other inspirations that I didn't recognize. I would be highly interested in seeing how much of the content was based on other books and how much was original, insofar as that exists. If I enjoyed this more, then perhaps I wouldn't have minded as much. I wouldn't want that to be true, but cognitive dissonance is a powerful force. If this were an obvious parody or otherwise declared itself to be based on other novels, then I think I wouldn't have minded anywhere as much.
I don't think I would've enjoyed this all that more even if it were wholly without any of its arguable homages. I find that to be peculiar because there's so very much of this that I should like. Yet, somehow I find the whole to be so much less than the sum of its parts. I believe the two main reasons are that I find how it reads to be off-putting and I was uninterested in almost every single character in this character-driven novel.
I don't know if the following books are similar to this one and I'm uninterested in finding out. I doubt that I'll read anything from Ruocchio again. The main reason is because of how openly and intentionally he integrates his influences into what he's written here. It's not fanfiction and it's certainly not what Quentin Rowan did, but it's sufficient to be disqualifying for me.
All that remains of humanity reside in flying cities where plants and trees form the basis of their society. The architects design, maintain, and arguAll that remains of humanity reside in flying cities where plants and trees form the basis of their society. The architects design, maintain, and arguably control everything through their inborn ability to manipulate plants. Sungineers develop technology that runs on the architect power, such as computers and other modern technologies. Humanity was forced to escape to the sky over a thousand years ago due to the Earth Rages which through both tornadoes and earthquakes utterly destroy a region.
This book has a lot of Hindu influence. Most of what I recognized was because it had spread to other cultures. There's a considerable amount that was a clear reference, so I was able to look up a lot to have a general idea what it was going for. The spiritual aspects dominate the narrative for the last ~20%. I admit that much of its significance was lost on me and surely was the greatest contributor to my not comprehending the end goal of the antagonists.
There are two viewpoint characters, a husband and wife in their 30s. Irevan is a senior architect and a member of the council, while his wife, Ahilya, is the world's sole archaeologist. Their relationship is quite troubled for a lot of reasons and they're very bad at acknowledging their problems let alone resolving them. Their relationship drama is present from the beginning, though much else is more important than it. There's a considerable amount of political discussion, social commentary, and philosophizing. Later on the focus shifts to what felt like almost exclusively relationship melodrama with brief interludes of plot progression. Their cycle of remorse and apologizing then lashing out at each other becomes more aggressive, spiteful, and petty until it finally reaches a climax at around 75% through where they have a barely existent sex scene that instantly resolves all of their relationship problems and allows them to have multiple epiphanies.
As to what happens in the book, Ahilya is trying to prove her theories and Irevan is in damage control mode about everything all the time. Their sky cities aren't sustainable any longer and since they don't want them to crash they're trying to figure out what to do about that.
This has been one of the most difficult books for me to write about in a long time because of how promising it started and how disappointed I became by the end. I was greatly enjoying myself and thought I would be giving this 5 stars. For most of the first half I was already planning out how I'd write a strong defense of how and why it hadn't received the reception it deserved. Afterwards there was more and more I couldn't overlook or excuse. Overall, I still liked it for its world and ideas. If the second half and ending hadn't lost me, I would've rated this much higher. It's unlikely I'll read the sequel unless I get over my expectation of more disappointment.
The United States has collapsed due to a Worst Case Scenario, in this case the FURY bacteria, which makes its victims immune to pain and wanting to kiThe United States has collapsed due to a Worst Case Scenario, in this case the FURY bacteria, which makes its victims immune to pain and wanting to kill everyone else. It's also highly contagious. In preparation for these circumstances, a top secret program was initiated to select those who would rebuild the country. 237 candidates underwent Primary Selection, but only 48 were chosen, one for each of the lower 48 states, to each be isolated in a Hole so that 30 days later they'd emerge and reestablish the country. Captain Lee Harden, an ex-Ranger, is one of those 48. He doesn't want to be believe that the Worst Case Scenario has happened. After he comes to terms with that he'll have to set out into the world to accomplish his goals: Survive. Rescue. Rebuild. Anyone who gets in the way of those goals must be killed without mercy or hesitation.
This book was originally self-published in 2012 and that really shows, even after all the editing it must've went through before being republished. It's rough, but there were glimmers of the fun that I had from reading his fantasy novel, A Harvest of Ash and Blood, which was the first book I read from Molles. I decided to read this, his first published novel and see how that'd go. A lot can change in 10+ years of writing and that's abundantly evident here. The action is moderately thrilling, but overall it's a rather lacking experience. Lee searches, he finds, he rescues the weak and kills the predators. He tells them that's here to help. There's nothing particularly exciting about that in terms of plot.
As is all too common for my preference, this version of Earth hasn't slightest concept of zombies or the undead, so they haven't the slightest clue what's going on for a while. The premise and much else is entirely ridiculous, though it's not that difficult to just go along with it. Lee isn't a super soldier or otherwise all-powerful, so a lot can and does go wrong. I can't really comment on how accurate it would be, though perhaps much of his failings can be attributed to shock. There's not really all that much to say about him, or any other of the characters. It really is all survival action with horror elements, though I'm sure the later novels because considerably more complex and the characters much more developed.
There are currently 14 novels and 2 novellas in the series, which seems like it could go far towards Lee's stated goals, though perhaps life just doesn't go that way. I don't want to go through an unknown number of books to get to something that may be interesting and worthwhile. This book is on the borderline between being bad and mediocre. Sometime later I'll look at his most recent releases to see whether it's only the one book that I like from him. A Harvest of Blood and Ash is getting a sequel so there's that for me at least. It's interesting to see how much he's improved and I'm glad that he had the opportunity to be able do to so.
This was the debut novel of German author Marko Kloos, who after serving his mandatory military service came to the United States. Ten years later he This was the debut novel of German author Marko Kloos, who after serving his mandatory military service came to the United States. Ten years later he self-published this military science fiction novel on Amazon and it sold well, so it was acquired by Amazon.
The protagonist, Andrew Grayson, 21, lives in a welfare housing district and will do anything to escape the shame of poverty. For him and most others, the military is their only chance, but with a 10% application acceptance rate and 50% washing-out before finishing basic training, it's not that easy. Homesteading a colonial planet is the dream, or really, anywhere other than being stuck with those he describes as the welfare rats who are content to subsist on recycled bodily waste and mutual violation. The narrative is told through a first person perspective that provides his personal thoughts, though they didn't add much for me.
Some books offer more of an opportunity for contemplation and others offer the opposite. This was one of the latter. You can think about it, though that may only detract from the enjoyment. That's not to say that it's entirely action filled, because it isn't. Much of the book's duration is spent outside out of duty, which also isn't to say that this is a book heavy on character development, because it isn't. The plot is mostly going through basic training and a few months afterwards. The ending sets up the series, which is currently at eight books. Saying what the series is about awkward because looking at anything else about it makes it obvious, but since it isn't revealed until the end, just saying what it is would be a spoiler, though it's nothing surprising. It's (view spoiler)[ First contact and immediate war against huge aliens. (hide spoiler)] Functionally that makes this first book an introduction to the protagonist and the processes of their military and little else.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that one of the major scenes of the novel could be a dealbreaker. The military is sent in to deal with unrest in the Detroit slums which leads to (view spoiler)[ the protagonist slaughtering those involved and then some uninvolved civilians during the ensuring chaos. It doesn't go well for them either. This is mostly brushed off later and treated as just something that happened by all involved. (hide spoiler)]Apparently it's covered more in Measures of Absolution.
I read this with others, as I probably wouldn't have read it by myself. I've now read the first books of Kloos's two series, the other being The Palladium Wars. I found the other to be significantly better. Unfortunately, what bothered me the most about it was present here as well. The series is sliced too thinly. That's been commercially successful for Kloos. It's common for TV series to have most of the plot in the premiere and finale, but I don't like how it came across here. This may be the last work by him that I read.
A Debt to the Stars is a self-published novel that is competently written. However, I believe it could've greatly benefitted from someone reining in tA Debt to the Stars is a self-published novel that is competently written. However, I believe it could've greatly benefitted from someone reining in the author's excesses and reminding them to focus on their strengths. As for its genre, it's a science fiction comedy thriller. There's aliens, fantastical technology, mysterious happenings, a foulmouthed comedic relief companion, villainous caricatures, blockchain explanations, financial dealings, lip service romance, and much that may be allegorical and/or ideological. Several have compared it to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which is a decent comparison. That's not all it is though, and its lack of focus may have been to its detriment. Aside from the occasional infodumps about cryptocurrency, blockchain, financial dealings and similar, which were mildly reminiscent of the sort in Snow Crash, though not nearly done as well, this is mostly an action adventure thriller. As for the characters, well, they exist. The comedic companion carries a heavy load in that regard. The protagonist is mostly to drive the narrative forward.
The book also has some social science fiction aspects, mostly resulting from which the aliens provided to humanity. Augmentation and the obelisks alleviate the need for much, as humans no longer become senescent, gain regenerative capabilities, and have all their basic needs provided for. From a human perspective, it's a very robust welfare state, or even Luxury Communism. This is depicted as having been disastrous for humanity, which perhaps it could be, but I find the specifics presented here to be implausible. It reminded me in some ways of Brave New World or Childhood's End. Unfortunately, this is mostly reduced to that those born before Augmentation become obsessives and those afterwards are fearless, ignorant, and unproductive unless raised properly from birth. The antagonists are the capitalists, both of the human and alien variety. The human antagonist organization is very much a caricature, or satire, of market fundamentalist beliefs. Their goal is world domination to restore the capitalist regime and bring scarcity back to the world. The alien capitalists are more predatory, financially speaking.
This is the first book in an intended series. It's not my sort of comedy, the social aspects were disagreeable and implausible within their context, the economics were often nonsensical, and the ending was unacceptable in its plot convenience. Those who can ignore the details will probably enjoy this more than me. I can easily imagine a version of this book that I would've enjoyed much more. I hope the author heeds what seems to be the consensus opinion about what works and doesn't. The second may be far more pleasing to a wider audience by doing so.
I received this book from the author through NetGalley.
Consider Phlebas was much more of an action-thriller than I expected it to be. There are ideas presented and there's a lot implied in the background, Consider Phlebas was much more of an action-thriller than I expected it to be. There are ideas presented and there's a lot implied in the background, but for the most part it's a series of misadventures and disasters. There's one chapter that's entirely horror focused, which seemed rather out of place to me. This is the most I've ever felt a novel to be a fix-up that as far I can tell never was. I found it strange how many of the early chapters could be considered self-contained stories that have little to nothing to do with any other part of the story.
The narrative excels at scale, though mostly in the shock and awe sense presented through numbers and implications imagined by the reader. There's a vast array of species and civilizations from all technological levels and seemingly endless variation. The galaxy is highly populated relative to most science fiction and doesn't have any singular dominant group. There aren't any homo sapiens, though the term human is used, and Earth doesn't have the slightest reference.
The book also does very well in showing how meaningless and insignificant everything you thought that matters is. Some may like it for that alone. The post-story content especially attempts to drive this home and I think it succeeded. It's what I liked most from the book, though I would've preferred it to be the narrative instead. I realize that may seem contradictory, but apparently I don't mind it when presented on a sweeping and impersonal historical scale versus specific personal examples.
More than anything else this book showed me what I didn't like and why I didn't like it. I want chapters to have meaningful relations to each other. I don't want to read about a tragically underqualified crew going on catastrophic adventures played straight. I don't want a cast of undeveloped and disposable characters. Maybe everything written is more realistic in terms of its outcome, but that's not the sort of realism that I want.
There seems to be a common warning not to start Banks with this book, and I understand why now, though not by comparison to his other works. I echo this warning, because surely what else he's written must be better, and since they seem to have very little to do with each other, there doesn't seem to be any compelling reason to not start elsewhere. I couldn't help myself though, and this is also where another who was reading it wanted to start.
I don't like the style of how this was written. I don't know how much that affected my enjoyment or what I thought about the book in general. If you don't have the same problem, you may it enjoy considerably more than what I've written here. This wasn't a success in terms of coming back to try a series. I don't know if I'll give Banks another try or not, even though supposedly the next in the series is far superior and a worthwhile book in general. If I do, it won't be anytime soon....more
The Sword Defiant is, as the author says, a deconstruction of traditional fantasy. What that means for this book is that it does away with romanticizeThe Sword Defiant is, as the author says, a deconstruction of traditional fantasy. What that means for this book is that it does away with romanticized ideals and keeps most everything else. At various times throughout the book it's explicitly stated that this isn't how the story is supposed to go. How you feel about that may be the most important determinant for your enjoyment. To be clear, this isn't parody or satire, though it does have comedic moments. It's a serious and sincere attempt at providing a traditional fantasy story minus the feel-good assurances. By traditional fantasy I mean there are humans, elves, dwarves, and a host of fantastical creatures. There's an adventuring party, a dark lord, a talking sword, healing potions, magic, and a farm boy who has become a hero. It even starts in a tavern. Much of what can be expected from traditional fantasy is here, though its presentation differs.
Fifteen years ago a band of nine adventurers defeated the Dark Lord and took control of Necrad, the city that was his base of operations. That's where most stories would end, even though their lives and the world continue on. Alf is a human swordsman on the wrong side of forty-five and hasn't quite known what to do with himself ever since their victory. He's the keeper of Spellbreaker, a sentient sword that nullifies magic and was forged by one of the greatest elven smiths then empowered by the Dark Lord. It implores him to slaughter, provides comedic relief, and tells everyone what they don't want to hear. Spellbreaker is my favorite character in the book and one of the best talking weapons I've ever come across. There are also dream visions, which Alf dislikes, that have him seek out the one who gives him a prophecy, which he distrusts, of a rising evil. Thus he sets out on a new adventure to discover and defeat whatever it is that imperils the world, because at least he has a purpose again for his life. The other viewpoint character is his sister, Olva, who doesn't want to be involved, let alone have Derwyn, her son, be involved, in anything other than their life on the farm. Unfortunately for her, events transpire that force her to adventure as well, where she becomes far more involved than she could have ever imagined.
The eight other adventurers aren't faring much better, because this is their lives as they are now, and really always were, because life isn't how it goes in the songs and the stories. It's only in retrospect that can one can see the greater context of their life, and even then much remains unknown for why and how events came to pass. However, the understanding of that context may yet entirely change depending on what has yet to occur. The same can be said of this book's twists and turns that by the end seem to set the course for the trilogy, but I wouldn't be surprised if some later reveal provides an entirely different direction.
I received this eArc from Orbit through NetGalley. ...more
What a surprising start to my reading two books per month that were voted on for me to read. This is a Chinese gay romance/danmei cultivation/xianxia What a surprising start to my reading two books per month that were voted on for me to read. This is a Chinese gay romance/danmei cultivation/xianxia written by a Chinese woman for Chinese women that has an official translation. I don't mind reading what I otherwise wouldn't from time to time, and that's certainly what this is. This is the first gay romance and first Asian cultivation novel that I've finished.
This began as a serialized webnovel that after it ended it was revised and became a novel. As far as I know that isn't uncommon for webnovels that become novel series. Sometimes they're completely rewritten. I think that at least partially accounts for its quality of writing, the dialogue is especially horrendous, even after considering that it's been translated. I'm unable to comment on the original work, so I can't say whether the !!!s, ???s, and various phrases in ALL CAPS are appropriate or not, as stylistic standards in originally self-published works are much looser. There are interspersed illustrations. This has adaptations in various types of media.
The protagonist is a mass murdering flute playing grandmaster of demonic cultivation/necromancer with a kill count in the several thousands at least. Also, he's already died before the story begins. Thirteen years later a teenage male homosexual sacrifices his soul to summon an evil spirit to slaughter his own family, and so the protagonist takes residence in his new body. The protagonist decides to jokingly go along with the homosexuality to antagonize and disgust everyone. Since he doesn't have any powers from his former body, he's rather useless overall. Not entirely so, but enough to where it doesn't matter much. Most of the book is him being escorted by the man in love with him and their previous school life together. The assumedly mid-30s man doesn't mind that the man he fell in love with is in a teenager's body that's roughly the same age as when they first met.
In this first volume in there isn't much romance. The most that they do by the end of this is arguably cuddling, if it can be called that, since it's arguably coerced. The protagonist carries on with the "I'll do gay stuff to disgust him, oh no why isn't it working?" act the entire volume. It's difficult to believe that he's this dense about what's going on, but it's a common trope, so it's probably exactly what's happening. I don't know if this eventually becomes a "I'm not gay, I only love you" sort of thing, or something else, but clearly their relationship deepens in some way.
There wasn't much of anything for me to enjoy in this, which I suppose is to be expected. It didn't enrage me, make me regret my life decisions, or wail in anguish, so I can't it give it my lowest rating, not even rounded down. Some of my one star ratings don't mean that, but they almost all do.
City of Last Chances was nominally a fantasy novel, but it obscured that so often that at times it seemed like anything fantastical could almost be coCity of Last Chances was nominally a fantasy novel, but it obscured that so often that at times it seemed like anything fantastical could almost be considered as metaphorical instead. There were gods, demons, curses, possession, magic, interdimensional traveling, and other stuff, but it's not what the novel is about. There's a lot about how the Pallesand Archipelago is conquering and oppressing everyone in their quest to establish what they believe to be utopian socialism. It didn't explicitly say that, but it was heavily implied. The name may or may not have been a reference to Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, and/or the British Isles and Empire, especially as depicted in Orwell's 1984. They're all about controlling every aspect of behavior to come closer to their arbitrary ideal of perfection.
The novel had an unusual narrative structure where the viewpoint moved from one character to another from chapter to chapter. Some characters only had a single chapter and others had several. It began by establishing the primary viewpoints which were often included in the other viewpoints. A minor character in one viewpoint became the viewpoint in the next chapter and so on. I wanted to call this a mosaic novel but the paths of the characters are too overlapping for that to seem accurate. A few chapters were explicitly called mosaic because the narrator is the viewpoint in them, which was odd because there wasn't a frame story. The author simply described what happened as an omniscient narrator. The chapters open with similar narration.
The narrative was also different in its neutrality, as it's more an exploration of ongoing events through the lives of the characters rather than being about the characters themselves. So, in a way, the city could be considered a character, which is something I've seen in several books published in 2022. The downside was that because of the constantly changing perspective the characters were underdeveloped. I also disliked them. They're almost all stock characters with nothing to particularly distinguish them. The most egregious to me were the overeager and blindly idealistic college students eager to be martyrs for the revolution.
I don't know what this novel was meant to be about. To be entirely reductive, it's about the consequences following the theft of a magical item that leads to the death of one of the most important government officials. Everyone then wanted wanted to know who had the magical item and where it was. There were also various factions that worked towards revolution, but each had their own methods and incompatible end goals. I wouldn't be so concerned about what it meant if it weren't that it seemed like it was constantly trying to say something meaningful. Maybe that was intended or I read too much into it, but it left me unsatisfied.
This edition has a few changes, as explained in this interview: JV: I did cut about three pages from Authority and trim some other sections a tad in anThis edition has a few changes, as explained in this interview: JV: I did cut about three pages from Authority and trim some other sections a tad in anticipation of a continuous read from those who pick up the omnibus. I also altered just a couple of little things in Annihilation and Acceptance for continuity reasons. https://weirdfictionreview.com/2014/1...
As I finished each book of this trilogy I wrote about it, rather than writing about the entire trilogy at once. I was surprised about how what I thought about the series changed in the days that followed after I finished. My feelings on it have greatly benefitted from it being a group read and the longer duration that it's been between finishing it and posting. What I think about it now is far less harsh, though not any more favorable. So, mostly a matter of tone. I've left what I originally wrote at the time, since it's a reflection of how I felt immediately after reading. I've replaced the preface I originally wrote with this one, because it was far too angry. The only part I'll reuse is this excerpt: It's like a puzzle where every piece is blank and then after you put it all together, you draw on it to create your own meaning.
Annihilation This is the sort of story where everything is genericized, which for the characters also makes them also dehumanized. That was surely the intention, but it's not a style that I prefer. Stories like this require a lot of suspension of disbelief for their initial premise, let alone everything else that follows.
The most significant problem for me with this is the lack of believability. It was like someone telling me a very goal-oriented fictional story that's very convenient. The protagonist was like a puppet being strung along. It was if she had no greater purpose than for the plot to be revealed. None of the characters held any interest to me, which severely lessened how engaged I could be.
Throughout the entire book the most recurrent feeling I had was how distant and clinical everything felt. As I read it was like, ah, so that's what's happened. I had a sense of almost complete indifference, even more so than how the protagonist seemed to feel. I wasn't able to bring myself to care about any of it. I seemed to be able to tell which parts were meant to be emotionally resonant, but they were entirely muted for me.
Maybe the book's spooky ambience and a few scary scenes, which to me weren't really presented that way, again it all felt very mechanical, were enough to delight many readers. For me though it was though everything were just going through the motions and had minimal redeeming value. Once again though, my reactions are an outlier, in their intensity at least. Rating: 2/5
Authority Authority was surprisingly far less bothersome. The narrative didn't cause me to have a cascade of negative emotions and I didn't have a cavalcade of concerns about how it was presented. This book shows that the concern isn't only about Area X itself, but what its effect is on the world outside the area. In terms of the setting, this expansion presents a different side of the horrors that are to come. The protagonist is once again only a device to reveal the plot, but I didn't mind it as much. That he is as such was far better integrated into the narrative this time.
As a continuation of the first book, it probably does leave a lot to desired, as it's not like the first at all. This chronologically takes place after the first book, but I don't know that it would make a huge difference to read this one as the first instead. Since then it'd be like, "Oh so, that's what happened to all the characters and what was going on." There have been plenty of prequels like that. I can understand those who believe nothing outside of Area X matters, though I disagree.
The first book is adventure, exploration, mystery, and terrors. This second is being stymied by bureaucracy, navigating office politics, and being continuously undermined at any given moment by everything and everyone. The Shadowy Governmental Organization may only be so because in the shadows no one can see how decrepit it's become. For me this was more a comedy, maybe even a satire or parody, than anything else. The Weird is present, but everyone would prefer not to see it, and mostly manage not to, consciously anyway. It does take a toll on the mind though. Rating: 3/5
Acceptance This third book is about how events came to be and the search for answers, if not closure. The answers may not exist, and if they do, they may not be found, and if they are, they may be beyond comprehension. Regardless, there isn't any other option. One can only do as one can.
Much of the narrative takes place before the first book. Much also takes place after the second book. This sort of nonlinear storytelling was required because if were told chronologically the appropriate context wouldn't be available and also because there would be far less mystery. There is far less action than the first book and it doesn't have what I saw as the comedic elements of the second book. There's not much to recommend it aside from continuing to be in the weird atmosphere and better understanding the lives of a few characters.
There may be a fourth book, or even a fifth. The author has indicated as such. As to when they'd be a released, from what I saw the fourth may be released in 2024 or 2025. That is assuming they ever are. It's possible that I'll read them, if only because I wonder how much more of a mess it may become. It's more likely though that I won't care enough and any residual feeling will have dissipated. Rating: 2/5...more
I enjoyed Lafferty's previous non-franchise novel, Six Wakes, so I read this one as well because it seemed to continue in that style. It does, but proI enjoyed Lafferty's previous non-franchise novel, Six Wakes, so I read this one as well because it seemed to continue in that style. It does, but probably not to the satisfaction of most who would read it for that. I'd describe this book as a space fantasy mystery considerably influenced by modern pop culture, especially comic book movie adaptations. I didn't enjoy this as much as Six Wakes, but I think the author is more in her element with this book, and perhaps even more so with her Star Wars and Minecraft novels, but I'm not interested in those. This is the kind of work where the more you think about it, the sillier it becomes and the more you have to suspend your disbelief due to its lack of plausibility.
In 2044, Mallory Viridian, an author in her 30s who writes cozy murder mysteries, is aboard the living space station Eternity, because she's afraid that she causes murders to occur. She's also quite proficient at solving them. Unfortunately for her, more humans have been accepted, which can only mean that more murders will soon occur.
The station has seven sentient species present that all have distinct morphology, but their presentation isn't all that dissimilar. Almost none of them act alien, which isn't something that I mind in a fluffy work like this, but may bother other readers expecting radically different alien psychologies. The in-universe explanation for this is that the translation bug gives names and provides what would be most readily comprehensible for the host.
Although this book is ostensibly a murder mystery, I felt that the murders were of secondary consideration and what really mattered were the characters life stories. As with Six Wakes, each major character has their backstory developed through going through their past with takes up a considerable amount of the overall length. This puts it in an odd situation where it's somewhere between being about a sole character and also being an ensemble. I'm familiar, though conflicted, about this narrative technique because it can cause problems with the momentum of the core story and may make it seem disorganized. There are several different perspectives presented which occur at different times, so at least some attention has to be paid to realize where, when, and about who a chapter concerns. This didn't add much complexity to what is an overall relatively simple once everything is known. Most of the mystery is once again because the characters don't share information until near the end and because the author chose to obscure information until it could be a big reveal.
Despite these concerns, it's more likely than not that I'll read the next book in the series if only to see what the author does with it. In a lot of ways this reads like an origin story, so maybe it'll really start with the second book....more
The biggest problem for me with this book was that it didn't seem to have a sense of its own identity. It didn't know what it wanted to be. Perhaps thThe biggest problem for me with this book was that it didn't seem to have a sense of its own identity. It didn't know what it wanted to be. Perhaps that was the point. If everything is tried all at once then maybe some part of it will work. The story felt to me more like a cobbled together assemblage of disparate story elements rather than a coherent and organic whole. Even so, the overall narrative was weirdly traditional. Several promising ideas and concepts were included, but few of them saw regular use. It would've been far more interesting to me if it instead had been a metastory about contemporary fantasy versus traditional fantasy.
A basic plot summary would be that the children of a powerful family go their own ways and through the trials they face develop their own individual strengths. As noted by the series name, there's also an uprising. There are two empires, one is magitek and the other necromantic. Although there was some promise with the magitek, it's mostly surface level and not nearly enough was done with it for my preference. The necromantic followed through with demons, human sacrifice, immortality(?), and similar being prevalent.
I don't know quite why it was, but I didn't care for almost any of the characters. It's not just because almost every character constantly makes terrible choices or behaves ridiculously. I can tolerate that. Yet, I found myself indifferent to what any of them did. Some characters seemed to exist only to be killed off, but since they were only there for relatively few pages, it didn't really have any impact on me. At the reveal of the antagonist of the story, who is a cackling melodramatic megalomaniac convinced of their own self-righteousness, I could be barely be bothered to roll my eyes.
Initially this seemed to have promise, but it wasn't able to deliver what I wanted. While there are structural problems with it, it was more the accumulation of many small concerns that harmed my enjoyment. I won't be reading any more from this series. That's not because it's a bad book, it isn't, but rather because I don't have any sense of personal investment in it. I read this as part of a whim where I would read a book that was published each month this year. The book I was going to read for this month was pushed back to next month and this was its substitute.
After having read fifteen books in the author's Prey series, I thought I'd go back to the other series he started at the same time and see how it was.After having read fifteen books in the author's Prey series, I thought I'd go back to the other series he started at the same time and see how it was. Unlike his main series where the protagonist enforces the law in his own particular way, the protagonist for this one is entirely outside of the law. It made for an interesting story and characters, but it was all a bit too much. Here's how Kidd, the protagonist is described.
You have a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. You have a master of fine arts in painting. You should have a Ph. D. in software design, but you skipped your orals to go fishing in Costa Rica.
Your friends say you stay up all night and sleep until noon. You paint and do computer programs and know a lot of politicians who come to your apartment with sacks full of money.
Your friends say you have a wonderful nerd act. You dress up like an engineer with a white shirt and string tie, and put a calculator on your belt and nine ballpoint pens in a white plastic pocket shield.
You worked with the Strategic Operations Group out of Saigon during the Vietnam War
He's dressed in an Army urban camouflage suit that's supposed to be sort of secret.
A couple of people said you do the tarot.
It doesn't end there by any means. He's also a martial artist who seduces women, has a super hacker friend, casually meets up with arms dealers, and is quite the marksman. It's really quite something.
As for the plot, it's basically an end of the 80s technothriller. All the technological stuff is rather dated now, but since I've had personal experience with some of it, it wasn't anything I didn't understand.
Almost all of the author's books take place in the same universe and interact with each other, often in small ways, so I thought I may as well read these four books. After having read this first one though, I don't think I care enough to do so now. It's probably enough for when they're eventually in the main series. I don't know why this didn't work for me and that's too bad. If I could rate this exactly 2.5 stars, I would, but I can't, so 3 stars it is, because it isn't quite that meh.
What I read wasn't what I wanted, but it is entirely what I should've expected. As with the first book, the con artist parts were enjoyable. If it hadWhat I read wasn't what I wanted, but it is entirely what I should've expected. As with the first book, the con artist parts were enjoyable. If it had stayed with that sort of thing the entire time, this would've been an easy four stars. Unfortunately, that was maybe half the book at best. The other half is "piracy" which was far less what I wanted. It wouldn't have been a problem if it was done well, but it's in quotes because I didn't think it was.
I had issues with the pacing as well. The book is presented in three parts. The first part is half the present and half the recent past, similar to the structure of the first book. Fortunately I enjoyed its usage more than in the first book. The second part is bloated and takes far too long to do much of anything at all. The third part may as well be a montage for all it tries to accomplish in as few pages that it does.
While it is a change of pace that each book seems that it will be designed to be almost wholly self-contained, overall I would prefer more of an overarching story. Regardless of how it's structured if I had enjoyed it more I wouldn't have minded.
And so, this may well be where my journey ends with this series. Maybe I'll change my mind in a few years and read the third book, or not. I admit I'm concerned as to why I see listings for up to a seventh book in the series when the fourth book is so long overdue. I don't feel like I'd be missing out on much, which counts for a lot. It's unfortunate, but it's how it sometimes goes.
This sequel is entirely different and not for the better.
In this book the fun, idealism, cons, relative light-heartedness, sense of adventure, and eveThis sequel is entirely different and not for the better.
In this book the fun, idealism, cons, relative light-heartedness, sense of adventure, and everything else that made it enjoyable are replaced with seriousness, edginess, cynicism, a sense of claustrophobia, and a murder mystery in places of elaborate cons.
Yes, the entire book is a murder mystery and thriller, which is not what I expected it to be or wanted from this, at all.
All that which seemed fantastical has become entirely mundane, as the reality sets in about their nature of their lives and their relationships, which is about as fun as a pail of icy water to the face on a cold winter's day....more
This is shelved considerably more as "Adult", but it's clearly much more on the "Young Adult" side. I saw it on the Goodreads Choice Awards and it seeThis is shelved considerably more as "Adult", but it's clearly much more on the "Young Adult" side. I saw it on the Goodreads Choice Awards and it seemed moderately interesting, so I read it.
The magic system is similar to block-based coding, where each block is powered by the life force of a human, channeled through a bone shard of their skull that everyone must tithe to the Emperor. It's to be seen if it can be used for anything other than the creation of constructs. It's interesting, but it's not explored much in this book as the relevant character is just learning about it. Maybe it'll explored more in later books. Other magic systems seem to exist, but for now are simply "just something that happens" rather than any understanding of what is going on with them.
There are 5 POVs, some in 1st person and others in 3rd person. They are The Smuggler, The Princess, The Lover, The Exile, and The Rebel. Of those, only The Smuggler isn't female, though he journeys to find his wife. Although the characters are in their early to mid 20s, they don't seem like it, but maybe I've already forgotten what that's like as I've felt similarly with other recent modern SFF titles with characters of a similar age.
The setting is an archipelago that was seized from the natives some centuries ago, but apparently the islands are free floating and anchored so I don't quite know what's going on with that. Early on one of the islands (view spoiler)[ sinks and that's a cause for much alarm, though not without precedent in their historical records. (hide spoiler)]
I found a lot of it to be nonsensical and the ending was kind of a mess, but it was otherwise fine. I can certainly understand why it would be enjoyed by a lot of people, but it's not really something for me. I won't be reading the next book in the series, simply for lack of interest. Yes, it does a lot of stuff that I like and enjoy, but I found it to be a watered down experience at best.
I'm conflicted about the title because it's (view spoiler)[ a major and blatant spoiler. (hide spoiler)] I don't know whether that's appropriate so that the reader can later say (view spoiler)[ "Oh, I understand now! I GET IT!" (hide spoiler)] or if it's expected of the reader to (view spoiler)[ to realize the twist immediately, because it seems to be played as something the reader shouldn't have figured out until late in the story. (hide spoiler)]
Lastly, maybe it was just me, but I felt it was surprisingly influenced by (view spoiler)[Westworld (hide spoiler)] than by necromancy, which is what I thought it would be about considering the title....more
This self-published grimdark novel was a group read. Fletcher's debut novel was traditionally published, however all of his subsequent novels, includiThis self-published grimdark novel was a group read. Fletcher's debut novel was traditionally published, however all of his subsequent novels, including this one, have been self-published.
Once again I've deceived and disappointed myself from what I thought it'd be about based on how it begins. I have no one other than myself to blame for that. Based on the cover, the synopsis, and the opening, I thought it'd be about an active and exciting protagonist on a possibly grand adventure with an intriguing cast of characters. That's not what this is and now I don't know why I thought it'd be.
What I read instead was a relatively passive protagonist who was both sullen and horny. There's a considerable amount of sex though it isn't described in detail. His primary activities seemed to be introspection, whining, rumination, and above all else, brooding over the concept of evil. There wasn't anything I liked about him, or really any of the characters. He has a goal in mind, so he isn't wandering aimlessly, but it felt like to me that much more ought to have been accomplished over the course of the book. The journey itself was lackluster as well.
There's grimdark edginess that may put readers off, or alternatively be a draw for them, but I found myself mostly indifferent to it. Based on the reactions of others, there is definitely a demographic for this who greatly enjoys it, but apparently I don't find myself within that.
As this is planned to be a dual trilogy, a six book series, I won't be reading the second book and may not read any books from this author again. I'm significantly disappointed. Maybe it'd be worthwhile after reading all the books after however many years it takes for them to release, but I don't have any interest in finding out whether they are....more
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