Obviously, by book 11, I've found something good in this series. I am anxious to pick up the next.
Why? Because it gives me all the fan service I'd eveObviously, by book 11, I've found something good in this series. I am anxious to pick up the next.
Why? Because it gives me all the fan service I'd ever want with progression novels. Always working hard to that next level up. Sure, we're still on the high E-grade path, with D, C, B, and A still ahead of us, but damn. The promise is there and so is all the incremental additions to his power.
This one had a pretty nice balance between cultivating and action, as most of them do. Story is sometimes interesting, however, or at least a good enoThis one had a pretty nice balance between cultivating and action, as most of them do. Story is sometimes interesting, however, or at least a good enough hook that I just don't care. I love the LitRPG elements more than just about anything else, so it just doesn't matter.
But I should say one thing: I love how he keeps the so much larger OP stakes interesting.
Basically god levels here, but it doesn't matter because there are so many gods. :)...more
I'm still having fun with these LitRPGs. I'll never say they're great literature, but for my video-gaJonah and the Whale? How about a prison breakout!
I'm still having fun with these LitRPGs. I'll never say they're great literature, but for my video-game loving heart, it's a balm. Let's level up some more among monarchs!...more
While I wasn't truly sold on the realm introduced in the previous book, it found a rather cool conclusion here.
In the end, I loved the shorter title-While I wasn't truly sold on the realm introduced in the previous book, it found a rather cool conclusion here.
In the end, I loved the shorter title-hunting stories a lot more.
While these LitRPGs are pretty average, there are some really cool aspects in the cultivation areas. Improving one's soul, for example, is pretty primo here. Actually beautiful. :)...more
I will say this: the first third of the novel is fantastic. Engaging, weird, sharp. All the periphery hints were spectacular and I was totally down foI will say this: the first third of the novel is fantastic. Engaging, weird, sharp. All the periphery hints were spectacular and I was totally down for any/all reveals.
When it did develop, I was kinda shocked that it all turned into an exploration of grief, hidden or not, and then the plot got further submerged. I decided at that point to just enjoy the ride instead of trying to figure out what is happening.
And then, by the end, already long-aware of the spoilerish nature of the story, I can't say I really remained drawn into the emotions of it. I wanted to, but it lost me. If I sound super vague, it's because I can't talk about the seriously WEIRD (nicely so) nature of the novel.
I mean, sure, I can talk about the utter immersion in an old, bad, 80's sitcom, or the job that was utterly f***ed up, or the swirling-down-the-drain nature of the plot, but without details, all I can say is: go read it for yourself!
It IS pretty damn interesting and creative and when you consider just how few novels go off the deep end, we need to treasure those who do. :) ...more
While there is just minimal character development, I really don't care that much. The progression part of the fiction, new cores, leveling-up, new powWhile there is just minimal character development, I really don't care that much. The progression part of the fiction, new cores, leveling-up, new powers, skills, and incidental action is enough to keep me pumped up.
I was really quite interested in the system vs heaven levels of the multiverse. The deeper delve into the technological division is getting pretty interesting, too.
Sometimes, wild gaming imagination is all a guy needs. :)...more
This is hope-fiction, people, and I'm all down for it. I like my dystopias fine, but it's THIS kind of stuff that balances it all out. So freaking necessary. :)
You know, putting aside the fact that this just won the Hugo for best short story in '24, if someone had told me I had to read this, and insisted, perYou know, putting aside the fact that this just won the Hugo for best short story in '24, if someone had told me I had to read this, and insisted, perhaps with a gun to my head, that I would love it, forcing me to read it, I probably would have come out of the experience in something much more than shock.
Not only would I turn on that person who had put a gun to my head, I'd probably give them a hug, thanking them for the abuse.
Why? Because the story was just that touching.
Being socially sequestered, a bit of a loser, myself, I found a lot of things in this short story just -- delightful. Did I want something like this? Yes. All parts of it, up to the point where the expiration date hit? Yes.
I mean, damn. This is the flip side of everything we've got. The UPside. And this is what we should be striving for. All of us.
Alice Towey ("The Time Capsule") - (4*) A nice bit of future nostalgia while looking back. Resource dystopia, a little hope, and a wistful look at ourAlice Towey ("The Time Capsule") - (4*) A nice bit of future nostalgia while looking back. Resource dystopia, a little hope, and a wistful look at our future past.
Thomas Ha ("The Sort") - (4*)Creepy near-future small-community almost SK horror. Gotta love how people mutate and grow just like a Monsanto scourge -- and we don't know whether it is getting really bad, or whether it's just a new normal. Perfect for us, no?
Rich Larson ("Molum, Molum, Molum the Scourge") - (3*) Fights, implants, and tech-treatments just like drug fixes. Not bad, just feels rather cyberpunk.
Timothy Mudie ("Something Crossing Over, Something Coming Back") - (4*) A literal putting yourself in someone else's shoes story. I enjoyed the subtle give and take, the sliding away from actual espionage into true understanding. There's a lot to be said about acceptance, especially today.
Rajeev Prasad ("Canyon Dance") - (3*) Addiction + asteroid mining. I get what it's all about, but I just didn't really get invested. I mean, I've survived the Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch -- this is admittedly more down to earth, but just okay in the end.
David McGillveray ("The Deformed Saint and the Poison Wind") - (3*) A maybe-heartfelt tribute to doing the very minimum you can for indigenous people suffering from greater wars, SF style.
Emily Taylor ("Where My Love Still Lives") - (3*) Barely SF, more of a coming-home story than anything else.
Marisca Pichette ("Three Circuits of the Monoceros Ring") - (5*) Epistolary romance story spanning the whole galaxy. Rather sweet. :)
We also get a pretty great non-fiction on African SFF identity and examples....more
Do you like your future solar system full of high-tech iron domination that nears but doesn't quite cross over into religious nuttery? Yeah? So do I. Do you like your future solar system full of high-tech iron domination that nears but doesn't quite cross over into religious nuttery? Yeah? So do I. This is Space-Opera! Not Sparta. Space. Opera. :)
There's fighting, sure, but it's not really war. It's free zones and oppression and great Earthly tragedy and a long economic spiral of an old trope of Reliance On Special Substance. In this case, it happens to be only harvested on Earth, but none of this is what makes this novel special. This is setting, and SF really loves its setting. It's all good, of course.
For those expecting something very similar to the author's Titanborn, think again, unless you mean a similar visiting of father/daughter themes, a very special planet named Titan or a planetoid named Ceres, or a handful of other things that never get in the way of enjoying the novel. Indeed, it only enhances it. You can expect a lot more tech, a lot more glam, and probably a bit more action.
But honestly, I think I loved the characters in Titanborn just a bit more, or at least that's what I thought until I finally realized that no one was really quite what they appeared. I got this weird idea that I knew who the bad peeps were and who were the good, eventually settling into the idea that they were all just people, instead, with all the mix, but then I was handed a zinger near the end.
Could I have wished to know whether or not there are actual villains, or precisely WHO is the villain? Hmmm... maybe? I don't know! When all of the main character arcs played themselves out, I was satisfied with everyone's changes, and some were rather more impressive than others, while the rest were a perfect setup for grand sequels. By the end of the book, I'm rearing to go. The author is pretty damn smooth when it comes to that trick. I'm hooked.
So what characters do I love? And is it *really* like Firefly as per the blurb? Well, I'll answer the second one first: No. Not really. These peeps are pretty much their own people.
Cassius probably surprised me the most and became my favorite character by the end, but Sage had the strongest personal development. Talon is good for sympathy, through and through, and I have fallen into that trap completely.
I suppose the real breakout character is one that some of my friends will appreciate the most: ADIM. I mean, come on? WHO DOESN'T LOVE HUMANIFORM ANDROIDS? Amiright? Right?
We've already been discussing a certain character from Titanborn and how much we love him, but now we've got his original template right here, to a rather offset degree, anyway, but it's hard not to make the connections.
This *IS* the author's first novel, but don't worry. It's quite fun and a very solid read that doesn't betray the reader's trust at all. :) I can honestly say I'm looking forward to following all the novels, including the third in this series which is Coming Soon. :) Woo! Woo!
Merged review:
Do you like your future solar system full of high-tech iron domination that nears but doesn't quite cross over into religious nuttery? Yeah? So do I. This is Space-Opera! Not Sparta. Space. Opera. :)
There's fighting, sure, but it's not really war. It's free zones and oppression and great Earthly tragedy and a long economic spiral of an old trope of Reliance On Special Substance. In this case, it happens to be only harvested on Earth, but none of this is what makes this novel special. This is setting, and SF really loves its setting. It's all good, of course.
For those expecting something very similar to the author's Titanborn, think again, unless you mean a similar visiting of father/daughter themes, a very special planet named Titan or a planetoid named Ceres, or a handful of other things that never get in the way of enjoying the novel. Indeed, it only enhances it. You can expect a lot more tech, a lot more glam, and probably a bit more action.
But honestly, I think I loved the characters in Titanborn just a bit more, or at least that's what I thought until I finally realized that no one was really quite what they appeared. I got this weird idea that I knew who the bad peeps were and who were the good, eventually settling into the idea that they were all just people, instead, with all the mix, but then I was handed a zinger near the end.
Could I have wished to know whether or not there are actual villains, or precisely WHO is the villain? Hmmm... maybe? I don't know! When all of the main character arcs played themselves out, I was satisfied with everyone's changes, and some were rather more impressive than others, while the rest were a perfect setup for grand sequels. By the end of the book, I'm rearing to go. The author is pretty damn smooth when it comes to that trick. I'm hooked.
So what characters do I love? And is it *really* like Firefly as per the blurb? Well, I'll answer the second one first: No. Not really. These peeps are pretty much their own people.
Cassius probably surprised me the most and became my favorite character by the end, but Sage had the strongest personal development. Talon is good for sympathy, through and through, and I have fallen into that trap completely.
I suppose the real breakout character is one that some of my friends will appreciate the most: ADIM. I mean, come on? WHO DOESN'T LOVE HUMANIFORM ANDROIDS? Amiright? Right?
We've already been discussing a certain character from Titanborn and how much we love him, but now we've got his original template right here, to a rather offset degree, anyway, but it's hard not to make the connections.
This *IS* the author's first novel, but don't worry. It's quite fun and a very solid read that doesn't betray the reader's trust at all. :) I can honestly say I'm looking forward to following all the novels, including the third in this series which is Coming Soon. :) Woo! Woo!...more
First of all, if you love roadtrip novels, then perk your ear up.
The black box of doom needs a little road-time.
Of course, exactly WHAT that black boxFirst of all, if you love roadtrip novels, then perk your ear up.
The black box of doom needs a little road-time.
Of course, exactly WHAT that black box of doom is will be a major bone of contention throughout the novel, but it should be safe to say that there are several.
Probably, the more interesting black box of doom is the author's willingness to let it all hang out. We've all had some seriously hard years, be it with societal craziness, fractured people, loneliness, online echo chambers, and, let's face it, FEAR and the greater uneasiness we all have about opening up to others.
After a fairly delightful meet-cute involving a bit of kidnapping (honestly probably the only way this basement-dwelling dude might have agreed to this bit of wildness), this novel doesn't hesitate to jump right in and say the things that might start tons of arguments.
Oddly, however, there's a bit of interesting open-mindedness, which was pretty delightful, even if it didn't go overboard.
The rest of the novel was almost slapstick in how the Reddit boards went cuckoo or how conspiracy nutters became weekend warriors. It was pretty funny.
It may not be my favorite of Mr. Pargin's, but I do appreciate the courage to put these other ideas out there and treat them with a little respect even if they may be a sore point for many. (Think any of the contentious things that are on Reddit, and you'll get the idea.)...more
Some time later, Will finds romance and progresses with some greater powers and negotiations. The space opera continues nicely, but if I am to be entiSome time later, Will finds romance and progresses with some greater powers and negotiations. The space opera continues nicely, but if I am to be entirely honest, it is simple. If nobody expects complicated situations or characterizations, just a well-written formula, then you'll probably have a good time.
It is nothing groundbreaking, however, just psi and better star travel stuff, a long war, and lies.
Time skip, and the destined romance flowered a young man with prodigious psy-talents. He's driven, uncomplaining, and a shoe-in for leadership. Of couTime skip, and the destined romance flowered a young man with prodigious psy-talents. He's driven, uncomplaining, and a shoe-in for leadership. Of course, he must be tested by the other side of the war, and he wasn't found wanting.
Again, it's pretty boilerplate space-opera SF, but it IS written easy-going and should appeal to the popcorn-loving crowd.
Easy-reading space-opera. We've got the standard hidden-war thing going on with the special heroes sporting powerful psi-powers. Mix a little genetic Easy-reading space-opera. We've got the standard hidden-war thing going on with the special heroes sporting powerful psi-powers. Mix a little genetic tampering, bloodlines, and engineered romance, and that pretty much describes the first book.
It's not bad, of course. It's pretty standard you-get-what-you-come-for fare. Fun, if this is what you crave. For me, I didn't mind it at all. I've read much worse.
I can't really review this book without writing a book about it -- and that's because it's an enormous, sprawling far-future SF full of humans, demi-pI can't really review this book without writing a book about it -- and that's because it's an enormous, sprawling far-future SF full of humans, demi-post-humans, and post-humans that have settled across a goodly portion of space without breaking the speed of light barrier.
Those who arrived first got to set up everything however they wanted, passing down the torch in spectacularly high-tech ways, while those who slow-moved their way into the cluster are pretty much given a couple of super-planet reservations to farm and feed the rest of the empire.
Of course, that's just the setup. The rest of the book is over nine-hundred pages, and we've got investigations, intrigue, adventure, interesting politics, high-tech enmeshed plot, and the titular Archimedes Engine -- based on some of the oldest original tech that only the Archons should have their hands on. Of course, the Celestials, the Uranic, and the normal latecomer normal humans will all vie for power -- and there's no power quite as big as that engine. No spoilers, but it's impressive.
What I should really point out is that this is a deep, wildly imaginative, and thoroughly explored novel. If you want to get lost in a really huge tale with amazing, far-reaching worldbuilding, great plots, tons of characters, and great action, then I'm just going to point at Peter here.
He's got it all -- big books that will last you a great long time. :) ...more
More characterizations, more plot, and an interesting development, but I will stand by my last review when I said these three deserve to be together aMore characterizations, more plot, and an interesting development, but I will stand by my last review when I said these three deserve to be together as a single story.
All together, it makes a pretty solid novel of first contact, trust, and resolve.
It was this particular novella that I really enjoyed the most, however. I like Harrison's quasi-magical developments. :)...more
Totality picks up from the first novella, deepening all the relationships, learning more about the Neighbors' world, what they seek to accomplish on oTotality picks up from the first novella, deepening all the relationships, learning more about the Neighbors' world, what they seek to accomplish on our planet, and generally pulling off a normal first-contact kind of story.
However -- it feels like it has been done many times before. The only twist is some people behaving badly and a strong ecological theme. And on top of that, I am getting the distinct impression that these three novellas ought to have been packaged as a single longer tale, that they may have been split for marketing reasons.
I can't say that it would have made it a better tale, either way, but that's my impression.
The story is mild. A slight three-way kind of thing, but really more focused on friendship building. For some readers, this should be a high selling point....more
Now that we've entered an age where cyberpunk is our actual reality, it really tickles me to read techno-thrillers that have all that old panache.
ThiNow that we've entered an age where cyberpunk is our actual reality, it really tickles me to read techno-thrillers that have all that old panache.
This near-future SF dystopia gives me all the feel of Detroit, of Daniel Suarez's wonderful novels, and any number of SF novels that insist that the warning should never be ignored.
In other words, my friends, if you love rich near-future worldbuilding, tech-failings, massive gambles, and a trove of spoilerish SF goodies that make their way onto the page, not to mention a fine plot, then please don't overlook this.
I had a great time!
PS: It's an independent title, but don't let that dissuade anyone. It is a passion project that took 5 years to get out here. It's not backed by anything but our eyes and support. It would be tragic if this gets lost in the shuffle. ...more
We've got the modern genre of cozy space-opera mixed with a heist tale that has a little bit of everything else. Maya is a symExcellent and fun tale.
We've got the modern genre of cozy space-opera mixed with a heist tale that has a little bit of everything else. Maya is a sympathetic character coming off a mini-career of stealing from museums to return art to the alien species they came from, now trying to get some higher-education in. From there, however, is the call of an alien friend's Grail, and it all gets fun from there.
Between lots of travel, alien locales, and bumping into her academic advisor in all the weirdest places, we get space battles, bloody broken planets, and some enormous stakes for her alien friend.
I love it. It's adventure like I used to love grand adventure. Indiana Jones in space. I need a lot more of this. ...more
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