I first read this 25 years ago in an anthology I still have to this day. I had read a lot of short fiction by that time, as well as a mountain of SF nI first read this 25 years ago in an anthology I still have to this day. I had read a lot of short fiction by that time, as well as a mountain of SF novels.
I'm happy to say that this random little story from over two decades ago has done a better job of immortalizing itself to me than any other. Few have shone as brightly as this one. Indeed, I might say this one is my absolute favorite short SF of all time.
Sure, some older SF authors might have touched on the same overall theme and some later authors will have done the same, but this one has everything I love most.
Back in '98, nanotech was still shiny, but what never goes out of style is a good tale: all the love, immortality, sheer unrestrained originality, time, and memory.
It's a densely crafted tale that sets up the seven days of Solomon Grundy, only hard-SF -- and it's full of heart. It rejects the idea that immortality kills love. There's a lot more going on in it than is obvious in even two reads.
I'll be honest here: if I had any way to immortalize this story, make sure everyone in the universe reads it, gets it under their skin, then I would be a very happy man. If any story should not be forgotten, if it should have many, many reprints, then it ought to be this one.
Here's what you probably need to know. This is a gloriously multi-genre-mashing horror/fantasy/SF epic. The blurb doesn't do it justice.
Think SK's DarHere's what you probably need to know. This is a gloriously multi-genre-mashing horror/fantasy/SF epic. The blurb doesn't do it justice.
Think SK's Dark Tower meets IT. Flavor it well with gorgeous small-line language that's some of the best, so evocative. Break up the story between two time periods and a massive road trip epic in a world (or rather, many, many worlds) gone wrong. And throw us some of the best, most genuinely scary scenes with tension coming out my ears.
Before I knew what was happening, I was completely lost in the tale, awash in real-life details and modern references that reminded me VERY fondly SK's early novels, leading me into very firm despair before the band got back together. And that's just the setup, leading us to a very Dark Tower-like epic that had me squealing like a true fanboy for ANY kind of novel or novelist able to pull this off in grand style.
And Max Gladstone did.
To be entirely honest, even though I had loved his original UF series and truly adored a certain red vs blue romance, I wasn't entirely sure this particular novel would have gone all out with originality and skills. It just seemed... interesting, not epic.
I'm glad I'm very wrong on that score. This was fantastic. ...more
If I could totally pick a non-Dune book of Frank Herbert's to point at and say, "Hey, this one is all kinds of cool and fantastic!" It'd be this one.
IIf I could totally pick a non-Dune book of Frank Herbert's to point at and say, "Hey, this one is all kinds of cool and fantastic!" It'd be this one.
If I needed to point to any of his non-Dune books and say, "OMG this one short novel connects all the main themes of the Dune Chronicles in a rather non-Dune way, focusing on the mechanics and propaganda and elements of religion in a possibly deeper way than the Chronicles!" I'd also nod at this book.
But here's the really interesting aspect:
Being a big fan of the Dune series, including Brian and Kevin's part in it, I read Godmakers with an eye to the deep-past, nearing the Butlerian Jihad with huge Psi talents, a nearly random confluence of events, and mysticism. I kept reading about the events here with the rediscovery of lost planets, the hints of travel through mind-powers, the alien intelligences, and the opening of awareness in a very different light.
Almost as if this was proto-guild navigation. Or the pre-prelude to the eventual AI takeover.
Please forgive me, true-fans. I like to think about these kinds of confluences in terms of Herbert's massive future history. Because -- let's make no bones about it -- his Future History is massive, complex, and wonderful. I see things in this book that tie directly to the last couple of novels that are supposed to capstone Herbert's original cycle.
I'd love to see someone truly tie that together. Or perhaps they already did. (Brian and Kevin)
I totally recommend this book, however. We don't see SF like this much at ALL anymore. Either subject or how it is handled.
There is absolutely no way to review this book with any justice.
Suffice to say, I have to revise my top ten book list.
Mind you, I must put all four boThere is absolutely no way to review this book with any justice.
Suffice to say, I have to revise my top ten book list.
Mind you, I must put all four books into the pile as one long story because while they can be read individually with their own major punctuation point, there's simply no way to separate one YES, YES, YES from the rest.
What is this book, these books?
They are some of the finest Science Fiction I've ever read. It has everything.
Heart-searching, amazing worldbuilding, philosophy, amazing action, gorgeous prose, and ... even now, after having read nearly 6 thousand books in my life, even manages to CHANGE MY LIFE.
Look. I'm kinda skeptical and I take certain book-journeys with kid gloves. If a book accomplishes what it sets out to achieve, or if it is entertaining, or if I learned a ton from it, I tend to give it full marks just because it was excellent on its own terms. But then there are some books that take me by the back of my neck, stare deep into my eyes, and fill me with a soul-hungry WILDNESS that asks me that single, awesome question:
"How do you capture a beautiful bird without killing its spirit?"
THIS book is the answer.
I laughed, I cried, and I want to scream out to everyone I know... YOU MUST READ THESE!!!!
I can't say it enough. They are amazing. They should be ranked right up there with the best books of any field, not just SF or Fantasy. I say the same thing about Dune. It's not only wise and overflowing with life. It's heart-wrenching.
Don't let the fact that it's hard-SF set in a far future filled with lightships and computer gods and alien worlds. Those are for context. The heart of these books in nature of life, of the injustice of life, and how to live with it. In that respect, it's very much a classic tale.
But when you answer the question that I posed, before, it answers about three dozen other questions and it may simply blow your mind.
I think I'll be putting all four of these books in my place of pride on my bookshelf and read them over and over. Danlo is a friend I will always want by my side.
Oh, and if this isn't that clear, I need to say: OMG ya'll, FIND these, READ them. They BEG for readers.
There is serious injustice going on here. It's hard to FIND them. The publishers SCREWED the author over. These books deserve to have airtime and be gushed over by millions of readers and be subject to endless online arguments and be petitioned for movie deals. But instead, I'm afraid that they will remain forgotten and left to rot under tons of trash.
I cannot stress this enough. These are CLASSICS. The REAL DEAL. Utterly amazing....more
I'm of two minds on this book. I want to heap a ton of praise on it for being an amusing multi-universal tale that reminds me of the DC universe and SI'm of two minds on this book. I want to heap a ton of praise on it for being an amusing multi-universal tale that reminds me of the DC universe and Sliders in how many Earths there are, but that's old-school stuff.
I then want to heap praise on it for keeping so much focus on the same sets of characters that our main character has always been interacting with, showing a lot of subtlety and flexibility with the greater tale. But then, there's a lot of that in multi-universal novels, too. Or any novel. This still does a fine job that remains interesting to the end.
So that leaves me with the worldbuilding. The focus on the very rich walled society right next to the very poor and violent society, with all its subtle variations across the multiverse, is a good trope. We're focused on the disadvantages and the inequality and the casual (or not so casual) violence. On its surface and quite far below it, it makes the total novel a pretty rock-solid tale rife with many, many plot reversals and subtle changes.
If I stop here, it's a very decent read. If I don't think about the elephant in the room, it's a great read.
So what's the elephant?
Many-universe theory, as explored here, has infinite variations. Indeed, it goes from the very tiny to the extremely large differences. So why are we stuck in the mid-300's in this tale? Is the limitation needed to keep the novel focused? Apparently. And probably necessary. The alternative is a wide-open tale that can solve the inequality issue, in theory, because there never would have been a need for a single inventor to keep all his secrets THAT close to his chest. We'd be fine with an exponential explosion because there would still be an infinite number of worlds. And then there was the whole question about the rest of THIS single world. All we got to see or hear about was the single city. That was a private universe to itself. So... where is the rest of the complexity? Is it all really just a microcosm after all?
Let's not ask such questions, tho. Let's enjoy the ride for what it is. :) ...more
Already being a fan of Amal El-Mohtar, I jumped on this story. (Remember This is How You Lose the Time War?) Yep.
This short story is somewhat quiet unAlready being a fan of Amal El-Mohtar, I jumped on this story. (Remember This is How You Lose the Time War?) Yep.
This short story is somewhat quiet until the end and then it really jumps at me. I was totally into it for one of the same reasons that I was totally affected by V for Vendetta. If you've seen the movie, you'll know exactly what I mean.
And as for the concept behind it? Gorgeous. We need more of that here and now.
Mind you, I've read the comics several times through, so I was apprehensive about how well it would have transformed into an audiobookVery satisfying.
Mind you, I've read the comics several times through, so I was apprehensive about how well it would have transformed into an audiobook format.
Fortunately, it worked brilliantly. I'm sure it required a great deal of re-imagining for the format, but this should come as no surprise since it will soon come out as a TV SERIES!!!!
Wooo!
But back to the story. This only takes on the narrative through the Midsummer Night's Tale. We can all expect more, later.
Just imagine.
The lord of stories, of narrative, of dream.
For all of you who have never read the comics and think you might like to get introduced to this?
Definitely. Listen away. It only gives you a taste of the full tale, but it's very, very fun....more
I have nothing but positive things to say about Peter F. Hamilton's new series, now on its third book.
It has everything I dream of in a story. Not jusI have nothing but positive things to say about Peter F. Hamilton's new series, now on its third book.
It has everything I dream of in a story. Not just a good story that takes on the full subjugation of humanity, but tens of thousands of whole technological alien species, but a rebellion story that goes all the extra miles with solid tech, solid circumstances, and mind-blowing ramifications.
For not only did we start out with micro-black-hole technologies in the first book, but we go way beyond that with post-human neutron-star hacking, expanded and split consciousness immortals, standard and not-so-standard cyberpunk, and a scope that spans the entire freaking galaxy.
The stakes? Freaking end-of-the-universe stakes. The enemies? An alien species that started its monocultural crusade to cocoon ALL other species to "save" them for the end of times more than a couple of a million years ago. The resolution?
Muahahahahahaha it's epic, man. It's epic.
Hamilton rocks. I've known this for a while. I did take some time to get into his earlier works, it's true, but now I'm a believer.
After reading this book, I'm not only reeling after a great Heist story, but I'm rocking to a Dark Fantasy that happens Sometimes I'm just astounded.
After reading this book, I'm not only reeling after a great Heist story, but I'm rocking to a Dark Fantasy that happens to be Hard SF while very much being a Superhero tale being couched in a Lovecraftian universe while setting me up to be murdered by Bond in its classic thriller milieu just before I wonder if Peter from Peter Pan will ever grow up.
If you're asking WTF, then you're in the right frame of mind.
And it's AWESOME.
For you old fans of Bob and Mo and fairy kingdoms clashing against Elder Gods, put your expectations on hold. There's not much of that here. We're very much in a day and age after a Greater Evil has taken over the government and the best thing that a government employee can hope for is holding the chaos at bay just a few seconds longer.
For the rest of us, and that includes a group of thieves and a thief-taker in modern pre-apocalyptic London, we've got a little mission. And a -- or rather, The Necronomicon.
If you're not just a tad thrilled (or horrified) by this news, then go read some romance fluff. That's the only genre that isn't expertly mashed in this brilliant novel.
Oddly enough, a new reader of Stross could read this particular novel without having read the previous ones. They may miss a lot of the worldbuilding jokes and might freak out at the sheer complexity of the inherent humor of computational necromancy or residual human resources, but that's okay. They'll still be in for a treat. After all, Santa is dead.
Long live Santa.
*I cackle, running off into the sunset, my hair turning pure white just before I jump on a sleigh, fleeing Boris Johnson*...more
I always try to get alternate viewpoints from as many scientists as I can. I also enjoy sorting out my understanding of quantum physics, searching forI always try to get alternate viewpoints from as many scientists as I can. I also enjoy sorting out my understanding of quantum physics, searching for better stories, better analogies, and just... BETTER. This book is one of the BETTER. It may not be as charming as some and I don't mind how it skimps on biographies and jumps right into the SCIENCE, but it does fall short in outright describing the math. (That may be a good thing for some. Especially if you're not in the mood to crunch math.)
To be certain, this text goes beyond the everyday norm and focuses on the science. The ideas. The concerns. And it's all in the service of demystifying it all.
Quantum Physics is one of those subjects that agrees on fundamental maths but invites wildly divergent theories that make a coherent STORY of our reality. You know: Copenhagen (don't go nuts on us,) Everett (multiple-worlds), String, and more.
What we have in this book is not a biography of the physicists but an admirable attempt to make the famously weird (thank you Feynman!) as commonplace and normal as can be.
I mean, we're human, and humans are most famous for turning all things truly fantastic into the stunningly banal. :)
And this is exactly what this book tries to accomplish. Step by step, it demystifies the very small particles, removes the term spooky action, and naturalizes all things entangled.
It gives time to the various big-action theories that align the quantum with the macro, and all of this is pretty good if not as good as some other books that cover these topics, but what this book does best is describe the current technology of quantum computers. It doesn't shirk the shortcomings of our descriptions or the limitations of the process. This isn't a PR job by prospective companies trying to sell you a 100k computer.
BTW quantum computers ARE on the market now. Some developers are working on cheaper versions. What are they really good at? Factoring prime numbers.
Thank goodness! That's great for all you hackers out there! PGP MAY need a booster soon. :)
While this one doesn't always come close to the charm I'm used to in popularized physics books, I really have nothing bad to say about the contents. ...more
Just look at that cover and imagine, if you will, a book just like a massive acid trip filled with disjointed alternate reGood news, VanderMeer fans!
Just look at that cover and imagine, if you will, a book just like a massive acid trip filled with disjointed alternate realities, or reality versions, where men and hybrids, monsters, demons (or daemons), foxes, Shrodinger's ducks, and spawning pools populate your colorful biotech apocalypse.
And then know that the real trip lies within these pages, not on the cover.
I say good news for other reasons, however. It's not merely a nightmare of continuity issues, melding and morphing bodies, strained, molded, and transformed identities made from beasties, cold scientists, and long-lived leviathans who have forgotten their own stories.
The core of the text DOES have a major theme, if not anything more than a remotely identifiable plot. Of course, you might find one if you are a massive wall-charter, handy with yarn, have access to revisionary transparent overlays, and you maintain a hearty respect for novels that triples as a prequel to Borne, a contemporary, and a sequel.
I happen to love the theme. By the end of the novel, I'm rocking hard to it. It's tragic, obvious, and it truly condemns the three reality-hopping astronauts from the beginning of the tale. (The same dead three we see from Borne.)
Or, of course, any prospective reader would do just as well to sit back and relax into the brilliant, wild, and totally freaky imagery. Just trip balls. Open your mind, man.
I would love to see someone do a scholarly analysis of this s**t....more
It's gonna be rough rating my favorites out of nearly 600 books this year, but I'm in luck: I have my amorphous and totally unreliable intuition to guIt's gonna be rough rating my favorites out of nearly 600 books this year, but I'm in luck: I have my amorphous and totally unreliable intuition to guide me! Yay!
All three of these Wormwood books are perfect for Weird fans. Not that you have to be weird as a fan to enjoy them, merely that you must enjoy Weird fAll three of these Wormwood books are perfect for Weird fans. Not that you have to be weird as a fan to enjoy them, merely that you must enjoy Weird fiction, be tolerant of cthulhu-like alien entities who provide rather miraculous services in return for a foothold in humanity. Wait. Isn't this just an alien invasion story?
Sure, like Fight Club is just a story about self-help groups.
We get a solid return for main characters in the previous two, get thrown into time-travel, end-of-the-world, last-stand alien repulsion, and, surprisingly, a rather large part of the novel deals with gay rights.
The subtext is solid, but it never gets in the way of the over-arching tale. Which is big. It spans across a lot of countries and across a theoretically huge amount of time, and although there IS time travel in this, it doesn't take up a lot of page-time.
I loved the big story. I enjoyed seeing old characters come back. I wasn't as impressed with the amount of character-building in this one as compared to the first or especially the second books, but it felt like a pretty good send-up to me.
The most impressive part of these books is the all-out genre-bending courage it takes to make them. I'm a big fan of Tade when it comes to this. His two novellas gave me a huge wonderful taste and three out of five novels pretty much solidified it. Imagination is key. They're full of it. :)...more
I have no problems in announcing that this book ought to be a multi-multi-billion-dollar bestseller.
Maybe I'm biased, too, but damn, this guy can wriI have no problems in announcing that this book ought to be a multi-multi-billion-dollar bestseller.
Maybe I'm biased, too, but damn, this guy can write a great novel that tickles all my SF bones and reminds me how much I love well-crafted thrillers. Does this remind you of his Dark Matter? It should.
And if you loved the ideas behind The Butterfly Effect, Flatliners, and Groundhog Day, I'm certain you're going to fall head-over-heels for this novel.
Am I giving too much away? No. Probably not. The novel goes well beyond the initial premises of memory replacement and mystery and a bit of the oddball secret conspiracy bits and dives straight into the heart of some really messed-up emotional family stuff, the implications of which flatlined me.
And if anyone is worried that novels like these usually stop long before the full ramifications are revealed, rest assured. Crouch goes DEEP into the aftermath, aftermath, aftermath, aftermath. What we get afterward is not just a great mystery/thriller or an extremely solid SF novel, but one that is full of deeply emotional resonance and quality that will last long after the tale has finished.
I call this a home run. And I like it even more than Dark Matter. :) I'm reminded of the quality I read in another's book, The Gone World. High praise, I think. :)...more
Here's another WOW title. I've enjoyed Kameron Hurley's other novels quite a lot but nothing prepared me for this one.
It's the spiritual grandson (or Here's another WOW title. I've enjoyed Kameron Hurley's other novels quite a lot but nothing prepared me for this one.
It's the spiritual grandson (or grandaughter) of Haldeman's The Forever War and Heinlein's Starship Troopers. It has a little of both and a lot of the very modern tone, updated to our very real cultural relativity wrapped up in a very hardcore DUTY wrapping while never quite knowing what is really real. In that respect, it's a bit of PKD, too.
And I love it.
Getting turned into light to fight on Mars in a neverending war is the signature of futility in a fantastic hard-SF bow.
For those of you who are big fans of Hurley's other hard-SF trilogy, it deals with the same issues of torture, being ground down to nothing, and working through the lies, lies, lies surrounding them.
The big bad is never all that clear. We're told it's Mars but while everyone is kept in the dark and strange time-hopping things happen out of sequence and big horrors keep turning their lives into a patchwork, we're given a very special look at the real enemy. Could it be ourselves? :)
Back into the meat grinder, men!
Just... wow. I think Hurley's writing is getting even better. I'm such a fan of this novel that I want to see it get nommed for Hugo.
That's three for this year so far! Really great SF, folks. :)
Amazing! Out of all of Peter F. Hamilton's works, this trilogy has got to be the absolute best! This particular novel pulls off a miracle.
Better thanAmazing! Out of all of Peter F. Hamilton's works, this trilogy has got to be the absolute best! This particular novel pulls off a miracle.
Better than walking on water, better than a galaxy-eating Void, and better than all the sums of its parts. :) Be it Syvian alien-elves, post-human social structures, or a manufactured universe where psi powers are not only feasible, but where magic, time-manipulation, and god-like powers are just a part of a greater tale.
This is space opera on a scale I rarely see but what I always crave. And this particular trilogy slams it home with SO MUCH BETTER CRAFT than I usually see in this particular author. :) All the characters and the plot threads serve a fantastic purpose without the usual meandering I'm used to. He put SKILLZ into this one. :) Shorter? Yes, but all to the improvement of the story.
And what a story! A star-eating dream as Heaven with its own apostles versus several thousand years of super-technologically advanced humanity and aliens armed with deployable Dyson Spheres.
Holy shit, right? The ideas are freaking amazing and the execution is not only a pure delight, but all the characters are freaking memorable as hell. Talk about simple beginnings... where everyone winds up is mind-blowing. :)
This is some CLASSIC modern SF. Don't be afraid of the page count. It's worth ALL THE EFFORT in the world. :)...more
Merry lobstery Christmas! Come take a Reality Pill and make all your trippiest dreams come true!
Or rather, sidle up to your best buds, take as much LSMerry lobstery Christmas! Come take a Reality Pill and make all your trippiest dreams come true!
Or rather, sidle up to your best buds, take as much LSD or tokes that you like, and welcome the alien invasion, man. Don't forget to jam and rap! This is gonna be one wildly imaginative ride. :)
Welcome to the hippiest days of NYC when walking hallucinations roam the streets or transform them, where milling crowds take the drugs that let their imaginations change reality, where six-foot pacifist lobsters in Jesus Robes enlist a devoted hippie pacifist to fight their wars for them.
WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
Honestly, I've read a good number of mind-blowingly imaginative books that revel in the strange and the wonderful and just don't care whether or not you're on any mind-altering substances. Hell, I've written a few books like that, myself. But after all this time and a rather huge bibliography to draw from, I can honestly rank this one up there with the very best. :)
Context is important. This came out at the height or the very end of the beginning of the LSD heyday in 1967. Chester Anderson more than capitalizes on the movement... he puts himself right in the tale. As a character. With reality slipping all the time.
This is a real trip and a half to read and imagine. I bet he had a fantastic time writing it. :) It takes courage, strength, and fortitude to let quite this much of yourself hang out for the world to see.
Of course, I really should mention that it would work just as well to read this in today's age for one good reason. Comics and superheroes play a huge part. Context-wise, back then, it was usual for kids and a very select number of the counterculture to still love Marvel. Not like today where the love has gone totally mainstream.
So, for the day, it's not exactly normal to read about dropping acid and going totally green-lantern in the middle of NYC. I'm a huge PKD fan, but even he never pulled something quite this extroverted. :)
I'm frankly getting rather awed by Peter F. Hamilton.
Any single book doesn't quite DO his stories justice, which is kind of weird because each book sI'm frankly getting rather awed by Peter F. Hamilton.
Any single book doesn't quite DO his stories justice, which is kind of weird because each book seems to be bigger than a mountain, more sprawling than wide plains, and filled with meandering and sometimes inconsequential passages. They could be tightened up with more focus on the core stories and threads. Easily.
BUT.
When it comes to the sheer scope in time and space for all his books, each of which is interconnected with common events, histories, and characters who live for an awfully long time thanks to the heavy SF factors of re-life and alternate methods like multi-life, dream paradise, AI, or even some much stranger methods... everyone eventually comes back to play in this awesomely developed universe.
It only keeps getting larger and stranger with every new book. Some characters don't get interesting until after their lives get turned upside down, others are fantastic from the get-go. But when it comes to every core story met with truly awesome convergences between all these threads, Hamilton just can't be beaten.
His imagination is truly phenomenal.
Okay, this kinda sounds like an apology for his work, but don't be confused. I love this. It has a few faults, but damn, when I compare this to practically any other SF author on the grounds of glorious worldbuilding and scope of characters, Hamilton basically wins by default.
Epic SF, folks. Just think of the most sprawling fantasy you most love and multiply it by two, give it everything from bionics, massive dreaming collectives, a total space-opera atmosphere with multiple alien forces, and then shake it up by having an intelligent UNIVERSE threaten to grow and eat our own. Epic stakes. Epic scope. And through it all, thousands of years of novels and history pulling forward to this late historical date.
I'm frankly amazed. And it's getting better with every book I read.
The last time I was this bowled over was the first time I read through the WoT series. Both have their faults. But for the patient reader, both are freaking awesome. :)...more
Most of the time I read it, I was equally disgusted and remorseful for the kinds of pathetic sexualizations that camThis here is a very unusual novel.
Most of the time I read it, I was equally disgusted and remorseful for the kinds of pathetic sexualizations that came out of the early 70's. Being a New Wave SF novel, thoroughly in league with the heyday's literary works of "genius" in that the complicated concerns of mainstream knocked heads with a heavily SFnal landscape, I shouldn't have guessed otherwise. Sexuality was always made so large that they became frankly absurd. And the best novels turned this on its head and gave us Pure Absurdity.
I think Beyond Apollo, which might rightfully be renamed Beyond Venus, is one of those novels.
The fixation on sex is fully intentional every step of the way. It's rife with a lack of self-awareness and hyperawareness, impotence and hyperpotence, guilt and anger with his wife and wanting relations with his male captain, and possibly murder. Multiple murders. In all kinds of ways.
On the surface, it's just a failed expedition to Venus in a two-man capsule and trying to come to terms with being the only survivor.
Things get REALLY weird like an LSD trip when the MC tells us he will write the story as a novel, starts mixing his identities, gets super fixated on sex, aliens living on Venus, his multiple failures and rationalizations, his horrible marriage, and even the possibility that all of outer space is just a story we just made up. That timelines are like revisions in the story. That the universe is nothing more than a meta-fiction. That time travel, the re-ordering of the Solar-System, and a sense that everything is as malleable as virtual reality is a major question... or that, indeed, the narrator is BUGSHIT INSANE.
Actually... the whole novel is kinda brilliant. If not always consistently great, it is nonetheless brilliant. I'm willing to hate it a little while appreciating just how it always keeps us teetering on the edge of full collapse. :) Is this a novel about a man who goes into total mental fugue after a bad breakup with his wife? Or could he have been significantly f***ed with by the Venusians?
Who knows? :) Either way, it's pretty damn great. I love to hate it a little, too. :) Or a lot. But damn... PROPS....more
I've come to the conclusion that Peter F. Hamilton is an acquired taste. Maybe it just requires patience and getting used to his often HUGE PAGE COUNTI've come to the conclusion that Peter F. Hamilton is an acquired taste. Maybe it just requires patience and getting used to his often HUGE PAGE COUNTS. Most of it is devoted to establishing his characters and their backstories, so it's not a huge complaint. Where he shines is his vast SF worldbuilding which takes on a very complex and rich character rarely seen in ANY series.
We're dealing with 20 or 30 thousand pages of the same universe across vast distances, worlds, and timeframes. And not only that, tons of alien species we get to know intimately, fantastic realms, Fae world hopping, wormhole networks, and a whole DREAMING REALM.
This particular novel fixes a lot of the issues I generally run into with the other novels. It's SHORT. It's also rather focused for what it accomplishes, splitting its time between a high-tech uber powerful post-Commonwealth era, 1500 years after Judas Unchained, and a very interesting seemingly low-tech fantasy world full of psi users and teeks. I have to admit I think I loved the second realm much more than the high tech side. The implications and the hints throughout this novel make me suspect MUCH. :)
Is this my new favorite Hamilton? Or am I just getting so used to his writing that I'm fine with rolling with the roving text and getting excited when the big action happens? Am I simply impressed by the vast worldbuilding and the competent characters?
A little of both, to be certain, but now that I've been reading quite a lot of his work, I'm really getting into the easter eggs and the recurring characters I grew to love in the previous books.
Yeah. Characters coming back after 1,500 years. And still being fun. :)
There's something really glorious about the gigantic tapestry that Hamilton is writing here. It's truly vast and often mind-blowing.
Sure, he has his faults and the writing style sometimes takes getting used to, but the rewards are well worth the effort. And then some. :) ...more
Loading...
