Bookphenomena (Micky) 's Reviews > Fractal Noise

Headines:
thud, Thud, THUD
Missions
Ensuing madness

Fractal Noise took the reader on a personal, an existential and an exploratory journey. I had so many questions, so much tension and I got some answers. The story was told from Alex's perspective, a somewhat morose but understandably grief-striken xenobiologist who found himself in the centre of investigating an anomoly.

Unlike the crew of the Wallfish, this crew (the Adamura) were a disfunctional bunch of people. The wider group on the ship had some positives but as this group focused down into an exploratory group, only Alex and Chen had facets of integrity. The trek became a demise in the style of Lord of the Flies.

There was so much fascinating about Tavos VII while at the same time the planet presented a creepiness both in terms of the environment and creatures. I read the second half of this book drenched in adrenaline and found the culmination both satisfying with a slice of frustration. I want more story and answers and maybe we'll get that in the future, maybe we won't.

This story was as much an anthropological narrative as it was science fiction. That worked for me because humans interracting with alien worlds and environments do stupid stuff, make their ego the focus and the fall out is fascinating. You'll find much here to entertain.

Thank you to Tor Books for the review copy.

Find this review at A Take From Two Cities Blog.