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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
There are two types of writing in today's market. Well, maybe three if one counts really bad writing. The difference appears to be the level to which the writer has engaged with a process and/or editors who value good writing above the details of plotting and character development, although the latter depends on the quality of the writing as well. Note that not all well-written texts are great stories, although overall that tends to be the case. Books in the second category, however, where writing quality has suffered, may still engage readers but will never rise above the crowd in other ways. They are hampered from the get go. In the market today, with a growing number of so-called indie writers, there is a tendency to see many examples of this second category of books. Not all indie books suffer from this, but the writers whose books pass muster are those who have gone the extra mile in organizing good quality editing.
This book is in the second category, unfortunately. I found the finished writing lazy. There are too many words, and many of them do not carry the story. The book begins with long, overly wordy exposition about Mars and its infrastructures. There is no economy of language here. There are many missed opportunities to do something much more dynamic, such as to use conversations or remembered dialogue to present the information in more nuanced ways. The writer introduces a myriad of details, he has worked through the development of Mars, but the writing is heavy-handed. It lacks poetry as well as subtlety. This is not a good start.
I get to ch. 10 and there are still pages and pages of exposition with nothing really dynamic happening. I have trouble identifying with anyone, or getting any real sense of who they are as people. Most of the action seems to be highly technical in nature. There are times I feel the author is talking down to me, the reader, as if I needed explanations for things.
Reading some of the other reviews, however, suggests to me that not everyone has the same interest in the quality of the writing that I do. I read this after being invited to review. For me, this was a miss, but others may react differently.
This book is in the second category, unfortunately. I found the finished writing lazy. There are too many words, and many of them do not carry the story. The book begins with long, overly wordy exposition about Mars and its infrastructures. There is no economy of language here. There are many missed opportunities to do something much more dynamic, such as to use conversations or remembered dialogue to present the information in more nuanced ways. The writer introduces a myriad of details, he has worked through the development of Mars, but the writing is heavy-handed. It lacks poetry as well as subtlety. This is not a good start.
I get to ch. 10 and there are still pages and pages of exposition with nothing really dynamic happening. I have trouble identifying with anyone, or getting any real sense of who they are as people. Most of the action seems to be highly technical in nature. There are times I feel the author is talking down to me, the reader, as if I needed explanations for things.
Reading some of the other reviews, however, suggests to me that not everyone has the same interest in the quality of the writing that I do. I read this after being invited to review. For me, this was a miss, but others may react differently.
I was given a free e-book of The Year Before the End by Vidar Hokstad, the first book in the Sovereign Earth series, but this is an honest review.
I enjoyed reading this sci-fi novel. The ship crew was reminiscent of a privateer-version of something in the Star Trek universe, and thus the characters and universe reminded me of the writing of John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series.
The author accomplished something amazing here, going against conventional wisdom by expounding upon and explaining details about the setting for a large chunk of the beginning of the book. Despite this strategy going against the advice of many people in the writing community today, I really liked it. The smooth writing style made the historical, political, and technical details seem almost conversational and thus it was a relaxing read that I trusted was necessary for the plot. That trust paid off, with a fun story full of suspense that was based on many of those technical details.
I felt like some of the later parts of the book could have been paying homage to Star Wars by establishing a need to get some important data delivered while the communication systems were down. The crew’s race to survive felt very real to me because, at that point, I really cared about the major characters and their goal.
Ultimately, I highly recommend this book for fans of science-fiction, especially those who enjoy spaceship battles and roguish crews with a gray sense of morality.
I enjoyed reading this sci-fi novel. The ship crew was reminiscent of a privateer-version of something in the Star Trek universe, and thus the characters and universe reminded me of the writing of John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series.
The author accomplished something amazing here, going against conventional wisdom by expounding upon and explaining details about the setting for a large chunk of the beginning of the book. Despite this strategy going against the advice of many people in the writing community today, I really liked it. The smooth writing style made the historical, political, and technical details seem almost conversational and thus it was a relaxing read that I trusted was necessary for the plot. That trust paid off, with a fun story full of suspense that was based on many of those technical details.
I felt like some of the later parts of the book could have been paying homage to Star Wars by establishing a need to get some important data delivered while the communication systems were down. The crew’s race to survive felt very real to me because, at that point, I really cared about the major characters and their goal.
Ultimately, I highly recommend this book for fans of science-fiction, especially those who enjoy spaceship battles and roguish crews with a gray sense of morality.
***I received a free copy of this book from the author. My review has been completed voluntarily and is my honest opinion.***
See more of my reviews here!
Plot Summary
Aliens have finally made contact and seem to be interested in helping humanity join the larger galactic stage. However, many think the aliens have other nefarious ideas and are worried the building of a gate to connect Earth to the wider galaxy will bring nothing but conquest and domination from the stars. Amidst this backdrop, Zo learns of plans that the aliens will indeed attack Earth once the gate is built and agrees to have her crew participate in a mission to stop it. Along the way, she learns nothing is as it seems and not all people, even those close to you, can be trusted. Now she and her crew must run for their lives and attempt to prevent calamity from unfolding.
What I Liked
This was a solid science fiction story. I liked it's take on what would happen if beings from other worlds made contact with humans. The various reactions described were very different, and it was a realistic approach to the topic. I think it is logical to assume some people would view the aliens as opportunity while others would see them as dangerous, and I enjoyed seeing the dynamic between the two factions play out throughout the novel. I also appreciated the amount of science present in this science fiction. I felt as though I understood what was going on, and how it was happening, fairly well thanks to the descriptions.
I enjoyed all the characters in this book, but I liked Zo and Clarice the most. They were the characters with the most background information. The rest of the crew were fun to read too, but I still felt like I didn't really know them very well by the end of the book. With Zo, I enjoyed the backstory of how she became captain and liked how capably she led the crew. Clarice is probably my favorite, though, because I loved the exploration of how she integrated technology with her body.
The descriptions in this book were very detailed. The author did a great job making the battle and chase scenes feel realistic. There is plenty of action throughout the book, which keeps things fairly fast-paced for much of the story, especially the latter half. I also enjoyed author's descriptions of locations, and I felt I was looking out at Mars with a vivid image in my mind. I loved the way he described the movement of the crew through the spaceships; it made me feel as though I was there bouncing around with them.
What I Didn't Like
Even though I enjoyed the detail in the descriptions throughout the book, I found it made the book harder to read, especially the first half. There were parts that read almost like a technical manual rather than a novel. I had to take breaks or re-read some passages to fully understand or grasp the image or information trying to be conveyed. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because I enjoyed it once I wrapped my head around it, but sometimes it made the reading tedious.
I also did not like the romance in this book. Luckily, it played only a small part. However, the one major romance scene was seriously problematic. It was steeped in sexual harassment and applied the use of a power differential and intoxication to obtain companionship. I cringed while reading it and hope the author does better with future outings for these characters.
Final Thoughts
If you like science fiction that is heavy on science and descriptions of how things work, this is probably a great book for you. There is also plenty of great action, political intrigue, and interesting uses of technology. Therefore, I rate the book 4 out of 5 stars.
See more of my reviews here!
Plot Summary
Aliens have finally made contact and seem to be interested in helping humanity join the larger galactic stage. However, many think the aliens have other nefarious ideas and are worried the building of a gate to connect Earth to the wider galaxy will bring nothing but conquest and domination from the stars. Amidst this backdrop, Zo learns of plans that the aliens will indeed attack Earth once the gate is built and agrees to have her crew participate in a mission to stop it. Along the way, she learns nothing is as it seems and not all people, even those close to you, can be trusted. Now she and her crew must run for their lives and attempt to prevent calamity from unfolding.
What I Liked
This was a solid science fiction story. I liked it's take on what would happen if beings from other worlds made contact with humans. The various reactions described were very different, and it was a realistic approach to the topic. I think it is logical to assume some people would view the aliens as opportunity while others would see them as dangerous, and I enjoyed seeing the dynamic between the two factions play out throughout the novel. I also appreciated the amount of science present in this science fiction. I felt as though I understood what was going on, and how it was happening, fairly well thanks to the descriptions.
I enjoyed all the characters in this book, but I liked Zo and Clarice the most. They were the characters with the most background information. The rest of the crew were fun to read too, but I still felt like I didn't really know them very well by the end of the book. With Zo, I enjoyed the backstory of how she became captain and liked how capably she led the crew. Clarice is probably my favorite, though, because I loved the exploration of how she integrated technology with her body.
The descriptions in this book were very detailed. The author did a great job making the battle and chase scenes feel realistic. There is plenty of action throughout the book, which keeps things fairly fast-paced for much of the story, especially the latter half. I also enjoyed author's descriptions of locations, and I felt I was looking out at Mars with a vivid image in my mind. I loved the way he described the movement of the crew through the spaceships; it made me feel as though I was there bouncing around with them.
What I Didn't Like
Even though I enjoyed the detail in the descriptions throughout the book, I found it made the book harder to read, especially the first half. There were parts that read almost like a technical manual rather than a novel. I had to take breaks or re-read some passages to fully understand or grasp the image or information trying to be conveyed. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because I enjoyed it once I wrapped my head around it, but sometimes it made the reading tedious.
I also did not like the romance in this book. Luckily, it played only a small part. However, the one major romance scene was seriously problematic. It was steeped in sexual harassment and applied the use of a power differential and intoxication to obtain companionship. I cringed while reading it and hope the author does better with future outings for these characters.
Final Thoughts
If you like science fiction that is heavy on science and descriptions of how things work, this is probably a great book for you. There is also plenty of great action, political intrigue, and interesting uses of technology. Therefore, I rate the book 4 out of 5 stars.
Very Imaginative story!!!
Hokstad pens a wonderfully imaginative story in The Year Before the End. I haven't read work from this author before, and I really enjoyed this. This author brings the story to life. The characters had a lot of depth, and were very realistic. What I really liked about this story was not just that there were aliens and there was the exploration of the vast galaxy, but this story did sort of keep it close to home. Our solar system was at stake, and it was up for division. It's relatable, and yet, very "out of this world" as well as setting the stage for the strive and desperation for survival. It's a young reader friendly story, and I'm really glad I read it. It's one of those hidden gems that adult and young reader sci-fi fans would enjoy as well. This author has a great imagination and I'm glad it's being shared with stories. The story brings in the believable, even if almost impossible. Hokstead writes, "The day the Mars gate came online, it all changed forever. It was the first large demonstration of dramatically all of the solar system would change -- all of humanity..." This story was intriguing and kept the reader guessing. The Year Before the End is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I look forward to reading many more stories by this author.
Hokstad pens a wonderfully imaginative story in The Year Before the End. I haven't read work from this author before, and I really enjoyed this. This author brings the story to life. The characters had a lot of depth, and were very realistic. What I really liked about this story was not just that there were aliens and there was the exploration of the vast galaxy, but this story did sort of keep it close to home. Our solar system was at stake, and it was up for division. It's relatable, and yet, very "out of this world" as well as setting the stage for the strive and desperation for survival. It's a young reader friendly story, and I'm really glad I read it. It's one of those hidden gems that adult and young reader sci-fi fans would enjoy as well. This author has a great imagination and I'm glad it's being shared with stories. The story brings in the believable, even if almost impossible. Hokstead writes, "The day the Mars gate came online, it all changed forever. It was the first large demonstration of dramatically all of the solar system would change -- all of humanity..." This story was intriguing and kept the reader guessing. The Year Before the End is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I look forward to reading many more stories by this author.