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blatanville's review against another edition
3.0
A bit of science fiction, a bit of fantasy, and a dash of the weird.
I don't always put up with books where the "ground rules" of the particular world are so unknown to me. I generally think it's better writing when you know what can be counted on, and what can then surprise you when the author deftly switches things in a way that is consistent but not what you saw coming...
This book takes some liberties with that, but accepted them because the world itself is quite fascinating, and the main character is relatable. I especially liked the language, symbols, architecture, etc. being influenced by medieval Russia, which has a very long and rich history we don't often see mined for inspiration (or, well, I don't) :-)
I'm very much looking forward to reading the next book.
And I'll say - in a good way - that I can easily see this being adapted into a feature film.
I don't always put up with books where the "ground rules" of the particular world are so unknown to me. I generally think it's better writing when you know what can be counted on, and what can then surprise you when the author deftly switches things in a way that is consistent but not what you saw coming...
This book takes some liberties with that, but accepted them because the world itself is quite fascinating, and the main character is relatable. I especially liked the language, symbols, architecture, etc. being influenced by medieval Russia, which has a very long and rich history we don't often see mined for inspiration (or, well, I don't) :-)
I'm very much looking forward to reading the next book.
And I'll say - in a good way - that I can easily see this being adapted into a feature film.
buffyb's review
3.0
I'm glad I persevered because this turned out to be quite an enjoyable book. My biggest problem with some sci-fi books is that I can't always picture what's going on if there's a concept (like pions) that I can't quite picture. When I read, I like the story to unfold in my head like a film. This book mostly did, but sometimes during the key events I couldn't quite picture it. Whether this is a failing in me or in the description, I don't know but it does tend to hamper my enjoyment somewhat which is why I gave it only 3 stars.
tehani's review
5.0
What a fantastic read! This is genre-bending fantasy at its smartest and best. Anderton brings a mix of wonderful characters (I'm not usually a fan of a big cast, but it works here!) together with a premise that had me spellbound from the beginning, drawing a rich and intricate world which holds secrets and mysteries. There's great action, developing relationships and deepening enigmas to hold you from beginning to end, and I loved every bit of this book. Can't wait for the sequel!
jajorgen's review
3.0
In many ways Debris was a somewhat frustrating read. The world-building is top-notch and the premise of the plot is intriguing. It's just that, while it is a solid read, the book doesn't really fulfill the promise that those two elements suggest.
Tanyana works pions - the smallest particles of energy/matter that make up every object in Movoc. Her ability is so great that she has become one of the premiere architects in the city. Her latest project is working on a massive 800 foot tall sculpture that will put her at the pinnacle of her profession. One day as she works the pions with her circle, she begins to lose control of the pions. They seem to almost be working against her rather then with her and the loss of control is so great that the massive statue comes crashing down, taking Tanyana with it.
When Tanyana wakes, she finds herself scarred and alone in a bleak room. And for the first time in her life she is unable to see any pions at all. Without that ability, the powers that be decide the only thing she will now be able to do is collect debris. Debris are the remnants left over from all those pions being put to work. It gathers in pockets and must be collected or it will gum up the works. Before she can process what has happened, Tanyana is assigned to a debris collecting team and abandoned by just about everyone who knew her. Her only remaining connection is Devich, the man who is responsible for implanting the strange metal that makes up the suit she needs for debris collecting. While she adjusts to her new circumstances Tanyana gets to know her team-leader, Kichlan and his apparently developmentally delayed brother Lad.
I kept thinking, as I read, that this was a YA novel. Tanyana's personal story arc, from arrogant architect to humbled but wiser debris collector feels a bit coming-of-age. While it is understandable that this tragedy has had an earth-shaking effect on her psyche, Tanyana's immaturity in the face of it reads more like a teenager's response then an adult's. She is determined to prove the accident was not her fault and yet every time she gets a small piece of the puzzle, she lets it drop and attempts more denial. Part of this is writerly - in that the author needs to keep the reader in the dark and thus Tanyana remains willfully blind - but part of it is Tanyana's character as written. When she realizes, early on, that she in no way will be able to pay her bills in her swank apartment, does she attempt to sell the belongings that are worth some money and find a cheaper place? No, she pretends that bills and rent don't exist and then is shocked when violent men come to the apartment to throw her out and take all her belongings to pay those bills.
This example is indicative of who Tanyana is. When something displeases her, she pretends it doesn't exist. When something frustrates her, she lets it drop. It makes her realistic as human beings go, but it also makes her hard to root for. When she does so little to control her own trajectory, she becomes less interesting. As I said, some of this is writerly choice in setting up the suspense and I get that. But it also affects the pacing. Tanyana's inertia makes the middle part of the book slow-going as she shows little progress - either in her quest or in her personal life.
All that said, I do think there is a very clever idea here and the author has done a good job of creating her world. Enough so that I will read the next book.
Tanyana works pions - the smallest particles of energy/matter that make up every object in Movoc. Her ability is so great that she has become one of the premiere architects in the city. Her latest project is working on a massive 800 foot tall sculpture that will put her at the pinnacle of her profession. One day as she works the pions with her circle, she begins to lose control of the pions. They seem to almost be working against her rather then with her and the loss of control is so great that the massive statue comes crashing down, taking Tanyana with it.
When Tanyana wakes, she finds herself scarred and alone in a bleak room. And for the first time in her life she is unable to see any pions at all. Without that ability, the powers that be decide the only thing she will now be able to do is collect debris. Debris are the remnants left over from all those pions being put to work. It gathers in pockets and must be collected or it will gum up the works. Before she can process what has happened, Tanyana is assigned to a debris collecting team and abandoned by just about everyone who knew her. Her only remaining connection is Devich, the man who is responsible for implanting the strange metal that makes up the suit she needs for debris collecting. While she adjusts to her new circumstances Tanyana gets to know her team-leader, Kichlan and his apparently developmentally delayed brother Lad.
I kept thinking, as I read, that this was a YA novel. Tanyana's personal story arc, from arrogant architect to humbled but wiser debris collector feels a bit coming-of-age. While it is understandable that this tragedy has had an earth-shaking effect on her psyche, Tanyana's immaturity in the face of it reads more like a teenager's response then an adult's. She is determined to prove the accident was not her fault and yet every time she gets a small piece of the puzzle, she lets it drop and attempts more denial. Part of this is writerly - in that the author needs to keep the reader in the dark and thus Tanyana remains willfully blind - but part of it is Tanyana's character as written. When she realizes, early on, that she in no way will be able to pay her bills in her swank apartment, does she attempt to sell the belongings that are worth some money and find a cheaper place? No, she pretends that bills and rent don't exist and then is shocked when violent men come to the apartment to throw her out and take all her belongings to pay those bills.
This example is indicative of who Tanyana is. When something displeases her, she pretends it doesn't exist. When something frustrates her, she lets it drop. It makes her realistic as human beings go, but it also makes her hard to root for. When she does so little to control her own trajectory, she becomes less interesting. As I said, some of this is writerly choice in setting up the suspense and I get that. But it also affects the pacing. Tanyana's inertia makes the middle part of the book slow-going as she shows little progress - either in her quest or in her personal life.
All that said, I do think there is a very clever idea here and the author has done a good job of creating her world. Enough so that I will read the next book.
night_starry's review
5.0
This book had me hooked from the very beginning. I really like the cover art as well.
This book is about 450 pages but it reads like a short story. The characters and situations all flow together so well. I can't wait until the next in the series, "Suited". This story shows how far someone can fall but still not give up who they really are.
This book is about 450 pages but it reads like a short story. The characters and situations all flow together so well. I can't wait until the next in the series, "Suited". This story shows how far someone can fall but still not give up who they really are.
joelevard's review
2.0
Yeah, I'm not going to finish this one.
The thing is, I don't think this is a bad book, despite the middling rating here, where anything under, say, 3.75 stars indicates mixed reviews, at best. I thought it was fine. The world is unique, a blend of sci-fi and magic that posits that there are small pieces of energy (pions) in all living things that can be spoken to/manipulated and used to build stuff, move heavy things, generate electricity -- do pretty much anything -- and though many people have minor skill at manipulating them, it is a revered, exclusive class that can control them adroitly.
The first-person narrator is interesting enough -- a pion master who loses control of a construction project, causing extensive damage and suffering an injury that results in the loss of her skills. The central mystery -- what happened to her and why -- is compelling enough. The genre trappings -- the unusual makeup of a pion-powered city, the weird bio-mechanical suit she is forced to wear in her new job as a "debris collector" (too much to explain, never mind) -- are nifty enough. The supporting characters I've encountered so far are fairly cliche but likeable enough.
Really, there is nothing wrong with the book. The whole thing is enough.
Except I don't much care if I finish it. I like reading it fine, but I don't feel compelled to do so. I have no motivation either -- my reading goal for the year is out the window, I got it from the library instead of buying it, it isn't for book club and no one else I know read or recommended it*. So I'm just going to stop. Don't get me wrong, I want to know what happens. I'd totally read a plot summary on Wikipedia to find out. I just won't read 300 more pages.
I might, though, if the cover didn't proudly proclaim "BOOK ONE OF THE VEILED WORLDS." Book one! Book one! I hate seeing book one on the cover for an untried author. Maybe let me decide if I like you before you ask me to commit to an entire series to figure out your story. I didn't like it when Rothfuss did it, and I can't exactly treat you any different. (Lie, I totally can and likely will in the future; I love being contradictory on Goodreads. Pisses people off.)
Aside: the cover of [b:BOOK TWO OF THE VEILED WORLDS|11842057|Suited|Jo Anderton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327674308s/11842057.jpg|16797490] is kind of silly, eh?
*partial lie; Goodreads friend [a:Ian|2924955|Ian Tregillis|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1270698618p2/2924955.jpg] recommended it via cover blurb. Sorry, Ian. It's a nice blurb.
The thing is, I don't think this is a bad book, despite the middling rating here, where anything under, say, 3.75 stars indicates mixed reviews, at best. I thought it was fine. The world is unique, a blend of sci-fi and magic that posits that there are small pieces of energy (pions) in all living things that can be spoken to/manipulated and used to build stuff, move heavy things, generate electricity -- do pretty much anything -- and though many people have minor skill at manipulating them, it is a revered, exclusive class that can control them adroitly.
The first-person narrator is interesting enough -- a pion master who loses control of a construction project, causing extensive damage and suffering an injury that results in the loss of her skills. The central mystery -- what happened to her and why -- is compelling enough. The genre trappings -- the unusual makeup of a pion-powered city, the weird bio-mechanical suit she is forced to wear in her new job as a "debris collector" (too much to explain, never mind) -- are nifty enough. The supporting characters I've encountered so far are fairly cliche but likeable enough.
Really, there is nothing wrong with the book. The whole thing is enough.
Except I don't much care if I finish it. I like reading it fine, but I don't feel compelled to do so. I have no motivation either -- my reading goal for the year is out the window, I got it from the library instead of buying it, it isn't for book club and no one else I know read or recommended it*. So I'm just going to stop. Don't get me wrong, I want to know what happens. I'd totally read a plot summary on Wikipedia to find out. I just won't read 300 more pages.
I might, though, if the cover didn't proudly proclaim "BOOK ONE OF THE VEILED WORLDS." Book one! Book one! I hate seeing book one on the cover for an untried author. Maybe let me decide if I like you before you ask me to commit to an entire series to figure out your story. I didn't like it when Rothfuss did it, and I can't exactly treat you any different. (Lie, I totally can and likely will in the future; I love being contradictory on Goodreads. Pisses people off.)
Aside: the cover of [b:BOOK TWO OF THE VEILED WORLDS|11842057|Suited|Jo Anderton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327674308s/11842057.jpg|16797490] is kind of silly, eh?
*partial lie; Goodreads friend [a:Ian|2924955|Ian Tregillis|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1270698618p2/2924955.jpg] recommended it via cover blurb. Sorry, Ian. It's a nice blurb.
alchemie's review
3.0
This books is, in many ways, difficult to categorize. It's not traditional fantasy, because the setting is futuristic rather than medieval, but it's not really science fiction, because the fantastical elements are more like a magic system than a scientific gadget or principle. It's not really a YA title, but it has many elements usually found in that genre, and is driven by a coming-of-age type character arc. Despite being quite difficult to classify it is an enjoyable book, although not without flaws. I enjoyed Tanyana's development as a person throughout the story - she can be quite frustrating at times, because she is flawed, but her flaws make her more real than many female leads I've read. Her narration (she has a distinctive and enjoyable 'voice') and her growth made this story really worth it for me. The parts that didn't work as well were some of the other characters: Devich was underdeveloped and the resolution to his relationship with Tanyana was (to me) pretty obvious from a long ways off, and the twins, Natasha and Sophia were barely developed at all. Another flaw was that Anderton really needed to give the reader more information about how it all worked - too many things about the world, the history, the mythology, and the pions were thrown at me with no explanation or backing detail, which made it hard to really deeply comprehend what they were about. Still, the world building was fascinating, and I've love to know more about Movoc-under-Keeper. Overall this debut novel was enjoyable, and I'll definitely check out the follow up to see if some of the issues here are resolved.
tunamunki's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
schomj's review against another edition
1.0
The problem with having the narrative in 1st person POV is that loads of internal dialog ranging in tone between bitter, self-righteous, whiny and (deliberately) clueless can create a truly irritating main character. Add to that muddled world-building (the whole pion binding thing still makes very little practical sense to me) and an unengaging plot stretched out over a few hundred seemingly-endless pages, and I did not enjoy this book at all.
I tried, I really did. I wanted to find something to be positive about, but every time I would start to enjoy a scene (like Tanyana's first meeting with her team of debris collectors, where the flow was smoother and, thanks to actual external dialog, quicker) it would be followed by a confusing bit of action (like her first trip collecting debris with them) or a reminder that I didn't like any of the characters (Tanyana's first hookup with Devich: Given that I didn't like her and he squicked me out from his first appearance, that scene was both yuck and boring.).
So, while I will give the author credit for crafting a story that incited a strong emotional reaction from me, unfortunately, that reaction was not a positive one. Largely, I think, because the mystery of what happened to Tanyana was so obvious from the first chapter that I kept waiting for someone to pick up on it so we could get on with the story already. And even when she started to figure it out (in the following quote taken from the last quarter of the story), it was too little, too late in terms of me caring anymore.
Note: this is taken from the unfinished proof copy.
This review is based on a digital ARC received via NetGalley.
I tried, I really did. I wanted to find something to be positive about, but every time I would start to enjoy a scene (like Tanyana's first meeting with her team of debris collectors, where the flow was smoother and, thanks to actual external dialog, quicker) it would be followed by a confusing bit of action (like her first trip collecting debris with them) or a reminder that I didn't like any of the characters (Tanyana's first hookup with Devich: Given that I didn't like her and he squicked me out from his first appearance, that scene was both yuck and boring.).
So, while I will give the author credit for crafting a story that incited a strong emotional reaction from me, unfortunately, that reaction was not a positive one. Largely, I think, because the mystery of what happened to Tanyana was so obvious from the first chapter that I kept waiting for someone to pick up on it so we could get on with the story already. And even when she started to figure it out (in the following quote taken from the last quarter of the story), it was too little, too late in terms of me caring anymore.
Note: this is taken from the unfinished proof copy.
"Bro!" Lad ran down the street, Sofia gasping in his wake, clutching her shoulder and dripping blood from her arm. "Angry, bro. So angry."
...
But was Lad really talking about himself? I thought of the debris dancing with destruction like a cruel cat. The whack like a fist against my chest. Lad wasn't angry, was he? But the debris was."
This review is based on a digital ARC received via NetGalley.