You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An interesting book with poor pacing. Interesting mystery and good battle scenes but wouldn't compare it to Banks or any of the space opera greats.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
[CW: war crimes]
I enjoyed 99% of this book. The characters are well-realised, the setting is vivid, and the speculative elements enhance the plot beautifully.
But one thing really, really bothered me.
There are two instances in this book where there is a graphic, gratuitous description of death that was physically repulsive to me. I’m a doctor - I don’t get squeamish. But this was unnecessary.
One involved the description of how a group of children were murdered. I almost put the book down there, for good. I basically only picked it back up to move past that image in my mind.
I know that war is bad and terrible things happen. But these pieces were so out of step with the rest of the book that they threw me from the narrative and soured the whole experience.
On balance, I would like to read more, but I hope that these “grittier” scenes are omitted next time round.
I enjoyed 99% of this book. The characters are well-realised, the setting is vivid, and the speculative elements enhance the plot beautifully.
But one thing really, really bothered me.
There are two instances in this book where there is a graphic, gratuitous description of death that was physically repulsive to me. I’m a doctor - I don’t get squeamish. But this was unnecessary.
One involved the description of how a group of children were murdered. I almost put the book down there, for good. I basically only picked it back up to move past that image in my mind.
I know that war is bad and terrible things happen. But these pieces were so out of step with the rest of the book that they threw me from the narrative and soured the whole experience.
On balance, I would like to read more, but I hope that these “grittier” scenes are omitted next time round.
A fantastic story centered on a rescue ship, whose mission is to find and recover survivors from a downed Liner at a faraway and not well understood star system. The characters in the story are magnificently written with their own motivations, backgrounds, and interactions with each other. This includes the sentient ships computer system. The story deepens when the ship finds out that it may have been 'her' family of ships may have been responsible for the downing of the civilian ship and investigates the reasons why.
I approached this one with caution, but I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. The concepts were interesting, I liked the characters and I loved Trouble Dog's personality, that ship knows what's up. I hope the second book has the same vibe.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Surprisingly good
3.5 stars. Nice little sci-fi story in the tradition of Iain Banks where ships have sentient AIs. Good pacing, decent characterization, taut storytelling. Will probably read the next book in the series.
3.5 stars. Nice little sci-fi story in the tradition of Iain Banks where ships have sentient AIs. Good pacing, decent characterization, taut storytelling. Will probably read the next book in the series.