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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Written in a very readable style, like the first two books, although there were a few too many plot recaps. But mostly, my gripe is with the ending—the major plot point that incites this entire story got relegated to more of a side plot with a fairly easy resolution, everything else also got resolved very quickly and very suddenly, and I didn't enjoy the fate of one of the main characters.
The "digital consciousness" thing didn't work for me; I didn't like the plot twist with Rachela, and I think Cardenia's fate was extremely unsatisfying. At the very least, it would have benefited from more discussion of to what extent the digital version is still her, and whether she might have been subsumed by Rachela. And the deus-ex-machina plot for resolving both the Flow/humanity issue and the political drama was rather disappointing; I would have much rather read a version of this book in which Nadashe played a much lesser role (her character or plot didn't really change from the last book) and in which the Flow / "how can we save humanity" / "who can we save" / "how do we decide" questions had been much more central.
While a definite improvement on The Consuming Fire, the descriptor that keeps coming back to me for this is "Stupid Dune." The story writing is competent, but this is basically an idiot plot. The characters aren't given any additional room to breathe or grow, and the wrap up is incredibly disappointing.
Fun fun fun - Scalzi wrapped this trilogy up in a satisfying manner. Overall, interesting characters living in interesting times and in a believable universe. Yeah, good job Mr. Scalzi.
I wasn't quite as engaged by this one as the previous books in the series, but it was fun and had some pretty entertaining moments. I also felt like a number of dangling threads never really got wrapped up in satisfying ways.
But still, an enjoyable summer read, and one that would probably be pretty amazing if it were adapted for the screen.
Spoiler
I had mixed feelings about the end. On one hand, Kiva becoming Emperox was hilarious, but on the other hand, I was sad that Cardenia got killed off, even if she sort of lives on as a hologram/computer program.But still, an enjoyable summer read, and one that would probably be pretty amazing if it were adapted for the screen.
So fucking good. This whole series was really enjoyable. A nice ending to the series.
Two stars only because of the ending. Apparently Kiva Lagos was the main character the whole time. Don’t get me wrong she’s a great character and is the strongest character, that ending just upset me. Almost didn’t finish the book because I was disappointed. I did finish it, and I understand why things happen the way they did, but I still didn’t like it.
This final episode in the trilogy opens with a neat 'catch-up' summary. Unfortunately events I'd previously read about were long gone from my memory despite this data dump, I once again struggled to figure out who, what, where, and why.
But then I started to get up to speed, settled in to the rhythm of the story, started thinking that there was no way this story was actually going to conclude in this book, started wanting to read the next book to learn more, and then abruptly it all got wrapped up! #Boggles
But then I started to get up to speed, settled in to the rhythm of the story, started thinking that there was no way this story was actually going to conclude in this book, started wanting to read the next book to learn more, and then abruptly it all got wrapped up! #Boggles
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is more or less identical to the other two, just shuffle the plot. The most important moral shows up in the acknowledgments.
"If you live in the United States, and you are reading this prior to November 2020, please do me a favor (a) Register to vote, or check to make sure your registration is still valid, (b) Remember to vote on election day (or before if you take an early ballot) and (c) Try not to vote for anyone who is a whirling amoral vortex of chaos."
"If you live in the United States, and you are reading this prior to November 2020, please do me a favor (a) Register to vote, or check to make sure your registration is still valid, (b) Remember to vote on election day (or before if you take an early ballot) and (c) Try not to vote for anyone who is a whirling amoral vortex of chaos."
A fun conclusion to this series, though it's hard to remember where all the pieces are. Kind of wish I read it all together.