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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was a darker and more difficult book for me to read than Dogs of War. And Dogs of War showed explicit images of war crimes. Bear Head takes place 30-40 years after the events of book 1, when the pendulum has swung back against the BioForms and distributed intelligences. And… I would just like to put out ALL the trigger warnings for this one: rape, murder, mind control… all of it. That said, it’s a well-written book and I was deeply invested in the characters getting out of the situation they found themselves in. But… oof. A challenging book to read, for sure. Gonna take a break from Tchaikovsky and read something lighter next, I think. I need a little time away.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked this up in a book shop last week and had no idea that it’s part two of a series until I was half way through it. And you know, it doesn’t matter at all. Excellent book. Great characters. Really nicely written. Clearly a book written during the disastrous Trump regime in the USA as the main villain is clearly a Trumpian kind of guy.
Im going to have to go get the first one now and read it like it’s a prequel.
Im going to have to go get the first one now and read it like it’s a prequel.
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4.5 stars.
Picking up many years after book one, we find that public opinion has swung again, and bioforms and distributed intelligences are mistrusted much as they were prior to Morrow’s trial. In book one So Distributed intelligences (DisInt) like Bees and HumOs are hunted and eradicated wherever they are found.
It’s many years later when this book opens. We have a World Senate now, an evolution of the UN, and the author’s analogue for former Grifter-in-Chief Cheato, called Warner Thompson here, is gunning for a seat as a Senator, taking money in secret from numerous lobbyists and special interest groups with contradictory aims, and sliming, raping and lying his way into ever more privileged access and authority. He’s out for himself, and no one seems to understand how he’s aiming to destroy everything and everyone he can, because he can and it makes him happy.
Meanwhile, construction worker Jimmy Marten on Mars is looking for his next hit of Stringer, his drug of choice, even though he’s low on cash. He and his fellow workers are heavily biomodded humans so they can function on Mars. To make some quick money, he agrees to hold a data package in his headspace. Turns out, this is a very special package, and it wakes up in Jimmy’s head and starts talking to him: it’s our favourite genius and biomod rights activist, Honey.
How these three are brought together in humourous and horrifying style by author Adrian Tchaikovsky is so entertaining. Tchaikovsky switches perspectives amongst Jimmy, Honey, and Thompson’s Collared Personal Assistant, showing us how far public opinion has gone anti-biomod, with only Collared (a programmatic encoding known previously as a Hierarchy in book one) bioforms permissible on Earth. How Thompson manipulates and abuses the Collared individuals on his staff is a commentary, no doubt, on the use, abuse and disposability of the economically depressed classes by the privileged.
Tchaikovsky keeps the pace moving well, with Jimmy providing much needed humour and profanity to every situation he’s in. (His petulance is a great contrast to the long-suffering, brilliant, bioform bear.)
I was so glad to see the wonderful Honey back in action, though under radically different circumstances. She’s older, wiser, and sadder, and dealing with trauma, even while gearing up for combat against Thompson with a reluctant Jimmy. It’s dark, great fun.
Picking up many years after book one, we find that public opinion has swung again, and bioforms and distributed intelligences are mistrusted much as they were prior to Morrow’s trial. In book one So Distributed intelligences (DisInt) like Bees and HumOs are hunted and eradicated wherever they are found.
It’s many years later when this book opens. We have a World Senate now, an evolution of the UN, and the author’s analogue for former Grifter-in-Chief Cheato, called Warner Thompson here, is gunning for a seat as a Senator, taking money in secret from numerous lobbyists and special interest groups with contradictory aims, and sliming, raping and lying his way into ever more privileged access and authority. He’s out for himself, and no one seems to understand how he’s aiming to destroy everything and everyone he can, because he can and it makes him happy.
Meanwhile, construction worker Jimmy Marten on Mars is looking for his next hit of Stringer, his drug of choice, even though he’s low on cash. He and his fellow workers are heavily biomodded humans so they can function on Mars. To make some quick money, he agrees to hold a data package in his headspace. Turns out, this is a very special package, and it wakes up in Jimmy’s head and starts talking to him: it’s our favourite genius and biomod rights activist, Honey.
How these three are brought together in humourous and horrifying style by author Adrian Tchaikovsky is so entertaining. Tchaikovsky switches perspectives amongst Jimmy, Honey, and Thompson’s Collared Personal Assistant, showing us how far public opinion has gone anti-biomod, with only Collared (a programmatic encoding known previously as a Hierarchy in book one) bioforms permissible on Earth. How Thompson manipulates and abuses the Collared individuals on his staff is a commentary, no doubt, on the use, abuse and disposability of the economically depressed classes by the privileged.
Tchaikovsky keeps the pace moving well, with Jimmy providing much needed humour and profanity to every situation he’s in. (His petulance is a great contrast to the long-suffering, brilliant, bioform bear.)
I was so glad to see the wonderful Honey back in action, though under radically different circumstances. She’s older, wiser, and sadder, and dealing with trauma, even while gearing up for combat against Thompson with a reluctant Jimmy. It’s dark, great fun.
Great series, great characters, great plot, good writing, wonderful world. Tchaiovsky manages to keep focus despite a wide cast of characters and spin an amazing tale.
challenging
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:
No
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes