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furicle's review against another edition
3.0
It's big (huge, collossal, overwhelmingly large) in time, societies and surroundings. It's complicated, with characters coming and going and coming and going, sometimes in both directions. And it's interesting, in a "how the heck is this all going to hang together?" kind of way. But,as much as the authour tries desparately to hold the whole thing together, in my case he failed to hold onto my interest. The best characters and civilizations come and go, and the boring, underdeveloped, predictable ones keep hanging on page after page. It seems to be trying to be space opera and sermon at the same time, and not pulling either off completely.
It's worth reading, but don't expect too too much.
It's worth reading, but don't expect too too much.
arthurbdd's review
3.0
Hallucinatory far-future epic which might not be as profound as it thinks it is, but is certainly very imaginative. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2007/10/14/reading-canary-the-radix-tetrad/
floriancraft's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
buzzingnat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
aacharya's review against another edition
3.0
Incredibly imaginative story. The writing is a little (or very) wooden at times, and Attanasio overuses Trek-style technobabble, but worth reading for the first-class world-building.
breckman's review against another edition
5.0
"And where there had been worlds hung against the splendor of the galaxy, there was nothing."
This book was a journey. Questions of life, death, faith, love, ethics, race, society, technology, communication, humanity, sentience build this epic space opera to its almost devastatingly beautiful crescendo.
That's not to say this book is perfect. It has some of the flaws often seen is Sci-Fi epics. Some drier story telling in parts which requires (and is eventually worth) the patience and perseverance in the reader. As well, there are some characters and story lines that are unpleasantly blunt, transparent, and shallow in their use as plot devices. There is also the added difficulty of working across multiple fluid timelines which sometimes make stories, people, and locations difficult to place. It's one of the few books I've read that has such complex timelines and world-building that I feel readers would benefit greatly from a map and timeline.
Or maybe they just need the Glyph Astra
All around, an astoundingly good read, on par with other Sci-Fi masterpieces such as Dune and Foundation. For fans of Sci-Fi, philosophy and questions, I highly recommend.
This book was a journey. Questions of life, death, faith, love, ethics, race, society, technology, communication, humanity, sentience build this epic space opera to its almost devastatingly beautiful crescendo.
That's not to say this book is perfect. It has some of the flaws often seen is Sci-Fi epics. Some drier story telling in parts which requires (and is eventually worth) the patience and perseverance in the reader. As well, there are some characters and story lines that are unpleasantly blunt, transparent, and shallow in their use as plot devices. There is also the added difficulty of working across multiple fluid timelines which sometimes make stories, people, and locations difficult to place. It's one of the few books I've read that has such complex timelines and world-building that I feel readers would benefit greatly from a map and timeline.
Or maybe they just need the Glyph Astra
All around, an astoundingly good read, on par with other Sci-Fi masterpieces such as Dune and Foundation. For fans of Sci-Fi, philosophy and questions, I highly recommend.
mos_basik's review against another edition
3.0
Complex. Disjointed, in a way. I didn't realize it when I began, but this is the fourth book by Attanasio in a tetrad devoted to the four cardinal dimensions that rule our lives - height, depth, width, time. In retrospect, it makes sense for the one about time to be disjointed. That's not a bad thing, of course.
Distant. As with any book that covers a span of seven thousand years, there are plenty of characters that are introduced, make their effects felt, and disappear - a handful of characters remain constant and well-known to the reader.
Epic gods - reminded me of nothing so much as of the Valar vs. Melkor in [a:Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1329870573p2/656983.jpg]'s [b:The Silmarillion|3306190|The Silmarillion The Epic History of the Elves in The Lord of the Rings|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1210732062s/3306190.jpg|4733799]. The continuing struggle of the great machine intelligences against torture and conversion by the zōtl... the two forms of fire, one bright as the sun and one unrelenting darkness. Genetrix, omnipresent and life-giving - and Gai, the creator.
It was meant to be read straight through, forging ahead like tank bruting through jungle. I don't know how many times this happened: a detail is mentioned offhandedly about a topic that had been described before as if the detail is obvious and you should know it - making you think, "Oh, I missed something. I'll go back and check." But when you go back to the original description, that detail is nowhere to be found. You didn't miss anything; that new detail is just being given to you by the author in a different order than usual. Eventually you get used to it and you stop looking back whenever you find details. A second read would probably give you a much clearer idea of what's going on.
It was hard to get into, certainly. Storywise, I was lost for a good first quarter of the book. Writing was enjoyable enough that I kept going for the sake of the descriptions, so I eventually caught onto the story. Then I couldn't put it down.
So many twists. There were a lot of ways I could have seen it ending.
Distant. As with any book that covers a span of seven thousand years, there are plenty of characters that are introduced, make their effects felt, and disappear - a handful of characters remain constant and well-known to the reader.
Epic gods - reminded me of nothing so much as of the Valar vs. Melkor in [a:Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1329870573p2/656983.jpg]'s [b:The Silmarillion|3306190|The Silmarillion The Epic History of the Elves in The Lord of the Rings|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1210732062s/3306190.jpg|4733799]. The continuing struggle of the great machine intelligences against torture and conversion by the zōtl... the two forms of fire, one bright as the sun and one unrelenting darkness. Genetrix, omnipresent and life-giving - and Gai, the creator.
It was meant to be read straight through, forging ahead like tank bruting through jungle. I don't know how many times this happened: a detail is mentioned offhandedly about a topic that had been described before as if the detail is obvious and you should know it - making you think, "Oh, I missed something. I'll go back and check." But when you go back to the original description, that detail is nowhere to be found. You didn't miss anything; that new detail is just being given to you by the author in a different order than usual. Eventually you get used to it and you stop looking back whenever you find details. A second read would probably give you a much clearer idea of what's going on.
It was hard to get into, certainly. Storywise, I was lost for a good first quarter of the book. Writing was enjoyable enough that I kept going for the sake of the descriptions, so I eventually caught onto the story. Then I couldn't put it down.
So many twists. There were a lot of ways I could have seen it ending.
jiba's review against another edition
5.0
This is a most excellent of reads if you like epic science fiction/ fantasy. I have read it twice and will read it again. It is brilliantly written. It is delicious like the very best dessert and when you are finished reading, it is the moment when all the dessert is gone. But you are full, content and possibly introspective and savoring the taste in your mouth.
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