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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Wow! First Scalzi I've read. Solid science fiction down to the scientism which rationalizes religious practice (not a criticism per se! I loved these themes in Star Trek Next Generation). I laughed when I saw another reviewer who gave it 5 stars but hesitated to recommend it. All I will venture is that the theme reminds me of Paula Huston's novel, A Land Without Sin, which is set in the jungles of Southern Mexico.
Very interesting story by John Scalzi. The concept was very good and the pacing of the story was good.
This… was not what I was expecting. The world of the God Engines is evocative and strange. The ships, the combination of priest and captain on the ships, and the wider mythology is original and quite dark straight off the bat. I love a good original mythology and I love the images Scalzi brings in here – chained gods bent to the will of believers of another, more superior god, using their captive god’s strength to journey the stars. It’s cool, dammit!
The characters are few, but they’re interestingly conflicted. I like the contrast between Tephe and his priest. I like the internal thoughts he has about how to captain his ship and deal with his god and keep everything ticking over. I like the doubts and his constant combative stand off with his captured god.
But I found it turned a corner tone and plot-wise at about the two-thirds mark and I didn’t like how it developed from there. That’s pure subjectivity. Scalzi drove his concepts right to the end of the line here and cranked the action and the tension on right through the ending, escalating repeatedly over where I thought the “top end” of the stakes and action were. It was phenomenal charting where he started and where he ended up and in hindsight the progression felt inevitable. I just didn’t much like where he went with it.
I found the pacing a little uneven as well, with a lot of time spent on the first half in set up and conversations and a whole lot of rapid escalation and stakes coming in out of nowhere in the second half.
Not a bad book, I liked it mostly, but too uneven an experience for me to give it much more than that.
The characters are few, but they’re interestingly conflicted. I like the contrast between Tephe and his priest. I like the internal thoughts he has about how to captain his ship and deal with his god and keep everything ticking over. I like the doubts and his constant combative stand off with his captured god.
But I found it turned a corner tone and plot-wise at about the two-thirds mark and I didn’t like how it developed from there. That’s pure subjectivity. Scalzi drove his concepts right to the end of the line here and cranked the action and the tension on right through the ending, escalating repeatedly over where I thought the “top end” of the stakes and action were. It was phenomenal charting where he started and where he ended up and in hindsight the progression felt inevitable. I just didn’t much like where he went with it.
I found the pacing a little uneven as well, with a lot of time spent on the first half in set up and conversations and a whole lot of rapid escalation and stakes coming in out of nowhere in the second half.
Not a bad book, I liked it mostly, but too uneven an experience for me to give it much more than that.
Reread this as something reminded me of it... Such an interesting set up with gods being captured and used to power ships. Glad I reread it.
This was an interesting read. I'm glad it was the length that it was, any more and it would have overstayed its welcome.
I didn't particularly like the scene with the religious 'Harem'. It felt a little too much like a male author's fantasy. But, given how the book ended, and the questionable nature of the universe & god, maybe that is part of the point.
The ending is mildly horrific ("mildly" because it could have been written "worse"). It makes sense in the context. Things don't exactly end well. Again, it works for a short story, I'd've been more upset if that is how a novel ended.
Spoiler
I didn't particularly like the scene with the religious 'Harem'. It felt a little too much like a male author's fantasy. But, given how the book ended, and the questionable nature of the universe & god, maybe that is part of the point.
The ending is mildly horrific ("mildly" because it could have been written "worse"). It makes sense in the context. Things don't exactly end well. Again, it works for a short story, I'd've been more upset if that is how a novel ended.
Not a pleasant story, but I see why it was nominated for awards.
This book (really more of a short story) ended up being way more horrifying than I expected when I started out. It was a quick introduction to a totally new world, and really a character study on how people survived this world differently. I found it really interesting and beautifully written.
This book is astounding. I can't believe how much this man was able to accomplish in 130ish pages. It is also one that requires you to think and doesn't hold its punches, but can be read in one sitting. Hey authors: there is no reason to be long-winded. This man proves it.
"The God Engines" is dark, heavy, and richly textured beneath a gauze of foreboding. John Scalzi's novella is a severe departure from the tone and wit of his popular "Old Man's War" series. But it's equally as awesome.
The title is quite literal. Superhuman god-like beings are the engines that drive human interstellar travel. While they have the power to move humans and ships across enormous amounts of space, their powers are much more vast. The story moves at a rapid pace, and the characters are well drawn despite the books' length. The universe of "The God Engines" is creatively conceived.
Scalzi's story, which sits somewhere between scifi and fantasy, takes an compelling look at religion, faith and what they can really mean to individuals and societies. The foundation of characters are military, like much of Scalzi's "Old Man's War", but this military and this universe is much more frightening.
Everything is drawn with muted colors. Scalzi's writing is very clear, and always crisp, but one can't help but feel a little suffocated in reading this story. Scalzi is also a master at forwarding a plot through well-worded and well-timed dialogue.
This is not your father's John Scalzi. And this is very good.
The title is quite literal. Superhuman god-like beings are the engines that drive human interstellar travel. While they have the power to move humans and ships across enormous amounts of space, their powers are much more vast. The story moves at a rapid pace, and the characters are well drawn despite the books' length. The universe of "The God Engines" is creatively conceived.
Scalzi's story, which sits somewhere between scifi and fantasy, takes an compelling look at religion, faith and what they can really mean to individuals and societies. The foundation of characters are military, like much of Scalzi's "Old Man's War", but this military and this universe is much more frightening.
Everything is drawn with muted colors. Scalzi's writing is very clear, and always crisp, but one can't help but feel a little suffocated in reading this story. Scalzi is also a master at forwarding a plot through well-worded and well-timed dialogue.
This is not your father's John Scalzi. And this is very good.