Scan barcode
mnyberg's review
5.0
The plot slows from the 1st book, but still great writing and character story lines. I like the mission development and description.
eososray's review
3.0
Terrorism has shut down much of the technological functions around the world and the regular people are living in some kind of partial post-apocalyptic life, but this doesn't seem to affect the rich or the military, all of whom have bigger and better tech than ever. And it's intended effect of stopping The Red, has had no effect at all.
While a fair portion of the book is set in the courtroom and the action is all in words, it's not in any way boring and the hard hitting physical action is still a big portion of the rest of the book.
While a fair portion of the book is set in the courtroom and the action is all in words, it's not in any way boring and the hard hitting physical action is still a big portion of the rest of the book.
chaghi's review against another edition
2.0
Good follow-up to First Light. Though the first 3rd of the book is super slow and boring if you compare it with the pace and action of the previous book. Fortunately later on it gets up to speed.
Also, the author annoyed the hell out of me (re)explaining and (re)visiting every character and situation that were introduced in the first book. A book that I had just read a week or so before. I know, sometimes this kind of thing is forced by the publisher/editor in an attempt to make the second book accessible to those who haven't read the previous one. But come on... there are limits! In this case this is a tightly coupled trilogy, with every book in the series published just months after the previous one. There is absolutely no point in reading The Trials if you haven't read First Light before. So there is no need to annoy your readers trying to "fix" something that is clearly un-fixable.
Is the third book going to include an abridged version of First Light and The Trials interlaced with the main story? I really hope it doesn't...
Anyway, despite these shortcomings, the story is good, and I'm definitely going to read the third part (Going Dark).
Also, the author annoyed the hell out of me (re)explaining and (re)visiting every character and situation that were introduced in the first book. A book that I had just read a week or so before. I know, sometimes this kind of thing is forced by the publisher/editor in an attempt to make the second book accessible to those who haven't read the previous one. But come on... there are limits! In this case this is a tightly coupled trilogy, with every book in the series published just months after the previous one. There is absolutely no point in reading The Trials if you haven't read First Light before. So there is no need to annoy your readers trying to "fix" something that is clearly un-fixable.
Is the third book going to include an abridged version of First Light and The Trials interlaced with the main story? I really hope it doesn't...
Anyway, despite these shortcomings, the story is good, and I'm definitely going to read the third part (Going Dark).
mjfmjfmjf's review
3.0
An okay book and an okay sequel. But overly slow and complicated in the details. And kind of felt tired. Sure the pov character is tired but that doesn't mean the reader needs to be tired as well. Lots of ideas and the mechanized network soldier is still interesting. But the world is not interesting. Not one of the author's better books but not a bad book. Then again military, even military sf is not particularly something I like.
trike's review
2.0
This was nowhere near as good as the first book, sadly. The first third with the actual trial of Lt. James Shelley and the Apocalypse Squad wasn’t very interesting. Instead of channeling the excellence of A Few Good Men it felt like a weaker episode of Law & Order. Then Shelley hooks up with his former handler Delphi who just so happens to be a gorgeous babe (eyeroll) as they are targeted by a vengeful billionaire who tries to kill them himself (eyeroll redux). And then there are adventures on the high seas, ambushes, even a space ride to do an orbital heist of a Howard Hughes-like paranoid hypochondriac billionaire living on a private space station and the coincidences pile up faster than the dead bodies. I don’t even know how many times Shelley gets saved because someone else blocked the bullet or explosion or grenade or shrapnel or god knows what. It was a lot. Dude’s luckier than James Bond crossed with a cat carrying a rabbit’s foot and a leprechaun’s four leaf clover.
corrompido's review
3.0
This book was somewhat ridiculous (as expected after the first one,) but was also satisfying pulpy and enjoyable. The first part of the book takes place in a courtroom and dragged a bit without moving the story forward but otherwise this book was an enjoyable second act in this pulp trilogy.
claudia_is_reading's review against another edition
4.0
This book takes off exactly at the point in which [b:First Light|17605440|First Light (The Red #1)|Linda Nagata|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363059827l/17605440._SY75_.jpg|24561453] finished. And I was really curious (okay, anxious, I was really anxious!) to discover how the story would develop, and how the trial would be carried out. And I truly enjoyed the way in which was resolved. It felt right. But, okay, I must confess that there was a moment, just after the trial ended and Shelley was back at his father's place, that I... lost a bit my faith in the story.
Yes, I get what the author was trying to show us, and yes, in retrospective, it made sense. But the whole relationship between Shelley and Delphi? I didn't understand it. Yes, the skullnet probably diminished the pain of Lizza's death, but still, it didn't felt right.
I think that what I enjoyed the most in this story was the conspiracy arc and the questions about The Red and its purpose.
Still an excellent story, although it doesn't surpass the first one.
Yes, I get what the author was trying to show us, and yes, in retrospective, it made sense. But the whole relationship between Shelley and Delphi? I didn't understand it. Yes, the skullnet probably diminished the pain of Lizza's death, but still, it didn't felt right.
I think that what I enjoyed the most in this story was the conspiracy arc and the questions about The Red and its purpose.
Still an excellent story, although it doesn't surpass the first one.
oleksandr's review
3.0
This is the second volume of Red trilogy. While I was extremely satisfied with the first volume, the continuation was much weaker. The first volume introduced a wealth of ideas, from exoskeleton-using solders to AI, which plays against ‘military-industrial complex’. The second just continues from what the first one introduced but neither introduces notable new twists nor new points of view on the situation. Maybe this is the foundation for the third volume, but per se this book looks like cashing off the success of the first volume.
contesauce's review
5.0
First I'm thoroughly impressed with Linda's writing. She has a way that is like no other author I've read before. She has elements of other authors but the way she combines them all makes her wholly unique in my book. I don't normally write reviews but I wanted to make a point to note this, and I know I'm about 6 years late on reading this book but I didn't discover her until last year. These are great books, if you are a fan of military sci-fi or military fiction in general these are good. So far, I'm impressed with Linda's knowledge of what PTSD feels like, and what it's like when you first come home after taking off a uniform from years of service. I don't know if she served, or just did really good research but it's spot on. My wife asked what I was reading last night and to boil it down to a sentence I said "lifetime soldier gets out of the military and goes home and is dealing with PTSD". Without missing a beat she replies, "Oh it's your story then?"
Not to misdirect, the book is not about PTSD or him dealing with it, that is only a facet of what's happening in the book, and I don't think anyone who's not suffered would really catch on to many of the subtle things Linda notes the narrator thinking. However, those who know it will know it when you read it, you'll immediately empathize.
It's been a great series so far and I'm excited to finish this one up and get to the third book in the series and then checking out some of Linda's other works. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a new book series to dig into.
Not to misdirect, the book is not about PTSD or him dealing with it, that is only a facet of what's happening in the book, and I don't think anyone who's not suffered would really catch on to many of the subtle things Linda notes the narrator thinking. However, those who know it will know it when you read it, you'll immediately empathize.
It's been a great series so far and I'm excited to finish this one up and get to the third book in the series and then checking out some of Linda's other works. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a new book series to dig into.