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imitira's review against another edition
3.0
Bang, bang, bang, pause for existential reflection, bang, bang, bang, SPACESHIP!, bang, bang, etc. Great palate cleanser.
ezekielrage's review against another edition
3.0
While The Trials is still a very good book, it suffers badly from the Second in Trilogy-syndrome. A lot happens, but nothing is resolved, so everything ends up feeling somewhat pointless. Basically all the elements in this book are good, fleshed out and well thought through, but the overall position in the trilogy dampens the sense of awe at the end of the book.
Linda Nagata does try, though. She introduces a complete new setting in the form of a courthouse where James Shelley and the Apocalypse Squad have to face justice for their illegal actions in the recent past. This is something novel, something rarely seen in any book or action movie. Because all of a sudden, there's a protagonist and his allies who have to face consequences for their actions. They don't ride into the sunset, being lauded as heroes.
With all this going on, Linda Nagata uses the opportunity to introduce more of the political aspect of the this world where the large military industrial complex appears to rule supreme. It's somewhat evident, solely by the part that the President of the United States plays, that politics have become a bit of a farce.
Still a good read, but yeah, it's the second of three.
Linda Nagata does try, though. She introduces a complete new setting in the form of a courthouse where James Shelley and the Apocalypse Squad have to face justice for their illegal actions in the recent past. This is something novel, something rarely seen in any book or action movie. Because all of a sudden, there's a protagonist and his allies who have to face consequences for their actions. They don't ride into the sunset, being lauded as heroes.
With all this going on, Linda Nagata uses the opportunity to introduce more of the political aspect of the this world where the large military industrial complex appears to rule supreme. It's somewhat evident, solely by the part that the President of the United States plays, that politics have become a bit of a farce.
Still a good read, but yeah, it's the second of three.
lushr's review
4.0
so wow what a story! crazy good adventure in the battle against the uber rich who seem quite happy to destroy the world rather than lose control of it.
my only quarm is how often the women in this story are sexualised by the main character, not something i expect from a female author who also describes the female characters bodies in depth while skimming over the male characters... again, not something i expect from a female author. it’s fiction, we can veto the real world and treat women like human beings, not objects of varying attractiveness.
my only quarm is how often the women in this story are sexualised by the main character, not something i expect from a female author who also describes the female characters bodies in depth while skimming over the male characters... again, not something i expect from a female author. it’s fiction, we can veto the real world and treat women like human beings, not objects of varying attractiveness.
colossal's review against another edition
4.0
Here there be dragons! And a cyber-knight to beard them in their lairs! And a mysterious cyber-wizard behind the scenes!
Shelley and his squad are in jail waiting for their court martial for the actions of the first book. But this is the universe of the Red, and nothing is that simple. There's assassination attempts, super-technology, backroom deals and lots of politics and that's only act one.
A substantial epilogue to the first book while setting up for the third. An excellent example of the problem of the bridging book of a trilogy in fact. The first book's job is to introduce the world, the characters, the villains and still tell an engaging story. The second book's job should be to build on the first; to go harder and deeper. But the second book's job is usually treated by most authors as to hold the reader's attention long enough to buy the third book. This book admirably works on the latter, but I'm not sure that it does the former.
There's an interesting commentary on agency here as well. Shelley and the Red have an interesting relationship. He does not trust the AI, but the AI's goals are usually congruent with his own, so most of the time Shelley is a happy soldier. But in this book something happens to put Shelley's motivation to question and just how much he is being controlled by the Red and just how many of his goals are actually his. I'll be interested to see how that plays out.
Shelley and his squad are in jail waiting for their court martial for the actions of the first book. But this is the universe of the Red, and nothing is that simple. There's assassination attempts, super-technology, backroom deals and lots of politics and that's only act one.
A substantial epilogue to the first book while setting up for the third. An excellent example of the problem of the bridging book of a trilogy in fact. The first book's job is to introduce the world, the characters, the villains and still tell an engaging story. The second book's job should be to build on the first; to go harder and deeper. But the second book's job is usually treated by most authors as to hold the reader's attention long enough to buy the third book. This book admirably works on the latter, but I'm not sure that it does the former.
There's an interesting commentary on agency here as well. Shelley and the Red have an interesting relationship. He does not trust the AI, but the AI's goals are usually congruent with his own, so most of the time Shelley is a happy soldier. But in this book something happens to put Shelley's motivation to question and just how much he is being controlled by the Red and just how many of his goals are actually his. I'll be interested to see how that plays out.
lennartvn's review
3.0
Heeft alle issues van een tweede deel, waardoor je de eerste 20 procent van het boek vooral dingen leest die in het vorige boek zijn gebeurd. Verder uitermate cliché en pulperige sci-fi. Soms heb je dat gewoon even nodig.
robynldouglas's review
4.0
3.5 that I am rounding to 4 because most of my issues with this book come from the age-old middle book problem. Can't wait to see where it leads.
mburnamfink's review against another edition
4.0
The Trials opens with James Shelley and his squad facing a death sentence for what they did First Light, an assortment of crimes from treason and murder down to theft of an item valued more than $500 (to whit, a C-17 transport), but that trial is only the first of many as Shelley adapts to the brave new world, defined by a secret war between agents of the enigmatic AI called "The Red", and the super-rich CEOs, called Dragons, who rule the world. Already, a series of EMP attacks have crippled the economy without destroying the parts of the Cloud that people live in. Once a cynical soldier, Shelley has trouble adapting to his new life as a popular hero, true believer in what's left of patriotism, and still a central element in the plots of The Red and its enemies.
This book suffers a little from the second book slump. It's still a tightly packed action thriller, but the characters and their motivations are little less tightly defined, the action at lower stakes than before. Nagata teases out more of The Red's hypothesized motivations, but its still very much an alien presence. I'm onboard to see how the third book ends.
This book suffers a little from the second book slump. It's still a tightly packed action thriller, but the characters and their motivations are little less tightly defined, the action at lower stakes than before. Nagata teases out more of The Red's hypothesized motivations, but its still very much an alien presence. I'm onboard to see how the third book ends.
popestig's review against another edition
3.0
Military Science Fiction is not really my thing, but Linda Nagata's The Trials has a drive that keep me chewing through the pages likes a .303 bookworm.
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.