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mjporterauthor's review against another edition
No review as I just couldn't get into this one. Apologies. I hope other people enjoy it, and I did read it was one of 'the' books for 2018! Just not for me.
60degreesn's review against another edition
5.0
A fantastic gripping novel of a greening Antartica that combines noir intensity with the ecological attention to landscape of Kim Stanley Robinson.
joosty's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
rustykingswood's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
benbert's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
grudgemental's review against another edition
1.0
DNF, this story was just very uninteresting even at 6 chapters in
gabyk_lib's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting and smart with some great characters. Loved it
david_agranoff's review against another edition
4.0
A couple months back my father surprised me for asking for some recommendations for Science Fiction novels. You see my father is extremely well read in non-fiction, but he is not a novel guy at all. He has read three novels as long as I know him. He is a retired professor of political science and his school is known for environmental affairs so it was not so weird that he was interested in Cli-fi. It was a term I taught him when he said he wanted to read some novels that dealt with the future of climate change issues. He had picked up this novel Austral that he read about in I think the economist. I told him I thought he should check out Kim Stanley Robinson's Green Revolution trilogy, in a respect I think that was more what he was looking for.
He couldn't get into this book in large for the same reason I liked it. This is a weird entry in the subgenre of climate change speculative fiction, that may have been a little too out there for my father. I on the other hand thought this novel balanced concept, character and world building to perfection.
The setting of this novel is the Antarctic peninsula at sometime probably 100 years or more in the future. Not much is said about the outside world, but we get lots to chew on in this setting. Austral has live her whole life in Antarctica, genetically edited to survive in this cold climate she is part of a group of experimental humans nicknamed Husky. Our main character Austral is a troubled person a former criminal who is trying to get her life back by working as a corrections officer at a labor camp.
Austral finds out she is pregnant, a result of an affair she was having with a dangerous criminal. When she decides that she has to get away from the Peninsula before she is exposed she gets pulled into a kidnapping plot. One of the richest men in the world and his daughter are coming for a visit, to check out their investment. Austral thinks kiddapping this man's daughter might be here key to escaping. The problem is she is more connected to this man, then she first thought, and he is involved in more nasty business than she is prepared for. Was she kidnaps the teenager they have to avoid gangs and various dangers traveling across the Antarctic landscape.
This set-up and setting makes for a really cool adventure tale that McAuley strengthens with a cool structure that weaves in the world-building and character back story. One of the strengths of the novel is Austral. She is a really well written character, a female lead that is layered and complex. She is not a male fantasy while driving the story as a flawed hero. She is one of the strongest elements of the novel.
The novel has a lot to offer from gangsters, Ecopoets (environmental radicals), the harsh almost alien landscape, and weird crime. There is alot going on and for the most part I really enjoyed it. In a strange way I enjoyed it more when I was thinking about after it was over. I respect the hell out any other who tackles this issue and tackles it well.
He couldn't get into this book in large for the same reason I liked it. This is a weird entry in the subgenre of climate change speculative fiction, that may have been a little too out there for my father. I on the other hand thought this novel balanced concept, character and world building to perfection.
The setting of this novel is the Antarctic peninsula at sometime probably 100 years or more in the future. Not much is said about the outside world, but we get lots to chew on in this setting. Austral has live her whole life in Antarctica, genetically edited to survive in this cold climate she is part of a group of experimental humans nicknamed Husky. Our main character Austral is a troubled person a former criminal who is trying to get her life back by working as a corrections officer at a labor camp.
Austral finds out she is pregnant, a result of an affair she was having with a dangerous criminal. When she decides that she has to get away from the Peninsula before she is exposed she gets pulled into a kidnapping plot. One of the richest men in the world and his daughter are coming for a visit, to check out their investment. Austral thinks kiddapping this man's daughter might be here key to escaping. The problem is she is more connected to this man, then she first thought, and he is involved in more nasty business than she is prepared for. Was she kidnaps the teenager they have to avoid gangs and various dangers traveling across the Antarctic landscape.
This set-up and setting makes for a really cool adventure tale that McAuley strengthens with a cool structure that weaves in the world-building and character back story. One of the strengths of the novel is Austral. She is a really well written character, a female lead that is layered and complex. She is not a male fantasy while driving the story as a flawed hero. She is one of the strongest elements of the novel.
The novel has a lot to offer from gangsters, Ecopoets (environmental radicals), the harsh almost alien landscape, and weird crime. There is alot going on and for the most part I really enjoyed it. In a strange way I enjoyed it more when I was thinking about after it was over. I respect the hell out any other who tackles this issue and tackles it well.
furicle's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful world building, believable, lovable main characters, and a meandering journey through multiple lives on several lines.
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I found the one main story with two other threads to be a nice technique. The fictional thread seemed more real than the historical one, and less in doubt. Just the way it should have been.
The elf stones were hauntingly perfect, the background politics depressingly realistic.
Highly recommended.
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I found the one main story with two other threads to be a nice technique. The fictional thread seemed more real than the historical one, and less in doubt. Just the way it should have been.
The elf stones were hauntingly perfect, the background politics depressingly realistic.
Highly recommended.