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roba's review against another edition
3.0
Some really interesting ideas about living in sims and consciousness here. And it's nice to think of MacLeod discussing them with his friend Iain Banks, as I'd guess he did... something of Banks' presence shines through. It's let down a bit by some confusingly described space melees, dweeby AI-endowed robots (I was picturing the Short Circuit robot and some Cybermats... doubt that's what MacLeod was intending), and ultimately I found it a bit disengaging when it seemed like every level of reality described might be a simulation. Just like life. But MacLeod pulls it back enough at the end for me to carry on with the series. Just like The White Mountains.
jwilker's review against another edition
I couldn't get past the language, if that makes sense. I'm sure the story is good, so this review is really just for future me. The writing was heavy on the (I assume) Scottish slang and such, I couldn't keep up with what was happening barely 2 chapters in.
I don't mind slang especially localized slang, but I don't need to fall into the deep end of it, where I can't tell who's who, and what's what.
I don't mind slang especially localized slang, but I don't need to fall into the deep end of it, where I can't tell who's who, and what's what.
halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
3.0
On an anonymous exo-moon, SH-17, a robot moves from basic intelligence to sentience. This spreads amongst the other robots on the moon and suddenly they are asking questions, questions about their masters and why they are here. The corporation that owns them has no desire to deal with entities that will not follow instructions and decides that they have no choice but to destroy them. One of the mercenaries they call on to undertake this is Carlos, a supposed criminal and mass murderer from a conflict a long time ago. Technically he is dead, which might have been an issue, but his mind has been preserved and he has now been uploaded into a virtual reality with others to fight against the rebel robots.
So begins a fantastical set of battles between the robots and the virtual reality soldiers. If you are expecting a story with lots of human interaction, then this is not the one for you, there is very little of that. At times it can get confusing as to who is fighting whom and just who they are fighting where, but Macleod somehow manages to tame the plot for you to keep up with what is going on. He does pose some more fundamental questions too; what is human? Is it the virtual reality mind, the sentient robot or the purely legal entity that is a corporation. Looking forward to the second in the series.
So begins a fantastical set of battles between the robots and the virtual reality soldiers. If you are expecting a story with lots of human interaction, then this is not the one for you, there is very little of that. At times it can get confusing as to who is fighting whom and just who they are fighting where, but Macleod somehow manages to tame the plot for you to keep up with what is going on. He does pose some more fundamental questions too; what is human? Is it the virtual reality mind, the sentient robot or the purely legal entity that is a corporation. Looking forward to the second in the series.
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