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timinbc's review against another edition
2.0
Guess I'll be the minority review here.
This is almost pulp fiction. It feels as if it's written to be the basis of a popcorn movie.
OK, I didn't read book 1, but I don't feel as if I missed much.
Bias admitted: I get really, really distracted when an author has a character "step foot" somewhere.
It's like reading "if he would of gone" or something. The perfectly good "set foot" is there for authors to use. Makes me think the author also says "expresso" and "asterix"
OK, classic lead - action hero with problems. Including alcoholism. Yawn. Let's give him a Noble Purpose as a beacon.
Near-superpowered heroes? Better put constraints on them - a miasma shortage and a limited amount of charge per battle. Well enough done.
My main problem with this book is the battle scenes. There are plenty of them, and slaughter aplenty, and enough graphic violence for two books. But we keep seeing people with brooms and clubs fighting off squads in mechanized fighting suits that are presented as being able to take on a whole infantry platoon. It's essentially the Star Wars model: 100 Imperial troopers firing 100 shots each can't hit a target at ten yards, but our hero has a straw and a dried pea and can take out the enemy leader with a shot to the eye from 1000 yards in a crosswind.
Or maybe it's the living in skyscrapers and farming thing. Up and down 20 flights of stairs all day long, often without elevators. And where do they get water? Where do the toilets flush? Are they really feeding 1000s of people from indoor farms? At least the electricity challenge is addressed.
Oh, and Kuo. C'mon, aren't we past the era of one-dimensional nyah-hah-hah oiled-mustache bad guys. Especially the ending: That's in the "You haven't seen the last of me, Bond!" league.
Some of the peripheral characters wre quite good. And I'll award marks for the salvager approach, which seems to have become accepted now as the way to avoid paradoxes.
In the end, this feels like a big step below the scifi I expect these days, from Banks and Reynolds and Asher and Leckie and so many more. But maybe it's aimed at a different audience - the Iron Man fans, the Friday-after-school crowd - and if so, I withdraw all objections. The book's fine, but I'm the wrong reader. I'm fine with that.
This is almost pulp fiction. It feels as if it's written to be the basis of a popcorn movie.
OK, I didn't read book 1, but I don't feel as if I missed much.
Bias admitted: I get really, really distracted when an author has a character "step foot" somewhere.
It's like reading "if he would of gone" or something. The perfectly good "set foot" is there for authors to use. Makes me think the author also says "expresso" and "asterix"
OK, classic lead - action hero with problems. Including alcoholism. Yawn. Let's give him a Noble Purpose as a beacon.
Near-superpowered heroes? Better put constraints on them - a miasma shortage and a limited amount of charge per battle. Well enough done.
My main problem with this book is the battle scenes. There are plenty of them, and slaughter aplenty, and enough graphic violence for two books. But we keep seeing people with brooms and clubs fighting off squads in mechanized fighting suits that are presented as being able to take on a whole infantry platoon. It's essentially the Star Wars model: 100 Imperial troopers firing 100 shots each can't hit a target at ten yards, but our hero has a straw and a dried pea and can take out the enemy leader with a shot to the eye from 1000 yards in a crosswind.
Or maybe it's the living in skyscrapers and farming thing. Up and down 20 flights of stairs all day long, often without elevators. And where do they get water? Where do the toilets flush? Are they really feeding 1000s of people from indoor farms? At least the electricity challenge is addressed.
Oh, and Kuo. C'mon, aren't we past the era of one-dimensional nyah-hah-hah oiled-mustache bad guys. Especially the ending:
Spoiler
"I'm not going to kill you, Mr. Bond, you're not WORTH it." Sneers, spins, leavesSome of the peripheral characters wre quite good. And I'll award marks for the salvager approach, which seems to have become accepted now as the way to avoid paradoxes.
In the end, this feels like a big step below the scifi I expect these days, from Banks and Reynolds and Asher and Leckie and so many more. But maybe it's aimed at a different audience - the Iron Man fans, the Friday-after-school crowd - and if so, I withdraw all objections. The book's fine, but I'm the wrong reader. I'm fine with that.
qjbrown96's review against another edition
4.0
Another solid Chu performance but he did the thing you do not do…he ended it with a cliffhanger and hasn’t written the last book. Instead he decided to move on to other projects with no eta of return. What kind of horse shit is that? If I read this in 2016 I would be livid but hopefully since it’s been 6 years we will be getting an eta within a couple years.
mogojojo1013's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book. I did. However, it was just WAY too heavy for right now and that's my bad. A great read and I love the depiction of alcohol abuse we get with James.
Definitely wait for the world at large to be a bit less sad though
Definitely wait for the world at large to be a bit less sad though
marvelousmooch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
staticmemories's review against another edition
challenging
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
miajmu's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe a few too many shifting perspectives but overall a good action adventure story.
thebernie's review against another edition
4.0
Second stories in a series are always hard judge. You're always waiting for the other foot to drop. This book often times left the reader feeling helpless, which to an extent worked with the themes this story dealt with. And as with most seconds this one leaves plentiful openings for the next installment. Definitely interested in where Chu goes next.
Also I love writers that can make me hate the villain without sympathy.
Also I love writers that can make me hate the villain without sympathy.
quippy's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, I'll start by saying I loved the Tao books. Amazing works with incredible details. While the Time Salvager series is good, it doesn't quite live up to the Tao series. That said, I really enjoyed this story. The first in the series was quite well crafted, and the world building in this was the same.
However, there were two issues I had with this book. First, it felt a bit overly verbose for no reason. It's a long book, so there was no need to stretch page count. Still, that can be overlooked as it was a really interesting story. The second issue has to do with the editing. I don't know if it was a new editor now that Wesley is with Tor, or what happened, but I purchased a print copy and there were many instances of broken paragraphs where an editor missed a return. It's jarring when mid-thought it suddenly jumps to a new paragraph continuing the dialogue from the same character. That and I did find several typos as well. When Wes was a neophyte I never encountered these issues. So Wes, you rock, just give the editor a kick in the pants.
My complaints are minor, and I most certainly recommend the series. Of course if you haven't yet read the Tao books, I'd suggest starting there as they're simply wonderful.
However, there were two issues I had with this book. First, it felt a bit overly verbose for no reason. It's a long book, so there was no need to stretch page count. Still, that can be overlooked as it was a really interesting story. The second issue has to do with the editing. I don't know if it was a new editor now that Wesley is with Tor, or what happened, but I purchased a print copy and there were many instances of broken paragraphs where an editor missed a return. It's jarring when mid-thought it suddenly jumps to a new paragraph continuing the dialogue from the same character. That and I did find several typos as well. When Wes was a neophyte I never encountered these issues. So Wes, you rock, just give the editor a kick in the pants.
My complaints are minor, and I most certainly recommend the series. Of course if you haven't yet read the Tao books, I'd suggest starting there as they're simply wonderful.
tschmidt's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cj13's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0