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vikcs's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
pjonsson's review
4.0
This is the first book in a new series that I have started to read. Well, it is not new in the sense that the first edition was published in 2011 but it is new for me in that I just started to read it.
This is not the usual marine grunt story. Sure there is the marine training followed by plenty of violent action as one would expect when one brings in the marines. But behind all of this runs the story of Ia which is what makes this book interesting.
As the book blurb tells us Ia is a precog, an unusually powerful one, who knows that if the flow of future events is not guided to be the right one then the Galaxy will be devastated. During the course of the story it is revealed that Ia is also more than a “just” a precog. She has a few more abilities and somewhat of a special story behind her. The marine part and the action in the book is quite okay. Nothing fantastic but okay. If it was not for Ia, her abilities and her quest, then the book would be a rather average one.
The book does not really start off with very much background and much is simply thrown in the face of the reader as the story progresses. Sometimes this is a bit annoying. I would have liked a bit better world building and background story in general. Given that the author goes to great lengths in some places to describe things, like the ten different types of ammunition that the standard marine projectile rifle can fire, the book feels a bit unbalanced in that sense.
As I wrote before, it is Ia and her quest that makes the book so interesting. Not only does she have to succeed in her military training and her later marine objectives but she also have to manoeuver through the possible future events and ensure that the right ones are chosen at key points in the future. There is plenty of action along the line and she does definitely earn herself her nickname of Bloody Mary.
Sometimes Ia’s abilities to know what the future have in store as well as her other abilities causes suspicion on the part of her superiors and then frequently we get long-winded and perfectly laid out speeches about how she does things not for herself but for her fellow man etc. etc. bla. bla. After the first couple of times these perfect speeches became a bit tiresome.
The flaws that I have mentioned is relatively minor though and on the whole I enjoyed following Ia on her quest. I will definitely continue reading since I really want to know where everything leads. After all, the book really gives no clue as to what exactly is expected to happen in the future to cause this devastation that we are told will happen.
This is not the usual marine grunt story. Sure there is the marine training followed by plenty of violent action as one would expect when one brings in the marines. But behind all of this runs the story of Ia which is what makes this book interesting.
As the book blurb tells us Ia is a precog, an unusually powerful one, who knows that if the flow of future events is not guided to be the right one then the Galaxy will be devastated. During the course of the story it is revealed that Ia is also more than a “just” a precog. She has a few more abilities and somewhat of a special story behind her. The marine part and the action in the book is quite okay. Nothing fantastic but okay. If it was not for Ia, her abilities and her quest, then the book would be a rather average one.
The book does not really start off with very much background and much is simply thrown in the face of the reader as the story progresses. Sometimes this is a bit annoying. I would have liked a bit better world building and background story in general. Given that the author goes to great lengths in some places to describe things, like the ten different types of ammunition that the standard marine projectile rifle can fire, the book feels a bit unbalanced in that sense.
As I wrote before, it is Ia and her quest that makes the book so interesting. Not only does she have to succeed in her military training and her later marine objectives but she also have to manoeuver through the possible future events and ensure that the right ones are chosen at key points in the future. There is plenty of action along the line and she does definitely earn herself her nickname of Bloody Mary.
Sometimes Ia’s abilities to know what the future have in store as well as her other abilities causes suspicion on the part of her superiors and then frequently we get long-winded and perfectly laid out speeches about how she does things not for herself but for her fellow man etc. etc. bla. bla. After the first couple of times these perfect speeches became a bit tiresome.
The flaws that I have mentioned is relatively minor though and on the whole I enjoyed following Ia on her quest. I will definitely continue reading since I really want to know where everything leads. After all, the book really gives no clue as to what exactly is expected to happen in the future to cause this devastation that we are told will happen.
snowkab's review
4.0
I went back and forth between 3-stars or 4-stars for this book, but I ended up choosing 4 because I know I'm usually a harsh critic, and I did enjoy reading it.
Somethings that I enjoyed: the looks into the timestreams, her letters to future people, the religious order (but not the info-dumps about the religious order), and the complexity of the story.
That said, there were some issues with this book. Namely: there was no danger. She can see the future and the paths it takes. At no point was I like "Is she going to make it? Will the plan still work?" She always makes it. Even though there are areas where the future is "misty" and she can't see, it still works out perfectly. Even when.
For the first third of the book, I skipped over a somewhat major character's lines every time they spoke. Accents in books can be fun if they're used sparingly and with caution. If I have to decipher the dialogue, I'm skipping it and I'm frustrated. Spyder spoke like this, "Ey, ’zat mean somma th’ Salik are down ’ere lurkin’ inna bushes?” and "’N th’ more th’ ranks trust you, th’ better they’ll be when it comes time t’ poon’n’slag.” and “Choo ain’ albino. Choo got a tan, ’n neffrythin’. Born wi’ it, ey?” Too much work. I don't care.
There was also a lot of info-dumping in here. A lot. I expected the info-dumping at the beginning and rolled my eyes when she answered questions in a test to tell you about the world, but it was fine. That happens. It was just irritating that the info-dumps continued and they were often placed in dialogue like: "But I’ll want to take off for an Academy when my current duty posting is up. Actually, I’ll be required to, by military law. All field-promoted officers still have to go through Academy training at some point.” Cool. Your commanding officer definitely knows that it's required by law. You don't need to tell him.
Another example of this in a spoiler because it's long: Tell me about an 18-year old who knows the statistics of natural disasters on their planet and talks like this.
My last complaint is that she has two moms whose names are Amelia and Aurelia. WHY ARE THEIR NAMES SO SIMILAR? Petty, I know, but still.
Somethings that I enjoyed: the looks into the timestreams, her letters to future people, the religious order (but not the info-dumps about the religious order), and the complexity of the story.
That said, there were some issues with this book. Namely: there was no danger. She can see the future and the paths it takes. At no point was I like "Is she going to make it? Will the plan still work?" She always makes it. Even though there are areas where the future is "misty" and she can't see, it still works out perfectly. Even when
Spoiler
she is "betrayed," the betrayal lasts for a grand total of like 2 minutes before she fixes it and they're back on scheduleFor the first third of the book, I skipped over a somewhat major character's lines every time they spoke. Accents in books can be fun if they're used sparingly and with caution. If I have to decipher the dialogue, I'm skipping it and I'm frustrated. Spyder spoke like this, "Ey, ’zat mean somma th’ Salik are down ’ere lurkin’ inna bushes?” and "’N th’ more th’ ranks trust you, th’ better they’ll be when it comes time t’ poon’n’slag.” and “Choo ain’ albino. Choo got a tan, ’n neffrythin’. Born wi’ it, ey?” Too much work. I don't care.
There was also a lot of info-dumping in here. A lot. I expected the info-dumping at the beginning and rolled my eyes when she answered questions in a test to tell you about the world, but it was fine. That happens. It was just irritating that the info-dumps continued and they were often placed in dialogue like: "But I’ll want to take off for an Academy when my current duty posting is up. Actually, I’ll be required to, by military law. All field-promoted officers still have to go through Academy training at some point.” Cool. Your commanding officer definitely knows that it's required by law. You don't need to tell him.
Another example of this in a spoiler because it's long:
Spoiler
"“Seven out of ten times, Sergeant, that ‘malfunction’ manifests as static lightning striking whoever or whatever is holding the stunner gun. Two out of ten times, it will strike the target, and the remaining one in ten times, lightning will strike either both parties, or somewhere in between. The lethality of these malfunctions has caused the weapon to be permanently banned from use on the surface of this recruit’s homeworld. Additionally, testing in the early days of colonization showed that the natural prevalence of the static field can even trigger an indoor lightning attack, so stunner weaponry isn’t used inside buildings. It isn’t allowed to be used beneath the surface of the planet, either, because that same electrosphere goes straight down to the planet’s core”My last complaint is that she has two moms whose names are Amelia and Aurelia. WHY ARE THEIR NAMES SO SIMILAR? Petty, I know, but still.
advictoriam's review
3.0
I originally gave this one star but am bumping it up to three now that I've gotten past the initial frustration I felt after trudging through this book.
I really thought I would love this, making it even more disappointing when I found this book to not be my thing at all. I do think that is a big part of why I didn't enjoy it, not because it was poorly written or anything like that. It just isn't the kind of book I find appealing, which I didn't realize until I was far enough through it that I wanted to finish it.
The writing in this is solid, but it can also frequently verge on being too detailed. That much detail can be overwhelming, not to mention unnecessary. It could have been edited down quite a bit without losing anything vital to the story.
I also did not care for the main character, Ia. Beyond my own personal dislike, I just think the characterization was off. Because of her abilities, Ia knows every single thing that's going to happen. This takes away the suspense, and frankly just makes the story a little boring. Ia is always one step ahead of everyone else and something that bothered me about this was that she always seemed so very cocky about it and like she was better than everyone else. Given that she has a pretty significant advantage over everyone this seems unfair and rather off-putting. Her gift would have been a lot more interesting if it varied in its effectiveness and its accuracy. Basically, Ia's abilities are pretty cool but she's overpowered. I think that's supposed to be the point but like I said, it doesn't necessarily make for a good story.
The characterization of Ia also comes into an especially heavy focus given that she is really the only character to be fully developed, at least at this point in the series. Dozens of secondary characters are introduced and then dropped. The other characters are only used when Ia needs them to perform some small role or for her to mention that at some point in the future they will play a small role. Maybe other characters are fleshed out in the later books but it would have been nice to have more of it here.
Overall I just found this book difficult to get through. There isn't much in the way of a straightforward plot. It's basically Ia accomplishing task after task. You can also definitely tell that it's a part of a series as it is so clearly just a small portion of Ia's supposed mission.
Probably the aspect of this book I found the most interesting was the world building. The world shown in this novel is incredibly detailed and well thought out. Its complexity makes it feel more plausible as an actual world, although as I mentioned, too many details about said world can distract from what is actually going on in the book. It could also be confusing at times because there is a lot of jargon, especially involving the technology and weaponry.
While this is by no means a terrible book, these various issues made it hard for me to get into it. To be fair, these are things that could very well work for other people. This books really seems like one where mileage would vary. I also won't be carrying on with the rest of the series, which is something that usually bothers me. I'm curious of how some aspects will be developed further but not quite enough to put myself through reading the other books.
I really thought I would love this, making it even more disappointing when I found this book to not be my thing at all. I do think that is a big part of why I didn't enjoy it, not because it was poorly written or anything like that. It just isn't the kind of book I find appealing, which I didn't realize until I was far enough through it that I wanted to finish it.
The writing in this is solid, but it can also frequently verge on being too detailed. That much detail can be overwhelming, not to mention unnecessary. It could have been edited down quite a bit without losing anything vital to the story.
I also did not care for the main character, Ia. Beyond my own personal dislike, I just think the characterization was off. Because of her abilities, Ia knows every single thing that's going to happen. This takes away the suspense, and frankly just makes the story a little boring. Ia is always one step ahead of everyone else and something that bothered me about this was that she always seemed so very cocky about it and like she was better than everyone else. Given that she has a pretty significant advantage over everyone this seems unfair and rather off-putting. Her gift would have been a lot more interesting if it varied in its effectiveness and its accuracy. Basically, Ia's abilities are pretty cool but she's overpowered. I think that's supposed to be the point but like I said, it doesn't necessarily make for a good story.
The characterization of Ia also comes into an especially heavy focus given that she is really the only character to be fully developed, at least at this point in the series. Dozens of secondary characters are introduced and then dropped. The other characters are only used when Ia needs them to perform some small role or for her to mention that at some point in the future they will play a small role. Maybe other characters are fleshed out in the later books but it would have been nice to have more of it here.
Overall I just found this book difficult to get through. There isn't much in the way of a straightforward plot. It's basically Ia accomplishing task after task. You can also definitely tell that it's a part of a series as it is so clearly just a small portion of Ia's supposed mission.
Probably the aspect of this book I found the most interesting was the world building. The world shown in this novel is incredibly detailed and well thought out. Its complexity makes it feel more plausible as an actual world, although as I mentioned, too many details about said world can distract from what is actually going on in the book. It could also be confusing at times because there is a lot of jargon, especially involving the technology and weaponry.
While this is by no means a terrible book, these various issues made it hard for me to get into it. To be fair, these are things that could very well work for other people. This books really seems like one where mileage would vary. I also won't be carrying on with the rest of the series, which is something that usually bothers me. I'm curious of how some aspects will be developed further but not quite enough to put myself through reading the other books.
eb00kie's review
4.0
The SF/action crowd will eat this up, there is a kick-ass heroine that gets constantly splattered with alien goo inside.
jajorgen's review against another edition
4.0
Ia is a precognitive young woman who has seen the future and it ain't good. Her ability to dip into the timestreams has given her knowledge no person should have and yet... What can she do but try to change things? If she does not her world and every other world in the galaxy is going to be destroyed in the future. Every step she takes from the age of 15 is meant to prepare her to be in the right places at the right times to prevent that catastrophe. Her first step? Join the marines.
This first novel in what is probably going to be a trilogy at least spends a lot of time with Ia making her way through basic training in the outback of Australia and working her first military assignments. All the while she is carefully managing her efforts and those of the people who will eventually have an impact on the worlds. Because she comes from a world with heavier gravity she is ideally suited to be a soldier and she puts her natural abilities to good use.
I've not read Jean Johnson before so I came to this one without much knowledge of the book or author. I'm not even sure how it came to my attention - since I love military sci-fi with competent heroines, I may have found this one in my quest to find the next good book. However I found it, I'm glad I did. Johnson world-building is first class and her development of Ia never falters. Because of Ia's psychic abilities and extra strength she could have been a Mary Sue. She isn't. Johnson slowly builds her back story and makes it clear that none of Ia's choices comes easy or without pain.
I've chosen four stars for this one but it really falls into the 4 1/2 range. That half star demerit comes only in the fact that some of her missions become a bit episodic at about the 3/4ths point in the book. The author then picks up the pace again and the threads of where all these pieces fit, but for a bit it dragged.
That said, I can't wait for the next to come out.
This first novel in what is probably going to be a trilogy at least spends a lot of time with Ia making her way through basic training in the outback of Australia and working her first military assignments. All the while she is carefully managing her efforts and those of the people who will eventually have an impact on the worlds. Because she comes from a world with heavier gravity she is ideally suited to be a soldier and she puts her natural abilities to good use.
I've not read Jean Johnson before so I came to this one without much knowledge of the book or author. I'm not even sure how it came to my attention - since I love military sci-fi with competent heroines, I may have found this one in my quest to find the next good book. However I found it, I'm glad I did. Johnson world-building is first class and her development of Ia never falters. Because of Ia's psychic abilities and extra strength she could have been a Mary Sue. She isn't. Johnson slowly builds her back story and makes it clear that none of Ia's choices comes easy or without pain.
I've chosen four stars for this one but it really falls into the 4 1/2 range. That half star demerit comes only in the fact that some of her missions become a bit episodic at about the 3/4ths point in the book. The author then picks up the pace again and the threads of where all these pieces fit, but for a bit it dragged.
That said, I can't wait for the next to come out.
carolined314's review
The soldiery detail was so much of the book, I kept losing the thread of the plot and certainly couldn't care about the characters
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 of 5. An endeavour read and not nearly as bad as I was expecting. Straight out military combat fiction that in some ways reminded me of Piers Anthony's Mercenary series. The main character was a ridiculous super-powered Mary Sue out to save the future. And yet the conceit of a battle precog with short-term lookahead (and lots of other powers) as well as a manipulating spider with long-term lookahead was interesting. The actual combat dragged a bit. I was interested enough to read the preview of the next book, which looks pretty good and not possibly not quite the same as this one.
wetdryvac's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked a lot of the key elements, while being thrown in places by a lot of the systemic assumptions made throughout. Felt a lot like I was reading a series of short stories, many of which were very good, but...
*shrugs*
Disjointed in a lot of ways.
*shrugs*
Disjointed in a lot of ways.