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gutter_wizard's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
sharkiereads's review against another edition
3.75
Action packed and fun. I read this book on my phone, which I only do sporadically when I can't sleep, and it was super entertaining.
led's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
After preventing a nuclear apocalypse in the previous book, Ack-Ack Macaque is piloting Valerie Valois' airship. When a writer-turned-fugitive boards the airship, Ack-Ack and his friends are drawn into a war that spans multiple worlds and the leader of the opposing army has a special fate in store for Ack-Ack...
I got this from Netgalley. Thank you, Netgalley!
You know how sequels are generally inferior to the original? Thankfully, Hive Monkey defies that unfortunate stereotype with two loaded Colts!
Hive Monkey picks up shortly where Ack-Ack Macaque left off. Ack-Ack is trying to adjust to whatever passes for normal life in an uplifted macaque when trouble shows up in the form of writer William Cole, whom people are inexplicably trying to kill. Meanwhile, the Gestault, a cybernetic hivemind cult, is trying to recruit Ack-Ack for some reason. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
The writing is vastly superior to the first book. If I wasn't so engrossed in the story, I would have wrote a lot of them down. Ones I remember include "It takes 128 muscles to frown but only 52 to grab someone and bite their face off" and "It's Saturday night. I should be out drinking and puking."
Ack-Ack proves to have a lot more depth than originally expected but is still the baddest mother around, with his Spitfire and his two Colts. I loved the revelation about the Gestault and how it related to William Cole. It's like Gareth Powell mined my list of favorite sf concepts for this book. AI, parallel worlds, uplifted animals, nanotech, airships, cyborgs, etc.
Even though I knew it was likely Ack-Ack would save the day, Powell had me guessing a few times. The ending was pretty damn satisfying and also made me want to get the next book into my simian hands as soon as possible. Four out of Five stars!
I got this from Netgalley. Thank you, Netgalley!
You know how sequels are generally inferior to the original? Thankfully, Hive Monkey defies that unfortunate stereotype with two loaded Colts!
Hive Monkey picks up shortly where Ack-Ack Macaque left off. Ack-Ack is trying to adjust to whatever passes for normal life in an uplifted macaque when trouble shows up in the form of writer William Cole, whom people are inexplicably trying to kill. Meanwhile, the Gestault, a cybernetic hivemind cult, is trying to recruit Ack-Ack for some reason. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
The writing is vastly superior to the first book. If I wasn't so engrossed in the story, I would have wrote a lot of them down. Ones I remember include "It takes 128 muscles to frown but only 52 to grab someone and bite their face off" and "It's Saturday night. I should be out drinking and puking."
Ack-Ack proves to have a lot more depth than originally expected but is still the baddest mother around, with his Spitfire and his two Colts. I loved the revelation about the Gestault and how it related to William Cole. It's like Gareth Powell mined my list of favorite sf concepts for this book. AI, parallel worlds, uplifted animals, nanotech, airships, cyborgs, etc.
Even though I knew it was likely Ack-Ack would save the day, Powell had me guessing a few times. The ending was pretty damn satisfying and also made me want to get the next book into my simian hands as soon as possible. Four out of Five stars!
old_tim's review against another edition
4.0
A big bag of crazy. But I mean that in a good way.
http://fedpeaches.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-monkey-cyborg-and-sf-writer-are-on.html
http://fedpeaches.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-monkey-cyborg-and-sf-writer-are-on.html
mwx1010's review against another edition
4.0
Total guilty-pleasure read.
This is even more of an out-and-out pulp adventure than the first book, with a pretty serviceable parallel world storyline thrown in for good measure. Terribly silly but a really fun read.
This is even more of an out-and-out pulp adventure than the first book, with a pretty serviceable parallel world storyline thrown in for good measure. Terribly silly but a really fun read.
gageofthegoats's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? It's complicated
4.0
otherwyrld's review
4.0
This second volume doesn't reach the heights of the first, but it is still a rip roaring read.
theartolater's review against another edition
3.0
Last year brought us the somewhat insane Ack-Ack Macaque, the foul-mouthed, cigar-chomping, artificial intelligence monkey that crossed over into our world to shoot things with its pistol and fly fighter jets. Of the things I didn't expect from the decent read was a sequel, but Hive Monkey is exactly that. While fun at times, it's overall not the most essential read of the moment.
The book takes place shortly after Ack-Ack Macaque, where our hero is now in hiding of sorts. His fame from the first book has driven him to piloting a dirigible of some sorts, and things are basically okay until a doppelganger of his programming arrives and takes over. It's up to Ack-Ack Macaque to save the world from his ultra-intelligent monkey twin that is using mind control to enslave the population.
As you can tell, the entire idea is extremely convoluted. The story itself isn't necessary, nor was the sequel, but it has its fun moments. Ack-Ack is a genuinely fun character to read (and I assume to write as well), but on a whole, the story just feels almost too light. The first book was good in what it was, and that's fine for what it was trying to do. The failings of Hive Monkey come from a different take on the artificial intelligence that doesn't feel like it fits in right combined with a story that seemingly takes forever to get to the point. The scenes with the doppelganger, for what it's worth, are some of the best in the book, making the rest of it that much more frustrating.
Overall, a decent, but not spectacular, sequel. I would probably still explore what comes next, but I wouldn't term it very anticipated.
The book takes place shortly after Ack-Ack Macaque, where our hero is now in hiding of sorts. His fame from the first book has driven him to piloting a dirigible of some sorts, and things are basically okay until a doppelganger of his programming arrives and takes over. It's up to Ack-Ack Macaque to save the world from his ultra-intelligent monkey twin that is using mind control to enslave the population.
As you can tell, the entire idea is extremely convoluted. The story itself isn't necessary, nor was the sequel, but it has its fun moments. Ack-Ack is a genuinely fun character to read (and I assume to write as well), but on a whole, the story just feels almost too light. The first book was good in what it was, and that's fine for what it was trying to do. The failings of Hive Monkey come from a different take on the artificial intelligence that doesn't feel like it fits in right combined with a story that seemingly takes forever to get to the point. The scenes with the doppelganger, for what it's worth, are some of the best in the book, making the rest of it that much more frustrating.
Overall, a decent, but not spectacular, sequel. I would probably still explore what comes next, but I wouldn't term it very anticipated.
mumblebee's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic!! Once again, this book perfectly balances some pretty ridiculous characters and situations with solid writing and plot. I was skeptical about whether the author would be able to pull off a second book about a cigar-smoking fighter-pilot monkey, an ex-reporter with an artificially enhanced brain, and a dead man who continues to "live" through a digital backup drive of his brain. But not only did he manage to keep that going, he also managed to sell me on an even more ludicrous set of antagonists. There are few things in life I love more than an amazing book that makes insane concepts make sense!