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nwhyte's review against another edition
3.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2741049.html
I liked this book a lot: protagonist from sophisticated spacefaring society crashes into Viking-style world, and then must track down the long-abandoned spaceship to break out of the surly bonds of the planet Isheimur and bring about the seeds of a new society. There's plenty else in there - commentary on polyamory (good), libertarianism (bad), being nice to trolls who turn out to be differently evolved humans (good). There are dramatic chases across frozen landscapes with 'orrible creatures snapping at our heroes' heels, and a seat-of-the-pants rocket launch with barbarians complaining about weightlessness. Lots of good stuff, and I think he'd have got better.
I liked this book a lot: protagonist from sophisticated spacefaring society crashes into Viking-style world, and then must track down the long-abandoned spaceship to break out of the surly bonds of the planet Isheimur and bring about the seeds of a new society. There's plenty else in there - commentary on polyamory (good), libertarianism (bad), being nice to trolls who turn out to be differently evolved humans (good). There are dramatic chases across frozen landscapes with 'orrible creatures snapping at our heroes' heels, and a seat-of-the-pants rocket launch with barbarians complaining about weightlessness. Lots of good stuff, and I think he'd have got better.
kevinhendricks's review against another edition
4.0
Intergalactic spaceman is stranded on a forgotten, frozen colony world that harkens back to the Norse people. It pulls together a lot of interesting ideas (genocide, artificial intelligence, survival) and includes a dark-skinned hero (hardly central to the story, but I mention it because it’s so rare). Stumbles in a few places, but it’s a fun ride.
woodge's review against another edition
I gave up on this one at 92 pages in. 1) The characters weren't interesting to me. 2) The main character is a bit of a cipher (though admittedly that's part of the plot). 3) The premise was not intriguing enough. 4) Nothing much was happening. So basically I was too bored to continue. The story involves a starship pilot named Karl who crashlands on a forgotten outpost on an icy planet where the human population is descended from Iceland and barely eking out a living. What was I thinking?
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