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tehani's review against another edition
5.0
An intricate, action-packed follow up to the excellent Debris (2011) - highly recommended Australian SF.
tregina's review against another edition
4.0
Although it took me a little while to remember who everyone was and their relationships to one another, given how long it's been since I read the first book, I still found it easier to get into this book than the first in the series. Not because I could slip back into a world I already knew, but because the first book began with an origin story, which while necessary for worldbuilding for me felt very divorced from what came after.
I like the story best when it's in the meat of it, and when Tanyana is at her most relatable, which it lost a little bit again towards the end of the book. I understand the necessity, plotwise, but it still drove a wedge between me and the protagonist. There are a lot of moments where I think it could be made clearer what's going on--I love mystery and ambiguity, but this felt too murky and deliberately obtuse in places--but despite that I enjoyed this book a lot, and the overall arc of the story even more.
I like the story best when it's in the meat of it, and when Tanyana is at her most relatable, which it lost a little bit again towards the end of the book. I understand the necessity, plotwise, but it still drove a wedge between me and the protagonist. There are a lot of moments where I think it could be made clearer what's going on--I love mystery and ambiguity, but this felt too murky and deliberately obtuse in places--but despite that I enjoyed this book a lot, and the overall arc of the story even more.
thiefofcamorr's review against another edition
Katharine is a judge for the Sara Douglass 'Book Series' Award. This entry is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.
I won't be recording my thoughts (if I choose to) here until after the AA are over.
I won't be recording my thoughts (if I choose to) here until after the AA are over.
rivqa's review against another edition
4.0
My review is at http://www.rivqa.net/2013/04/behind-the-veil/
tregina's review
4.0
Although it took me a little while to remember who everyone was and their relationships to one another, given how long it's been since I read the first book, I still found it easier to get into this book than the first in the series. Not because I could slip back into a world I already knew, but because the first book began with an origin story, which while necessary for worldbuilding for me felt very divorced from what came after.
I like the story best when it's in the meat of it, and when Tanyana is at her most relatable, which it lost a little bit again towards the end of the book. I understand the necessity, plotwise, but it still drove a wedge between me and the protagonist. There are a lot of moments where I think it could be made clearer what's going on--I love mystery and ambiguity, but this felt too murky and deliberately obtuse in places--but despite that I enjoyed this book a lot, and the overall arc of the story even more.
I like the story best when it's in the meat of it, and when Tanyana is at her most relatable, which it lost a little bit again towards the end of the book. I understand the necessity, plotwise, but it still drove a wedge between me and the protagonist. There are a lot of moments where I think it could be made clearer what's going on--I love mystery and ambiguity, but this felt too murky and deliberately obtuse in places--but despite that I enjoyed this book a lot, and the overall arc of the story even more.
tsana's review
5.0
Suited was a surprising read. The first part was as expected a more or less direct continuation from Debris. After the somewhat disastrous events at the end of Debris, life in the city of Movoc-under-Keeper goes on. Mostly. Tanyana returns to debris collecting with her team and the other citizens of the city go about their usual jobs, albeit with a lot more repair work.
However, the world is not going back to how it was. Pion binders trying to repair damage are finding that they can’t, or that their repairs are short-lived. The debris collectors just can’t find much debris anywhere, even though the damaged pions suggest it should be everywhere. And the sinister puppet men still seem to be everywhere when Tanyana looks closely. In short, doom is looming.
In Debris, Tayana spent a lot more time worrying about her own life than she did in Suited (and Suited is much more about fixing/saving the world than Debris was). It made her a more likeable character, although there were parts where I don’t think she was supposed to be sympathetic, shifting more towards scary.
The romantic plotline, while no more prominent than in the first book, is handled better, I thought. I didn’t quite find the genesis of the relationship in Debris believable, but that was definitely not the case in Suited. I also like how Tanyana spent more time worrying about saving the world and less time worrying about her relationship issues (some of her friends spent more time worrying about her relationship issues than she did).
The ending was strange. The climax went as one would expect but the denouement did not. Of course going into detail would be spoilerific, but suffice to say there’s definitely room for a sequel series.
This is not a book to read without having first read Debris. I don’t think it would make all that much since since a lot of the foundation world building is done in the first book (as you would expect) and is critical to the plot. That said, this is an excellent series and I highly recommend both books to lovers of fantasy.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews here.
However, the world is not going back to how it was. Pion binders trying to repair damage are finding that they can’t, or that their repairs are short-lived. The debris collectors just can’t find much debris anywhere, even though the damaged pions suggest it should be everywhere. And the sinister puppet men still seem to be everywhere when Tanyana looks closely. In short, doom is looming.
In Debris, Tayana spent a lot more time worrying about her own life than she did in Suited (and Suited is much more about fixing/saving the world than Debris was). It made her a more likeable character, although there were parts where I don’t think she was supposed to be sympathetic, shifting more towards scary.
The romantic plotline, while no more prominent than in the first book, is handled better, I thought. I didn’t quite find the genesis of the relationship in Debris believable, but that was definitely not the case in Suited. I also like how Tanyana spent more time worrying about saving the world and less time worrying about her relationship issues (some of her friends spent more time worrying about her relationship issues than she did).
The ending was strange. The climax went as one would expect but the denouement did not. Of course going into detail would be spoilerific, but suffice to say there’s definitely room for a sequel series.
This is not a book to read without having first read Debris. I don’t think it would make all that much since since a lot of the foundation world building is done in the first book (as you would expect) and is critical to the plot. That said, this is an excellent series and I highly recommend both books to lovers of fantasy.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews here.
tachyondecay's review
3.0
I wasn’t overly fond of Debris, Jo Anderton’s first book in this series, and I approached Suited with trepidation. I wasn’t sure Anderton had what it would take to grab me and make me enjoy this book. And as I started reading, and the characters felt flat and uninspiring, I resigned myself to another dull review. Then it got interesting. The characters began changing. The stakes got higher. And by the end of the book, I was furiously flipping electronic pages as I raced to discover what would happen—and suddenly, Anderton had proved me wrong. Well done!
So, Suited starts off in a lacklustre way. Tanyana’s team of debris collectors gets split up by the manipulative puppet men. Tanyana and Lad go to one, newly-formed team, while Lad’s protective brother, Kichlan, stays with some of the others. This split creates an interesting dynamic, with Tanyana and Lad having to look out for each other. For the most part, however, Suited starts off slow. There is too much drama about (and whining from) the Keeper, the mysterious being whom only Lad (and Tanyana, when suited) can interact with. The Keeper is intimately connected with the debris that Tanyana and other collectors are charged with retrieving, but Anderton keeps her cards very close to her chest until the end of the book. As a result, I was frustrated and not particularly interested in liking any of these characters. Yet I soldiered on.
One issue I had with Debris was the paucity of detailed worldbuilding. Anderton tossed around terms like the “veche”, and I gathered that the book was set in a city called Movoc-under-Keeper that is part of a larger country called Varsnia. However, we never get a sense of what kind of city or country these places are. We don’t get a very clear idea of the culture. Although there are hints that Varsnian society is highly stratified (Tanyana, before her accident, occupying that tenuous, upper-middle-class position of the nouveau bourgeoisie), there is very little description of how the ordinary citizens of Movoc-under-Keeper go about their lives. The pages are flat in this sense; they seem a little barren and empty in the background. On the macro level, we get almost no sense of the politics of this country. Suited does little to rectify the deficiencies of culture. However, it does clarify the relationships between the national and local veches and the puppet men. We learn about the origins of the puppet men and why the veche is interested in working with them, and all of this provides more context as Anderton sets up events for the third book.
I was also very frustrated with Tanyana’s lack of agency in Debris. Part of this is a natural response to suddenly being rendered powerless, friendless, and alone—not to mention suffering a major trauma. Nevertheless, the refrain that she was being manipulated and used by the puppet men, which is continued in this book, started to become repetitive and annoying. At least in Suited, though, the ways in which the puppet men are shaping Tanyana—and to what ends—become more clear. Anderton further develops the antagonism between the Keepers and the puppet men, and Tanyana’s role as a kind of pawn caught in the middle, effectively, albeit not necessarily with much skill or detail.
Suited’s weaknesses are quite similar to its predecessor in this respect. Anderton clearly has good ideas, but almost all of my dissatisfaction with these books are a result of her description—or lack thereof. She’s just frightfully vague at times. There are “doors” in the world that lead to a world of nothingness? It’s not exactly lazy writing, because I get the sense that she tries very hard. It just doesn’t quite measure up to my very exacting standards.
Somehow, though, everything pulls together in the final act. Tanyana has made some major discoveries. And finally, finally, she steps up and decides to go full metal jacket on the puppet men. (This is not a metaphor, as her suit is a metal-like substance!) The moment after Tanyana’s new fugitive status forces her hand and forces her to declare that “enough is enough” was a moment I had been waiting for since halfway through Debris, and experiencing it was sweet indeed. In concert with the disturbing transformations wracking Tanyana’s body, this declaration of war on the puppet men is a welcome (if predictable) turn of events.
(I wish Anderton could have done more with Tanyana’s pregnancy, however, because the way she treats it makes it seem more like a plot point than anything else.)
There are almost two climaxes in the book, the first acting as a motivator for the second. In Tanyana’s confrontation with Aleksey—who demonstrates what will become of her if she becomes merely a tool of the puppet men—we lose Lad. He sacrifices himself to save her, and in so doing provides Tanyana with the strength to forge ahead and survive, but at a cost. This leads to her declaration of war and taking the fight to the puppet men, who very nearly kick her ass. The last chapter is an adrenaline rush equivalent to nothing else in the rest of the book, not even the fight with Aleksey. Suddenly, the hints that Anderton has laid throughout the book come into focus—those not-so-subtle references to “programmers” start making sense. Again, the weakness of the description leaves me less-than-fully invested in the direction Anderton has chosen to take this story. I must admit to being intrigued, however!
Anyone who has read Debris and didn’t absolutely hate it should do themselves a favour and read Suited. It is progress, for the story and the writing show promising development. I am now very eager to read book three. There is probably no better compliment than that!
My reviews of the Veiled Worlds series:
← Debris
So, Suited starts off in a lacklustre way. Tanyana’s team of debris collectors gets split up by the manipulative puppet men. Tanyana and Lad go to one, newly-formed team, while Lad’s protective brother, Kichlan, stays with some of the others. This split creates an interesting dynamic, with Tanyana and Lad having to look out for each other. For the most part, however, Suited starts off slow. There is too much drama about (and whining from) the Keeper, the mysterious being whom only Lad (and Tanyana, when suited) can interact with. The Keeper is intimately connected with the debris that Tanyana and other collectors are charged with retrieving, but Anderton keeps her cards very close to her chest until the end of the book. As a result, I was frustrated and not particularly interested in liking any of these characters. Yet I soldiered on.
One issue I had with Debris was the paucity of detailed worldbuilding. Anderton tossed around terms like the “veche”, and I gathered that the book was set in a city called Movoc-under-Keeper that is part of a larger country called Varsnia. However, we never get a sense of what kind of city or country these places are. We don’t get a very clear idea of the culture. Although there are hints that Varsnian society is highly stratified (Tanyana, before her accident, occupying that tenuous, upper-middle-class position of the nouveau bourgeoisie), there is very little description of how the ordinary citizens of Movoc-under-Keeper go about their lives. The pages are flat in this sense; they seem a little barren and empty in the background. On the macro level, we get almost no sense of the politics of this country. Suited does little to rectify the deficiencies of culture. However, it does clarify the relationships between the national and local veches and the puppet men. We learn about the origins of the puppet men and why the veche is interested in working with them, and all of this provides more context as Anderton sets up events for the third book.
I was also very frustrated with Tanyana’s lack of agency in Debris. Part of this is a natural response to suddenly being rendered powerless, friendless, and alone—not to mention suffering a major trauma. Nevertheless, the refrain that she was being manipulated and used by the puppet men, which is continued in this book, started to become repetitive and annoying. At least in Suited, though, the ways in which the puppet men are shaping Tanyana—and to what ends—become more clear. Anderton further develops the antagonism between the Keepers and the puppet men, and Tanyana’s role as a kind of pawn caught in the middle, effectively, albeit not necessarily with much skill or detail.
Suited’s weaknesses are quite similar to its predecessor in this respect. Anderton clearly has good ideas, but almost all of my dissatisfaction with these books are a result of her description—or lack thereof. She’s just frightfully vague at times. There are “doors” in the world that lead to a world of nothingness? It’s not exactly lazy writing, because I get the sense that she tries very hard. It just doesn’t quite measure up to my very exacting standards.
Somehow, though, everything pulls together in the final act. Tanyana has made some major discoveries. And finally, finally, she steps up and decides to go full metal jacket on the puppet men. (This is not a metaphor, as her suit is a metal-like substance!) The moment after Tanyana’s new fugitive status forces her hand and forces her to declare that “enough is enough” was a moment I had been waiting for since halfway through Debris, and experiencing it was sweet indeed. In concert with the disturbing transformations wracking Tanyana’s body, this declaration of war on the puppet men is a welcome (if predictable) turn of events.
(I wish Anderton could have done more with Tanyana’s pregnancy, however, because the way she treats it makes it seem more like a plot point than anything else.)
There are almost two climaxes in the book, the first acting as a motivator for the second. In Tanyana’s confrontation with Aleksey—who demonstrates what will become of her if she becomes merely a tool of the puppet men—we lose Lad. He sacrifices himself to save her, and in so doing provides Tanyana with the strength to forge ahead and survive, but at a cost. This leads to her declaration of war and taking the fight to the puppet men, who very nearly kick her ass. The last chapter is an adrenaline rush equivalent to nothing else in the rest of the book, not even the fight with Aleksey. Suddenly, the hints that Anderton has laid throughout the book come into focus—those not-so-subtle references to “programmers” start making sense. Again, the weakness of the description leaves me less-than-fully invested in the direction Anderton has chosen to take this story. I must admit to being intrigued, however!
Anyone who has read Debris and didn’t absolutely hate it should do themselves a favour and read Suited. It is progress, for the story and the writing show promising development. I am now very eager to read book three. There is probably no better compliment than that!
My reviews of the Veiled Worlds series:
← Debris
alanbaxter's review
4.0
This is the second in the Veiled Worlds trilogy – the first was Debris. I loved Debris and this was an excellent second installment. The world and mythology was developed in much greater depth and I can’t wait for the third book in the series now to see how it all wraps up.
bibliotropic's review
4.0
The story started in Debris continues with Suited, the second book in Jo Anderton’s Veiled Worlds trilogy. Tanyana returns to pry the lids off the mysteries surrounding debris , the Keeper, and the Puppet Man who are now doing more than watching and waiting.
This book picks up nicely where the previous one left off, with a fairly seamless transition from one book to the next. I confess to a little bit of confusion regarding some characters (“What, who was that again?”) but I suspect that’s mostly because it’s been a while since I read the first book. As I fell into the story, things came quickly back to me, and it was easy to lose myself in the anime-inspired future world that Anderton created.
I can safely say that if you enjoyed Debris, you’ll probably enjoy Suited, and if if Debris simply wasn’t to your taste, then avoid this one. Anderton’s style is revealing itself very clearly as being beautifully descriptive, with a good balance between dialogue and action, but damn, is the foreshadowing ever lousy! Remembering that Devich’s betrayal in the previous book came as absolutely no surprise, there was a similar character in this book, where I was just waiting impatiently for the big reveal that wouldn’t reveal a thing to anyone who’s actually been paying attention. Every so often I’d get my hopes up, thinking that maybe Anderton was going to play things out as though you’re supposed to think this character is a traitor but is really innocent, but nope, no such luck. This is Anderton’s main failing as a writer, I think. No ability to cast good foreshadowing. And what might be somewhat subtle in a series of half-hour animated episodes is really not subtle in a novel.
On the plus side, a great deal of information is given and expanded upon regarding the nature of debris, Halves, the Keeper, and just who and what the Puppet Men actually are. For all that Anderton can’t do subtlety in her writing, she has a great talent for world-building, throwing in layers of intrigue and depth that really keep you reading. The world in these books has a fascinating structure, history, and set of societies that are really entertaining to read about. That’s what keeps me coming back, I think. Wanting to see the layers peeled back and more of the world unveiled.
I will be reading the conclusion of this trilogy when it’s released. Its strength of storytelling didn’t quite compensate for the foreshadowing issue, but it can come awfully close sometimes, and I want to know what happens next!
(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)
This book picks up nicely where the previous one left off, with a fairly seamless transition from one book to the next. I confess to a little bit of confusion regarding some characters (“What, who was that again?”) but I suspect that’s mostly because it’s been a while since I read the first book. As I fell into the story, things came quickly back to me, and it was easy to lose myself in the anime-inspired future world that Anderton created.
I can safely say that if you enjoyed Debris, you’ll probably enjoy Suited, and if if Debris simply wasn’t to your taste, then avoid this one. Anderton’s style is revealing itself very clearly as being beautifully descriptive, with a good balance between dialogue and action, but damn, is the foreshadowing ever lousy! Remembering that Devich’s betrayal in the previous book came as absolutely no surprise, there was a similar character in this book, where I was just waiting impatiently for the big reveal that wouldn’t reveal a thing to anyone who’s actually been paying attention. Every so often I’d get my hopes up, thinking that maybe Anderton was going to play things out as though you’re supposed to think this character is a traitor but is really innocent, but nope, no such luck. This is Anderton’s main failing as a writer, I think. No ability to cast good foreshadowing. And what might be somewhat subtle in a series of half-hour animated episodes is really not subtle in a novel.
On the plus side, a great deal of information is given and expanded upon regarding the nature of debris, Halves, the Keeper, and just who and what the Puppet Men actually are. For all that Anderton can’t do subtlety in her writing, she has a great talent for world-building, throwing in layers of intrigue and depth that really keep you reading. The world in these books has a fascinating structure, history, and set of societies that are really entertaining to read about. That’s what keeps me coming back, I think. Wanting to see the layers peeled back and more of the world unveiled.
I will be reading the conclusion of this trilogy when it’s released. Its strength of storytelling didn’t quite compensate for the foreshadowing issue, but it can come awfully close sometimes, and I want to know what happens next!
(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)
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