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jerseygrrrl's review against another edition
3.0
Oops! Forgot to write my review. I finished the book too long ago to write accurately, but I do remember liking it a lot.
gnomescottage's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
frakalot's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-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
5.0
This is an excellent story. I had a few issues with it but loved it overall. This review is perhaps a bit of an incoherent collection of my thoughts about the book.
I thought the characters were all fantastic and the dialogue was consistently mature. The plot is spectacularly complex but not at all incomprehensible and the universe that the author has created is fascinating. The narrative jumps around to various events in time which is a technique that I always find frustrating and in this case it even felt unnecessary. We would learn vague references which could have been expounded upon in the current timeline but instead the author chose to whisk us back to experience each of the significant events. I just think we didn't need quite so much detail.
Esme takes all of the responsibility for her father's cruel work on her own shoulders and strives to right his wrongs in her own way. She plays investigator, working her way up the security clearance levels and piecing together the secrets that helped her father build his corporate empire. She was mostly very good at this but occasionally did that thing where a character has been expecting something all along but doesn't believe it when it comes out to be true.
"He was the sort of person you wanted to die and so you knew never would."
One of the main themes explored is that if you want to improve a system your best chance is to learn the system and manifest change from within the system, but that this tactic comes with the risk of being changed by the system, potentially perpetuating the system unwittingly.
It's a slow build up to the way things are described in the blurb. A viral disease breaks out on Star's End which people are referring to as "the flu" but everyone who catches it inevitably dies within a few days. There's no cure for it and Esme's father evacuates the family to a space station but they manage to bring the virus with them. It reminded me of when our recent/current pandemic peaked in Victoria which drove people across the border to South Australia to escape it and the associated lockdowns, but of course they only managed to drive the numbers up in SA until the numbers were comparable and SA introduced its own lockdowns.
Actually, although there is always a lot of drama happening the whole story felt like a slow burn and I think this had something to do with experiencing every single detail.
The tech in this universe was intriguing. Minds are plugged into car computers when driving. One security guard has night vision as an engineered part of his body, not a pair of goggles. Humans are engineered by Coromina, the company which Esme is being groomed to inherit the leadership of. Their main line is weapons manufacture, but it is largely defined by genetically engineered soldiers.
Definitely worth checking out and if the author writes more scifi I'll be interested.
I thought the characters were all fantastic and the dialogue was consistently mature. The plot is spectacularly complex but not at all incomprehensible and the universe that the author has created is fascinating. The narrative jumps around to various events in time which is a technique that I always find frustrating and in this case it even felt unnecessary. We would learn vague references which could have been expounded upon in the current timeline but instead the author chose to whisk us back to experience each of the significant events. I just think we didn't need quite so much detail.
Esme takes all of the responsibility for her father's cruel work on her own shoulders and strives to right his wrongs in her own way. She plays investigator, working her way up the security clearance levels and piecing together the secrets that helped her father build his corporate empire. She was mostly very good at this but occasionally did that thing where a character has been expecting something all along but doesn't believe it when it comes out to be true.
"He was the sort of person you wanted to die and so you knew never would."
One of the main themes explored is that if you want to improve a system your best chance is to learn the system and manifest change from within the system, but that this tactic comes with the risk of being changed by the system, potentially perpetuating the system unwittingly.
It's a slow build up to the way things are described in the blurb. A viral disease breaks out on Star's End which people are referring to as "the flu" but everyone who catches it inevitably dies within a few days. There's no cure for it and Esme's father evacuates the family to a space station but they manage to bring the virus with them. It reminded me of when our recent/current pandemic peaked in Victoria which drove people across the border to South Australia to escape it and the associated lockdowns, but of course they only managed to drive the numbers up in SA until the numbers were comparable and SA introduced its own lockdowns.
Actually, although there is always a lot of drama happening the whole story felt like a slow burn and I think this had something to do with experiencing every single detail.
The tech in this universe was intriguing. Minds are plugged into car computers when driving. One security guard has night vision as an engineered part of his body, not a pair of goggles. Humans are engineered by Coromina, the company which Esme is being groomed to inherit the leadership of. Their main line is weapons manufacture, but it is largely defined by genetically engineered soldiers.
Definitely worth checking out and if the author writes more scifi I'll be interested.
booklyjane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
helenid's review against another edition
3.0
Esme's father is the head of a company that basically runs four moons. Through her life, Esme has been groomed to eventually take over the business - longevity treatments already have Philip aged 300+ so she could be in for a long wait.
Esme appears desperate for her father's approval whilst resenting any comparisons made between them. Her younger sisters fled the family years previously and the plot flits back to crucial scenes as Esme grew up and the present day. Some of the reveals are surprising, others not so much.
My biggest problem with this book was down to really poor proof reading. Character's ages changing, she/he mistakes, changing of the setting. I'd be thrown from the text wondering what I'd missed and rereading!
Esme appears desperate for her father's approval whilst resenting any comparisons made between them. Her younger sisters fled the family years previously and the plot flits back to crucial scenes as Esme grew up and the present day. Some of the reveals are surprising, others not so much.
My biggest problem with this book was down to really poor proof reading. Character's ages changing, she/he mistakes, changing of the setting. I'd be thrown from the text wondering what I'd missed and rereading!
colossal's review against another edition
5.0
I think this is my favorite book by this author and one of the best books I've read recently.
The Coromina family control the corporation that owns and rules the entire Coromina system (a corpocracy). Esme is the eldest of four daughters and in line for CEO of the company once her father Philip passes, which is unexpectedly nearer than anyone thought. He requests that Esme gather his other three daughters who are all estranged from both Esme and Philip to see him on his deathbed.
The story follows the current events timeline as Esme visits her sisters and events from periods years ago that explain the relationships between Esme and her sisters, her father and the overall company and what it does. While foregrounding this engrossing family epic, there's a rich science-fictional background dealing with aliens, alien DNA, special powers and engineered lifeforms as well as the fascinating world of a "corpocracy" that has citizen-employees and can go to war with other corporations for profit.
Like Clarke's other books, I think you could criticize this for being slow, but I think that's a stylistic thing. I would describe it more as languid and detailed, and while there is action, the emotional payoff is what's at the heart of this book. Also like other books by this author, the events concentrate around an isolated powerful woman who is desperately lonely and at least partially responsible for her current state. I think this one is the best of her books that explores this thematic element.
Superb.
The Coromina family control the corporation that owns and rules the entire Coromina system (a corpocracy). Esme is the eldest of four daughters and in line for CEO of the company once her father Philip passes, which is unexpectedly nearer than anyone thought. He requests that Esme gather his other three daughters who are all estranged from both Esme and Philip to see him on his deathbed.
The story follows the current events timeline as Esme visits her sisters and events from periods years ago that explain the relationships between Esme and her sisters, her father and the overall company and what it does. While foregrounding this engrossing family epic, there's a rich science-fictional background dealing with aliens, alien DNA, special powers and engineered lifeforms as well as the fascinating world of a "corpocracy" that has citizen-employees and can go to war with other corporations for profit.
Like Clarke's other books, I think you could criticize this for being slow, but I think that's a stylistic thing. I would describe it more as languid and detailed, and while there is action, the emotional payoff is what's at the heart of this book. Also like other books by this author, the events concentrate around an isolated powerful woman who is desperately lonely and at least partially responsible for her current state. I think this one is the best of her books that explores this thematic element.
Superb.
cosmicpluto's review against another edition
3.0
Started out well but the reveal felt a bit flat. Still enjoyable, though.
robynldouglas's review against another edition
4.0
I very much enjoyed this slow burner of a book - beautiful science fiction story about family (and aliens).