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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
I didn't mind this but it wasn't one of my favourite space operas. I may read the next one.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book took me one year to read. I was not impressed in the beginning or the middle for that matter. The end did improve stands but not so much that I want to read the second book. Let us see what the future holds.
This book deals mainly with a war between two empires if you want. Two points of view of the author. Horza view of the culture: "But the Culture, that seemingly disunited, anarchic, hedonist, decadent mélange of more or less human species..." - Or has he said after - Commnunist Utopia. In the other end (You've got the Ildrans the religious fanatics.
Horza, a changer.
"A Changer was a threat to anybody who ruled by force, either of will or of arms. Their was also a degree of human-basic revulsion reserved for Horza's species. Not only were they much altered from their original genetic stock, they were a threat to identity, a challenge to the individualism even of those they were never likely to impersonate. It had nothing to do with souls or physical or spiritual possession...
"...it was, as the Idirans well understood, the behaviouristic copying of another which revolted. Individuality, the thing most human held more precious than anything else about themselves, was somehow cheapened by the ease with which a changer could ignore it as a limitation and use it as a disguise."
My main problem was the politics. Some british writers are communists. Ken MacLeod, Iain Banks, Charles Stross, China Mieville to name a few. And My problem with them is that they try to teach us, common folk, a lesson on politics and why the left-wing is so great. Ken Macleod do that to an extent that I began reading two books and I stopped. I don't like preaching from left or right. I love to see left or right wing societies done but the author cannot be biases. That put's me of. I am sorry.
So, you've got Horza on a mission by the Idirans to salvage the ship's Culture Mind (AI) from a world that is blocked by the Idirans and the Culture. There he boards Clear Air Turbulance meets some people and uses them to his own end. We've got also spies, Balveda, who works for the Culture, you've got doom planets, the game of "Damage", cults and talking ships. It's very interesting.
One of the main out putters is some of the action leads to nowhere. In the other hand I really enjoyed the characterization and particularly the ending.
Looking back, as I write and remember the book, it was a good ride. If the book had less 100 pages and less left-wing ideals it would be great. Who knows when I shall read the second. For what I read it's better than the first.
This book deals mainly with a war between two empires if you want. Two points of view of the author. Horza view of the culture: "But the Culture, that seemingly disunited, anarchic, hedonist, decadent mélange of more or less human species..." - Or has he said after - Commnunist Utopia. In the other end (You've got the Ildrans the religious fanatics.
Horza, a changer.
"A Changer was a threat to anybody who ruled by force, either of will or of arms. Their was also a degree of human-basic revulsion reserved for Horza's species. Not only were they much altered from their original genetic stock, they were a threat to identity, a challenge to the individualism even of those they were never likely to impersonate. It had nothing to do with souls or physical or spiritual possession...
"...it was, as the Idirans well understood, the behaviouristic copying of another which revolted. Individuality, the thing most human held more precious than anything else about themselves, was somehow cheapened by the ease with which a changer could ignore it as a limitation and use it as a disguise."
My main problem was the politics. Some british writers are communists. Ken MacLeod, Iain Banks, Charles Stross, China Mieville to name a few. And My problem with them is that they try to teach us, common folk, a lesson on politics and why the left-wing is so great. Ken Macleod do that to an extent that I began reading two books and I stopped. I don't like preaching from left or right. I love to see left or right wing societies done but the author cannot be biases. That put's me of. I am sorry.
So, you've got Horza on a mission by the Idirans to salvage the ship's Culture Mind (AI) from a world that is blocked by the Idirans and the Culture. There he boards Clear Air Turbulance meets some people and uses them to his own end. We've got also spies, Balveda, who works for the Culture, you've got doom planets, the game of "Damage", cults and talking ships. It's very interesting.
One of the main out putters is some of the action leads to nowhere. In the other hand I really enjoyed the characterization and particularly the ending.
Looking back, as I write and remember the book, it was a good ride. If the book had less 100 pages and less left-wing ideals it would be great. Who knows when I shall read the second. For what I read it's better than the first.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This one just didn't hit for me. I wasn't gripped by the plot, wasn't interested in any of the characters, and the ending fell flat.
The plot in the first two thirds felt far too meandering, feeling like a series of side quests with none of them becoming relevant to the main plot, which only resurfaces for maybe the last third of the book and drags on far too long.
I didn't find any of the character all that interesting or compelling, and they sometimes suffered from frustrating and out-of-character decision making to convenience the plot.
The plot in the first two thirds felt far too meandering, feeling like a series of side quests with none of them becoming relevant to the main plot, which only resurfaces for maybe the last third of the book and drags on far too long.
I didn't find any of the character all that interesting or compelling, and they sometimes suffered from frustrating and out-of-character decision making to convenience the plot.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fantastic world/universe building with some weird and not so wonderful characters appearing throughout the story. I enjoyed this although there is a grotesque element as well (if you've read Iain Banks before you'll know how well he does this). For me the story is a combination of setpieces, each one well crafted, that move the characters toward their goal. It's the second time I've read this, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a third.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Oh it’s hard to review this book. Some themes were not my kind of thing but, I couldn’t put it down. That said I had issues with it towards the three quarter mark. It just went on and on and it didn’t really need to. The story progress was consistently stalled and I found myself thinking multiple times ‘for gods sake, hurry up’. It became annoying. Much like a b-grade action movie where trip, stumble and fall happen one after the other and it becomes frustrating. I’ll also add in that once the story ends there’s a few chapters and an epilogue. I felt that these cheapen the story and stripped away the mystery and the story telling. Not sure why they needed to be added in.
With that said, I loved the world building. It was great. The orbitals and sheer size of the enormity of the universe was fantastic. This was my first trip into far future advanced type sci-fi and it left me wanting more
With that said, I loved the world building. It was great. The orbitals and sheer size of the enormity of the universe was fantastic. This was my first trip into far future advanced type sci-fi and it left me wanting more
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated