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travis_southerland's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
2.25
This was just rough for me to get through. I even tried the audiobook narration by Nathan Fillion (who I think is amazing) and I just didn’t enjoy it that much. The concept sounded good, but the writing style is what bothered me.
peterpeter's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
0.5
No spoilers, but an opening disclaimer: the author used AI to write the poetry that is written in this book. He is up front about training an AI in poetry from two ancient Chinese poets. The use of AI might not bother everyone, but it did me. Had I known this before getting the book for Christmas, I would not have gotten/read it.
This book was a bit messy, in part from the strategy the author used to write it, in part from the story just being messy to begin with. The final quarter or so of the book is the best part, but also drastically different from the first three quarters.
I cannot really say I recommend this book. Messy narrative, messy execution, and I personally don’t like AI being involved in the writing process, even if only selectively. It was not a bad book, not at all. But it wasn’t particularly great and had things stacked against it. Do with that what you will.
This book was a bit messy, in part from the strategy the author used to write it, in part from the story just being messy to begin with. The final quarter or so of the book is the best part, but also drastically different from the first three quarters.
I cannot really say I recommend this book. Messy narrative, messy execution, and I personally don’t like AI being involved in the writing process, even if only selectively. It was not a bad book, not at all. But it wasn’t particularly great and had things stacked against it. Do with that what you will.
novelinsights's review
4.0
This was an interesting science fiction book about a man who loved space so much that, when he grew older and being in space got too hard on his body, he actually sold himself to a company in order to merge his consciousness with various spacecraft and live as long as he wanted out in space. On his second ever mission since his transformation, he has taken the form of a landing craft on what is supposed to be a simple salvage mission. Of course, it quickly becomes anything but simple.
I discovered this book when I was listening to the audiobook version of Devolution by Max Brooks and heard Nathan Fillion voicing one of the characters. I'm a huge Firefly fan and immediately wanted to hear any other audiobooks my captain narrated. I did a search, and this came up. I'd never heard of the book before, but it sounded suitably Firefly-esque and I wanted to give it a shot. I ended up loving Nathan Fillion's narration (though it does run toward the quiet side so keep your volume up), and I also really enjoyed the story itself. The ways that living things could meld with technology in this world were very interesting, and the story itself was propelled with plenty of tension and twists. I particularly liked the twists we got toward the last act of the book. My one complaint with regards to those twists was that I wish those elements of the story had been more central throughout the earlier portions of the book; I felt the story got the most interesting shortly before it ended.
I also wish that the human crew members' identities had played a more significant role in the story. At the beginning of the book, the protagonist goes into detail about why the crew was so bad, including the fact that one crew member had spent much of his life in virtual reality and another wasn't who she claimed to be. I'd hoped that those details would more significantly shape these characters' personalities and actions, but in the end, it seemed more like flavor text. I will mention that I struggle a lot with audio comprehension and I always run the risk of missing things when I listen to books in audio format instead of reading them with my eyes, but with that in mind, the two male members of the crew (Milo and Simon) kind of ran together a bit in my mind. Milo was a little bit more annoying of a personality, but in general, they didn't feel nearly as well-developed as they should have. Anna didn't feel particularly well-developed, either, especially for someone who supposedly was faking her identity, but she did stand out from the male characters more because she was the protagonist's favorite and tended to do different tasks from the other two characters more frequently.
In general, this is a fun science fiction romp, and I'd definitely recommend it to those who want to listen to Nathan Fillion talk for 8 hours, but if it stays with me long-term, it will be due to the twists and the technology, not the characters.
I discovered this book when I was listening to the audiobook version of Devolution by Max Brooks and heard Nathan Fillion voicing one of the characters. I'm a huge Firefly fan and immediately wanted to hear any other audiobooks my captain narrated. I did a search, and this came up. I'd never heard of the book before, but it sounded suitably Firefly-esque and I wanted to give it a shot. I ended up loving Nathan Fillion's narration (though it does run toward the quiet side so keep your volume up), and I also really enjoyed the story itself. The ways that living things could meld with technology in this world were very interesting, and the story itself was propelled with plenty of tension and twists. I particularly liked the twists we got toward the last act of the book
Spoiler
starting with the section from Shen's POV which incorporated him as an unreliable narrator and moving on to the sick discovery that they had all been sent to this planet to dieI also wish that the human crew members' identities had played a more significant role in the story. At the beginning of the book, the protagonist goes into detail about why the crew was so bad, including the fact that one crew member had spent much of his life in virtual reality and another wasn't who she claimed to be. I'd hoped that those details would more significantly shape these characters' personalities and actions, but in the end, it seemed more like flavor text. I will mention that I struggle a lot with audio comprehension and I always run the risk of missing things when I listen to books in audio format instead of reading them with my eyes, but with that in mind, the two male members of the crew (Milo and Simon) kind of ran together a bit in my mind. Milo was a little bit more annoying of a personality, but in general, they didn't feel nearly as well-developed as they should have. Anna didn't feel particularly well-developed, either, especially for someone who supposedly was faking her identity, but she did stand out from the male characters more because she was the protagonist's favorite and tended to do different tasks from the other two characters more frequently.
In general, this is a fun science fiction romp, and I'd definitely recommend it to those who want to listen to Nathan Fillion talk for 8 hours, but if it stays with me long-term, it will be due to the twists and the technology, not the characters.
kylielovesbooks's review
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley for an audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.
Ok, so I mostly requested this book because Nathan Fillion narrated it. And honestly, that was probably the best part. He was a good narrator, but I felt like there was basically no plot to this book. Since there was no plot, it never really grabbed my attention. I found myself zoning out often. There are certain points where I knew what was happening, but if you asked me what the overall point of the book was, I don't know. Basically, this crew went to an uninhabited planet to salvage the wreck of a ship and they got stuck there. They then discover that there are some unfriendly inhabitants that live there.
The characters were ok, there were 3 human characters and 1 AI character (the narrator of the book). They had a very believable relationship for 3 people who are unintentionally stuck together for a long period of time.
Overall, I would recommend this for hardcore sci-fi fans, but it wasn't exactly for me.
Ok, so I mostly requested this book because Nathan Fillion narrated it. And honestly, that was probably the best part. He was a good narrator, but I felt like there was basically no plot to this book. Since there was no plot, it never really grabbed my attention. I found myself zoning out often. There are certain points where I knew what was happening, but if you asked me what the overall point of the book was, I don't know. Basically, this crew went to an uninhabited planet to salvage the wreck of a ship and they got stuck there. They then discover that there are some unfriendly inhabitants that live there.
The characters were ok, there were 3 human characters and 1 AI character (the narrator of the book). They had a very believable relationship for 3 people who are unintentionally stuck together for a long period of time.
Overall, I would recommend this for hardcore sci-fi fans, but it wasn't exactly for me.
teapothat's review against another edition
3.0
I got this book just because of the narration. Which didn't disappoint. The story however... Started out kinda like Murderbot and then became all scary and stuff. But the ending felt too rushed and just kinda wrapping things up conveniently.
mantissabolt's review against another edition
4.0
I struggled to get though the beginning. Seemed typical scifi trope stuff, but ending made it worth it!
colls's review against another edition
5.0
NGL, since Wednesday (Jan. 20, 2020) I think everyone is looking to add a little poetry to their lives.
If that sounds like you, then you're in for a treat.
This book has a pragmatic and cynical Buddhist of an AI who is full of snark and poetry. It also has an alien planet, some of society's cast-offs, and mysterious mayhem to be unraveled. All of it narrated by someone who does space-snark very well.
It also has poetry.
And snark.
If that sounds like you, then you're in for a treat.
This book has a pragmatic and cynical Buddhist of an AI who is full of snark and poetry. It also has an alien planet, some of society's cast-offs, and mysterious mayhem to be unraveled. All of it narrated by someone who does space-snark very well.
It also has poetry.
And snark.
knallen's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting. Loved the different POV. The world the author built was fascinating and believable. I’ll definitely look to some of their other books.
kaa's review against another edition
2.0
It has taken me from March until September to read this book (more due to a general reading slump than the book in particular), which is probably reflected a bit in my rating. I liked the set up and the beginning, but then it started to feel like a strategy game at the point where things start to go catastrophically wrong. Which seems like it may have been the intention, and kudos to the author for capturing that feeling very well, I just didn't particularly enjoy reading it. Especially as it didn't really feel like there was any narrative payoff for the struggling, due to how disjointed the ending felt from the rest. I am not a fan of huge reveals close to the end that introduce some major new idea that is not sufficiently (for me) foreshadowed previously in the book.
Anyway, I thought the author's approach was interesting, but sort of brought home to me the fact that I appreciate quite different narrative styles and features depending on the storytelling format. This book takes a lot of inspiration from gaming, but I often didn't find those gaming aspects as enjoyable in a more linear, less interactive story format.
Anyway, I thought the author's approach was interesting, but sort of brought home to me the fact that I appreciate quite different narrative styles and features depending on the storytelling format. This book takes a lot of inspiration from gaming, but I often didn't find those gaming aspects as enjoyable in a more linear, less interactive story format.
phantominblue's review against another edition
This one was a very interesting book, though it was a bit slow in places and not one that I excitedly returned to early on. It definitely grew on me as it went and I'm glad I stuck to it. I think it presented some truly unique ideas about possible futures, which is always fun, and was truly speculative sci-fi. Definitely worth a read, and definitely worth sticking with.
FWIW, I picked up the audiobook narrated by Nathan Fillion, and he was fine? in that role, but I think this would have actually been a lot better with a more skilled narrator on the production. That being said, the name recognition definitely is a draw, and his selection let me know the publisher really wanted to get people to try this book.
FWIW, I picked up the audiobook narrated by Nathan Fillion, and he was fine? in that role, but I think this would have actually been a lot better with a more skilled narrator on the production. That being said, the name recognition definitely is a draw, and his selection let me know the publisher really wanted to get people to try this book.