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konain's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
ag11's review against another edition
Reading was painful, which is exactly the opposite I expect to get when reading a SF “space-operish” book.
jarichan's review against another edition
3.0
Wenn man bei einer Reihe mit Band acht anfängt, ist es kein Wunder, dass man keine Ahnung hat, was abgeht.
Aber als ich das Buch (des Covers wegen) gekauft habe, wusste ich gar nicht, dass es ein achter Teil ist. Gelesen habe ich es natürlich trotzdem und war auch fasziniert von den Ideen, die der Autor in sein Werk einfliessen lässt. Vor allem die Wesen und Kreaturen sind ganz speziell.
Die Handlung selbst verschloss sich mir leider. Ich kannte weder die Welt, noch die Figuren, noch ihre Beziehung zueinander. Dafür kann aber weder Autor noch Buch etwas. Da mir der Titel auch grundsätzlich gefiel und mich neugierig auf Asher gemacht hat, habe ich eine andere Trilogie von ihm mal auf meinen Wunschzettel gesetzt.
Dort fange ich dann aber mit Band eins an.
Aber als ich das Buch (des Covers wegen) gekauft habe, wusste ich gar nicht, dass es ein achter Teil ist. Gelesen habe ich es natürlich trotzdem und war auch fasziniert von den Ideen, die der Autor in sein Werk einfliessen lässt. Vor allem die Wesen und Kreaturen sind ganz speziell.
Die Handlung selbst verschloss sich mir leider. Ich kannte weder die Welt, noch die Figuren, noch ihre Beziehung zueinander. Dafür kann aber weder Autor noch Buch etwas. Da mir der Titel auch grundsätzlich gefiel und mich neugierig auf Asher gemacht hat, habe ich eine andere Trilogie von ihm mal auf meinen Wunschzettel gesetzt.
Dort fange ich dann aber mit Band eins an.
wiseard's review against another edition
2.0
The return to the world of Masada is full of adventure.
However the novel falls flat due to the sheer number of POV characters and especially the lack of difference between their narrative lenses. Characters are there mostly to move the plot forward and not to actually live in the story.
We also see a sector AI who is supposed to be just below Earth Central in intelligence. What we see is unfortunately lacking.
This novel is probably just a transition novel for the next trilogy in the Polity Universe and it probably was written in a hurry.
However the novel falls flat due to the sheer number of POV characters and especially the lack of difference between their narrative lenses. Characters are there mostly to move the plot forward and not to actually live in the story.
We also see a sector AI who is supposed to be just below Earth Central in intelligence. What we see is unfortunately lacking.
This novel is probably just a transition novel for the next trilogy in the Polity Universe and it probably was written in a hurry.
rotorguy64's review against another edition
3.0
Good things first, the setting and the tech are very cool, if sometimes a bit hard to understand, although not as much as you'd expect given that this is the eight entry in a series of which I have read no other book. Judging solely from this book, I'd say Asher is somewhere between [a:Iain Banks|5807106|Iain M. Banks|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1352410520p2/5807106.jpg] and [a:Peter Watts|27167|Peter Watts|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png], tending rather towards the former. The scale is epic, the technology so far advanced it borders on magic, although not quite on the level of the Culture yet. There's an Epicurean streak that reminded me strongly of Watts, although it is neither as cynical nor as intelligent.
As a worldbuilding exercise, this novel was excellent. However, it fails as a story, which is the primary job of any novel. The grand and epic journey of Ashers characters left me with a distinct feeling of "so what?" and "why should I care?". I did not care for the characters, as they were too flat and dislikable, nor for the factions they represent, as Asher is too cynical for his own good, or rather for the good of his story. All the factions are to some degree malevolent: The Polity is like the Culture but without the utopianism, the former rebels are unforgiving, triggerhappy criminals, the Roman Catholic Church in Space is a generic evil empire that would make for a good cartoonishly evil opponent, if it wasn't already defeated at this point of the story. It's also kind of a bad caricature of my religious beliefs, but If I got too upset over that, I couldn't read any sci-fi ever again. There are also various evil aliens and even more evil AI's, who are very entertaining to watch and make for some nice action sequences. These unsung heroes are probably the main reason why I give this three stars.
There was a total of one character I cared for, Tombs, a religious fanatic with an amazing power of will and even more amazing powers of rationalization, whose religious beliefs clash first with his reppressed sexuality and then his conscience. Asher is not a Dostoevsky even at the best of times (who is?), but yes, still interesting to read. This character has a dynamic, an inner life. That is:
Now for the major issue, which is that as the story progresses, the guy turns into the Hollywood-version of Buddha, losing every human affect save for a stupidly content smile, spouting nothing but [a:eternal wisdom|16593|Sam Harris|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1274184541p2/16593.jpg] all day, every day. He turns from a character into the [b:John Galt|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405868167l/662._SY75_.jpg|817219] of New Atheism. At one point, when a character kills himself, we see the New and Improved Tombs hold the body in his arms, telling a bystander that this man is dead and will forever stay dead. Of course, he did not think of stopping the suicide. Had he done so, would we have gotten this dramatic scene? Atheism wins again!
In summary, fun as a worldbuilding exercise, very badly executed as a story.
As a worldbuilding exercise, this novel was excellent. However, it fails as a story, which is the primary job of any novel. The grand and epic journey of Ashers characters left me with a distinct feeling of "so what?" and "why should I care?". I did not care for the characters, as they were too flat and dislikable, nor for the factions they represent, as Asher is too cynical for his own good, or rather for the good of his story. All the factions are to some degree malevolent: The Polity is like the Culture but without the utopianism, the former rebels are unforgiving, triggerhappy criminals, the Roman Catholic Church in Space is a generic evil empire that would make for a good cartoonishly evil opponent, if it wasn't already defeated at this point of the story. It's also kind of a bad caricature of my religious beliefs, but If I got too upset over that, I couldn't read any sci-fi ever again. There are also various evil aliens and even more evil AI's, who are very entertaining to watch and make for some nice action sequences. These unsung heroes are probably the main reason why I give this three stars.
There was a total of one character I cared for, Tombs, a religious fanatic with an amazing power of will and even more amazing powers of rationalization, whose religious beliefs clash first with his reppressed sexuality and then his conscience. Asher is not a Dostoevsky even at the best of times (who is?), but yes, still interesting to read. This character has a dynamic, an inner life. That is:
Spoiler
Until Asher ruins him. First, the minor issue: We learn about halfway through the novel that Tombs really wasn't that bad a dude, he never tortured anybody and didn't have the guts to kill anbody. That is not what ruined his character, but it is a wasted opportunity. Why set a character on a quest for redemption and then reveal that his only crime was wearing the wrong uniform and rooting for the wrong team? The answer to that is so that the author can show how irrational it is for everyone else to hate him. Of course, it would've been infinitely more interesting for Tombs to have committed crimes that warrant death, and yet for his enemies to be wrong in their hatred of him. Peter Watts pulled something like that off in [b:Starfish|66479|Starfish (Rifters, #1)|Peter Watts|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388530597l/66479._SY75_.jpg|2489444], introducing us to a pedophiliac child rapist as well as to the designated pedohunter, and showing the latter to be wrong in his own right.Now for the major issue, which is that as the story progresses, the guy turns into the Hollywood-version of Buddha, losing every human affect save for a stupidly content smile, spouting nothing but [a:eternal wisdom|16593|Sam Harris|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1274184541p2/16593.jpg] all day, every day. He turns from a character into the [b:John Galt|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405868167l/662._SY75_.jpg|817219] of New Atheism. At one point, when a character kills himself, we see the New and Improved Tombs hold the body in his arms, telling a bystander that this man is dead and will forever stay dead. Of course, he did not think of stopping the suicide. Had he done so, would we have gotten this dramatic scene? Atheism wins again!
In summary, fun as a worldbuilding exercise, very badly executed as a story.
jercox's review against another edition
5.0
One of my favorites from this universe. Compelling story, well put together, and makes more sense than many of the others (in some ways).
marryallthepeople's review against another edition
5.0
TechSupport called this book "cute" with a giant slater that wanted to nom nom nom things cos he was hungus.
joosty's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
imitira's review against another edition
4.0
I still enjoy the writing, but with each new book I get a stronger sense of retroactive redesign of world and plot history to accommodate more stories. It isn't necessarily a huge problem - I've always been willing to gloss over inconsistencies or plot stretches for a sufficiently good read - but it does wear somewhat when reading a lot of Asher back to back.