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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
DNF.
I tried. I stopped at 44 per cent because I didn't care enough about the story to find out what happens.
I tried. I stopped at 44 per cent because I didn't care enough about the story to find out what happens.
Loved everything about this first book.
Review: https://chapterswelove.com/2017/09/07/3726/
Review: https://chapterswelove.com/2017/09/07/3726/
I didn’t finish this book, which is rare for me. But I couldn’t get through it all. I can’t remember why, but I think it had to do with my realization that I didn’t care about the characters. They do not elicit empathy. You kind of want them to die from exposure to the vacuum of space. The plot is interesting in its detailed depiction of multigenerational moon terraforming, and I really appreciated the use of a Brazilian family as the main characters.
Truly enjoyed this, but the book had MANY grammatical errors. Mine was from the library, maybe it was an ARC? Baffling.
Marina Calzaghe has arrived to try to make her fortune on the moon in interesting times. Like all residents, her holographic familiar keeps track of her allotments of the Elementals, including oxygen and other finite resources. Her new home has a million ways it can kill.
There are five main families that control industry on the moon, the Five Dragons and their respective dynasties. Among these of the upper echelon, intrigue abounds.
The Cortas deal in the mining of helium-3. Adriana is matriarch, and her five children each have their own roles to play within the family. Rafa is the golden boy and heir, Lucas the schemer, Ariel is society's darling as a successful attorney, Carlinhos the fighter, and Wagner the Lone Wolf.
Adriana knows her time as the Fifth Dragon is nearing an end, and is all too aware of the power vacuum that might ensue when she passes. But for all of her planning and machinations, the rival families are devising their own.
I had to take my time reading this book because some elements to it are a bit dense - nothing too overly complicated, but there is just a lot going on as far as engineering, biology, politics, family lineages, etc. But overall it was a pretty amazing experience and has left me with a huge book hangover. I feel like I need the next book in my hands immediately - even if my favorite character didn't survive the end of this one :(
There are five main families that control industry on the moon, the Five Dragons and their respective dynasties. Among these of the upper echelon, intrigue abounds.
The Cortas deal in the mining of helium-3. Adriana is matriarch, and her five children each have their own roles to play within the family. Rafa is the golden boy and heir, Lucas the schemer, Ariel is society's darling as a successful attorney, Carlinhos the fighter, and Wagner the Lone Wolf.
Adriana knows her time as the Fifth Dragon is nearing an end, and is all too aware of the power vacuum that might ensue when she passes. But for all of her planning and machinations, the rival families are devising their own.
I had to take my time reading this book because some elements to it are a bit dense - nothing too overly complicated, but there is just a lot going on as far as engineering, biology, politics, family lineages, etc. But overall it was a pretty amazing experience and has left me with a huge book hangover. I feel like I need the next book in my hands immediately - even if my favorite character didn't survive the end of this one :(
A dynastic tale of powerful families that owes something to both the Medicis and Dallas as well as a healthy dose of Game of Thrones.
The Cortas are the newest of the Five Dragons, the most powerful and wealthy entrepreneur families of the fledgling moon civilization. They live in a delicate balance of power within the family itself and with the other great families, including the Corta's main rival, the MacKenzies. The story follows three generations of the Cortas as their matriarch readies herself to hand over power to her children, the fiery and impulsive Rafael Corta, calculating Lucas Corta, the fighter Carlinhos Corta, the icy law advocate Ariel Corta and the strange Wagner Corta. There's also the viewpoints of some of the third generation and that of a new moon arrival Marina Calzaghe who becomes a retainer with the family.
By the end of this book you have a very good idea of how the moon works as an economic entity, politically, socially and technologically. The world-building is brilliant and little is left untouched. We get a look at all aspects of this world, from food production and diet, to religion, reproduction and sexual mores. And all of this while painting incredibly detailed characters with plenty of strengths and flaws. And all of that with a solid escalating plot that takes the Moon from the status quo into the chaos of warring families.
Another interesting note are the origins of the Dragons. We have Brazilians (the Corta family), Chinese (the Sun family), Australians (MacKenzie), West African (Asamoah) and Russian (Volotsov), at least three of which are the real economic powerhouses in the world economy at the moment, and the others make sense in terms of expertise, Australians and mining and Russians and space. The religions here are interesting as well from the old ones to the sort of religion that would have to come about to make the jump to a place like the moon with a focus on the things religion has been historically good at: helping civilizations last for the long term. Even sexuality is treated sensibly, with a wide range of sexual preferences (the common language doesn't even have words for gay/straight) and gender/pronouns. Probably the only thing I didn't think was particularly successful was the concept of the wolf packs. An extra paragraph or two of explanation there wouldn't have gone astray.
Masterful science fiction and highly recommended.
The Cortas are the newest of the Five Dragons, the most powerful and wealthy entrepreneur families of the fledgling moon civilization. They live in a delicate balance of power within the family itself and with the other great families, including the Corta's main rival, the MacKenzies. The story follows three generations of the Cortas as their matriarch readies herself to hand over power to her children, the fiery and impulsive Rafael Corta, calculating Lucas Corta, the fighter Carlinhos Corta, the icy law advocate Ariel Corta and the strange Wagner Corta. There's also the viewpoints of some of the third generation and that of a new moon arrival Marina Calzaghe who becomes a retainer with the family.
By the end of this book you have a very good idea of how the moon works as an economic entity, politically, socially and technologically. The world-building is brilliant and little is left untouched. We get a look at all aspects of this world, from food production and diet, to religion, reproduction and sexual mores. And all of this while painting incredibly detailed characters with plenty of strengths and flaws. And all of that with a solid escalating plot that takes the Moon from the status quo into the chaos of warring families.
Another interesting note are the origins of the Dragons. We have Brazilians (the Corta family), Chinese (the Sun family), Australians (MacKenzie), West African (Asamoah) and Russian (Volotsov), at least three of which are the real economic powerhouses in the world economy at the moment, and the others make sense in terms of expertise, Australians and mining and Russians and space. The religions here are interesting as well from the old ones to the sort of religion that would have to come about to make the jump to a place like the moon with a focus on the things religion has been historically good at: helping civilizations last for the long term. Even sexuality is treated sensibly, with a wide range of sexual preferences (the common language doesn't even have words for gay/straight) and gender/pronouns. Probably the only thing I didn't think was particularly successful was the concept of the wolf packs. An extra paragraph or two of explanation there wouldn't have gone astray.
Masterful science fiction and highly recommended.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
McDonald, Ian. Luna: New Moon. Luna No. 1. Tor, 2015.
Almost every review of Luna: New Moon has mentioned its debt to Heinlein’s The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress. Others have compared it to The Godfather. Both are apt. We begin with a group of teenagers racing naked from one airlock to another—breathe out so your lungs don’t explode, and whatever you do, don’t fall. These kids are adapted to low pressure environments and know breath control better than a yogi master, so the event is not as outrageous as it might seem. The race is an adulthood rite in a society that charges for air and water and is dominated by five dynastic gangster families. And we are soon following several characters through the family conflicts that can be more dangerous than running naked in vacuum. Imagine a Heinleinian libertarian society run by ruthless oligarchs, who always looking for ways to wound each other. The premise seems to be that the inherent dangers of lunar life have produced a ruthless Darwinian social structure. It will be interesting to see where the rest of the trilogy goes.
Almost every review of Luna: New Moon has mentioned its debt to Heinlein’s The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress. Others have compared it to The Godfather. Both are apt. We begin with a group of teenagers racing naked from one airlock to another—breathe out so your lungs don’t explode, and whatever you do, don’t fall. These kids are adapted to low pressure environments and know breath control better than a yogi master, so the event is not as outrageous as it might seem. The race is an adulthood rite in a society that charges for air and water and is dominated by five dynastic gangster families. And we are soon following several characters through the family conflicts that can be more dangerous than running naked in vacuum. Imagine a Heinleinian libertarian society run by ruthless oligarchs, who always looking for ways to wound each other. The premise seems to be that the inherent dangers of lunar life have produced a ruthless Darwinian social structure. It will be interesting to see where the rest of the trilogy goes.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No