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erosionyeah's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
u9u's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
terminatee's review
2.0
Not nearly as interesting or exciting as I had hoped. None of the dialogue made any sense to me. I was hoping to learn more about the "event site" but didn't. The ending seemed totally useless. Surprised I stuck with it.
shane's review
2.0
Two stars means 'It was OK' according to goodreads which really sums up 95% of this novel. I'm not going to go to town on this review. In fact, it's more of a personal reminder or a general overview of why I didn't quite dislike it, but certainly didn't rate it at all. So here it is then. This is the story of an anomaly or part of it anyway that basically drops off the main anomaly and causes a kind of rent or tear through to somewhere else. Predictably, things come through from that side and people go through to that side. If it sounds like I'm bored writing this its because I am. A book that can make me bored all over again when I write the review is definitely a book to avoid. Some of it was pretty good. There were parts that made me smile or sent my thoughts off at a tangent, and for that I am thankful but seriously now, most of this novel is very, very slow going and is little more than an exercise in character development. This wouldn't be a bad thing at all if there was a story to go with it, but what story there is didn't hold my interest.
I liked 'Light', but this just dragged a little to much for my taste and in the end didn't really go anywhere, at least nowhere that I wasn't expecting all along.
Not great, but not terrible either. Just OK.
I liked 'Light', but this just dragged a little to much for my taste and in the end didn't really go anywhere, at least nowhere that I wasn't expecting all along.
Not great, but not terrible either. Just OK.
eugen_wzrd's review
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
wolvereader's review
3.0
More a study of nostalgia, loss, and reinvention than a science-fiction book. It has a noir feel, and is definitely set in a high-tech future, however there isn't much in the way of action. Instead there's a lot of time spent developing characters and their relationships. The book reminded me of Lem Stanislaw's Solaris, where the planet is really just a prop to let the author explore his themes.
I'd recommend giving this book a read.
* Apparently this is the second of Harrison's books set in this particular universe. I didn't read the first, so it's possible that some of the sci-fi concepts were explained there, but not knowing some of the terms didn't impair my enjoyment of the book.
I'd recommend giving this book a read.
* Apparently this is the second of Harrison's books set in this particular universe. I didn't read the first, so it's possible that some of the sci-fi concepts were explained there, but not knowing some of the terms didn't impair my enjoyment of the book.
mikewhiteman's review
4.0
This is the second instalment in the Kefahuchi Tract trilogy, though only thematically and tangentially related to Light and with a fresh set of characters who were briefly mentioned at most. The focus here is much tighter, centring on a few people in a noirish city around the site (or zone, or area), where part of the Tract has fallen to the ground on an anonymous planet.
Once again the plot can be summed up in short order (Vic Serotonin is a travel agent, taking tourists into the zone and sometimes artefacts out to sell to shady figures, one artefact gets him into trouble with both the buyer and the police, his mentor is dying, lots of drinking and dames) but the real joy is the writing, full of atmosphere and ideas, constantly swirling the strange and new around Vic and the other central characters.
Although venturing into an unexplainable phenomenon hunting for physics-defying objects sounds like an adventure, very little of the book takes place in the site; it is more about the lives people create around and in view of it. Even the tourist wanting Vic to take her back in eventually feels it is enough just to have seen it from nearby - "It was just a choice that made life more interesting".
Everyone is weighed down by their past, and only a few will escape to something more hopeful. Things are much more mired in the repetition of the day to day than in the first book, where excitement and success were a possibility even amongst the horrors.
The narrower scope means it doesn't quite hit the highest highs that Light did but I love Harrison's writing and would happily read this over and over.
Once again the plot can be summed up in short order (Vic Serotonin is a travel agent, taking tourists into the zone and sometimes artefacts out to sell to shady figures, one artefact gets him into trouble with both the buyer and the police, his mentor is dying, lots of drinking and dames) but the real joy is the writing, full of atmosphere and ideas, constantly swirling the strange and new around Vic and the other central characters.
Although venturing into an unexplainable phenomenon hunting for physics-defying objects sounds like an adventure, very little of the book takes place in the site; it is more about the lives people create around and in view of it. Even the tourist wanting Vic to take her back in eventually feels it is enough just to have seen it from nearby - "It was just a choice that made life more interesting".
Everyone is weighed down by their past, and only a few will escape to something more hopeful. Things are much more mired in the repetition of the day to day than in the first book, where excitement and success were a possibility even amongst the horrors.
The narrower scope means it doesn't quite hit the highest highs that Light did but I love Harrison's writing and would happily read this over and over.
miszczif's review
4.0
Not as fascinating as "Light" which spanned thousand of years and many places. "Nova Swing" takes place in one city, near the edge of zone similar to the one in "Roadside Picnic", but Harrison twisted and turned this idea his way. Very sentimental feel, with hints of something I would call "cybernoir". Still great read though.
rafalreadersinitiative's review
3.0
Jako ogólnikowe podsumowanie powieści "Nova Swing" może posłużyć tytuł jej siódmego rozdziału, mianowicie "Kosmos w stylu noir". Jest to oczywiście punkt wyjścia dla tej bogatej w metafory, poetyckiej i - jak to u Harrisona - skomplikowanej, acz nie tak trudnej w odbiorze, jak wcześniejsze "Viriconium", powieści science - fiction.
Świeżo po przeczytaniu ciężko o jednoznaczne interpretacje i sadzę, że trzeba dać sobie trochę czasu, aby pozwolić sobie na konkretniejsze refleksje. Tymczasem jednak powiedzieć mogę, że książka wciąga, urzeka zawikłanym klimatem, który pozostaje w stanie równowagi z interesującą i odkrywaną stopniowo historią. Dlatego, podobało mi się dużo bardziej niż wspomniane wcześniej "Viriconium" a tym samym "Novę Swing" (bardziej) polecam!
Świeżo po przeczytaniu ciężko o jednoznaczne interpretacje i sadzę, że trzeba dać sobie trochę czasu, aby pozwolić sobie na konkretniejsze refleksje. Tymczasem jednak powiedzieć mogę, że książka wciąga, urzeka zawikłanym klimatem, który pozostaje w stanie równowagi z interesującą i odkrywaną stopniowo historią. Dlatego, podobało mi się dużo bardziej niż wspomniane wcześniej "Viriconium" a tym samym "Novę Swing" (bardziej) polecam!