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sandy_gettings's review against another edition
1.0
Corny, and not in a good way
I can’t believe I made myself finish this book. It reads like old 1950s science fiction - hokey dialogue and bad science. It’s like Ed Wood wrote a novel. It’s really bad.
I can’t believe I made myself finish this book. It reads like old 1950s science fiction - hokey dialogue and bad science. It’s like Ed Wood wrote a novel. It’s really bad.
ellem_readsalot's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
thinde's review against another edition
3.0
This book has the feel of Sci-Fi from the '80s. There's a decent core to it with an interesting protagonist, but it's hampered by gaping holes in its logic.
The central premise is flawed. We're supposed to believe an indentured servant has the freedom to go shopping for an all-purpose suit prior to servitude. A suit that is necessary to do any job she may be given... shouldn't her owners be providing her with that equipment? Oh and this suit is the next best thing to magic. Its technology is so far in advance of current engineering that I think it would take millennia to achieve, short of the singularity - way past the point where Mars is old news.
I won't reveal spoilers about Sil, but by the end of the book we know what she is... but that evaluation doesn't jibe with her abilities for the duration of the story. Either that or her Father is way over-estimating the advantages his daughter has. Nothing she achieves is beyond the scope of any woman who is smart and benefits from the aesthetics of a professional model.
I also found some of the characters to be laughable. The worst example was the "Germinator." I don't care how brilliant you are, no specialist would be hired if he had the interpersonal skills of a blood-drunk Great White shark.
The last third of the book is rushed, fragmented and confusing. The plot, at this point, relies on engineering mistakes that haven't been seen since the 18th century and this is after functional AIs are supposedly ubiquitous. Holding a diagram upside down? Seriously.
The central premise is flawed. We're supposed to believe an indentured servant has the freedom to go shopping for an all-purpose suit prior to servitude. A suit that is necessary to do any job she may be given... shouldn't her owners be providing her with that equipment? Oh and this suit is the next best thing to magic. Its technology is so far in advance of current engineering that I think it would take millennia to achieve, short of the singularity - way past the point where Mars is old news.
I won't reveal spoilers about Sil, but by the end of the book we know what she is... but that evaluation doesn't jibe with her abilities for the duration of the story. Either that or her Father is way over-estimating the advantages his daughter has. Nothing she achieves is beyond the scope of any woman who is smart and benefits from the aesthetics of a professional model.
I also found some of the characters to be laughable. The worst example was the "Germinator." I don't care how brilliant you are, no specialist would be hired if he had the interpersonal skills of a blood-drunk Great White shark.
The last third of the book is rushed, fragmented and confusing. The plot, at this point, relies on engineering mistakes that haven't been seen since the 18th century and this is after functional AIs are supposedly ubiquitous. Holding a diagram upside down? Seriously.
inti's review
I just could not get engaged with this book. It seemed scattered and uneven.
lindalou's review
3.0
Space adventure on Mars
A classic space adventure with a strong female protagonist, it reminded me of Heinlein's books. I took a star off because, I felt that the main character's personality did not come through very clearly. She appeared at the beginning to be a cold hearted, logic driven business woman. Yet, a man falls in love with her so hard he's willing to help her after a brief meeting. I didn't see anything in her that would warrant the devotion. She also had no friends on Earth but managed to make a lot of friends once she's on Mars. What changed? It would have been a 4 star, maybe even a 5 star read if her personality and changes/ growth inside her had been made more explicit.
A classic space adventure with a strong female protagonist, it reminded me of Heinlein's books. I took a star off because, I felt that the main character's personality did not come through very clearly. She appeared at the beginning to be a cold hearted, logic driven business woman. Yet, a man falls in love with her so hard he's willing to help her after a brief meeting. I didn't see anything in her that would warrant the devotion. She also had no friends on Earth but managed to make a lot of friends once she's on Mars. What changed? It would have been a 4 star, maybe even a 5 star read if her personality and changes/ growth inside her had been made more explicit.
anatoli's review
2.0
I had high expectations starting this book. These hopes were dashed within the first quarter of the story. My key complaint is that not enough work went into the planning and execution. The idea for the story is good, but focus is lost almost immediately. I found that it seemed to be a series of little vignettes that were barely held together because they happened in the same place of to the couple of main characters.
Characters seemed to come out of nowhere, have a few actions or lines in a chapter, then disappear. There were few descriptions of these characters, but nothing that made me care much for them. At the end of the story I knew next to nothing about the main characters. The antagonists all turned out to be generically physically ugly and easy to figure out that they were up to no good. Even the AI lacked any clear, consistent motivation. We needed more backstory or context to cheer for the heroes and hate the villains.
The science wasn’t too bad. There were a few good ideas, but in many cases, these tended to be lost because they lacked any link to the story, other than they were an event that happened. The suit itself, sort of the sidekick character, was perhaps too powerful. It’s AI would figure something out, or some feature would save the protagonist, but the opportunity to follow it up, or make it mean something to the story was often missed. Even the cataclysmic events just sort of happened, no reason given, and no follow up explanations.
On the positive side, a lot of imagination and ideas when into the book. My hope is that, in the future, the author will improve the organization and characters in her stories. Two of five on Goodreads.
Characters seemed to come out of nowhere, have a few actions or lines in a chapter, then disappear. There were few descriptions of these characters, but nothing that made me care much for them. At the end of the story I knew next to nothing about the main characters. The antagonists all turned out to be generically physically ugly and easy to figure out that they were up to no good. Even the AI lacked any clear, consistent motivation. We needed more backstory or context to cheer for the heroes and hate the villains.
The science wasn’t too bad. There were a few good ideas, but in many cases, these tended to be lost because they lacked any link to the story, other than they were an event that happened. The suit itself, sort of the sidekick character, was perhaps too powerful. It’s AI would figure something out, or some feature would save the protagonist, but the opportunity to follow it up, or make it mean something to the story was often missed. Even the cataclysmic events just sort of happened, no reason given, and no follow up explanations.
On the positive side, a lot of imagination and ideas when into the book. My hope is that, in the future, the author will improve the organization and characters in her stories. Two of five on Goodreads.