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alexus_curlz's review
Because I donated it to a little library in exchange for a sequel I needed !! (sea queen) WILL be buying this book again to actually finish it. Hoping someone else gets to love K. Eason’s work like I do.
Maybe the little librarian god will bless me with its return somewhere else. :) <3
Maybe the little librarian god will bless me with its return somewhere else. :) <3
maneatingclam's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
heytherekaity's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
crossingtheratterlin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
breezer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
krivens's review
adventurous
medium-paced
2.0
Since I didn’t read the previous series, I think a lot of this was lost on me.
mary_soon_lee's review
4.0
[Potential bias alert: I know the author a little.]
This novel begins a new arc with new characters set in the same multiverse as the author's duology "The Thorne Chronicles." Where the earlier duology combined space opera with retold fairy tale, this book has a noir thriller feel: dark urban streets with menace aplenty. I liked it very much. While it is very far from a copy of the Murderbot stories by Martha Wells, it shares some of that verve, and, in one of its plot threads, a concern for beings that are part-organic, part-construct, stripped of rights.
First and foremost, which is true also of Eason's other work, I loved the characters, both the protagonists and the supporting cast. The narrative switches between two major and one supporting point-of-view characters. There's Lieutenant Iari, a templar sworn to defend against the (terrifying) Brood. There's Gaer, an ambassdor and arithmancer from the species Iari's side formerly fought against in a bitter war. There's Corso, once Iari's sergeant, now a civilian investigator. None are human, but all are essentially human. All three are great, though I have a special soft spot for Gaer. The characters are great, but it is the interactions between the characters, their chancy friendships that are best of all.
The story is compelling and atmospheric, throwing the reader headlong into its world from the first page. The prose is alive with wit, but never undermines its characters. The action scenes are flamboyant and distinctive. I love Eason's depiction of arithmancy -- also prevalent in "The Thorne Chronicles" -- as something that straddles the border between math and magic.
Four out of five arithmantic stars.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
This novel begins a new arc with new characters set in the same multiverse as the author's duology "The Thorne Chronicles." Where the earlier duology combined space opera with retold fairy tale, this book has a noir thriller feel: dark urban streets with menace aplenty. I liked it very much. While it is very far from a copy of the Murderbot stories by Martha Wells, it shares some of that verve, and, in one of its plot threads, a concern for beings that are part-organic, part-construct, stripped of rights.
First and foremost, which is true also of Eason's other work, I loved the characters, both the protagonists and the supporting cast. The narrative switches between two major and one supporting point-of-view characters. There's Lieutenant Iari, a templar sworn to defend against the (terrifying) Brood. There's Gaer, an ambassdor and arithmancer from the species Iari's side formerly fought against in a bitter war. There's Corso, once Iari's sergeant, now a civilian investigator. None are human, but all are essentially human. All three are great, though I have a special soft spot for Gaer. The characters are great, but it is the interactions between the characters, their chancy friendships that are best of all.
The story is compelling and atmospheric, throwing the reader headlong into its world from the first page. The prose is alive with wit, but never undermines its characters. The action scenes are flamboyant and distinctive. I love Eason's depiction of arithmancy -- also prevalent in "The Thorne Chronicles" -- as something that straddles the border between math and magic.
Four out of five arithmantic stars.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
magneticornot's review against another edition
Answers the age-old question “What if a half-orc paladin teamed up with Garrus Vakarian from Mass Effect to solve crime and fight monsters, using mech suits and math magic?”
namatata's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
amysbrittain's review
4.0
3.5 stars for me.
To see my full review on The Bossy Bookworm, to link to the Greedy Reading List Six Great Stories about Robots, Humans and Alien Life, and AI, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see Nightwatch on the Hinterlands.
Find hundreds of reviews and lots of roundups of my favorite books on the blog: Bossy Bookworm
Follow me on Instagram! @bossybookwormblog
Or Facebook! The Bossy Bookworm
In K. Eason's science fiction mystery Nightwatch on the Hinterlands, a templar, Iari, and a spy, Gaer, have built a somewhat formal working relationship. Neither is quite sure where the other's loyalties begin and end, nor are they intimately acquainted with the other's history or personal motivations.
They begin to forge a stronger bond (despite how irritating they each find the other), but there's no time to waste, because high-stakes danger is quickly building to a crisis point around them.
Iari and Gaer band together to solve the mystery of a murder committed by a riev, a decommissioned battle-mecha robot from the last conflict--a murder that shouldn't have been possible, because everyone knows rievs don't kill. Yet all evidence points to the impossible, and odd evidence piles up, then vanishes--as do the witnesses and promising contacts who might have illuminated Iari and Gaer as to the local dynamics and the power dynamics of the local criminal world.
Searching for the truth leads the unlikely duo on a search to uncover who is controlling the riev--and they find that it's someone with nefarious goals that go much farther and are much more elaborately imagined than one recent killing.
I think this was because of personal timing and my reading-during-vacation distraction circumstances, but I did have ongoing trouble following the logistics and political machinations and motivations here.
It didn't matter, though, because I was most invested in and engaged by the interplay of characters--particularly the grudging friendship and grumpily built but rock-solid loyalty between Iari and Gaer. And I was wholly charmed by the rievs (former battle robots) who mysteriously show sentience and surprising preferences for personal pronouns, and who are set on reinventing themselves in drastic fashion.
To see my full review on The Bossy Bookworm, to link to the Greedy Reading List Six Great Stories about Robots, Humans and Alien Life, and AI, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see Nightwatch on the Hinterlands.
Find hundreds of reviews and lots of roundups of my favorite books on the blog: Bossy Bookworm
Follow me on Instagram! @bossybookwormblog
Or Facebook! The Bossy Bookworm
In K. Eason's science fiction mystery Nightwatch on the Hinterlands, a templar, Iari, and a spy, Gaer, have built a somewhat formal working relationship. Neither is quite sure where the other's loyalties begin and end, nor are they intimately acquainted with the other's history or personal motivations.
They begin to forge a stronger bond (despite how irritating they each find the other), but there's no time to waste, because high-stakes danger is quickly building to a crisis point around them.
Iari and Gaer band together to solve the mystery of a murder committed by a riev, a decommissioned battle-mecha robot from the last conflict--a murder that shouldn't have been possible, because everyone knows rievs don't kill. Yet all evidence points to the impossible, and odd evidence piles up, then vanishes--as do the witnesses and promising contacts who might have illuminated Iari and Gaer as to the local dynamics and the power dynamics of the local criminal world.
Searching for the truth leads the unlikely duo on a search to uncover who is controlling the riev--and they find that it's someone with nefarious goals that go much farther and are much more elaborately imagined than one recent killing.
I think this was because of personal timing and my reading-during-vacation distraction circumstances, but I did have ongoing trouble following the logistics and political machinations and motivations here.
It didn't matter, though, because I was most invested in and engaged by the interplay of characters--particularly the grudging friendship and grumpily built but rock-solid loyalty between Iari and Gaer. And I was wholly charmed by the rievs (former battle robots) who mysteriously show sentience and surprising preferences for personal pronouns, and who are set on reinventing themselves in drastic fashion.