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timinbc's review against another edition
4.0
A solid piece of straight-up SF. Bonus for setting nearly all of it under the ice on Enceladus.
The overall attitude reminds me of Sandman Slim, which is good.
Fergus never does too much achieving at once, although maybe he's a little too good at guessing what's going on. And is it a coincidence that MacInnis is not so far from MacGyver?
I like cats, but what did this one add?
If there's a vote for neutral pronouns, I could support ey, em, eir. Like singular they only without the confusion.
This time Palmer did a better job of keeping Fergus hydrated. Last time he just moaned about it but hardly ever actually drank anything.
The setting was good, but I would have liked some handwaving about what all the machinery on Enceladus uses for power.
And I liked the explanation of Dr. Kenning's actions.
I'll read this author anytime.
The overall attitude reminds me of Sandman Slim, which is good.
Fergus never does too much achieving at once, although maybe he's a little too good at guessing what's going on. And is it a coincidence that MacInnis is not so far from MacGyver?
I like cats, but what did this one add?
If there's a vote for neutral pronouns, I could support ey, em, eir. Like singular they only without the confusion.
This time Palmer did a better job of keeping Fergus hydrated. Last time he just moaned about it but hardly ever actually drank anything.
The setting was good, but I would have liked some handwaving about what all the machinery on Enceladus uses for power.
And I liked the explanation of Dr. Kenning's actions.
I'll read this author anytime.
matty_braugen's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.5
einnymydog's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.5
dawn_marie's review
4.0
I very much enjoyed Suzanne Palmer’s Driving the Deep, the second volume of her excellent Finder Chronicles. Stories about a band of misfits, with a “if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck” leader, stuck in impossible (and sometimes comical) situations are especially appealing to me. Add in sci-fi elements, a sassy AI controlled space ship, and assorted aliens and I have high expectations. Fortunately, Ms. Palmer’s work did not disappoint.
In this offering, we find Fergus Ferguson back in the Pluto Shipyards where his friends strongly encourage him to go back to earth to confront his past. And of course since Fergus (the aforementioned “finder”) being Fergus nothing goes as planned; the motorcycle he stole at 15 has been stolen from him, someone accuses him of being an art thief, and the ship yard is attacked and his friends are missing – and that is how Fergus finds himself deep under water on one of Saturn’s moon with an unwanted detective as a partner, surrounded by paranoid people, and a skittish cat.
Even though this story takes place in space (well, more accurately deep under the water of ice covered Enceladus) at its core it is a mystery involving kidnapping and covert operations/experiments. As Fergus unravels the aspects of the case, we are introduced to various characters, all who are interesting – even the villain whose motivations make sense in the world Ms. Palmer has created. While it is easy to figure out what was happening (the clues are there if you look for them) before the “reveal” and the plot is not complex, this is still a very enjoyable read – due in no small part to the writing style, storytelling, world building, and character development of Ms. Palmer. For me, this novel is less about the mystery and more about the value of coming to terms with your past, making peace with it, and creating your own family/home.
Finder Chronicles is listed as only having two volumes, I do home the author considers writing more as I enjoy the world she has created and want to read more about Fergus, his Shipmaker friends, and their adventures.
In this offering, we find Fergus Ferguson back in the Pluto Shipyards where his friends strongly encourage him to go back to earth to confront his past. And of course since Fergus (the aforementioned “finder”) being Fergus nothing goes as planned; the motorcycle he stole at 15 has been stolen from him, someone accuses him of being an art thief, and the ship yard is attacked and his friends are missing – and that is how Fergus finds himself deep under water on one of Saturn’s moon with an unwanted detective as a partner, surrounded by paranoid people, and a skittish cat.
Even though this story takes place in space (well, more accurately deep under the water of ice covered Enceladus) at its core it is a mystery involving kidnapping and covert operations/experiments. As Fergus unravels the aspects of the case, we are introduced to various characters, all who are interesting – even the villain whose motivations make sense in the world Ms. Palmer has created. While it is easy to figure out what was happening (the clues are there if you look for them) before the “reveal” and the plot is not complex, this is still a very enjoyable read – due in no small part to the writing style, storytelling, world building, and character development of Ms. Palmer. For me, this novel is less about the mystery and more about the value of coming to terms with your past, making peace with it, and creating your own family/home.
Finder Chronicles is listed as only having two volumes, I do home the author considers writing more as I enjoy the world she has created and want to read more about Fergus, his Shipmaker friends, and their adventures.
jonathanpalfrey's review
3.0
This is the sequel to [b:Finder|40796392|Finder (Finder Chronicles, #1)|Suzanne Palmer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543385033l/40796392._SY75_.jpg|63522653], and it's another page-turner: I finished it the same day that I bought it. Palmer's story-telling ability is alive and well.
This time the setting is more unusual and original: much of the story takes place at the bottom of the ocean on Enceladus, the sixth-largest moon of Saturn, where there is a scientific research settlement. (Yes, Enceladus is a real moon, and it really has an ocean.)
I like this book well enough, but somewhat less than I liked [b:Finder|40796392|Finder (Finder Chronicles, #1)|Suzanne Palmer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543385033l/40796392._SY75_.jpg|63522653], because I find the setting and the story rather oppressive and uncongenial. Any story has to contain some adversity, some difficulties to overcome, but I enjoy a story more if it has some pleasant aspects, some moments of happiness and/or comedy. In this story, Detective Zacker is occasionally somewhat amusing, and the ending is sufficiently positive, but that's about it.
Palmer's writing has moments of levity, and her hero Fergus has a sense of humour, but outright comedy isn't really an ingredient here.
This time the setting is more unusual and original: much of the story takes place at the bottom of the ocean on Enceladus, the sixth-largest moon of Saturn, where there is a scientific research settlement. (Yes, Enceladus is a real moon, and it really has an ocean.)
I like this book well enough, but somewhat less than I liked [b:Finder|40796392|Finder (Finder Chronicles, #1)|Suzanne Palmer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543385033l/40796392._SY75_.jpg|63522653], because I find the setting and the story rather oppressive and uncongenial. Any story has to contain some adversity, some difficulties to overcome, but I enjoy a story more if it has some pleasant aspects, some moments of happiness and/or comedy. In this story, Detective Zacker is occasionally somewhat amusing, and the ending is sufficiently positive, but that's about it.
Palmer's writing has moments of levity, and her hero Fergus has a sense of humour, but outright comedy isn't really an ingredient here.
librarian_of_trantor's review
5.0
Fergie Ferguson is one of the best characters in long time. And he has a great supporting cast. The world building is superb and the plot tight. So glad to see there will be more of the Finder's Chronicles [b:The Scavenger Door|51319852|The Scavenger Door (Finder Chronicles #3)|Suzanne Palmer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605185076l/51319852._SY75_.jpg|71397603]
tensy's review against another edition
4.0
Fergus Ferguson, deep space finder of lost things is back! In this second novel of the Finder Chronicles, we find Fergus with his ship designer friends when he decides to go back to Earth to finish some family business. While he's gone, his friends' ship building facility is attacked and they are kidnapped. Fergus follows the trail to Enceladus, a Saturn moon, and impersonates a deep sea pilot in the depths of the ice covered sea to try and locate his friends. What makes this better than your normal hard sci-fi are the wonderful characters (human, alien and semi-sentient AIs) and humor, reminiscent of Scalzi's work. We meet great new characters in this newest novel and the last 60 pages are a page-turning thrill ride.
perilous1's review against another edition
5.0
The continuing saga of my new favorite cosmic repo man. And thankfully, there's no sign of the writing sagging in this second book in the promising series. This one has solid pacing and plenty of character growth--along with a cast of characters that will hopefully be recurrent.
Fergus Ferguson, as it turns out, DOES have friends. A whole quirky ensemble cast of characters--most human, some not--who keep to themselves building advanced AI ships at a shipyard near Pluto. And said friends end up in serious trouble while Fergus is busy on Earth, working up the nerve to reconnect with the family he left behind 20 years prior. But before he actually gets to the reluctant reunion, he's nabbed by a rogue cop in a case of mistaken identity. The cantankerous cop then ends up as an unwitting ride-along when Fergus goes off-world to help his friends.
Somewhere in the middle of using his finder skills, Fergus is more or less abducted by a sketchy company desperate for underwater drivers. Here we're shown a definite line between piloting a spaceship and piloting a submersible beneath the unnervingly dark ocean of an iced-over moon. These scenes are rife with atmospheric claustrophobia. If I missed one thing from the previous installment, it was the stars.
This one was even more fun than the first book. (Probably because there wasn't much for annoying, needlessly angsty teenage girls running amok and hating on Fergus.) Several characters were still exorbitantly mean to our MC for some reason, mind you. Just not to an eye-rolling degree. (I maintain that Fergus is NOT the A-hole he and everyone else claim him to be. Emotionally constipated? Sure. But he has his reasons for that--and here we get some expansion as to why he finds dealing with his past so difficult.)
Oh, and there's a cat. Not some cool alien cat... but a cat that exists for more than the mere flavoring of our reluctant MC. (I'll admit to bias here, as little delights me more than the thought of a cat in zero G.)
Fergus Ferguson, as it turns out, DOES have friends. A whole quirky ensemble cast of characters--most human, some not--who keep to themselves building advanced AI ships at a shipyard near Pluto. And said friends end up in serious trouble while Fergus is busy on Earth, working up the nerve to reconnect with the family he left behind 20 years prior. But before he actually gets to the reluctant reunion, he's nabbed by a rogue cop in a case of mistaken identity. The cantankerous cop then ends up as an unwitting ride-along when Fergus goes off-world to help his friends.
Somewhere in the middle of using his finder skills, Fergus is more or less abducted by a sketchy company desperate for underwater drivers. Here we're shown a definite line between piloting a spaceship and piloting a submersible beneath the unnervingly dark ocean of an iced-over moon. These scenes are rife with atmospheric claustrophobia. If I missed one thing from the previous installment, it was the stars.
This one was even more fun than the first book. (Probably because there wasn't much for annoying, needlessly angsty teenage girls running amok and hating on Fergus.) Several characters were still exorbitantly mean to our MC for some reason, mind you. Just not to an eye-rolling degree. (I maintain that Fergus is NOT the A-hole he and everyone else claim him to be. Emotionally constipated? Sure. But he has his reasons for that--and here we get some expansion as to why he finds dealing with his past so difficult.)
Oh, and there's a cat. Not some cool alien cat... but a cat that exists for more than the mere flavoring of our reluctant MC. (I'll admit to bias here, as little delights me more than the thought of a cat in zero G.)
beckermanex's review against another edition
5.0
The second book in the Finder Chronicles manages to outpace the first as one of the most organic sci-fi stories that just leaves the sci-fi as a matter-of-fact-this-exists thing and works on the character and the stories. There's a huge amount of lore and world building here all in the background about Earth, aliens, but the story focuses on Fergus Ferguson (yep) attempting to rid himself of the trauma absorbed throughout his life and his certain set of skills that help him find things. Embroiled in a rogue conspiracy that builds up to a boiling point that, thankfully, leaves you satisfied at its conclusion. Driving the Deep is a rewarding novel and better than the first in nearly ever way. Even though it meanders just-a-bit in the middle, just when you think the recon is over, the action begins and the ramp up towards the end and the satisfying conclusion to the B-story, you're enthralled at ever turn. Highly recommended!
aga_acrobat's review against another edition
5.0
While I‘m on it, I have the weirdest deja-vues of Sunless Sea, cause you know: everything is under the sea, you never see the light of day and everybody ends up crazy in the end. What a treat.