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led's review
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
In the wake of the Gestalt's defeat, Ack-Ack Macaque is now the leader of an army of uplifted monkeys and wandering the multiverse. When cyborgs from Mars launch an asteroid at earth, which foul-mouth cigar chomping primate are they going to call?
I got this from Netgalley and it was damn sweet!
Here we are, the thrilling conclusion to the Macaque Trilogy. When the backup consciousnesses of Celeste and her minions wake up on Mars, they send Earth a present in the form of a giant asteroid. Sure enough, Ack-Ack is up to the challenge of going Armageddon on its ass, once he finds his way back from a different reality, that it.
I find it amazing how Gareth Powell took a fairly ridiculous premise, that of a cigar-chomping macaque fighting in WWII and turned it into a three book cyberpunk epic featuring parallel worlds and things of that nature. What could have been a hilarious novella about an ass-kicking simian morphed into a fantastic trilogy featuring such heady topics as quantum physics, nanotechnology, virtual reality, and what it means to be alive.
For a book featuring an ape with a mouth like a sailor, this bastard is a pretty serious tale. Entire timelines are destroyed, lots of shit blows up, and a certain woman has to say goodbye to her husband. The increasingly world-weary Ack-Ack finds he'll be facing the most brutal battle of them all: Fatherhood.
It's hard not to like a series book that prominently features a super-intelligent, gun-toting, chain smoking macaque. Not only that, the Macaque trilogy also features such winning ingredients as clones, cyborgs, parallel universes, nanomachinery, personality backups, homages to pulp sf, hive minds, and uplifted primates, most of which have foul mouths. Even though it was left open-ended, this fuck-knuckle was a very satisfying conclusion to the tale of Ack_Ack Macaque. Four out of five stars.
I got this from Netgalley and it was damn sweet!
Here we are, the thrilling conclusion to the Macaque Trilogy. When the backup consciousnesses of Celeste and her minions wake up on Mars, they send Earth a present in the form of a giant asteroid. Sure enough, Ack-Ack is up to the challenge of going Armageddon on its ass, once he finds his way back from a different reality, that it.
I find it amazing how Gareth Powell took a fairly ridiculous premise, that of a cigar-chomping macaque fighting in WWII and turned it into a three book cyberpunk epic featuring parallel worlds and things of that nature. What could have been a hilarious novella about an ass-kicking simian morphed into a fantastic trilogy featuring such heady topics as quantum physics, nanotechnology, virtual reality, and what it means to be alive.
For a book featuring an ape with a mouth like a sailor, this bastard is a pretty serious tale. Entire timelines are destroyed, lots of shit blows up, and a certain woman has to say goodbye to her husband. The increasingly world-weary Ack-Ack finds he'll be facing the most brutal battle of them all: Fatherhood.
It's hard not to like a series book that prominently features a super-intelligent, gun-toting, chain smoking macaque. Not only that, the Macaque trilogy also features such winning ingredients as clones, cyborgs, parallel universes, nanomachinery, personality backups, homages to pulp sf, hive minds, and uplifted primates, most of which have foul mouths. Even though it was left open-ended, this fuck-knuckle was a very satisfying conclusion to the tale of Ack_Ack Macaque. Four out of five stars.
zanniera's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 ⭐ Books 2 and 3 didn't blow my mind as much as the first one (which was a solid 5⭐ for me) but they were still quite enjoyable.
It makes me sad that I haven't been able to successfully reccomend this series just because the premise is so bonkers (but I think that is part of why I love it).
If they ever make a movie (highly doubt it) Ack Ack must be voiced by Ron Pearlman, I would accept nothing else.
It makes me sad that I haven't been able to successfully reccomend this series just because the premise is so bonkers (but I think that is part of why I love it).
If they ever make a movie (highly doubt it) Ack Ack must be voiced by Ron Pearlman, I would accept nothing else.
ghostmuppet's review against another edition
2.0
This series has somewhat lost its way a little in my opinion. Had some great moments, but these were out weighed by a number of poorer areas. Hopefully it will stop there, but i doubt it as there are still areas of the story that have not been completed. If there is another book, i will wait for some reviews from people i trust before i proceed with the book.
theartolater's review against another edition
3.0
In what has become a sort of holiday tradition, we have a new book in Gareth Powell's Ack-Ack Macaque series this winter. I liked the first one and thought the second one was okay, but how about the third and final?
I wasn't sure what I'd think about the third one given my relative ambivalence about the second. Macaque Attack is the logical conclusion of the results of Hive Monkey, with plenty of monkey clones and some further universe bending that we've come to expect from the series. As the world grows, so too does the character base, and one of the best benefits of the newest book, oddly enough, is that Ack-Ack Macaque isn't present for a ton of it in comparison to some of the other books, and the result is a better read on a whole. We get a good exploration of the post-Hive Monkey world, and it ends up being pretty fun.
For me, I didn't find the conclusion to be the most satisfying thing in the world, as everything is tied up and together for the most part, but considering that it started out with a foul-mouthed, cigar-chomping monkey hero and ended up a lot broader than that, I suppose I can't complain too too much overall.
Ultimately, though, you have to really take this trilogy as a sum of its parts. A surprisingly ambitious story that starts as a video game and ends in basically saving the universe isn't a bad journey to be on, and I honestly think I might feel more fondly about the series had I not read it over the course of 2+ years. It's designed for that sort of pulpy quick hit, and that's ultimately where and how it succeeds. So yeah, overall, if you haven't dove in yet, there's no better time than now to start, and it will probably be a pretty fun read for you if you do.
I wasn't sure what I'd think about the third one given my relative ambivalence about the second. Macaque Attack is the logical conclusion of the results of Hive Monkey, with plenty of monkey clones and some further universe bending that we've come to expect from the series. As the world grows, so too does the character base, and one of the best benefits of the newest book, oddly enough, is that Ack-Ack Macaque isn't present for a ton of it in comparison to some of the other books, and the result is a better read on a whole. We get a good exploration of the post-Hive Monkey world, and it ends up being pretty fun.
For me, I didn't find the conclusion to be the most satisfying thing in the world, as everything is tied up and together for the most part, but considering that it started out with a foul-mouthed, cigar-chomping monkey hero and ended up a lot broader than that, I suppose I can't complain too too much overall.
Ultimately, though, you have to really take this trilogy as a sum of its parts. A surprisingly ambitious story that starts as a video game and ends in basically saving the universe isn't a bad journey to be on, and I honestly think I might feel more fondly about the series had I not read it over the course of 2+ years. It's designed for that sort of pulpy quick hit, and that's ultimately where and how it succeeds. So yeah, overall, if you haven't dove in yet, there's no better time than now to start, and it will probably be a pretty fun read for you if you do.
riverwise's review against another edition
4.0
The monkey is back, and this time with a touch of added pathos as Ack Ack Macaque tries to come to terms with the inevitability of ageing, and the prospect of impending fatherhood. It's not all touchy feely though, there's still plenty of shit getting blown up. As much fun as the previous three books. Hang on, you say, I thought this was the third book. Mmmmm. Read it and find out what I mean!
ghostmuppet's review
2.0
This series has somewhat lost its way a little in my opinion. Had some great moments, but these were out weighed by a number of poorer areas. Hopefully it will stop there, but i doubt it as there are still areas of the story that have not been completed. If there is another book, i will wait for some reviews from people i trust before i proceed with the book.
jamesnotlatimer's review
4.0
Very enjoyable conclusion to a SF trilogy full of mad ideas and memorable characters. As the universe/multiverse of the series expands and expands, even the authors other books apparently get sucked in, but it just about works. Gonna miss that monkey!
jayeless's review
2.0
I've compared the previous two instalments in this trilogy ([b:Ack-Ack Macaque|13547332|Ack-Ack Macaque (Ack-Ack Macaque, #1)|Gareth L. Powell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344396179l/13547332._SY75_.jpg|19128070] and [b:Hive Monkey|17571741|Hive Monkey (Ack-Ack Macaque, #2)|Gareth L. Powell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1382111437l/17571741._SY75_.jpg|24511595]) to the TV show Doctor Who: they're fast-paced, campy romps with just the right balance of science fantasy absurdity and empathetic characters who convince you to soldier on with it. Continuing on with that metaphor, Macaque Attack is a fairly typical RTD-era series finale (or even the finale of your average two-parter)… it's where the showrunners have decided to just do everything, all at once, to the point that you can no longer follow what's meant to be happening and some overwrought emotional scenes can't really make up for the fact that the characters have long since been overwhelmed by “plot”.
Anyway, the good news is,at the end of the book we discover that none of the events that took place in this trilogy were real anyway . So I guess it doesn't really matter that I struggled to follow along. Sort of a disappointing way for it all to end really.
Anyway, the good news is,