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julcoh's review
5.0
Hard science fiction on an awesome scale. I haven't adventured into a world so complex and intertwined since James Clavell's Shogun.
Reynolds' use of a technology he calls "reefersleep", cryogenically freezing someone for indefinite periods, allows the main story trunks of this novel to span several hundreds of years. The history and backstories range over millions and sometimes billions of years into the past and future.
I thought the character building was, although probably the weakest part of the book, fairly good at least later in the story. What makes it worth reading is the speculation on technology, aliens, and AI. There are Alpha, Beta, and Gamma level AIs in the book, with corresponding levels of sentience. The comparisons between differing models of consciousness of the several alien species, humans, and AIs are refreshing and interesting to read.
This is hard science fiction at its finest, and technologies are described to the delight of my inner engineer. I need to read the next in the series.
Reynolds' use of a technology he calls "reefersleep", cryogenically freezing someone for indefinite periods, allows the main story trunks of this novel to span several hundreds of years. The history and backstories range over millions and sometimes billions of years into the past and future.
I thought the character building was, although probably the weakest part of the book, fairly good at least later in the story. What makes it worth reading is the speculation on technology, aliens, and AI. There are Alpha, Beta, and Gamma level AIs in the book, with corresponding levels of sentience. The comparisons between differing models of consciousness of the several alien species, humans, and AIs are refreshing and interesting to read.
This is hard science fiction at its finest, and technologies are described to the delight of my inner engineer. I need to read the next in the series.
aerofinity's review
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
medium-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
5.0
Everything a space opera should be. Giving Peter F Hamilton vibes in his prime
talne's review
5.0
I'll start off with my feeling as I closed the book - that was one of the best science fiction books I've read in recent memory. Part mystery, part space opera, the book flew by and left me wildly excited for what's to come in this universe. The pacing was excellent; by the time I was putting the pieces together and getting ready for the best parts of the novel, it was almost over. The balance between action, narrative and dialogue was perfect; exposition was expertly laid in between well written dialogue; each bit of story that was revealed only answered part of the question, leaving you hungry for more.
In addition to the novels structure, the content was incredible. Reynolds has crafted what feels like a deep and living universe. It's clearly a future version of humanity, but he doesn't rely on callbacks to 20th or 21st century earth to anchor his narrative. There are new factions of humanity, new places and a rich history that we only get piecemeal. When I finished the novel, many questions that arose during my reading were answered, but many were left unanswered, and more still bubbled up. A particular bright spot for me personally was the harder edge to the science fiction. Reynolds approaches most of his science with an idea of plausibility in mind (no FTL here), but also isn't afraid to push those boundaries when storytelling calls for it. Concepts such as human augmentation, trans/post-humanism, intelligent life (or the lack thereof) in the universe are all approached with a scientific frame of mind. Even when the science approached more of the fiction end of the spectrum, I was reminded of my favorite Arthur C. Clarke quote:
In addition to the novels structure, the content was incredible. Reynolds has crafted what feels like a deep and living universe. It's clearly a future version of humanity, but he doesn't rely on callbacks to 20th or 21st century earth to anchor his narrative. There are new factions of humanity, new places and a rich history that we only get piecemeal. When I finished the novel, many questions that arose during my reading were answered, but many were left unanswered, and more still bubbled up. A particular bright spot for me personally was the harder edge to the science fiction. Reynolds approaches most of his science with an idea of plausibility in mind (no FTL here), but also isn't afraid to push those boundaries when storytelling calls for it. Concepts such as human augmentation, trans/post-humanism, intelligent life (or the lack thereof) in the universe are all approached with a scientific frame of mind. Even when the science approached more of the fiction end of the spectrum, I was reminded of my favorite Arthur C. Clarke quote:
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
kaleovens's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Reynolds throws lots of ideas at this, and there are some great scenes of scale and awe, the mere scale of the alien forces nearly overwhelming the characters but not defeating them (mostly). And the discipline of not revealing almost anything until the very end is impressive.
But the awe is felt by the reader, not the characters, who are inert, inscrutable, and morose. There are a dozen mysteries that deeply affect the plot that are never addressed. Something is happening to the captain. Something is happening to the ship. Something is happening to cities. Something is happening to a character's mind. Something else is happening to a different character's mind. Then four other characters, too.
Some of it is resolved, but not much.
It's not a bad book, but it is not executed to my interest.
But the awe is felt by the reader, not the characters, who are inert, inscrutable, and morose. There are a dozen mysteries that deeply affect the plot that are never addressed. Something is happening to the captain. Something is happening to the ship. Something is happening to cities. Something is happening to a character's mind. Something else is happening to a different character's mind. Then four other characters, too.
Some of it is resolved, but not much.
It's not a bad book, but it is not executed to my interest.
karinlib's review
4.0
4.5 stars really. I may come back and change it to a 5 after I've read a few more of his books (I've heard they just get better).
The book starts with a mystery. Dan Sylveste is determined why a civilization disappeared after an event, and how to prevent it from happening again. Everything seems to conspire against him from getting to the truth, yet, there always seems to be something that allows him to get one step closer.
This book has everything: archeology, spaceships, AI, plague, cyborgs, aliens and science that I really can't explain.
Looking forward to the next book.
The book starts with a mystery. Dan Sylveste is determined why a civilization disappeared after an event, and how to prevent it from happening again. Everything seems to conspire against him from getting to the truth, yet, there always seems to be something that allows him to get one step closer.
This book has everything: archeology, spaceships, AI, plague, cyborgs, aliens and science that I really can't explain.
Looking forward to the next book.
rileedawg's review
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
11corvus11's review against another edition
5.0
This was so fantastically creative. Very very hard to follow as an audiobook- I rewound quite often. The next in the series is available from my online library, but I can't decide if I want to switch to reading rather than listening, the former likely being the better decision. The narrator for this was great, too.
jadelaporte's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75