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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
As sci-fi books go, this is one of the better ones I have read. It took a couple of chapters to get into, but once you're hooked, you're hooked! I found the family dynamic of the book to be a little bit confusing at first, but the last chapter explained everything perfectly. The worlds and characters were both extensively developed. I would definitely recommend this book!
This riveting book is the best kind of hard sci-fi, combining novel explorations of the effects of science and technology on the human and post-human future with a narrative that is comprehensible, has a riveting plot and has well-rounded characters.
Five stars all the way.
Five stars all the way.
3.5 stars
The first half of the book was a definite 4 stars, but the last half was more like 3 stars. So I split the difference and give it 3.5 stars. I am obsessed with space novels, and fortunately for me there seem to be a lot being published right now. This one was unique and in-depth in its world building. The character development was well done. I felt like the last half explained the lockstep system repeatedly. I just wanted the story, but the explanation kept getting in the way. The premise of the book was phenomenal,and I found myself wishing I could visit some of the planets in the book. The romance was sweet and didn't take center stage which I appreciated. Loved the denners and wish that they were real so I could go to the pet store and buy one. I thought the novel was engaging, and the world vividly painted and well thought out.
The first half of the book was a definite 4 stars, but the last half was more like 3 stars. So I split the difference and give it 3.5 stars. I am obsessed with space novels, and fortunately for me there seem to be a lot being published right now. This one was unique and in-depth in its world building. The character development was well done. I felt like the last half explained the lockstep system repeatedly. I just wanted the story, but the explanation kept getting in the way. The premise of the book was phenomenal,and I found myself wishing I could visit some of the planets in the book. The romance was sweet and didn't take center stage which I appreciated. Loved the denners and wish that they were real so I could go to the pet store and buy one. I thought the novel was engaging, and the world vividly painted and well thought out.
3.5 stars. The basis for the far future human civilization in this book is fascinating; hibernate for years at a time while bots mine, process manufacture, plant, etc, so that when you wake, goods are available. In this future, humans have moved past Pluto (sorry, bud, you're not becoming a planet again), colonizing nomad planets. Mars, other solar system planets and other rocks are also colonized. All sorts of human experiments happened, with a variety of settlements and even civilizations rising and falling in the fourteen thousand years since Toby McGonigal went missing on a trip to establish a claim to Sedna. After his loss, his family spent years looking for him, all the while developing a very effective hibernation technique. This technique allowed for very long sleeps and successful awakening. As resources were scarce as humans expanded further and further, the hibernation technique was firmly adopted by an increasing number of colonies. The McGonigals established a system to keep colonies’ awake and hibernation periods in synch across the very great distances by coordinating sleep periods, "wintering" as it was called, to ensure sufficient goods for colonies, but also to set up reliable trade and commerce and travel between planets. The Lockstep civilization was born, and it's into this that Toby's hibernating body is found and resuscitated. After, he has to figure out who he is in this weirdly far future, but also in a civilization that's still somewhat familiar, as his family is still alive, thanks to the lockstep system. And their family's ridiculous wealth.
Toby is used by multiple individuals who have issues with the McGonigal family and their civilization-wide policies. Toby just wants to be reunited with his family (he was 17 when lost) and now his younger brother and sister are older than him and seem less than enthused by his recent emergence. There's a whole religion that's grown up around Toby, as the progenitor of the lockstep civilization; unfortunately, the presence of the actual young man just complicates his brother's and sister's plans and control. Toby goes on the run and travels from world to world, before finally confronting his siblings over their bullying of a particular planet.
I found there were so many great ideas in this book, from the method to control scarce resources while expanding into space, the weird religion around Toby, the far future tech, the use of bots, the wonderful, heavily genetically modified denners that offered an alternative to conventional lockstep wintering. I liked the book for all this. I did keep getting confused at how the various lockstepped planets (not all followed the same long McGonigal schedule, though they all did have certain time periods that met up) did stay in synch. After a while, I just figured the characters got their math right and stopped trying to figure it out with them.
I found the characterization a little flat, and was surprised by how quickly the end was resolved with the McGonigals.
Toby is used by multiple individuals who have issues with the McGonigal family and their civilization-wide policies. Toby just wants to be reunited with his family (he was 17 when lost) and now his younger brother and sister are older than him and seem less than enthused by his recent emergence. There's a whole religion that's grown up around Toby, as the progenitor of the lockstep civilization; unfortunately, the presence of the actual young man just complicates his brother's and sister's plans and control. Toby goes on the run and travels from world to world, before finally confronting his siblings over their bullying of a particular planet.
I found there were so many great ideas in this book, from the method to control scarce resources while expanding into space, the weird religion around Toby, the far future tech, the use of bots, the wonderful, heavily genetically modified denners that offered an alternative to conventional lockstep wintering. I liked the book for all this. I did keep getting confused at how the various lockstepped planets (not all followed the same long McGonigal schedule, though they all did have certain time periods that met up) did stay in synch. After a while, I just figured the characters got their math right and stopped trying to figure it out with them.
I found the characterization a little flat, and was surprised by how quickly the end was resolved with the McGonigals.
I found the "lockstep" concept of worlds hibernating for years interspersed with weeks of activity fascinating and original, and the family history driving the story is interesting as well.
Good, except for the random cliche dude bits (Shylif's motivations, for example)
It's a bit of a hard read for some, considering the science and time theory going on, but once you get past that, it's an excellent story.
In case you haven’t already guessed, I love science fiction. One thing that frustrates me is the stigma that comes with the genre – it’s geeky, it’s nerdy, it’s for people with no lives. Which is all a load of rubbish, and since YA sci-fi has become increasingly more common, I hope it’s a stereotype that will soon disappear. One thing I have noticed though, is that the majority of YA science fiction tends to be on the ‘lighter’ side, and I’ve been looking for something a little ‘heavier’. And Lockstep fits the bill quite nicely.
The story of a teenager who finds himself fourteen thousand years in the future after a malfunction with his ship, Lockstep really explores the idea of space and time travel (or at least the ‘freezing’ of time). The title of the book comes from a system called the Lockstep, where all inhabitants within hibernate on the 360/1 system – asleep for thirty years, awake for one month. Robots and A.I. systems maintain the cities and settlements during hibernation, as well as producing food – leaving less work for the people to do when they wake, and meaning they have more free time. It also means that people live for thousands of years – and is also a clever way of getting around the fact that there is no faster than light transport. Cargo ships may have to travel out to planets thousands of years away – but the Lockstep system ensures that the people aboard do not outlive or outage their relatives. It seems for all accounts and purposes like a perfect system.
Toby, our protagonist, soon discovers that things are not quite what they seem (when are they ever?!), and ends up with a ragtag group of friends who introduce him, and the reader, to this futuristic world. Schroeder has invented some wonderful technologies for the book, for example the Denners – cat-like creatures that seem part organic, part machine, and who will support a human through hibernation. There’s also a partial virtual reality element to the book, that may appeal to fans of Ready Player One – Toby and his younger brother build a virtual reality world together, known as Consensus – and Peter has brought Consensus to life in creating the Lockstep. Some parts of the book, such as Toby’s brother and sister, also reminded me of Ender’s Game.
There were a few parts of the book that I felt let it down. Toby’s reaction, for one, on learning that he is now fourteen thousand years in the future. His life, his family, his home – all gone, ancient history. Sure, he freaks out – but not for long, not to the extent that you would expect someone to after learning that everything they once knew and loved is now dust. Of course, his family are still alive – but he doesn’t learn that until later on. This brings me onto the point that this fact was given away by the blurb, but when revealed in the book it feels like it should have been a surprise – which it mostly definitely isn’t to the reader. I also feel that perhaps some more flashbacks of life before Toby set out on the journey would have been beneficial – the reader doesn’t have that much in order to compare young Peter and Peter the Tyrant, so it’s hard in places to understand Toby’s shock. And finally, the ending was a complete anti-climax for me. I loved the story up until that point – it felt like the easy way out, like a build up to a massive action scene and then… nothing.
Despite the disappointing ending, I really did enjoy this book. It is a brilliant introduction to heavier science fiction for those perhaps a little wary of diving straight into the genre – advanced technology and the more ‘typical’ elements of heavy sci-fi, whilst still keeping the feel of a Young Adult book. Schroeder has built up a fascinating universe, which makes it all the more a shame that this is not going to be a series! And also, as previously mentioned: a definite recommendation for fans of books such as Ender’s Game and Ready Player One.
I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Originally posted on my book blog, Rinn Reads.
The story of a teenager who finds himself fourteen thousand years in the future after a malfunction with his ship, Lockstep really explores the idea of space and time travel (or at least the ‘freezing’ of time). The title of the book comes from a system called the Lockstep, where all inhabitants within hibernate on the 360/1 system – asleep for thirty years, awake for one month. Robots and A.I. systems maintain the cities and settlements during hibernation, as well as producing food – leaving less work for the people to do when they wake, and meaning they have more free time. It also means that people live for thousands of years – and is also a clever way of getting around the fact that there is no faster than light transport. Cargo ships may have to travel out to planets thousands of years away – but the Lockstep system ensures that the people aboard do not outlive or outage their relatives. It seems for all accounts and purposes like a perfect system.
Toby, our protagonist, soon discovers that things are not quite what they seem (when are they ever?!), and ends up with a ragtag group of friends who introduce him, and the reader, to this futuristic world. Schroeder has invented some wonderful technologies for the book, for example the Denners – cat-like creatures that seem part organic, part machine, and who will support a human through hibernation. There’s also a partial virtual reality element to the book, that may appeal to fans of Ready Player One – Toby and his younger brother build a virtual reality world together, known as Consensus – and Peter has brought Consensus to life in creating the Lockstep. Some parts of the book, such as Toby’s brother and sister, also reminded me of Ender’s Game.
There were a few parts of the book that I felt let it down. Toby’s reaction, for one, on learning that he is now fourteen thousand years in the future. His life, his family, his home – all gone, ancient history. Sure, he freaks out – but not for long, not to the extent that you would expect someone to after learning that everything they once knew and loved is now dust. Of course, his family are still alive – but he doesn’t learn that until later on. This brings me onto the point that this fact was given away by the blurb, but when revealed in the book it feels like it should have been a surprise – which it mostly definitely isn’t to the reader. I also feel that perhaps some more flashbacks of life before Toby set out on the journey would have been beneficial – the reader doesn’t have that much in order to compare young Peter and Peter the Tyrant, so it’s hard in places to understand Toby’s shock. And finally, the ending was a complete anti-climax for me. I loved the story up until that point – it felt like the easy way out, like a build up to a massive action scene and then… nothing.
Despite the disappointing ending, I really did enjoy this book. It is a brilliant introduction to heavier science fiction for those perhaps a little wary of diving straight into the genre – advanced technology and the more ‘typical’ elements of heavy sci-fi, whilst still keeping the feel of a Young Adult book. Schroeder has built up a fascinating universe, which makes it all the more a shame that this is not going to be a series! And also, as previously mentioned: a definite recommendation for fans of books such as Ender’s Game and Ready Player One.
I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Originally posted on my book blog, Rinn Reads.
While the science and math were a little hard to understand, this was a really good book. I like that it didn't have the ending I thought it was going to have and that a certain character came back in the end.
[4 Stars] Video Review Here: http://youtu.be/BzvfUJxvVjI
I will start off this review by saying that I hardly ever read hard science fiction, particularly space opera. That being said, it is a genre which has always intrigued me. Space opera operates at such a grand epic scale with characters jumping from planet to planet and entire empires unfolding before your very eyes. In all honesty, the idea of reading a book about the vast uncharted empire of space was quite intimidating to me. I hoped Lockstep would be the "gateway book," the book which finally made me more comfortable with reading hard science fiction, and on those accounts it definitely delivered. However, the story has its ups and downs: aspects I thoroughly enjoyed and aspects which really disappointed me.
The World Building.
World building is where Lockstep truly shines. I have not read another book by Karl Schroeder. If his other books, however, are as thoroughly and ingeniously built as this one, I may have to change that.
The Lockstep Empire is a stretch of space approximately 5 light years between Pluto and Alpha Centauri (from what I recall). This stretch of space reveals planets nearly entirely frozen over, places which most would deem uninhabitable. Advanced hibernation technology, however, has made these planets not only sustain life, but thrive because of it. Cities within the Lockstep empire hibernate at a 360/1 ratio meaning people are awake for one month and then hibernate for 30 years. This system allows bots to gather resources while the entire empire is asleep and also allows for better systems of trade. Essentially people travel during hibernation periods allowing them to move quickly through the system without moving too far ahead in time. You can go to a system, for example, that would normally take you 20 years to travel to and come back with only a month or two of "real time" passing in between. It seems like the perfect system, but obviously the main characters learn that it really isn't.
At parts throughout the book I found myself confused. It is difficult to keep track of the way the Lockstep Empire manipulates time, and what exactly is happening throughout the book. Once you finally understand how Lockstep works, the entire book seems to click into place. It is absolutely ingenious, and unlike anything I have ever read before. I also really enjoyed the descriptions of the various places Toby goes throughout the book. The descriptions of the planets was so intriguing and something entirely new to me. Karl Schroeder has carefully constructed such an intriguing Empire, and though the entire story's scale didn't prove to be quite as epic as I wanted it to be, the scope of the empire Schroeder has created is just mind boggling. Everything from the religious cults to the fabricated histories to the economy and black market, everything is just so unique and interesting. I found myself wishing there were other books written in this empire so I could experience the world in a different way once more.
The Characters.
This is where I had my main problems with Lockstep. First off, I thought Toby acted like a different character at the beginning of the book than at the end of the book. I know he undergoes character development, but I mean a change which is far more jarring than that. He is an extremely intelligent young man, and his actions at the start of the book seem to be very well… "wishy washy" is the only way I would put it. Toby and his brother, Peter, had built an imaginary game world for themselves called Consensus and together they tested out various world and empire scenarios. The Toby who would have gone into consensus with Peter is not the same character we see at the beginning of the book.
Another main character is Corva who I was almost entirely unconvinced by. I enjoyed her interaction with Toby and I appreciated how their relationship was not entirely built upon affection and lust and instead there were barriers of trust both had to break through to really get to know each other. That being said, I felt their relationship was a little strained and I felt Corva was a character I hardly knew.
Perhaps the most interesting character, Peter, Toby;s younger brother, was hardly explored at all. We got glimpses of Toby's past with Peter and Peter's past, but I felt like we never truly got to know him. His trauma and past experiences molded him in such an intrigued way and I would have liked to know more. He also strangely reminded me of Peter from Ender's Game and throughout the book I couldn't stop comparing Toby to Ender, Peter to Peter, and Evayne to Valentine. I also felt like I saw glimpses of Crake from Oryx and Crake in Peter. Evayne was another character I wish I knew more about, particularly her childhood.
Overall I wasn't entirely convinced by the characters. Particularly considering that if you take away the hard science, this is really a story about a broken family who built an entire empire on their shattered hopes and dreams.
The Plot.
I expected the plot to be fast paced, thrilling, and over ally just epic. This is not what Lockstep was. Lockstep is a slow moving story largely concerned with its world building and its political maneuvering. At times these political maneuverings went straight over my head, but when I understood them I thought it was extremely fascinating. That being said, I do think the politics at the end of the book were rather forced and the entire story did fall a little flat. It seemed like all the slow paced world building and the politics would come together with an explosive ending, which something that really was epic and grand in its scale. I was unfortunately let down.
If you have ever read Xenocide by Orson Scott Card, I would equate its ending to Lockstep, but only the way they both feel. It just seemed to convenient or too unbelievable. I enjoyed the way things actually wrapped up, but I felt like it left so many questions. It seemed like the broken family aspect of the plot was resolved, but the question of Lockstep as an empire was still unsolved for me.
The Writing.
This is another aspect of the book I quite enjoyed. Though Schroeder's writing is not floury or lyrical, and is instead quite blunt at times, I thought it was perfectly suited to Lockstep. There were definitely some beautiful passages and descriptions, but overall this story and its writing is quite easy to follow. Some of the technicalities of the science fiction are difficult to grasp at first, but the writing itself is no obstacle to such.
Overall.
I quite enjoyed Lockstep. I am a lover of books which are heavily invested in world building, and on those fronts this book definitely delivered. I recommend this for people who want to dip their toes into hard science fiction, but are not quite sure where to start. I don't think the characters were as developed as they could have been or the plot as dynamic as it could have been, but I think this ingenious empire of Lockstep that Schroeder has created makes up for that.
Lockstep by Karl Schroeder gets a firm 3.75 stars out of 5 stars.
This copy was provided by NetGalley and Tor/Forge Books in exchange for an honest review. Thanks so much!
I will start off this review by saying that I hardly ever read hard science fiction, particularly space opera. That being said, it is a genre which has always intrigued me. Space opera operates at such a grand epic scale with characters jumping from planet to planet and entire empires unfolding before your very eyes. In all honesty, the idea of reading a book about the vast uncharted empire of space was quite intimidating to me. I hoped Lockstep would be the "gateway book," the book which finally made me more comfortable with reading hard science fiction, and on those accounts it definitely delivered. However, the story has its ups and downs: aspects I thoroughly enjoyed and aspects which really disappointed me.
The World Building.
World building is where Lockstep truly shines. I have not read another book by Karl Schroeder. If his other books, however, are as thoroughly and ingeniously built as this one, I may have to change that.
The Lockstep Empire is a stretch of space approximately 5 light years between Pluto and Alpha Centauri (from what I recall). This stretch of space reveals planets nearly entirely frozen over, places which most would deem uninhabitable. Advanced hibernation technology, however, has made these planets not only sustain life, but thrive because of it. Cities within the Lockstep empire hibernate at a 360/1 ratio meaning people are awake for one month and then hibernate for 30 years. This system allows bots to gather resources while the entire empire is asleep and also allows for better systems of trade. Essentially people travel during hibernation periods allowing them to move quickly through the system without moving too far ahead in time. You can go to a system, for example, that would normally take you 20 years to travel to and come back with only a month or two of "real time" passing in between. It seems like the perfect system, but obviously the main characters learn that it really isn't.
At parts throughout the book I found myself confused. It is difficult to keep track of the way the Lockstep Empire manipulates time, and what exactly is happening throughout the book. Once you finally understand how Lockstep works, the entire book seems to click into place. It is absolutely ingenious, and unlike anything I have ever read before. I also really enjoyed the descriptions of the various places Toby goes throughout the book. The descriptions of the planets was so intriguing and something entirely new to me. Karl Schroeder has carefully constructed such an intriguing Empire, and though the entire story's scale didn't prove to be quite as epic as I wanted it to be, the scope of the empire Schroeder has created is just mind boggling. Everything from the religious cults to the fabricated histories to the economy and black market, everything is just so unique and interesting. I found myself wishing there were other books written in this empire so I could experience the world in a different way once more.
The Characters.
This is where I had my main problems with Lockstep. First off, I thought Toby acted like a different character at the beginning of the book than at the end of the book. I know he undergoes character development, but I mean a change which is far more jarring than that. He is an extremely intelligent young man, and his actions at the start of the book seem to be very well… "wishy washy" is the only way I would put it. Toby and his brother, Peter, had built an imaginary game world for themselves called Consensus and together they tested out various world and empire scenarios. The Toby who would have gone into consensus with Peter is not the same character we see at the beginning of the book.
Another main character is Corva who I was almost entirely unconvinced by. I enjoyed her interaction with Toby and I appreciated how their relationship was not entirely built upon affection and lust and instead there were barriers of trust both had to break through to really get to know each other. That being said, I felt their relationship was a little strained and I felt Corva was a character I hardly knew.
Perhaps the most interesting character, Peter, Toby;s younger brother, was hardly explored at all. We got glimpses of Toby's past with Peter and Peter's past, but I felt like we never truly got to know him. His trauma and past experiences molded him in such an intrigued way and I would have liked to know more. He also strangely reminded me of Peter from Ender's Game and throughout the book I couldn't stop comparing Toby to Ender, Peter to Peter, and Evayne to Valentine. I also felt like I saw glimpses of Crake from Oryx and Crake in Peter. Evayne was another character I wish I knew more about, particularly her childhood.
Overall I wasn't entirely convinced by the characters. Particularly considering that if you take away the hard science, this is really a story about a broken family who built an entire empire on their shattered hopes and dreams.
The Plot.
I expected the plot to be fast paced, thrilling, and over ally just epic. This is not what Lockstep was. Lockstep is a slow moving story largely concerned with its world building and its political maneuvering. At times these political maneuverings went straight over my head, but when I understood them I thought it was extremely fascinating. That being said, I do think the politics at the end of the book were rather forced and the entire story did fall a little flat. It seemed like all the slow paced world building and the politics would come together with an explosive ending, which something that really was epic and grand in its scale. I was unfortunately let down.
If you have ever read Xenocide by Orson Scott Card, I would equate its ending to Lockstep, but only the way they both feel. It just seemed to convenient or too unbelievable. I enjoyed the way things actually wrapped up, but I felt like it left so many questions. It seemed like the broken family aspect of the plot was resolved, but the question of Lockstep as an empire was still unsolved for me.
The Writing.
This is another aspect of the book I quite enjoyed. Though Schroeder's writing is not floury or lyrical, and is instead quite blunt at times, I thought it was perfectly suited to Lockstep. There were definitely some beautiful passages and descriptions, but overall this story and its writing is quite easy to follow. Some of the technicalities of the science fiction are difficult to grasp at first, but the writing itself is no obstacle to such.
Overall.
I quite enjoyed Lockstep. I am a lover of books which are heavily invested in world building, and on those fronts this book definitely delivered. I recommend this for people who want to dip their toes into hard science fiction, but are not quite sure where to start. I don't think the characters were as developed as they could have been or the plot as dynamic as it could have been, but I think this ingenious empire of Lockstep that Schroeder has created makes up for that.
Lockstep by Karl Schroeder gets a firm 3.75 stars out of 5 stars.
This copy was provided by NetGalley and Tor/Forge Books in exchange for an honest review. Thanks so much!