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pjonsson's review against another edition
1.0
Pure rubbish! I'm afraid I cannot really go into details without spoiling the book for those that might like it but to me it was awful and although it certainly was fiction it had bloody nothing to do with science!
bpsalinas's review against another edition
3.0
A mysterious starship terrorizes the interstellar Commonwealth. Humanity's last hope is a lone ship of its own piloted by loners, outcasts, and psychopaths. The book is basically one long fight between two starships, but its great strength is the characterization of its protagonists. These characters will stick with you, distasteful as many of them may be.
old_tim's review against another edition
4.0
It's Moby Dick in SPPPAAAAAACCEE!
Compelling, but it is hard for me to really say I enjoy a story where all the characters are sociopaths (at best).
It's maybe one setting more optimistic from Peter Watts.
Compelling, but it is hard for me to really say I enjoy a story where all the characters are sociopaths (at best).
It's maybe one setting more optimistic from Peter Watts.
theartolater's review against another edition
5.0
I've been reading so much fantasy as of late that I was starting to wonder if I lost my taste for good sci-fi. The last few I tried to pick up didn't sit well with me at all, and I had high hopes for this one based on some reviews.
The bad: it starts out slow, and, frankly, kind of ridiculous. There's good concepts about this mysterious ship that essentially made a civilization regress centuries with how soundly it defeated them, and the ship, known as Faith to those in the system, is back. We have some strange races around, and we have a class of ship that operate outside of the realm of the system government, all of which are named after serial killers. This story revolves mostly around the crew of the Charles Manson, who believe they have the capability to defeat and destroy Faith.
What follows, after nearly 100 pages of setup (setup that can get awfully tiring) comes a simply awesome, very exciting battle between two massive spaceships nearly the rest of the way through. It's tactical, it's psychological, nothing at all happens the way you'd expect, and it becomes very philosophical at times, and it rarely lets up on the gas the entire time. I kept waiting to see the climax of the battle to come and to come, and it just rewarded me with more action.
It's not a traditional sci-fi space opera, even though it hits all those chords perfectly. It was a great read because it scratched my specific sci-fi itch, but it was also a great read because it was so unexpected in so many ways. I can't say for sure that it broke a lot of new ground, but it felt fresh and different, and that meant something for me.
This book definitely lived up to the hype for me. Glad I grabbed it when I did, and I'm glad I stuck with it. If this is your style, I definitely recommend it.
The bad: it starts out slow, and, frankly, kind of ridiculous. There's good concepts about this mysterious ship that essentially made a civilization regress centuries with how soundly it defeated them, and the ship, known as Faith to those in the system, is back. We have some strange races around, and we have a class of ship that operate outside of the realm of the system government, all of which are named after serial killers. This story revolves mostly around the crew of the Charles Manson, who believe they have the capability to defeat and destroy Faith.
What follows, after nearly 100 pages of setup (setup that can get awfully tiring) comes a simply awesome, very exciting battle between two massive spaceships nearly the rest of the way through. It's tactical, it's psychological, nothing at all happens the way you'd expect, and it becomes very philosophical at times, and it rarely lets up on the gas the entire time. I kept waiting to see the climax of the battle to come and to come, and it just rewarded me with more action.
It's not a traditional sci-fi space opera, even though it hits all those chords perfectly. It was a great read because it scratched my specific sci-fi itch, but it was also a great read because it was so unexpected in so many ways. I can't say for sure that it broke a lot of new ground, but it felt fresh and different, and that meant something for me.
This book definitely lived up to the hype for me. Glad I grabbed it when I did, and I'm glad I stuck with it. If this is your style, I definitely recommend it.
eviljosh's review against another edition
4.0
This is a good hardcore space sci-fi, along the traditional (but wonderful) lines that humanity cannot understand what is out there, and probably shouldn't try too hard lest such flickers of understanding destroy us.
The general premise is that there is a ship, or something that appears to be a ship, that visits interstellar civilizations and destroys portions of their militaries. It never attacks non-threatening targets. Then it leaves.
After it leaves, the civilizations inevitably go into social, cultural, and technological decline, eventually losing the capacity for space flight. They "turn away from each other" and become less together than they are alone.
Humanity has encountered the remnants of other civilizations that have encountered this ship, which is nicknamed Faith, and has made some preparation for its own inevitable encounter. These preparations take the form of ships crewed by high-functioning sociopaths. By allowing no others to come in close contact with Faith, humanity hopes to buffer itself against the aftereffects which destroyed other cultures that encountered Her.
It's a good read, and highly recommended. Somewhat disturbing, of course, since it is largely told from the point of view of sociopaths.
The general premise is that there is a ship, or something that appears to be a ship, that visits interstellar civilizations and destroys portions of their militaries. It never attacks non-threatening targets. Then it leaves.
After it leaves, the civilizations inevitably go into social, cultural, and technological decline, eventually losing the capacity for space flight. They "turn away from each other" and become less together than they are alone.
Humanity has encountered the remnants of other civilizations that have encountered this ship, which is nicknamed Faith, and has made some preparation for its own inevitable encounter. These preparations take the form of ships crewed by high-functioning sociopaths. By allowing no others to come in close contact with Faith, humanity hopes to buffer itself against the aftereffects which destroyed other cultures that encountered Her.
It's a good read, and highly recommended. Somewhat disturbing, of course, since it is largely told from the point of view of sociopaths.
xdroot's review against another edition
4.0
an interesting debut novel where the protagonists are rapists and serial killers who crew a ship tasked with defending a planet against an alien ship.
mignon's review against another edition
3.0
Too much vomit and shit, both real and metaphorical. But given the revelation at the end, maybe it was appropriate.
lagbolt's review
3.0
The first half is wonderful. The premise is clear and the plot balances suspense and action. Although I found some of the sentences awkward, at the paragraph level and above the construction is excellent.
At about the halfway point however, the wheels fall off and it all becomes soupy and mystical. Perhaps if you like this sort of thing, you'll like this too, but I'm afraid I didn't.
At about the halfway point however, the wheels fall off and it all becomes soupy and mystical. Perhaps if you like this sort of thing, you'll like this too, but I'm afraid I didn't.
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