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mnapoleon's review against another edition
2.0
Pretty friggin boring and I normally like this type of stuff.
ashryn's review against another edition
3.0
The Caryatids: So... I'm still thinking "what?" the characters seem a little retarded.. It's making me think of Paranoia -where each successive clone is a bit dumber than the last. the world so far seems post literate and peopled by brainwashed floozies controlled by pre-programmed self loathing.
Why do the sisters hate each other so much? What was with the obsessive fear of non-manmade global catastrophe? Was the weird stilted dialogue just supposed to reflect the sisters nationality?
I suspect I might have missed an important point, but so did all the other reviewers I read.
I do like the ideas in this novel, and would like to further explore the tech, and the history of the world and the characters.. It felt like picking up the third novel of a series without having read the first two, but it's possible that was intentional too. Perhaps the reader isnt meant to understand or identify with the sisters to show how different they are from normal people, but in that case, why did the people love them all so much individually? And in any case I can't see how being clones would make them so different, though maybe being raised in a sensor web might do that... We're they cyborgs?
I think it's a plausible vision of a future world, and it could have been totally immersive and quite scary, except that there were too many questions unanswered, and the time spent wondering where this was all heading kept breaking the spell.
Perhaps there will be a prequel to this one that gives us the background and the details to make sense of it.
Why do the sisters hate each other so much? What was with the obsessive fear of non-manmade global catastrophe? Was the weird stilted dialogue just supposed to reflect the sisters nationality?
I suspect I might have missed an important point, but so did all the other reviewers I read.
I do like the ideas in this novel, and would like to further explore the tech, and the history of the world and the characters.. It felt like picking up the third novel of a series without having read the first two, but it's possible that was intentional too. Perhaps the reader isnt meant to understand or identify with the sisters to show how different they are from normal people, but in that case, why did the people love them all so much individually? And in any case I can't see how being clones would make them so different, though maybe being raised in a sensor web might do that... We're they cyborgs?
I think it's a plausible vision of a future world, and it could have been totally immersive and quite scary, except that there were too many questions unanswered, and the time spent wondering where this was all heading kept breaking the spell.
Perhaps there will be a prequel to this one that gives us the background and the details to make sense of it.
kingmob2's review against another edition
3.0
The strongest characters in a Sterling novel since Distraction. He sometimes has trouble maintaining strong characterization while getting his ideas across. The ideas are interesting as always.
hoperu's review against another edition
2.0
The story seemed promising, but I had issues with the writing style. As another reviewer remarked, it was disjointed and jittery. Sterling left large swathes of the story/background etc opaque and told the story in an oblique and difficult to follow way. I never really understood why the 4 sisters were so angry, so unhappy.
carolynf's review against another edition
3.0
The setting is 2060 or so, and ecological disasters have wrecked the Earth, killing millions. Three sisters tell their stories one by one. Each is in a different environment: one is working with refugees in the Balkans, one is a LA starlet, one is a soldier of fortune in what is left of China. They describe amazing future tech and complicated sibling rivalries.
kejadlen's review against another edition
3.0
Actually a 2.5. I enjoyed some of the concepts while I was reading, but it didn't really go anywhere.
wishanem's review against another edition
2.0
There were a ton of great big ideas in this book, but the story wrapped around them was hard to follow. Each section was difficult to get invested in, and then it switched perspective to a new character. I was never quite sold on any of the characters by the time their section was done, and even with the book completely finished I still have a lot of unanswered questions. I feel like I could really love a TV or film adaptation, but as it stands I feel ambivalent about this one.
ifoundtheme's review against another edition
2.0
no characters to speak of, no particular attempt at plot. some interesting ideas about ubiquitous computing and bionics.
tarabyt3's review against another edition
1.0
While his imagery was fairly vivid and his language could be quite stunning, his characters were flat and the story itself was difficult to follow. The ending required too much grasping-for-meaning to be any good, though I understood the general overall message of the book. I just wish he had done it better, I guess.
kateofmind's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5