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A review by thinde
Body Suit by Suzanne Hagelin
3.0
This book has the feel of Sci-Fi from the '80s. There's a decent core to it with an interesting protagonist, but it's hampered by gaping holes in its logic.
The central premise is flawed. We're supposed to believe an indentured servant has the freedom to go shopping for an all-purpose suit prior to servitude. A suit that is necessary to do any job she may be given... shouldn't her owners be providing her with that equipment? Oh and this suit is the next best thing to magic. Its technology is so far in advance of current engineering that I think it would take millennia to achieve, short of the singularity - way past the point where Mars is old news.
I won't reveal spoilers about Sil, but by the end of the book we know what she is... but that evaluation doesn't jibe with her abilities for the duration of the story. Either that or her Father is way over-estimating the advantages his daughter has. Nothing she achieves is beyond the scope of any woman who is smart and benefits from the aesthetics of a professional model.
I also found some of the characters to be laughable. The worst example was the "Germinator." I don't care how brilliant you are, no specialist would be hired if he had the interpersonal skills of a blood-drunk Great White shark.
The last third of the book is rushed, fragmented and confusing. The plot, at this point, relies on engineering mistakes that haven't been seen since the 18th century and this is after functional AIs are supposedly ubiquitous. Holding a diagram upside down? Seriously.
The central premise is flawed. We're supposed to believe an indentured servant has the freedom to go shopping for an all-purpose suit prior to servitude. A suit that is necessary to do any job she may be given... shouldn't her owners be providing her with that equipment? Oh and this suit is the next best thing to magic. Its technology is so far in advance of current engineering that I think it would take millennia to achieve, short of the singularity - way past the point where Mars is old news.
I won't reveal spoilers about Sil, but by the end of the book we know what she is... but that evaluation doesn't jibe with her abilities for the duration of the story. Either that or her Father is way over-estimating the advantages his daughter has. Nothing she achieves is beyond the scope of any woman who is smart and benefits from the aesthetics of a professional model.
I also found some of the characters to be laughable. The worst example was the "Germinator." I don't care how brilliant you are, no specialist would be hired if he had the interpersonal skills of a blood-drunk Great White shark.
The last third of the book is rushed, fragmented and confusing. The plot, at this point, relies on engineering mistakes that haven't been seen since the 18th century and this is after functional AIs are supposedly ubiquitous. Holding a diagram upside down? Seriously.