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A review by nelsonminar
Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky
4.0
Well that was a fun read. A real space adventure, much more action-packed than the more speculative / hard sci-fi [b:Children of Time|25499718|Children of Time (Children of Time, #1)|Adrian Tchaikovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431014197l/25499718._SY75_.jpg|45276208] books I'd read previously. Not that this is dumb or not full of interesting ideas! But it's also got a lot of gun battles and escapes and page turning excitement. A nice mix.
I think the best thing in the book is how well drawn the characters are. The two main characters, Solace and Idris, and both of them very interesting human variants. But also Olli, the "differently abled" human, and someone actually written so that phrase has real meaning and isn't just a polite euphemism. She's a supporting character but a very interesting one. I just wish there'd been more details on the non-humans, particularly the Hivers. There's plenty there but I want more!
The political nuance is also appreciated. This isn't some Star Trek Federation happyland, the political battles between the factions are real and complicated and thorny. Or incomprehensible, when it comes to both the enemy and also the sorta-allies the Hegemony. I could imagine a whole sequel that was just about the supposedly friendly factions conducting a 3-way Cold War without even getting into the Big Bad Alien Enemy that's the main driving force of this book.
There's a few rough edges in the book. Some false starts with characters at the start, some ideas introduced or dropped in the middle a little clumsily. It's not a polished work of perfection. But what is? It is a creative and smart sci-fi novel and I'm looking forward to more.
I think the best thing in the book is how well drawn the characters are. The two main characters, Solace and Idris, and both of them very interesting human variants. But also Olli, the "differently abled" human, and someone actually written so that phrase has real meaning and isn't just a polite euphemism. She's a supporting character but a very interesting one. I just wish there'd been more details on the non-humans, particularly the Hivers. There's plenty there but I want more!
The political nuance is also appreciated. This isn't some Star Trek Federation happyland, the political battles between the factions are real and complicated and thorny. Or incomprehensible, when it comes to both the enemy and also the sorta-allies the Hegemony. I could imagine a whole sequel that was just about the supposedly friendly factions conducting a 3-way Cold War without even getting into the Big Bad Alien Enemy that's the main driving force of this book.
There's a few rough edges in the book. Some false starts with characters at the start, some ideas introduced or dropped in the middle a little clumsily. It's not a polished work of perfection. But what is? It is a creative and smart sci-fi novel and I'm looking forward to more.