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christopher_dilts 's review for:
Bear Head
by Adrian Tchaikovsky
What a strangely original story involving biomodifications, animal genetic manipulation, distributed intelligence, planetary terraforming, and so many other science fiction concepts all mashed into a lovely and thrilling mosaic. For those just finishing Dogs of War #1, I feel like this novel was truly different and a step into a more progressive form of storytelling for Tchaikovsky.
There were points that it felt a bit like a slog but I was handsomely rewarded for pushing through. The thinly masked character of Thompson (a fascist cult-of-personality politician with a last name beginning with T) was an easily despicable egotistical villain that was fun to hate. Unfortunately, this might turn off readers of some political persuasions without helping them recognize or realise anything, although I don't know if that would have made the book more interesting at the risk of being preachy.
An interesting balancing act between the two protagonist main characters was mostly well done, but by the end of the story it felt like both of their personalities were a bit underdeveloped. I was expecting a few more plot points exploring the Mars-ness as well, and sometimes the setting felt like a box that was simply far away from the happenings of Earth.
Simply from the strangeness, I'd recommend this book to science fiction readers everywhere. Some of the ideas are very original, and the Frankenstein-like assemblage of how they work together to drive the plot kept me curious how it would resolve.
There were points that it felt a bit like a slog but I was handsomely rewarded for pushing through. The thinly masked character of Thompson (a fascist cult-of-personality politician with a last name beginning with T) was an easily despicable egotistical villain that was fun to hate. Unfortunately, this might turn off readers of some political persuasions without helping them recognize or realise anything, although I don't know if that would have made the book more interesting at the risk of being preachy.
An interesting balancing act between the two protagonist main characters was mostly well done, but by the end of the story it felt like both of their personalities were a bit underdeveloped. I was expecting a few more plot points exploring the Mars-ness as well, and sometimes the setting felt like a box that was simply far away from the happenings of Earth.
Simply from the strangeness, I'd recommend this book to science fiction readers everywhere. Some of the ideas are very original, and the Frankenstein-like assemblage of how they work together to drive the plot kept me curious how it would resolve.