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perilous1 's review for:
Embers of War
by Gareth L. Powell
I had to let this sit for a while to ruminate, but its been less than a month and my recall is already fading.
This relatively short, first-in-series light sci-fi space opera opens with the destruction of an entire planet--a supposedly difficult human decision, made to supposedly save human lives (in the long run) by abruptly ending an intergalactic war. Although to be clear... any attempt to compare this to the A-bomb decision would be ludicrously off-base. And no, that's not simply a matter of scale. Because the humans of the 'Conglomeration' faction didn't merely kill a planet full of civilians as collateral damage to wiping out their opposition's leadership... they also eradicated an entire species of 'sentient trees.'
What were these ancient, self-aware trees like? Well, unfortunately we're given no idea--on any front that could possibly make that kind of a loss feel tangible. This implied peripheral genocide is brought up numerous times as a means to compound the sense of horror, but without actually being delved into in a world-building (or philosophically meaningful) sense.
While the whodunnit-and-why plot drove my interest, the characterizations were often superficial.
*Ona Sudak is a cougar poet... who doesn't seem particularly interested in poetry. She doesn't think in any lyrical kind of way, nor are we given any sampling of the capacities that have apparently earned her renown.
*Captain Konstanz is shown from the start as fairly impotent, and possibly incompetent. Well-meaning, vaguely likable, and overall believable... but not much to root for.
*Clay came off as promising, but fell flat. (Angry ex-solider is angry!)
*Admiral Menderes is all one-note ego.
*Nod is disappointingly dull, as the only fully alien POV.
The one character I was able to connect with was the sentient part-human-part-canine ship, the Trouble Dog. Redemption-seeking and clever in place of brute force, her ongoing introspection feels both relatable and genuine. A lot of reasonably organic development work went into her, her relationships with her crew, and her outcast status with her former pack of Carnivore Class ship brethren--and its a saving grace.
Side Note: Trouble Dog, Fenrir, Coyote...
Is now a bad time to point out that canines are omnivores and not carnivores? >.>
In my opinion, the most novel and enjoyable part of this story revolved around the House of Reclamation. Their unaligned dynamic piqued my interest throughout the book. Really, the idea of a cross-species cooperative dedicated to being first-responders with a sort of galactic search-and-rescue imperative is something I hadn't yet encountered--and I applaud the author for it.
The pacing lopes along steadily, though there is some middle drag. The prose itself is effective, without memorable flourish. But there were SO many similes. I think I encountered as many as 3 in a single paragraph. (Seriously--do not make a drinking game out of it.) It was sometimes distracting--particularly the ones that seemed so mundanely modern-day. They tended to pull me out of the futuristic setting.
Overall, my impression is a bit middling. I'm on the fence as to whether I'll continue on in the series.
This relatively short, first-in-series light sci-fi space opera opens with the destruction of an entire planet--a supposedly difficult human decision, made to supposedly save human lives (in the long run) by abruptly ending an intergalactic war. Although to be clear... any attempt to compare this to the A-bomb decision would be ludicrously off-base. And no, that's not simply a matter of scale. Because the humans of the 'Conglomeration' faction didn't merely kill a planet full of civilians as collateral damage to wiping out their opposition's leadership... they also eradicated an entire species of 'sentient trees.'
What were these ancient, self-aware trees like? Well, unfortunately we're given no idea--on any front that could possibly make that kind of a loss feel tangible. This implied peripheral genocide is brought up numerous times as a means to compound the sense of horror, but without actually being delved into in a world-building (or philosophically meaningful) sense.
While the whodunnit-and-why plot drove my interest, the characterizations were often superficial.
*Ona Sudak is a cougar poet... who doesn't seem particularly interested in poetry. She doesn't think in any lyrical kind of way, nor are we given any sampling of the capacities that have apparently earned her renown.
*Captain Konstanz is shown from the start as fairly impotent, and possibly incompetent. Well-meaning, vaguely likable, and overall believable... but not much to root for.
*Clay came off as promising, but fell flat. (Angry ex-solider is angry!)
*Admiral Menderes is all one-note ego.
*Nod is disappointingly dull, as the only fully alien POV.
The one character I was able to connect with was the sentient part-human-part-canine ship, the Trouble Dog. Redemption-seeking and clever in place of brute force, her ongoing introspection feels both relatable and genuine. A lot of reasonably organic development work went into her, her relationships with her crew, and her outcast status with her former pack of Carnivore Class ship brethren--and its a saving grace.
Side Note: Trouble Dog, Fenrir, Coyote...
Is now a bad time to point out that canines are omnivores and not carnivores? >.>
In my opinion, the most novel and enjoyable part of this story revolved around the House of Reclamation. Their unaligned dynamic piqued my interest throughout the book. Really, the idea of a cross-species cooperative dedicated to being first-responders with a sort of galactic search-and-rescue imperative is something I hadn't yet encountered--and I applaud the author for it.
The pacing lopes along steadily, though there is some middle drag. The prose itself is effective, without memorable flourish. But there were SO many similes. I think I encountered as many as 3 in a single paragraph. (Seriously--do not make a drinking game out of it.) It was sometimes distracting--particularly the ones that seemed so mundanely modern-day. They tended to pull me out of the futuristic setting.
Overall, my impression is a bit middling. I'm on the fence as to whether I'll continue on in the series.