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An ambitious act of universe building, and a pleasant space opera read that occasionally stumbles
I found this book to be an ambitious act of universe building, and a pleasant space opera read that only occasionally stumbles. Most of my struggles with getting into this story were at the beginning, with the setup and the first generation of the clones. I found many of the word choices in descriptions to be a little odd. I came to this story after reading "Activation Degradation", which was another story I both enjoyed and struggled with. The marketing blurbs compare Marina Lostetter to the superb Martha Wells, and her "Activation Degradation" story to the Murderbot Diaries. I don't think Ms. Lostetter comes anywhere close - but I think she'll get there, if she continues to polish her craft. I enjoyed this story enough to want to pick up the sequel, "Noumenon Infinity." Read on if you don't mind mild spoilers (which would personally drive me crazy)!
*Mild spoilers*
The premise that your DNA locks you in to set behaviors and predilections is something I reject - and a major component of the story arc. But the idea that humans would have to be "retired," Soilent Green style to make room for younger versions on generation ships like this was an excellent thought. My favorite character was the colony AI, I.C.C. But it often made comparisons and analogies that it shouldn't have any experience with.
I found this book to be an ambitious act of universe building, and a pleasant space opera read that only occasionally stumbles. Most of my struggles with getting into this story were at the beginning, with the setup and the first generation of the clones. I found many of the word choices in descriptions to be a little odd. I came to this story after reading "Activation Degradation", which was another story I both enjoyed and struggled with. The marketing blurbs compare Marina Lostetter to the superb Martha Wells, and her "Activation Degradation" story to the Murderbot Diaries. I don't think Ms. Lostetter comes anywhere close - but I think she'll get there, if she continues to polish her craft. I enjoyed this story enough to want to pick up the sequel, "Noumenon Infinity." Read on if you don't mind mild spoilers (which would personally drive me crazy)!
*Mild spoilers*
The premise that your DNA locks you in to set behaviors and predilections is something I reject - and a major component of the story arc. But the idea that humans would have to be "retired," Soilent Green style to make room for younger versions on generation ships like this was an excellent thought. My favorite character was the colony AI, I.C.C. But it often made comparisons and analogies that it shouldn't have any experience with.