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A review by milla_k
Edge by Thomas Blackthorne
3.0
3 1/2 stars.
This novel started out so strongly, then degraded a bit into your run of the mill spy novel, which was disappointing to me. I was promised a sci-fi novel extraordinaire. Don't get me wrong, it's an enjoyable read; the characters are fun and snarky, the setting is brilliant (though like I said above, I wanted MORE of it instead of it just being a backdrop that was explored briefly and then assumed to be present through the rest of the story), and it moves at a quick, readable pace. But innovative? No. There were some inventions I found fantastic, and it is by far one of the most believable and realistic imaginings of our world 50-100 years in the future. I just felt that there could've been so much more done with this particular landscape. The overall format, as well, was a tad irritating to me; sections within chapters ending with little snippets of "insight" into what a character was feeling. I was far more interested in the street life that Richard was experiencing with the gekrunners, which received far too little attention while so much time was spent explaining the minutiae of what it takes to be a covert agent in a surveillance saturated world. It was choppy and incredibly formulaic, two things that I detest in a "sci-fi" novel... I can't help but comparing it to a Dan Brown novel. There is hope in that there is a sequel. Maybe now that all of the characters are set up and a rhythm has been established, more of the awesome world Blackthorne has created can be explored.
This novel started out so strongly, then degraded a bit into your run of the mill spy novel, which was disappointing to me. I was promised a sci-fi novel extraordinaire. Don't get me wrong, it's an enjoyable read; the characters are fun and snarky, the setting is brilliant (though like I said above, I wanted MORE of it instead of it just being a backdrop that was explored briefly and then assumed to be present through the rest of the story), and it moves at a quick, readable pace. But innovative? No. There were some inventions I found fantastic, and it is by far one of the most believable and realistic imaginings of our world 50-100 years in the future. I just felt that there could've been so much more done with this particular landscape. The overall format, as well, was a tad irritating to me; sections within chapters ending with little snippets of "insight" into what a character was feeling. I was far more interested in the street life that Richard was experiencing with the gekrunners, which received far too little attention while so much time was spent explaining the minutiae of what it takes to be a covert agent in a surveillance saturated world. It was choppy and incredibly formulaic, two things that I detest in a "sci-fi" novel... I can't help but comparing it to a Dan Brown novel. There is hope in that there is a sequel. Maybe now that all of the characters are set up and a rhythm has been established, more of the awesome world Blackthorne has created can be explored.