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nielsm 's review for:
The Fortress at the End of Time
by J.M. McDermott
(Review copy received from netgalley. Originally on http://grinningedge.com/fortress-at-the-end-of-time.)
Whelp, not really sure what I was expecting here. Hammy title, intriguing but vague blurb. Turned out to be a recklessly deliberate novel most similar in tone to Robert Charles Wilson's [b:Spin|910863|Spin (Spin, #1)|Robert Charles Wilson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1406383726s/910863.jpg|47562] or even Ishiguro's [b:Never Let Me Go|6334|Never Let Me Go|Kazuo Ishiguro|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1353048590s/6334.jpg|1499998]. Also turned out to be pretty kickass; was even in the running for five stars, and I don't hand those out often.
The story is told as the protagonist's confession, the implication being that he's going to do something particularly sinful at some point. It starts out with him finishing space pilot training on earth and getting quantum cloned to his first posting at the ass end of the galaxy. There's one episode of a couple of months where he adjusts to his new life, then the story jumps a few years ahead and works its way toward his most serious sin.
The station is a forlorn listening post, waiting for the return of an alien menace from the depths of intergalactic space. It's been waiting for hundreds of years and the handful of crew mostly pass the time by committing suicide out of sheer boredom. The system also sports a dusty little planet where a few colonists are trying to carve out some kind of future for themselves when they're not hiding from sandstorms.
This is a quiet book. Not a lot of action. No antagonist. Setting and characters are enough to carry it and carry it well. Minor conflicts. The protagonist's first spaceflight. Love interests. The relationship between the station and the colony. The tension of knowing there's this serious crime coming. Everywhere desolation and wistfulness. The occasional flash of hope. And writing to get it across, rarely taking center stage, but then sucker punching you when you least expect it.
Here's the protagonist just after he gets cloned across the galaxy and has a crew member give him some basic instructions:
So why not five stars? Because the ending just doesn't quite come together. For a while I was afraid that it would completely flip out and go full Beacon 23, turn into saving the galaxy. It doesn't do that. But at the same time, when we finally find out what the protagonist's great crime is, it doesn't quite seem worth the build up, doesn't quite justify the guilt he feels throughout. It's not totally out there either, just doesn't quite hit the mark.
Still a great book. If you're into SciFi without the fireworks, you won't go wrong with this.
Whelp, not really sure what I was expecting here. Hammy title, intriguing but vague blurb. Turned out to be a recklessly deliberate novel most similar in tone to Robert Charles Wilson's [b:Spin|910863|Spin (Spin, #1)|Robert Charles Wilson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1406383726s/910863.jpg|47562] or even Ishiguro's [b:Never Let Me Go|6334|Never Let Me Go|Kazuo Ishiguro|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1353048590s/6334.jpg|1499998]. Also turned out to be pretty kickass; was even in the running for five stars, and I don't hand those out often.
The story is told as the protagonist's confession, the implication being that he's going to do something particularly sinful at some point. It starts out with him finishing space pilot training on earth and getting quantum cloned to his first posting at the ass end of the galaxy. There's one episode of a couple of months where he adjusts to his new life, then the story jumps a few years ahead and works its way toward his most serious sin.
The station is a forlorn listening post, waiting for the return of an alien menace from the depths of intergalactic space. It's been waiting for hundreds of years and the handful of crew mostly pass the time by committing suicide out of sheer boredom. The system also sports a dusty little planet where a few colonists are trying to carve out some kind of future for themselves when they're not hiding from sandstorms.
This is a quiet book. Not a lot of action. No antagonist. Setting and characters are enough to carry it and carry it well. Minor conflicts. The protagonist's first spaceflight. Love interests. The relationship between the station and the colony. The tension of knowing there's this serious crime coming. Everywhere desolation and wistfulness. The occasional flash of hope. And writing to get it across, rarely taking center stage, but then sucker punching you when you least expect it.
Here's the protagonist just after he gets cloned across the galaxy and has a crew member give him some basic instructions:
Only after she left did I realize that she was the first person I had ever seen, despite my memory of before. Shade of quantum lifes not mine, illusions not me, newly born - if I were a duckling, she would be my mother.And here a flight over the colony:
We soared over dunes in a twilight darkness. The horizon glowed purple and gold where the sand kicked up. It was beautiful and stark. It reminded me of the ocean where I grew up. I miss oceans.You think you're getting a generic description of rocky, dusty colony land, just some filler to pass the time until they get where they are going, and wham! He misses oceans.
So why not five stars? Because the ending just doesn't quite come together. For a while I was afraid that it would completely flip out and go full Beacon 23, turn into saving the galaxy. It doesn't do that. But at the same time, when we finally find out what the protagonist's great crime is, it doesn't quite seem worth the build up, doesn't quite justify the guilt he feels throughout. It's not totally out there either, just doesn't quite hit the mark.
Still a great book. If you're into SciFi without the fireworks, you won't go wrong with this.