This is book two in the third and final trilogy of trilogies that compose this series. And it might be difficult to top this oWow, that was something!
This is book two in the third and final trilogy of trilogies that compose this series. And it might be difficult to top this one.
The book opens with Avasarala's funeral on Laconia of all places. Holden is still there and gets to talk to a few people—those willing to be seen talking to Duarte's "dancing bear"—about her and how much she'd hate it, which was probably Emperor Duarte's intent.
Except for the Epilogue, the rest of the book is told from the viewpoints of Bobbi, Alex, Naomi, Dr. Elvi Okoye (from Cibola Burn), and Teresa Duarte—yes, the Emperor's daughter. I'll start with her. Teresa is on a slow burn of teenage rebellion. She's growing disillusioned with people, whether they're her classmates or her adult handlers treating her with kid gloves. She loves her father, who is grooming her to be his replacement should anything ever happen to him. She finds solace with her dog and some hermit named Timothy who lives in a cave, calls her "Tiny," and says that she's the angriest person he's ever known.
Elvi has been drafted into the Laconian Navy and goes on exploration missions to the weirdest systems encountered in the gate network. Along the way, she's tasked with gathering as much information about the aliens that killed the protomolecule builders. Duarte has a plan for how to deal with them and has apparently never heard the adage to never poke the bear. He pokes it, of course, and boy oh boy does it get pissed off, hence the book's title.
Meanwhile, Bobbi and Naomi are at odds as to the resistance's strategy. Bobbi wants guerrila warfare and Naomi, who has sneaking around in shipping containers, prefers infiltration (putting their people in key positions) while Alex is caught in the middle. They're still family, but the way each deals with feeling powerless and seemingly hopeless odds, couldn't be any more different. Eventually, one of Bobbi's raids pays off, giving them a weapon they can use to strike back. But the price is so high.
If you've made it this far in the series and love these characters, you shouldn't be disappointed (but 6% are). There are a couple epic battles wherein our heroes depend on cunning to outwit the Laconians. The inside look at the Laconian inner circle from both Teresa's and Elvi's perspectives hammers home just how messed up cults of personality can be, not just the figurehead but the officers whose job it is to carry out the vision. ...more
This is book one in the third and final trilogy of trilogies that comprise this series.
Nearly three decades have passed since Marcos Inaros was defeatThis is book one in the third and final trilogy of trilogies that comprise this series.
Nearly three decades have passed since Marcos Inaros was defeated. The Belters run the Transport Union, which oversees the traffic between the thirteen hundred worlds of the ring gates. Terraformers from Mars are applying their knowledge to Earth to speed its recovery from environmental damage inflicted by Marcos and his henchmen during the war. So while the worlds of the Sol System are pretty much status quo, technologically speaking, the Martian traitors who sold Marcos the ships and weapons he needed to go to war against the Inners have been busy. Led by Duarte, the Laconians (as that's what they refer to themselves now) have been playing around with the protomolecule, plugging into an abandoned shipyard and seeing what else it can do.
Apparently, a lot.
Duarte decides that now is the time to unite humanity under his rule. By force, if necessary. And of course it's necessary. Humans just don't abdicate to someone claiming to be superior; they need proof. And the Laconians do just that.
It's much like 18th century warships going up against an Iowa class battleship.
Holden and Naomi were going to retire, but that's been put on hold. They and the rest of the Rocinante crew join some OPA vets and form an underground resistance on Medina Station. Meanwhile the navies of Earth, Mars, and the Transport Union prepare to defend Sol System from the Laconian warship. And how these two fronts play out make up the rest of the novel.
We see how Drummer, who's running the Transport Union, deals with the Laconian incursion. While interstellar travel through the ring gates takes place in the blink of an eye, in-system travel is still painfully slow, like watching an army march across Europe. She's constantly looking for weak points in this vessel. Things can't be this bad, right? Right?
And on Medina Station, it's life during the occupation with echoes from WWII, complete with puppet rulers, propaganda, infiltrators and traitors, and military checkpoints. To top it off, there's a military governor who's in over his head but doesn't want anyone else to know, so he errs on the draconian side.
It's bleak. All of our protagonists feel powerless, trying to do their part to confound the enemy and find their weak points so that they can exploit them. Everyone deals with the situation in their own way. Amos even gets a chapter, so that we can see how he deals with this in his emotionally damaged way.
In terms of the protomolecule, the first trilogy dealt with its discovery and seeing the power that it could unleash. The second trilogy was a power struggle over who would possess it while the realization came that someone exterminated its creators. In this last trilogy, with the protomolecule's powers unleashed, it is certain that whoever killed its creators will awaken and punish those who use its power now. Definitely curious to see how that plays out....more
In my review of the previous novel, The Consuming Fire, I drew a comparison to the original Star Wars trilogy, in that, many (most?) fans/critics consIn my review of the previous novel, The Consuming Fire, I drew a comparison to the original Star Wars trilogy, in that, many (most?) fans/critics consider the middle film, The Empire Strikes Back, the best one. After reading The Consuming Fire, I wrote that it wasn't the typical middle story in a trilogy, but, in fact, it was highly enjoyable, like Empire... Now I'm here to write that it was indeed the best book in the trilogy, also like Empire...
The Last Emperox starts off interesting enough. There's the great hook to lure you in:
The funny thing was, Ghreni Nohamapetan actually saw the surface-to-air missile that slammed into his aircar a second before it hit.
From there, the bad guys scheme, there's another assassination, and then more scheming by the bad guys. Meanwhile, Emperox Grayland and her lover, Marce Claremont, are trying to figure out how to save the billions of inhabitants of the Interdependency while being a cute couple. Kiva Lagos continues to not to have any patience for villains and their incompetent vassals and lets them know in no uncertain terms. And this is how the story goes until a little past halfway when the first surprise plot twist comes along to one of the major characters that puts a wrench into plans. 70% of the way in there's a surprise revelation. And then things just run along until 80% of the way when the bad guys put their evil plan into motion.
The usual elements of this series are still present: witty banter (always with Scalzi), surprise violence that comes out of nowhere, and villains who are really high on themselves and love to talk about their evil plans. There's a lot of talk about data modeling. Maybe too much. Lots of intrigue between ridiculously wealthy people.
The ending left me flat. Did it resolve things? Yes and no. And what didn't get resolved is what was disappointing. It was talked about, but there wasn't a heroic solution found within the allotted space for story. The protagonists took care of one thing in hopes that it would pave the way for the other thing. So, those feels I had at the end of The Consuming Fire weren't there for this one. But at least there weren't any Ewoks.
3.5 stars rounded down to 3 because of the ending....more
In a trilogy, expectations for the middle novel (or film) are typically kept low. The first novel lays the groundwork for the plot, introducing the reIn a trilogy, expectations for the middle novel (or film) are typically kept low. The first novel lays the groundwork for the plot, introducing the reader to the world and this mighty obstacle that must be overcome. The last novel resolves the conflict in an epic conclusion. The middle novel is typically treated as filler. Maybe there's some minor errands that the protagonists have to deal with in order to get them to the point where they can confront that calamitous problem that they've sought to solve since the first novel. While it might be a good story, written well, even entertaining, the epic feels won't be there.
But any old school Star Wars fan will tell you that of the original trilogy of films, the middle film, The Empire Strikes Back, was the best.
Now I'm not going to tell you that The Consuming Fire is better than The Last Emperox, namely because I haven't read it yet. No, what I'm here to say is that The Consuming Fire is not the typical middle episode novel. In fact, I'd put it much closer to Empire... in terms of enjoyability.
The Consuming Fire gets my high praise because of the delightful way that Scalzi deals with the machinations of the antagonists. They're a cynical, devious lot. Always feigning respect in the most polite way possible while planning how to stick a knife in your back. We saw a good deal of that in the first novel, The Collapsing Empire. Once the news got out that the collapse of the Flow isn't bullshit, everyone and their mother decided to hatch a scheme to be top dog before it all falls apart rather than trying to work together to prepare for it. Because, you know, people. How Grayland deals with this is... tasty.
There are other enjoyable parts like the foul-mouthed, perpetually horny Kiva Lagos who receives a promotion from her usual duties in the first novel. There's the typical middle novel side quest, but here it's actually informative rather than just being a dreadful errand. And there's an assortment of backstabbery going on amongst the antagonists. Through it all, you have Scalzi's humor and humanizing of the heroes that makes his characters so wonderful. Forget the stuffy book blurb; this is Scalzi.
One observation I'll point out is that in both of these books, the action tends to come out of nowhere. One minute A is happening and then B comes in like a bolt of the blue. Now that might sound jarring, but life is like that, no? You're driving along, crossing through an intersection, when someone runs the red light and T-bones your car (Fortunately, I'm not speaking from experience). That's how Scalzi delivers some action events: The calm is suddenly, and without warning, interrupted by violence. I point this out as a pattern I observed, not as a criticism. It worked for me.
I look forward to reading how Emperox Grayland and her allies deal with the collapse of the Flow in the last novel of the trilogy.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5 because Scalzi made this so damn enjoyable....more
This is the last installment in the Cities in Flight series, and it presents the most dire problem for Amalfi and company: the end of the universe.
WitThis is the last installment in the Cities in Flight series, and it presents the most dire problem for Amalfi and company: the end of the universe.
With New York permanently grounded on New Earth, Amalfi has resigned as mayor and is bored to death. He has a permanent case of wanderlust and is itching to get back to the stars. He's pretty psyched to see the wandering planet He make its way to the New Earth system. Meeting with them, he learns that they've made a discovery: the birthplace of continuous creation. He and some scientists head out with the Hevians to check it out and discover further that there's an anti-matter universe on the other side. And we all know what happens when matter and anti-matter come together.
But while all of the scientists are conjecturing about what, if anything, can be done, others are trying to come to terms with what this means. Amalfi isn't the only one who's grown unhappy with life on New Earth. He and Dee finally get to explore their attraction to one another since her husband, Mark Hazleton, is busy with work and a philosophical group known as the Stochastics. And a couple of young adults struggle with traditional bonds of love in the face of the end of the universe.
Eventually, the scientists come up with come up with a way to cope with the end. I don't want to spoil what discoveries they find and obstacles they encounter, but Amalfi tackles the end of the universe in a very Amalfi way....more
In this, the third book in the Cities in Flight series—but the first one to be published—Mayor John Amalfi leads the city of Manhattan through severalIn this, the third book in the Cities in Flight series—but the first one to be published—Mayor John Amalfi leads the city of Manhattan through several adventures.
Early on, we learn the fate of Chris, the main character from A Life for the Stars. I have to say that it was a disappointment. Considering what we learned here, Blish should've kept going with Chris's story until said fate occurred.
Anyway, Chris's replacement as City Manager is Mark Hazelton, but this story is strictly told from Amalfi's POV, which is a shame. Hazelton is much younger than Amalfi (by a few centuries) and hasn't grown too cynical to love or dream. It would've been more enjoyable had we got to read about Hazelton's experiences and motivations rather than have Amalfi explain them to Hazelton and us.
Despite the fact that we only get Amalfi's POV, we never truly get to know Amalfi. When he gets passionate about something (good or bad), it seems like it comes out of left field. Blish leaves the reader (and Hazelton) hopelessly in the dark on Amalifi's plans. It isn't until things are already in motion that we have any idea that Amalfi is prepared for the plot twists. Maybe if we were allowed to get in his head, Amalfi wouldn't have seemed like such a jerk at times.
Another thing that bothered me was the passage of time. Blish doesn't offer any clues that it's happening. He lays out the development of a project or the travels of a city but doesn't offer us any signposts. A year passes in the blink of an eye on a mining project when it seemed like it had just started. And decades can pass when the city travels from point A to point B, but there's no indication the journey took nearly that long.
Despite my grumblings, I did enjoy this story. The technological shortcomings (slide rule, Saturn's rings thought to be solid) were easy to overlook when compared to other ideas: AI, energy weapons, anti-agathics. The adventures were entertaining, and Blish put down the cultures that practiced misogyny and aggressive serfdom. For a story published in 1955, it's aged fairly well. I just wish the actual storytelling had been better.
3.5 stars rounded down to 3 because of Amalfi....more
Chris stood on the outskirts of Scranton, PA, hoping to watch it take off to join the multitude of cities that had left Earth for the stars (natural rChris stood on the outskirts of Scranton, PA, hoping to watch it take off to join the multitude of cities that had left Earth for the stars (natural resource depletion being the #1 driving force for said exodus), but an impressment gang snagged him and brought him aboard, forcing him to leave his family behind. Going into space was something that he dreamed of, but this wasn't how he envisioned it. Now he needs to prove himself useful or else be forced to shovel slag for the rest of his days.
This is one of those coming of age stories for young men that were written in the 50s and 60s. The common lesson being: A good education and a solid moral compass is all you need to make yourself a valuable member of society. Yes, Chris has a couple of adventures, too, which showcase his bravery to save others even when he lacks the self-confidence to do so. It was a fun read, but the real exciting action took place off-screen as it wouldn't be prudent for a teenager to get involved in combat situations.
Another complaint: It was too short! I felt like Blish was just getting started with Chris's story.
While A Life for the Stars is the second book in the series, it was the last to be written. It's set about 1,100 years after the events that took place in They Shall Have Stars. The reader is filled in about what they missed over that span through Chris's schooling: fact dumping directly into the student's brain via a VR helmet. It's interesting to note that, in this series, the decline of Western Civilization came as it began to mimic the Soviet Union (repression, not economics). Today, some of us worry about a similar decline coming in the West as certain leaders have begun to mimic authoritarian Russia. Hopefully, we meet a better fate.
3.5 stars rounded down because Blish deprived us of what could've been some fun action sequences....more
To be honest, I thought the iconic Boston album cover was inspired by the Cities in Flight series, of which They Shall Have Stars is the first in the To be honest, I thought the iconic Boston album cover was inspired by the Cities in Flight series, of which They Shall Have Stars is the first in the series. But I can find no evidence of that.
For old science fiction, this one had some elements to it that were surprisingly not dated. There were female characters—one major, one minor—that held technical jobs. Both were described as being rather plain instead of being made to uphold the era's standard of beauty. One woman's Latin name was just that, a name, as "such once-valid tickets no longer meant anything among the West's uniformly mixed-race population." Blish was apparently downright progressive for his time.
While paper is still a thing, robots can be operated remotely via VR gear. "Believer" terrorists spray gasses at people to induce feelings of euphoria or shame. Fireworks can be designed to bring sparkling messages to the sky.
Published in 1956, Blish was living in an America deep in the Cold War and infected by McCarthyism. So he took that fear and paranoia and ran with it. Domestic spying is rampant, and everyone, including Congressmen, has to watch what they say and do lest they be tossed in prison. But there's one senator that's determined to restore freedom to his fellow Americans.
But Big Science is still a thing. There's a "bridge to nowhere" down in the depths of Jupiter being used for scientific study and experiments. Remote workers on Jupiter's moons use VR to control robots on the bridge to affect repairs in the gas giant's tumultuous atmosphere. The experience can be off-putting and tends to stress out the workers.
And some astronaut has retrieved soil samples for a pharmaceutical company in hopes of discovering something useful to aid mankind. He's miffed that no one at the company is dropping everything to attend to him. While waiting he gets suspicious that there's something going on at the company. Impatient with waiting, he gets downright mean with a receptionist, and it takes a while for him to stop being an ass.
These three plotlines take nearly the entire length of this short novel (novella by today's standards) to bear fruit. I couldn't figure out where any of them were leading or how they were connected until the big reveal. The astronaut's work with the pharmaceutical company offered some clues, but the disgruntled bridge worker's story was just so much angst. If the individual storylines did more, then I would've liked it more. ...more
Larry Niven is most well known for his Ringworld series. Therein, he established his hard sci-fi credentials with his elaborate world-building, an artLarry Niven is most well known for his Ringworld series. Therein, he established his hard sci-fi credentials with his elaborate world-building, an artificially constructed ring around a star providing enough livable surface area equivalent to thousands of Earths. And true to form, this book's strength is its world-building. It posits a star system composed of a G-class star in orbit around a neutron star. Closer in, the neutron star has a doughnut-shaped ring of gas fed by a gas giant, whose atmosphere is slowly being stripped by said neutron star. Life exists here in the form of kilometers-long trees, shaped like integrals (You know: the kind from Calculus), inhabited by alien birds and insects. Free floating ponds (giant spheres of water) occasionally crash into the trees, providing life sustaining water.
An exploration vessel from Earth happened upon this system. The entire crew of the ship disembarked, telling the ship's AI that they wanted a close-up look. But they never returned, choosing to settle there instead rather than live under the oppressive Terran government, simply referred to as "the State." The story picks up 500 years later. The AI is annoyed but still has some measure of patience.
The descendants of these mutineers have split into tribes and live on separate trees or opposite ends of the same tree. They've adapted to these new low gravity conditions while technology has almost all but reverted to primitive means. And so does the culture! Back to patriarchy! Oh yay!
Niven's early work is guilty—as many sci-fi authors of his generation are—of being stuck with outdated attitudes about women. This early 80s story shows a modicum of progress, but still clings to the past. In one tribe, there's a group of women warriors who patrol and hunt, but it's because the other option is to just cook and make babies. One character joins this group because she was tired of being groped all the time. She wants to find some kind of middle ground, but can't find it in her tribe. Others in this group are hinted at being lesbians, and there's one man who's been granted the "courtesy" of joining as he's gay. In other tribes, women have multiple roles, and in one, a woman is a scientist-apprentice. But lest you think this tribe is progressive, they take slaves from other tribes. The men are forced into labor while the women do the cooking and laundry while occasionally serving as "comfort women."
Niven flits about with which character runs the narrative, so we get multiple POVs within the same chapter. Just as we get to know a character, the POV switches and that's that. We start with the AI, then Gavving, the teenager coming into manhood, and then he-man Clave takes over with his twin girlfriends (eyeroll). The character of Merrill was born without legs, but we never get her POV of things.
It was an entertaining read for the first 70 pages, but after that, the writing felt amateurish. It was like Niven put most of his effort into the world-building and the start of the story, but didn't have anything left to continue. With his editor complaining about a deadline (I have no idea. I'm just making this part up.), he had an event hijack the story, forcing the characters into a slave rescue plot.
While this book is listed as being in the same series as A World Out of Time, there's no connection to it other than a reference to the nefarious State....more
So this chapter in the Galactic Center saga is told from Toby's POV. Life isn't easy for the son of a captain. He wants to talk son-to-father, but tooSo this chapter in the Galactic Center saga is told from Toby's POV. Life isn't easy for the son of a captain. He wants to talk son-to-father, but too often it's in front of the crew, so it winds up sounding like an out-of-line ensign sowing discord. And when it seems like they're talking father-to-son, Killeen reverts back to captain-to-crew. The reason for that is Toby is carrying around the personality of his father's dead girlfriend, Shibo, on a chip mounted into his internal computer system. Killeen claims that it's because she was an important member of the crew with valuable skills, but Toby thinks Dad just can't let go. They're both right.
In the hierarchy of dead people stored on computer chips, personalities are at the top. They take up a lot of memory and, given enough time, can override their host. And that's what Shibo starts to do.
After a hellish trip through the high energy physics equivalent of Scylla and Charibdis, the Argo arrives at an odd oasis in some kind of balanced region within the maelstrom, a bit like a Lagrange Point but with space-time at work instead of gravity. Interacting with the people there is odd, and there is much confusion between the two parties with the locals using home field to their advantage rather than trying to help their distant cousins.
In the midst of negotiations, Toby has an outburst which complicates matters. Killeen tosses him into the brig. When Toby gets word of what transpired in his absence, he feels like he was setup. Toby runs away with Quath, who acts as a guard/guide. They sneak behind the proverbial curtain only to fall into what I think were pocket universes of space and time. Things get a bit strange as Benford plays around with physics at a level I can't pretend to understand. Toby finds himself on his own, struggling to deal with Shibo's needy disembodied personality, the weirdness of the landscape he finds himself in, coming of age as an adult, and being pursued by malevolent entities.
At my age, I'm not really into coming of age stories, but when Benford doesn't make the story all about Toby, it holds up. The exploration of around the galactic center made for some entertaining reading. I wouldn't have minded more of that. But I struggled with the physics involved getting near the core and Toby's explorations at the oasis. The conflicts are kind of resolved, but not really, and the ending is something of a cliffhanger. Still, if you've made it this far into the series, you have to go all the way.
Some GR alternate edition pages don't offer a book blurb, so I'm copying one into my review:
Piloting an ancient starship, Killeen and the Bishop tribeSome GR alternate edition pages don't offer a book blurb, so I'm copying one into my review:
Piloting an ancient starship, Killeen and the Bishop tribe escape the mech-ruled world of Snowglade. Seeking refuge on a far away planet, they discover vast wonders: an organic life-form as large as a world, a planet-coring cosmic string, a community of humans ruled by a brutal tyrant, and ultimately an alien race more awesome than any they have encountered. As they battle for survival against these myriad dangers, Killeen and his crew will gain an unforeseen ally—one that may determine humanity's true destiny...
This series continues to improve. Tides of Light builds on the series course correction that was Great Sky River. The book blurb summarizes the story pretty well. Whereas Great Sky River laid the groundwork for where the series now takes place, Tides of Light focuses more on how these tribes of humanity deal with each other and one another. The militaristic hierarchy is more prominent than I remember it being in Great Sky River, but if you're fighting for survival against intractable enemies every day, then I guess war is all you know.
The "alien race more awesome than any they have encountered" refers to the Cybers. I thought that was an odd name choice considering how cybernetically enhanced our Humans are here. But if you compare the two, the Humans are entry level cyborgs compared to these new aliens. And Benford does a great job of giving us their POV, particularly through the alien known as Quath. They look down on the Humans as being mere animals, but Quath comes to realize that they're something more.
The way the "organic life-form as large as a world" was introduced was a bit jarring. It seemed like Benford had gone off on a speculative tangent for the hell of it, but eventually he brought it back around into the story. Killeen's encounter with the planet-coring cosmic string also seemed like a physicist's thought experiment that was conveniently contrived because, well, he's an astrophysicist! Show off! ;-P But in the grand scheme of the story, Benford made it fit.
Speculative science and tech marvels aside, I think that at this point in Benford's career he finally got a good handle on characterization. I finally felt some attachment to these characters rather than being an dispassionate observer of the story's events (or worse). Even the Cyber Quath proved interesting. The tyrant was less so. He was two-dimensional, and it isn't until the end of the novel that we learn why; finding out earlier would've been a spoiler.
Overall, a good blend of speculative ideas and characterization. ...more
Books-A-Million (BAM!) had the entire trilogy on sale when I visited the Bangor, Maine location in May. I mention that because it was a totally randomBooks-A-Million (BAM!) had the entire trilogy on sale when I visited the Bangor, Maine location in May. I mention that because it was a totally random stop meant to kill time while my son wrapped up some post-college graduation activities. They had it for a price that I couldn't refuse. The store is located in the Bangor Mall commercial park, a solar system of stores orbiting the dying mall—watch out for the potholes!—at its center. And IIRC, BAM! is planning on re-locating to a commercially healthier part of the city. Every time we visit, I wonder how much longer it'll last. But unlike dying stars, it'll skip the supernova, just collapse in on itself like a black hole, possibly take the entire commercial park with it.
But I digress.
The book blurb tells you that humanity's means of FTL interstellar travel is unraveling. This is not good for business or humanity's survival. In the past, worlds that lost access to the Flow have died—for some reason the Flow predominantly only goes to worlds where atmospheric conditions are toxic to humans, thus forcing them to live in artificial constructs. And the economy is controlled by family-owned megacorporations who have been granted monopolies over segments of the economy. So we have insanely rich people behaving badly, always trying to get an edge over rival houses, politically and economically. This super secret information about the Flow is something that can give a clan an edge and thus is something that they're willing to kill for.
But as serious as that sounds, Scalzi includes a measure of his humor, brought out by the characters' dialogue, most notably through the corporate executive (Kiva) who carpet f-bombs people who annoy her. And there are characters who demonstrate relatability despite their positions. Cardenia has to become emperox as she's the only living heir to the throne, but she has spent her whole life living like a regular person, away from the trappings of royalty. And Claremont, a humble science teacher, has to take his father's work on the Flow and present it to the emperox and the other branches of government and get them to act now before it's too late.
At this point in his career, John Scalzi is comfortable. He has a solid fanbase that can be counted on to buy his books and thus keep his publisher happy. And happy publishers make authors' lives easier. Having mastered the formula that keeps his readers devoted and said publisher happy, he's not going to mess with that. So if you like Scalzi's past work, then it's highly likely you'll like this one too. But you have to go into this knowing that it's a series, and it won't get wrapped up until the last book. There will be unresolved bits when this book ends. I was fine with it, but not everyone will. ...more
Before I start, ignore the comparisons to Edge of Tomorrow. This is nothing like it. In that movie, Tom Cruise's character dies coThis was a hot mess.
Before I start, ignore the comparisons to Edge of Tomorrow. This is nothing like it. In that movie, Tom Cruise's character dies constantly only to loop back in time. Dietz, the main character and narrator in The Light Brigade, not only doesn't die all the time but moves forward and backward in time, which is more like Billy Pilgrim's experiences in Slaughterhouse-Five.
The story started out well. We're introduced to Dietz just before basic training, and we can tell that Dietz is a hothead, act-first-think-later kind of person with lots of baggage having grown up poor and lacking corporate citizenship. The basic training experience is brutal and puts the new recruits into awful situations. So it seems like this will be a grinder sci-fi novel focusing on the brutality of war and what it does to soldiers. Nope. Once Dietz experiences teleportation, we get a broken time travel story. For the record, if the transporter (the whole "busted down into light to travel" is totally reminiscent of Star Trek's transporter) ever broke down in Star Trek, you can bet that Scotty or O'Brien would be all over it, trying to get it repaired. Losing people in transporter accidents is horrible. But this is Bones' worst nightmare with people materializing in walls and with limbs misplaced. Here, it's just another day on the job. A lot of resources go into training soldiers; they're not disposable. And if you can teleport a soldier and all their gear, why not just teleport a nuke?
For a military sci-fi novel, there really isn't a whole lot of combat. Dietz's squad either teleports into a battlefield where they're slaughtered or they go into a police action against civilians where they vaporize them. Bodies explode with blood and viscera like a typical episode of Ash Vs. The Evil Dead.
Dietz's internal monologue and conversations with other soldiers are fairly insipid. A lot of dialogue is just repeated. You could make a drinking game out of the phrase "Stick to the brief", a reference to abiding by the mission brief and ignoring everything else. We're told that they're monitored all the time, so they have to watch what they say, but Dietz gets a watch with some kind of jamming device built into it and later corporate causalities have become so high that the corporation doesn't have enough people to monitor every conversation. I guess developing computer algorithms or AI was harder than teleportation. At the end of the novel Dietz suddenly figures things out and becomes all-knowing.
We're told that all of the world's governments have collapsed and been replaced by corporations. But there's nothing vaguely capitalistic about them. Sure they have CEOs, but corporations don't bomb markets and slaughter potential new customers (Mercenaries do, sure, I'll grant you that). Amazon has been accused of putting a lot of small businesses out to pasture, but Bezos did it by shrewdly taking advantage of new business models that the internet enabled. He didn't send a hitman to kill the owner of your local bookstore. In this book, these corporations are feudal empires controlled by kings and queens.
There are these interrogation transcripts that begin to pop up between chapters. Although neither Dietz nor the interrogator is identified, it's obvious it's them. We have to read this lame polemic which gradually turns into an argument which gets rehashed in each interrogation. This book was published in 2019, which means Hurley wrote this 2017-18. The whole interrogation reads like Hurley is taking her grievances with what was going on in the USA at the time and uses the space to rant. Maybe that's why people liked it so much. I think it's meant to be inspiring or make some people think, but while I'd agree with the points made, the way it was done reads like Dietz was just stating the obvious. ...more
Earth is dying, yet civilization has access to some amazing technology—almost de rigueur for Watts. In this case, the Eriophora, an asteroid turned geEarth is dying, yet civilization has access to some amazing technology—almost de rigueur for Watts. In this case, the Eriophora, an asteroid turned generation starship of sorts, has been tasked with building jumpgates throughout the galaxy in hopes that humans, or their successors, will be able to make use of them and spread through the galaxy. While a noble cause, the UN doesn't expect everyday people to stick with the mission (Successive generations could rebel, arguing that they weren't given a choice and are forced to be slaves to someone else's dream). Instead, the crew of 30,000 are genetically engineered with the traits that make them perfectly suited for the never-ending job. Even so, the UN doesn't wholly trust them either. A limited AI (a full-powered AI would probably wind up just as unreliable as humans after a while) with less than half the synapses of a human brain (referred to by the crew as "Chimp") runs most of the operations, waking small groups of humans from cryosleep to lend a helping hand when Chimp stumbles across a problem that requires good old fashioned human ingenuity.
Tens of millions of years have passed. A hostile encounter shortly after the completion of a build triggers doubts about the mission. Chimp's abilities seem lacking, possibly degrading, and a grim discovery made by some of the crew sparks talk of rebellion. But as the book blurb points out, planning a mutiny against an all-seeing AI, even a limited one, over the span of millennia—while hopping in an out of the freezer—is a staggeringly difficult task. But plan they do.
The story is told from the POV of Sunday Ahzmundin. Sunday's backstory, along with that of the mission, is told in the short story, "Hotshot," which I strongly recommend that interested parties read first. Honestly, it should've been included with this book for those reasons. Watts makes the effort to properly develop her character there instead of here. Watts is amazing at grabbing cutting edge scientific ideas and mashing them together for some incredible world-building, but his protagonists (this is my third Watts' novel) are very similar. They've all had something done to them to set them apart, render them outsiders. Lenie (Starfish) is a sexual abuse survivor who undergoes an operation to enable her to run away and work on the ocean floor. Siri (Blindsight) suffered from epileptic seizures so he had an hemispherectomy that rendered him emotionally detached from humanity. Makes for a solid candidate to go on a first contact mission in the farthest reaches of the solar system. Sunday was genetically engineered to want to leave Earth behind with an insatiable galactic wanderlust.
Eventually the rebels make their move and stuff happens. I won't spoil the ending, but it felt unresolved. There are a couple more short stories, and Watts admitted on his blog that he was working on a sequel, so there's that. Despite the ending, I enjoyed this more than either Starfish or Blindsight, so I'm holding out hope that Watts gets around to writing a proper sequel.
4.5 stars rounded down to 4 because of the ending and insufficient character development.
This was a buddy read with Natliya, Phil, Carol, and Vivian! Always nice to share thoughts about a book while you're reading it. Just wish I could read as fast as them. ;)...more
I'm struggling to write a proper review. Much of what I've written about the first two books can be applied here: the familiar characters from the movI'm struggling to write a proper review. Much of what I've written about the first two books can be applied here: the familiar characters from the movie are flat, Zahn's original characters are well-drawn, and the peril doesn't seem too perilous. Zahn brings the trilogy to a proper close and wraps up all of the plot lines. All that's really left is to figure out how many stars to give it.
I distinctly remember the way Han Solo uttered "sweetheart" in the movies. It wasn't a term of endearment. So every time he used the term on Leia in this book, I got a bad vibe. It gave me a negative view about his relationship with Leia, who is now his wife and the mother of his kids. Throughout the series, I've felt that Zahn got Han's character wrong, and it's no different here.
Another negative was the character of Joruus C'baoth. He was a windbag with an ego the size of a planet. Sure, he was powerful, but most of the time he was just full of hot air. Contrast him with Thrawn and the differences couldn't be more stark. Thrawn was the brilliant tactician who used a culture's art to gain strategic insight. Cold and calculating, he was the military mastermind that was always two moves ahead of his opponents, and when dealing with C'baoth, he always kept his emotions in check.
The other positives were the smuggler Talon Karrde and his associate Mara Jade. Despite what the book blurb would have you believe, Karrde was the one that struggled to form the smugglers' coalition. His storyline in this book was really good as he tried to outwit the nitwit that Thrawn sent to undermine his efforts. And Jade struggled with her compulsion to kill Luke while also doing the right thing by Leia. Meanwhile, the Alliance was split on whether or not she was an Imperial spy or Alliance ally. But I wasn't too keen on how her internal conflict was resolved. It involved something that I thought had been lost in one of the movies. My reaction being: "No way, you found that? How?"
So in the end, I'd say that this series was consistent. It had its good points and bad points. I was entertained, but in a beach read sort of way. Therefore, I'm going to stay consistent with my rating.
It's funny. When I started this series, I thought that the titular heir to the Empire was supposed to be Grand Admiral Thrawn when, in fact, 3.5 stars
It's funny. When I started this series, I thought that the titular heir to the Empire was supposed to be Grand Admiral Thrawn when, in fact, it's the windbag-pretending-to-be-a-Jedi Joruus C'baoth. In my defense, C'baoth's storyline tends to take a backseat to all the other storylines that run through the first two books of this series. So it didn't click in my head until this book drew to its conclusion.
Zahn's characters continue to be better developed than the familiar characters from the Star Wars original/middle trilogy of films. They still seem off to me. I think that they're stuck in Return of the Jedi mode. Luke tries to treat C'baoth like Vader. Leia thinks that she can broker diplomacy with the Noghri like she did with the Ewoks. Han and Lando aren't the rogues that they used to be, but they think they still are. Chewie is still Chewie though. And they all get away with it because, well, they do. I guess I'm expecting too much. It's been 40 years for me, but these books are only a couple years removed from the battle of Endor.
As I said, Zahn's original characters are better. Mara Jade struggles with her hate/he's ok relationship with Luke. Captain Pellaeon dutifully serves Grand Admiral Thrawn, who is always a step ahead of everyone else. It comes close to straining credulity at times, but I let it slide. Talon Karrde remains the likeable smuggler. Fey'lya demonstrates that Bothans are really frenemies, and former Senator Bel Iblis reveals some history about the early days of the Rebellion that would make for a great addition to Andor.
As for the storylines, after the surviving special ops Noghri, Khabarakh, informs Leia that he knows she's Vader's daughter, she agrees to accompany him to the Noghri homeworld in hopes of clearing things up and putting these attempted kidnappings to bed. I admit that while this started off like a fool's errand, Zahn built up Noghri society rather well.
Han and Lando try to uncover proof that Admiral Ackbar was set up and find a lost fleet of ships that could turn the tide of the war. I wasn't sure that they were doing anything more than stumbling around from one planet to another, but they eventually got there.
Luke seeks out the rumors of a Jedi Master in hopes of continuing his education, but as this storyline involved C'baoth it was pretty much a nothing burger. Luke eventually leaves to rescue someone and things pick up from there.
So despite my complaining, I am enjoying this series. It's good popcorn fare or a beach read. ...more
I remember when this first came out. The glow from the original Star Wars trilogy had faded, but the franchise still had its rabid fans. As m3.5 stars
I remember when this first came out. The glow from the original Star Wars trilogy had faded, but the franchise still had its rabid fans. As much as I loved the films, I didn't cross over into super-fan territory. I was content with story as it was and willing to let it go. So why am I reading it now? My son, a big Star Wars fan himself (at least before Disney got a hold of the franchise), bought me the (original) Thrawn trilogy for Christmas. How could I say no?
Zahn has had a long and prolific career penning stories set in the Star Wars universe. This was his first. I feel like he was somewhat handcuffed in how he handled the known characters from the films. They came across as flat, dull. Their quips seemed borrowed from the films. I didn't get the feeling that their characters grew.
Where Zahn excelled was with the new characters. Joruus C'baoth was an egotistical bore. Mara Jade's hatred for Luke was insufferable. Fortunately, we find out why she hates him so much near the end of the novel. Talon Karrde was a shrewd smuggler caught between the fledgling Republic and the remnants of the Empire. I grew to like him. Captain Pellaeon had my sympathies despite playing for the bad guys. He had the unenviable task of reporting to the sharpest tactician in the Empire. He knew that he was mentally outmatched by his boss, and he constantly had to prove his competence to the man lest he find himself staring down the wrong end of a blaster. And Grand Admiral Thrawn was the sharpest tack in the galaxy. Someone here on Goodreads compared him to Sherlock Holmes, and I cannot disagree. One of the finest villains that's ever been written for Star Wars.
I didn't get a proper sense of the internal strife among the Republic's ruling council, so I was caught off guard at the end. The peril that our intrepid heroes faced didn't seem too perilous, and yet they struggled. There was a climactic battle at the end of the novel that was entertaining, but it was far too early in the trilogy to be epic. Still, I was entertained, and I will be continuing with the series....more
I found a copy of this book in a little used bookstore up on the Cape this summer. Recalling that it had won several awards, and only being a novella I found a copy of this book in a little used bookstore up on the Cape this summer. Recalling that it had won several awards, and only being a novella in length, I picked it up.
We follow 16-year-old Binti as she steals away in the night to embark on a trip to Oomza University. Instead of being proud of Binti's acceptance at such a prestigious university, her family forbids her to go. They say that Binti's place, like all Himba, is at home with family. The narration and theme makes this seem like either middle grade or young adult fare, but I can still appreciate it.
As Binti makes her way to the spaceport, she has to deal with the Khoush, fellow humans of an unknown ethnicity. They scrutinize Binti's appearance as if she were an insect under a magnifying glass with all the poise of middle school biology class.
“It smells like jasmine flowers,” she said to the woman on her left, surprised. “No shit?” one woman said. “I hear it smells like shit because it is shit.” “No, definitely jasmine flowers. It is thick like shit, though.” “Is her hair even real?” another woman asked the woman rubbing her fingers. “I don’t know.” “These ‘dirt bathers’ are a filthy people,” the first woman muttered.
On the trip to Oomza University, Binti gradually makes inroads with her fellow students, apparently all Khoush. I thought that the story was going to be about Binti winning over her fellow students, but instead, the plot takes a sharp turn. A Meduse boarding party arrives out of nowhere—it's never explained how—and mercilessly attacks the passengers. Her survival appears to be a bit of deus ex machina, but the story would be over if she died right there.
I was hoping that Okarafor was going to have Binti rally her fellow Khoush students to repel the invaders, but no. Everyone was killed, all 500 passengers, except Binti and the never-seen pilot. So then I was hoping Binti was going to use her wits to work with the pilot to repel the invaders. Nope. Instead, Binti parleys with the Medusae, in particular one named Okwu, in an effort to think of a way out of this mess.
While I enjoyed learning about this future version of the Himba, I'm left wondering why a people who never travel have a need for an astrolabe, much less build them. But it's clear from the text that Okorafor has changed the definition of the device to be something much more.
Who are the Khoush? Initially, they were described as being lighter in skin color than Binti, but towards the end of the story, she encounters a dark-skinned Khoush. It's said at one point that the Himba don't like outsiders. Since no other types of humans are mentioned in the story, does that mean that everyone who isn't Himba is a Khoush to these isolationist xenophobes? The adult Khoush certainly have their attitude issues, the younger ones are more curious and open to new ideas than their parents, but we never see how the Himba act toward them. Might the rudeness of adults go both ways?
Another thing that nagged at me was Biniti's response to landing on Oomza. I was given the impression that there was artificial gravity on the spaceship. At no point is anyone or anything just floating about. But when the ship lands, she falls to the floor upon encountering the planet's gravity. The world is described as "a small planet compared to Earth" so smaller size means less mass (unless the world's density is somehow greater than your typical terrestrial world) which means less gravity. An editor should've caught that.
While I won't spoil the ending, I have to say that I find it troubling. (view spoiler)[The Medusae are angry at the university because they stole the chief's stinger. How this was accomplished is never explained. The chief is fine by the way. He just feels emasculated. Regardless, this is the Medusae's justification for killing all of the students on the spaceship. It's a matter of honor, never mind that the students had nothing to do with it, nor knowledge of it. After some debate, the university agrees to give the stinger back and they give the Medusae named Okwu what amounts to a full scholarship at the university. No demands from the university to atone for the 500 dead students, nor are there complaints from the crowd in attendance. No apologies or remorse from the Medusae; they leave completely satisfied. The terrorists win.
On top of this, Okwu and Binti become friends despite the fact that she witnessed it kill a fellow student right in front of her, splattering blood on her face, and it was going to kill her, too, were it not for her magic pet rock. Does Binti have Stockholm Syndrome? She does care that these people, although they were Khoush, were brutally slaughtered, right? We're given a sentence or two where she's upset by what happened, but the narrative's focus is on Binti making a fresh batch of otjize. Yes, I get that it's her cultural tie with home, but I wish more had been written about Binti dealing with her traumatic experience instead of just focusing on her being homesick.
I've learned that Binti's PTSD for this experience is addressed in Sacred Fire, a short story that was written after the series concluded and inserted into a special trilogy collection, officially book 1.5 in the series. The cynic in me says, "Damage control." (hide spoiler)]
Overall, I enjoyed Okarafor's world-building and learning about these future Himba, even though Binti seemed a bit obsessed with her otjize. Setting aside my nitpicking over some details and the childish behavior of the Medusae, I would've been fine with the story, but that ending ruined it for me. ...more
This is my third Tchaikovsky novel, and the first one that fell short for me. It could be that the first two that I read, Children of Time and SpiderlThis is my third Tchaikovsky novel, and the first one that fell short for me. It could be that the first two that I read, Children of Time and Spiderlight, were so good that the bar was set too high.
The main story had an interesting premise, but the execution didn't work for me. I felt that it dragged at times, too many scenes with people wondering what's going on or not believing what their eyes are telling them. What I really enjoyed were the interstitials: excerpts from other timelines where different species rose to prominence on alternative Earths. (view spoiler)[Trilobites in space! (hide spoiler)] The world-building in these mini-documentaries really demonstrated Tchaikovsky's love for zoology. I wanted to read stories based in these worlds or their interaction with ours.
Which brings me to the characters. I really didn't care for them, well the humans anyway. The non-human characters were the interesting ones. Khan, the foul-mouthed, chain smoking physicist was the best of the humans. Lee and Mal were ok. Any scene with Julian was disappointing. The blurb makes it seem like he carries the story, but he was more of a passenger. He really couldn't handle anything outside a narrow British box of expectations. I couldn't wait for his scenes to be over with. His co-worker, Alison, was ok by the end but took a while to get there. Even the villain was dull, there to be the foil to the underlying message of inclusion.
There's a big reveal towards the last quarter of the book that explains how all of this came about. It got my hopes up for a strong finish, but then we got more navel gazing. The execution of the last part, well, I've seen Star Trek do it better. And the end left me like, "Oh, that's it?" If it wasn't for the world-building, I'd give it two stars....more