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jmoses's review
5.0
I greatly enjoyed this book. It took a few times starting it for me to get into it, but I think that's mostly on me. I'm....fickle....sometimes.
Regardless, the book is wonderful. The characters are well written, and believable, with easily understandable motivations and feelings. The settings are well described, from the hot African savannah to the immensity of Mars' surface features. The plot is lovely as well. Unexpected twists and turns, but not so much that you don't have any idea what's going on, and always a little bit of a hint at the future before switching perspectives. Not enough to drive you nuts, but enough to keep you wondering what's going to happen next.
I also *really* enjoy that not of the tech described is truly "ultra far future" stuff. For the vast majority, it's sensible extrapolations from what's current, and soon to be cutting edge. Sure, some of it is a little farther future that the rest (the nano machines/mech/surveilled society stuff), but the rest is easily graspable. I love me some "million year in the future" "magical" scifi, but sometimes I like something I can understand and believe.
I'm very much looking forward to further entries in this series.
Regardless, the book is wonderful. The characters are well written, and believable, with easily understandable motivations and feelings. The settings are well described, from the hot African savannah to the immensity of Mars' surface features. The plot is lovely as well. Unexpected twists and turns, but not so much that you don't have any idea what's going on, and always a little bit of a hint at the future before switching perspectives. Not enough to drive you nuts, but enough to keep you wondering what's going to happen next.
I also *really* enjoy that not of the tech described is truly "ultra far future" stuff. For the vast majority, it's sensible extrapolations from what's current, and soon to be cutting edge. Sure, some of it is a little farther future that the rest (the nano machines/mech/surveilled society stuff), but the rest is easily graspable. I love me some "million year in the future" "magical" scifi, but sometimes I like something I can understand and believe.
I'm very much looking forward to further entries in this series.
brian9teen's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.75
sgerner's review
5.0
I can't wait till the sequel! Characters are well developed, relatable, and compelling. The narrative is both plausible and challenging and I love this unique vision of the future Reynolds develops.
hank's review
4.0
4.5 stars. Almost a 5 star book but there were a few "really?" moments and not enough exploration, IMO, of the stresses advanced technology puts on society.
A great blend of all forms of future technology from physics to biology to societal. The Mech, which wasn't discussed specifically in depth gave me a fun dichotomy of comforting stabilization and oppressive authority. Why shouldn't I be allowed to hit someone if I wanted? Knowing full well it almost always isn't a good idea or justified.
The book was at its heart a treasure hunt but a solar system wide treasure hunt with different settings and characters that were all richly imagined. The new economy springing from Eastern Africa was given even more life by the audio version read by Kodna Holdbrook Smith who is of Ghanian ancestry.
I have heard rumours that this is going to be a long series of books and I have doubts that Reynolds can sustain the drama and writing but it was a great start and I have already ordered the next from the library.
A great blend of all forms of future technology from physics to biology to societal. The Mech, which wasn't discussed specifically in depth gave me a fun dichotomy of comforting stabilization and oppressive authority. Why shouldn't I be allowed to hit someone if I wanted? Knowing full well it almost always isn't a good idea or justified.
The book was at its heart a treasure hunt but a solar system wide treasure hunt with different settings and characters that were all richly imagined. The new economy springing from Eastern Africa was given even more life by the audio version read by Kodna Holdbrook Smith who is of Ghanian ancestry.
I have heard rumours that this is going to be a long series of books and I have doubts that Reynolds can sustain the drama and writing but it was a great start and I have already ordered the next from the library.
rheren's review
4.0
I think my rating would be a 3.5. The book is extremely slow for the first half: It has a few interesting ideas but nothing exceptional, and the pace and plot is very blah. However, it picks up dramatically in the last half of the book, and became a very fascinating book by the end. I felt like he used an old cliche as his climax "that explains everything" plot device, but I guess that can be forgiven.
It was interesting to read a sci-fi book where Africa has taken center stage on the world scene, and I actually wished he'd written more about how that happened: he alludes vaguely to "wars of relocation" and to an African tech pioneer "being in the right place at the right time" but I didn't feel like I understood how it is supposed to have happened, considering that no African nation has any space presence today. As a book with an African context should, this book keeps coming back to family and family ties, which felt appropriate.
It was interesting to read a sci-fi book where Africa has taken center stage on the world scene, and I actually wished he'd written more about how that happened: he alludes vaguely to "wars of relocation" and to an African tech pioneer "being in the right place at the right time" but I didn't feel like I understood how it is supposed to have happened, considering that no African nation has any space presence today. As a book with an African context should, this book keeps coming back to family and family ties, which felt appropriate.
johnayliff's review
4.0
Alastair Reynolds excels at world-building here, creating a fascinating, detailed, surprising but always plausible vision of the solar system a century and a half in the future. The continual use of brain implants and augmented reality by all the novel's characters is well portrayed, as is the society of constant automated surveillance which is presented in a refreshinly positive light.
What is sometimes frustrating is the plot, which for the first half of the book seems transparently designed to give the reader a guided tour of the setting. A brother and sister are sent on a treasure hunt across the solar system--a classic treasure hunt, each clue cryptically pointing to the location of the next one, the whole thing set up decades earlier by the pair's mysterious grandmother. Hints are steadily dropped about the grandmother (who appears in the form of personality simulations and whose presence pervades the book), but it's only towards the end of the novel that these hints come together and the mystery, rather than the tour of the setting, becomes the focus.
Overall, the plot in the early parts of the book felt at times frustratingly contrived and slow-moving, but the world-building managed to carry me to the payoff in the final act.
What is sometimes frustrating is the plot, which for the first half of the book seems transparently designed to give the reader a guided tour of the setting. A brother and sister are sent on a treasure hunt across the solar system--a classic treasure hunt, each clue cryptically pointing to the location of the next one, the whole thing set up decades earlier by the pair's mysterious grandmother. Hints are steadily dropped about the grandmother (who appears in the form of personality simulations and whose presence pervades the book), but it's only towards the end of the novel that these hints come together and the mystery, rather than the tour of the setting, becomes the focus.
Overall, the plot in the early parts of the book felt at times frustratingly contrived and slow-moving, but the world-building managed to carry me to the payoff in the final act.
tlugo's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
walden2ite's review
5.0
Absolutely no complaints about this book. It had engaging characters, interesting technology, intriguing mystery and a satisfying ending despite having more books in this mini series.
elzabetg's review
4.0
Pretty good. I want to read it again with the others in tight succession before I review but I was intrigued enough to keep going even when it felt bogged down. I DO like the African focus a lot. That was one of the things that drew me to this novel--along with the author. AR never fails to please.
lizziegracereads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0