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The Matrix meets Riverworld on the Holodeck of the Enterprise. Very cool premise, making for a piece of science fiction for thinking people.
I got this book as a free read from Amazon, not looking much beyond the little blurb. Then I started reading it. HOLY CRAP. This is a book about what happens in an artificial world where conditions are artificially created to cause strife between groups of people and highly motivated evil leaders are thrown into the mix to drive that strife to warfare--all so real world soldiers can learn to fight in the kinds of wars we have now.
There were things that were hard about it--the language of oppression in it regarding racism and anti-Semetism and sexism are hard to read. Harder for a black reader, I'd think. I know the Jewish stuff made me a little sick. That said, it's UTTERLY appropriate and handled deftly. I just wouldn't want anyone to stumble over that imagery unawares.
That said, the Demi-Monde is a fascinating universe that sets up some serious questions about why we hate, what power does, how our prejudices limit us. The writing is solid, characterizations deft and convincing, and the plot is so gripping that when this book ended on a cliffhanger, I gasped out loud and paged back on my Kindle, heartbroken it was really over.
There were things that were hard about it--the language of oppression in it regarding racism and anti-Semetism and sexism are hard to read. Harder for a black reader, I'd think. I know the Jewish stuff made me a little sick. That said, it's UTTERLY appropriate and handled deftly. I just wouldn't want anyone to stumble over that imagery unawares.
That said, the Demi-Monde is a fascinating universe that sets up some serious questions about why we hate, what power does, how our prejudices limit us. The writing is solid, characterizations deft and convincing, and the plot is so gripping that when this book ended on a cliffhanger, I gasped out loud and paged back on my Kindle, heartbroken it was really over.
I liked this book. I WANTED to love it. There's a lot going on in the Demi-Monde and even though the book gives a lot of explanation, there's still even more that I don't know.
One thing that's frustrating is that this book is a lot of set-up for the rest of the series. Again, I ask, whatever happened to a standalone novel? Other thing that's frustrating: There was no conclusion for the story in THIS BOOK. I like a good series, but I also like a series where each book in the series is simply a good story on its own (ie Parasol Protectorate series by [a:Gail Carriger|2891665|Gail Carriger|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257289860p2/2891665.jpg]).
I enjoyed the fusion of historical characters with the smashing up of religions and ideas, but perhaps there was too much of that going on. I mean, there's SO much happening and so much to learn about the Demi-Monde world that it's hard to keep it all together.
So I did like the book...obviously, because I finished it. But I was still a little disappointed. Will I read the second in the series? That's still to be determined.
One thing that's frustrating is that this book is a lot of set-up for the rest of the series. Again, I ask, whatever happened to a standalone novel? Other thing that's frustrating: There was no conclusion for the story in THIS BOOK. I like a good series, but I also like a series where each book in the series is simply a good story on its own (ie Parasol Protectorate series by [a:Gail Carriger|2891665|Gail Carriger|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1257289860p2/2891665.jpg]).
I enjoyed the fusion of historical characters with the smashing up of religions and ideas, but perhaps there was too much of that going on. I mean, there's SO much happening and so much to learn about the Demi-Monde world that it's hard to keep it all together.
So I did like the book...obviously, because I finished it. But I was still a little disappointed. Will I read the second in the series? That's still to be determined.
I'm still reading this book, which kind of says everything: Winter was so good and different that I couldn't STOP reading, but Spring so far is plodding a bit so that it's taking me ages to even remember I'm reading it, much less pick it back up. I really want to find out what happens next, but it's just not as urgent as it was while I read Winter. I'll keep trying, though.
I managed to get past the introduction, which proved fairly interesting, but the more the book went on, the more I felt like it was very well put together. Some of the very important research (as it is historical fiction) was there, but some of it was lacking and the way characters displayed their knowledge proved the author's limited knowledge, which was way too jarring to continue. And the idea as a whole was intriguing, but confusing at best. Too many things didn't seem realistic within the setting.
The Demi-Monde: Winter: Book I of the Demi-Monde Oh The Demi Monde: Winter, what do I say about you first? It's pretty obvious straight away that this is a very lengthy read. I'm a fan of Science Fiction and therefore I'm used to reading books that border on tomes. Still, I'm certain that many people are going to be scared off immediately by the hefty weight of this book. At 522 pages, this is definitely not a light read.
That being said, the book actually starts out very well. From the first page the reader is thrown into a skewed world that mirrors our own, but is infinitely more terrifying. Imagine a place where the worst villains the most reviled of historical figures, make their home. A land where racism and sexism run rampant. All created by the government to fit into a training simulation for soldiers. The most advanced simulation ever seen, with the power to think for itself. Sound scary? Ella Thomas thinks so too, and yet she's headed in.
Now the real problem I found with this book was that Rod Rees was too ambitious. I know this sounds odd, but he packs so many different tropes into this story that after a while it becomes difficult to follow. I loved Ella. I loved everything about her intelligent schemes and daring escapes. Honestly, if the book had just followed her I would have been just fine. However there are social classes to remember, slang terms for different races, city names, wars, dates, and endless amounts of other information. If I was wondering why this book was so long, I found my answer.
The fact is, there are a lot of great things in this book. Wonderful characters, twists and turns. It just all happened to be buried under a lot of information that felt like it didn't need to be there. I skimmed a lot of this story if I'm being honest. Fact is, the parts I read still made up a whole story that was amazing. So now you see why my rating is where it is. Kudos to Rod Rees for taking on such an ambitious project, but perhaps the next book should have a little less in the info-dump department so the page count goes down.
That being said, the book actually starts out very well. From the first page the reader is thrown into a skewed world that mirrors our own, but is infinitely more terrifying. Imagine a place where the worst villains the most reviled of historical figures, make their home. A land where racism and sexism run rampant. All created by the government to fit into a training simulation for soldiers. The most advanced simulation ever seen, with the power to think for itself. Sound scary? Ella Thomas thinks so too, and yet she's headed in.
Now the real problem I found with this book was that Rod Rees was too ambitious. I know this sounds odd, but he packs so many different tropes into this story that after a while it becomes difficult to follow. I loved Ella. I loved everything about her intelligent schemes and daring escapes. Honestly, if the book had just followed her I would have been just fine. However there are social classes to remember, slang terms for different races, city names, wars, dates, and endless amounts of other information. If I was wondering why this book was so long, I found my answer.
The fact is, there are a lot of great things in this book. Wonderful characters, twists and turns. It just all happened to be buried under a lot of information that felt like it didn't need to be there. I skimmed a lot of this story if I'm being honest. Fact is, the parts I read still made up a whole story that was amazing. So now you see why my rating is where it is. Kudos to Rod Rees for taking on such an ambitious project, but perhaps the next book should have a little less in the info-dump department so the page count goes down.
Ambitious attempt at world-building, but the characters are pretty two dimensional and the book could have benefited from some extra editing love. I would probably finish the series, but somehow the last two books aren't available in ebook, so I guess I'm done with it for now.
While this book was a very interesting topic, I did not enjoy the read. Once you are able to look past the racism and mysogeny that is dripping throughout the story via the veiled attempts at setting a time frame and mood, you can enjoy the storyline. The Demi-Monde is an out-of-the-box idea that actually maintains a real-world relevance. The concept is actually quite mind-blowing. However, I do believe the author just finished taking his ACT test and decided to put every word he learned into it. I am an avid reader and have a large vocabulary, but the constant need to keep a dictionary at my side to look up words pulled away from the book so much. Simple moments like the mention of pantechnicons rather than describing the horse drawn moving vans was a little off-putting. But again, the story and characters were very interesting.
This review originally posted at Hooked on Books
This book starts out with a bang! Rod Rees is a writer that knows how to get your attention. Typically it takes me until about 1/4 of the way through a book to really get obsessed with the story. With The Demi Monde it happened with in a couple of pages. I was almost compulsively flipping pages trying to figure out what was going to happen next and how all the pieces fit together.
Besides the initial action and excitement I loved how inventive the story was. You may have noticed that at the top of this post I had a little trouble determining the exact genre of the novel. It was a brilliant mash up of steampunk, fantasy, science fiction and historical fiction. It combined all the things I loved about all those genres into one amazing package. There is some major world building skills going on here. Rod Rees has essentially created a world within a world (the Demi Monde) and within that world he has created a series of other worlds. We only get to see one or two of them in great detail, but this is the first in a series so I'm hoping the rest will get explored later on!
Finally, if it wasn't enough that this novel had great action, amazing detail and is an example of genre bending at its finest, it also has some great characters. Some were completely original and innovative and I got completely enthralled by then and others were really neat imagining of real historical figures. These historical characters, are primarily made up of sociopaths making the story reach some crazy heights and putting the other characters through some incredibly intense ordeals.
This is a hefty book and you shouldn't count on it being a quick read. But in all honesty you don't want it to be a quick read. You want it to last, you want to savour every last chapter, scene, moment, snippet of dialogue. It's just that good. If you like science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, historical fiction or just a really well constructed story then I highly recommend you add this book to your list.
This book starts out with a bang! Rod Rees is a writer that knows how to get your attention. Typically it takes me until about 1/4 of the way through a book to really get obsessed with the story. With The Demi Monde it happened with in a couple of pages. I was almost compulsively flipping pages trying to figure out what was going to happen next and how all the pieces fit together.
Besides the initial action and excitement I loved how inventive the story was. You may have noticed that at the top of this post I had a little trouble determining the exact genre of the novel. It was a brilliant mash up of steampunk, fantasy, science fiction and historical fiction. It combined all the things I loved about all those genres into one amazing package. There is some major world building skills going on here. Rod Rees has essentially created a world within a world (the Demi Monde) and within that world he has created a series of other worlds. We only get to see one or two of them in great detail, but this is the first in a series so I'm hoping the rest will get explored later on!
Finally, if it wasn't enough that this novel had great action, amazing detail and is an example of genre bending at its finest, it also has some great characters. Some were completely original and innovative and I got completely enthralled by then and others were really neat imagining of real historical figures. These historical characters, are primarily made up of sociopaths making the story reach some crazy heights and putting the other characters through some incredibly intense ordeals.
This is a hefty book and you shouldn't count on it being a quick read. But in all honesty you don't want it to be a quick read. You want it to last, you want to savour every last chapter, scene, moment, snippet of dialogue. It's just that good. If you like science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, historical fiction or just a really well constructed story then I highly recommend you add this book to your list.
Two days, and I want more. I read this book in two days flat and I cannot wait to get my hands on Spring. Left at an excellent stopping point, both in keeping you wanting more, but not in that frustrating way where someone is on the edge of a cliff about to jump off and leaving you at a point where the story will certainly take a turn. Don’t get me wrong, this is not an easy read, nor at 500+ pages is it a short book. But it will drag you into Rees’ well-thought out and impressive world that is The Demi-Monde. The program envelops the soldier, utterly and completely, and Rees draws the reader in until she becomes part of the Demi-Monde herself.
Rees has created an interesting if not the least bit terrifying virtual reality. As described in the Product Description Manual (a copy is available for viewing on the book’s website) the world of the Demi-Monde is an heuristic alternate reality populated with duplicates “Dupes” of real world people alive in our world today. Some of the more prominent ‘dupes’ have no real world counterpart alive today, but they are well-known figures from our most horrific events. The first dupe Ella and the reader are introduced to is Reinhard Heydrich, engineer of the Nazi’s “Final Solution” and it certainly will chill you to the bone to see how accurate Rees has portrayed these villains of our past.
I could write a whole post on just the workings of the Demi-Monde and how well-thought out it is, especially after reading the PDM referenced above. There are varying cultures, conflicting political agendas, isolationist religions, and many more stressors that have shaped our history each expressed throughout sections or the whole of the Demi-Monde creating a unique world always in upheaval and on the brink of war. Clearly Rees spent significant time developing his world, and I can see why the series is in four parts, if Rees expects to cover half of what I think he will as the series progresses. Thankfully, there is a wonderful website (linked at the top of this post) that will make you want to read the book if you haven’t, or increase your craving for the second book if you have.
As characters are revealed, you cannot help but spend some time Googling the names that pop up or the references to events. I’m not history buff, but this definitely made me wonder just what the character had done in real life to warrant a doppelgänger in the Demi-Monde. Many of these characters are very well-known while others are lesser known, but Rees weaves them all together into a very interesting cast of characters. Aside from the random villainous singularities like Heydrich and Aleister Crowley, Shaka Zulu, and Empress Wu, there are the main protagonists: Ella, Norma, the president’s daughter, and Trixie Dashwood. These three women are the focus of the first book in the Demi-Monde Saga.
Ella is brought in as part of “Operation Offbeat” to rescue Norma. Somehow, unknown to the scientists and military men who created the Demi-Monde, Norma was brought into the Demi-Monde and has since been trapped. Heydrich and the other singularities have gotten out of control, and the plan is to pull the plug, shutting the whole thing down despite the loss of life for a few soldiers still caught in the program, but they cannot do that until Norma is out. As we have seen in our real world, the life of a soldier isn’t worth anything, but the life of the president’s daughter is worth more than 17 of them. Rees really hits it on the head with some of his observations such as this one. Another good example of this is how Ella, who is a smart, extremely attractive African-American woman, is able to distract even the toughest white supremacists out to capture her with her good looks and feminine whiles. Yes, they should hate her so much that she cannot fool them, but there are plenty that while they claim to hate all African-Americans they can still be swayed by a pretty woman despite her skin color. There are many examples of this through the book, and sometimes perhaps Rees uses Ella’s good looks to get her out of a situation that Rees wrote her into, but couldn’t figure out a more valid way to get her out. However, that is a small detractor in what is otherwise a phenomenal book. I look forward to seeing what the Demi-Monde has in store for Ella in Spring.
Norma is the president’s daughter who starts all of the trouble that has brings Ella, Norma, and Trixie together. Norma is in the Demi-Monde, no one knows how or why, although they do allude to it a bit later in the book, and found out to be a Daemon. She is captured and being held by Heydrich’s men and then taken to Trixie’s house in the hopes that Norma and Trixie will befriend each other allowing Trixie to get at the Daemon’s secrets. Norma as expected turns out to be a holier than thou, whiny, emo, bitch. I think I would have preferred her to be more like Ella and Trixie as strong female leads, but perhaps it would have been too crowded with three of them. Thankfully for the most part, Norma, although the story revolves around rescuing her, doesn’t play much of a role throughout the book, only popping up here and there to let the reader into what is happening when she isn’t with Ella or Trixie. Given the cliffhanger, I am curious to see how her character plays out in Spring.
Trixie Dashwood is quite a mutable character. In the beginning she is a head-strong RaTionalist girl who is on the brink of being a huge trouble to her father. She thinks for herself, and is always curious about the barrier that surrounds the Demi-Monde, how to get through it and what’s on the other side. Admirable ambitions in a character, but once Trixie feels that all is lost, thinking her father dead, and doing all she can to revenge her father’s death, she becomes, as Ella notes, more like Heydrich. Trixie goes from being a head-strong independent girl to a military leader out for blood. It is an interesting transition, but Rees manages to show just enough of what drives Trixie to see how this change happens as she rises to become a leader and revenge becomes her main focus.
As these three characters grow and evolve, there is a host of supporting characters that add to the greatness of this book. I hope that they continue on in the future books, as I would love to see how Rees develops them and their storylines.
As I indicated earlier, I could go on and on about this book. There is so much to say about it, that a few paragraphs, even a few pages are not enough. It is a tome, and at over 500 pages, it is not a light read, but it is a read that is well worth your time. The plotlines tie together seamlessly, and it is a satisfying original read.
Rees has created an interesting if not the least bit terrifying virtual reality. As described in the Product Description Manual (a copy is available for viewing on the book’s website) the world of the Demi-Monde is an heuristic alternate reality populated with duplicates “Dupes” of real world people alive in our world today. Some of the more prominent ‘dupes’ have no real world counterpart alive today, but they are well-known figures from our most horrific events. The first dupe Ella and the reader are introduced to is Reinhard Heydrich, engineer of the Nazi’s “Final Solution” and it certainly will chill you to the bone to see how accurate Rees has portrayed these villains of our past.
I could write a whole post on just the workings of the Demi-Monde and how well-thought out it is, especially after reading the PDM referenced above. There are varying cultures, conflicting political agendas, isolationist religions, and many more stressors that have shaped our history each expressed throughout sections or the whole of the Demi-Monde creating a unique world always in upheaval and on the brink of war. Clearly Rees spent significant time developing his world, and I can see why the series is in four parts, if Rees expects to cover half of what I think he will as the series progresses. Thankfully, there is a wonderful website (linked at the top of this post) that will make you want to read the book if you haven’t, or increase your craving for the second book if you have.
As characters are revealed, you cannot help but spend some time Googling the names that pop up or the references to events. I’m not history buff, but this definitely made me wonder just what the character had done in real life to warrant a doppelgänger in the Demi-Monde. Many of these characters are very well-known while others are lesser known, but Rees weaves them all together into a very interesting cast of characters. Aside from the random villainous singularities like Heydrich and Aleister Crowley, Shaka Zulu, and Empress Wu, there are the main protagonists: Ella, Norma, the president’s daughter, and Trixie Dashwood. These three women are the focus of the first book in the Demi-Monde Saga.
Ella is brought in as part of “Operation Offbeat” to rescue Norma. Somehow, unknown to the scientists and military men who created the Demi-Monde, Norma was brought into the Demi-Monde and has since been trapped. Heydrich and the other singularities have gotten out of control, and the plan is to pull the plug, shutting the whole thing down despite the loss of life for a few soldiers still caught in the program, but they cannot do that until Norma is out. As we have seen in our real world, the life of a soldier isn’t worth anything, but the life of the president’s daughter is worth more than 17 of them. Rees really hits it on the head with some of his observations such as this one. Another good example of this is how Ella, who is a smart, extremely attractive African-American woman, is able to distract even the toughest white supremacists out to capture her with her good looks and feminine whiles. Yes, they should hate her so much that she cannot fool them, but there are plenty that while they claim to hate all African-Americans they can still be swayed by a pretty woman despite her skin color. There are many examples of this through the book, and sometimes perhaps Rees uses Ella’s good looks to get her out of a situation that Rees wrote her into, but couldn’t figure out a more valid way to get her out. However, that is a small detractor in what is otherwise a phenomenal book. I look forward to seeing what the Demi-Monde has in store for Ella in Spring.
Norma is the president’s daughter who starts all of the trouble that has brings Ella, Norma, and Trixie together. Norma is in the Demi-Monde, no one knows how or why, although they do allude to it a bit later in the book, and found out to be a Daemon. She is captured and being held by Heydrich’s men and then taken to Trixie’s house in the hopes that Norma and Trixie will befriend each other allowing Trixie to get at the Daemon’s secrets. Norma as expected turns out to be a holier than thou, whiny, emo, bitch. I think I would have preferred her to be more like Ella and Trixie as strong female leads, but perhaps it would have been too crowded with three of them. Thankfully for the most part, Norma, although the story revolves around rescuing her, doesn’t play much of a role throughout the book, only popping up here and there to let the reader into what is happening when she isn’t with Ella or Trixie. Given the cliffhanger, I am curious to see how her character plays out in Spring.
Trixie Dashwood is quite a mutable character. In the beginning she is a head-strong RaTionalist girl who is on the brink of being a huge trouble to her father. She thinks for herself, and is always curious about the barrier that surrounds the Demi-Monde, how to get through it and what’s on the other side. Admirable ambitions in a character, but once Trixie feels that all is lost, thinking her father dead, and doing all she can to revenge her father’s death, she becomes, as Ella notes, more like Heydrich. Trixie goes from being a head-strong independent girl to a military leader out for blood. It is an interesting transition, but Rees manages to show just enough of what drives Trixie to see how this change happens as she rises to become a leader and revenge becomes her main focus.
As these three characters grow and evolve, there is a host of supporting characters that add to the greatness of this book. I hope that they continue on in the future books, as I would love to see how Rees develops them and their storylines.
As I indicated earlier, I could go on and on about this book. There is so much to say about it, that a few paragraphs, even a few pages are not enough. It is a tome, and at over 500 pages, it is not a light read, but it is a read that is well worth your time. The plotlines tie together seamlessly, and it is a satisfying original read.