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moni_r's review
Flat, 2-dimensional characters capable of 1-2 emotional states and an AI that, for its supposed age and experience, adds little to the mix. I couldn’t finish it when the 3 human characters continued to repeat their facial and verbal expressions.
m_is_for_awesome's review against another edition
3.0
A sweet story, in the vein of Ancillary Justice (if you loved this book try the Ancillary series out!). Needed a good editing however. I have never read a book with so many words swapped out for the wrong one (damn you autocorrect!).
jenny_d's review against another edition
Not a fan of the narrator for the audiobook (just personal preference.) Probably gonna see if I can get my hands on a copy of a physical version.
justabean_reads's review
2.0
DNF about four and a half hours into a ten-hour audiobook.
I really want to like this book, but it just keeps being poorly thought out and it's bringing me down, man. The first three hours of the audiobook (excellently read, by the way) are a space battle, and it's a fine space battle, and it makes sense, but it could be a naval battle with space weapons. At no point to get a feeling of three dimensions. Also the concept of combined fleet tactics only shows up occasionally. They finally get out of the naval battle and have to evacuate the ship, and it's like no one has ever heard of this before. The captain starts looking for each person individually. There doesn't seem to be any kind of muster point. No one has ever drilled this. The escape pod (singular!) has massive design flaws that seem super obvious to me, but everyone else is surprised to run into.
I mean, all of this could be a sign of a decadent empire so wrapped up in its certainty of victory that they're utterly incompetent in the face of defeat, but the book doesn't have any vibe that that's text. The AI who runs the warship, our main character and a great narrative voice, has been through six ship bodies in 50 years. They do get blown up!
Anyway, I love the ship's point of view, and her interactions with the crew are great, but the logistics are killing me on this one. I keep going, "Wow, that's really dumb!" and it might be too much for me to finish. You know what, actually, I can't deal with these design flaws. These people deserve to die in space.
I really want to like this book, but it just keeps being poorly thought out and it's bringing me down, man. The first three hours of the audiobook (excellently read, by the way) are a space battle, and it's a fine space battle, and it makes sense, but it could be a naval battle with space weapons. At no point to get a feeling of three dimensions. Also the concept of combined fleet tactics only shows up occasionally. They finally get out of the naval battle and have to evacuate the ship, and it's like no one has ever heard of this before. The captain starts looking for each person individually. There doesn't seem to be any kind of muster point. No one has ever drilled this. The escape pod (singular!) has massive design flaws that seem super obvious to me, but everyone else is surprised to run into.
I mean, all of this could be a sign of a decadent empire so wrapped up in its certainty of victory that they're utterly incompetent in the face of defeat, but the book doesn't have any vibe that that's text. The AI who runs the warship, our main character and a great narrative voice, has been through six ship bodies in 50 years. They do get blown up!
Anyway, I love the ship's point of view, and her interactions with the crew are great, but the logistics are killing me on this one. I keep going, "Wow, that's really dumb!" and it might be too much for me to finish. You know what, actually, I can't deal with these design flaws. These people deserve to die in space.
lilyn_g's review
4.0
So, I never thought I’d read a story where the whole first third of it was one massive battle, and walk away saying I liked it. I have a short attention span, so protracted scenes tend to make me wander off. However, the action in J.B. Rockwell’s Serengeti was interesting enough that it kept my attention glued to it. I read it while taking a bubble bath, whilst walking through the house, etc. And when things calmed down (and they do calm way down), I happily kept reading it.
Serengeti is one part pulse-pounding action, two parts Wall-E 2. And, surprisingly, the two completely different types of books work really well together. The first third allows you to garner respect for the AI controlling the ship Serengeti, and to begin thinking of her as a ‘person’. As Serengeti, herself. A being, not a ship. That’s a crucial step to being able to feel for her as the other two-thirds happen. And you do feel for Serengeti. J.B. Rockwell does a fantastic job of showcasing the AI’s humanity even as she’s doing things that no human could do. The feelings of isolation, and sorrow tug at you again and again. But her sheer determination and loyalty to her crew keep you rooting for her.
There were problems with the book, though. One of the biggest problems I had with Serengeti is that I had trouble believing the AI was that human. It had its moments where it seemed more like an unwitting anthromorphosism than actually believable evolution. That might partially be my mind’s unwillingness to believe that the development of AI can progress that far. However, J.B. Rockwell inserts enough coldly logical thoughts/acts that she mostly keeps pulling it back from being too much for too long. Mostly. There’s a character introduced at one point in the later half of the story that I just cannot buy. It’s a little too much.
It’s hard to review the book as a whole because of how very different the sections are. I will say that J.B. Rockwell wrote one of the best space battles I’ve read in a long time. It was clearly written, easy to visualize, and full of enough deaths and explosions to make my heart go pitter-pat. It’s a lovely book to curl up with, as it gets you revved up and then slowly pulls your emotions back down. Serengeti is one of those books you’ll end up re-reading, just to see if she can invoke the hope and melancholy in you all over again.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author for review consideration.
Serengeti is one part pulse-pounding action, two parts Wall-E 2. And, surprisingly, the two completely different types of books work really well together. The first third allows you to garner respect for the AI controlling the ship Serengeti, and to begin thinking of her as a ‘person’. As Serengeti, herself. A being, not a ship. That’s a crucial step to being able to feel for her as the other two-thirds happen. And you do feel for Serengeti. J.B. Rockwell does a fantastic job of showcasing the AI’s humanity even as she’s doing things that no human could do. The feelings of isolation, and sorrow tug at you again and again. But her sheer determination and loyalty to her crew keep you rooting for her.
There were problems with the book, though. One of the biggest problems I had with Serengeti is that I had trouble believing the AI was that human. It had its moments where it seemed more like an unwitting anthromorphosism than actually believable evolution. That might partially be my mind’s unwillingness to believe that the development of AI can progress that far. However, J.B. Rockwell inserts enough coldly logical thoughts/acts that she mostly keeps pulling it back from being too much for too long. Mostly. There’s a character introduced at one point in the later half of the story that I just cannot buy. It’s a little too much.
It’s hard to review the book as a whole because of how very different the sections are. I will say that J.B. Rockwell wrote one of the best space battles I’ve read in a long time. It was clearly written, easy to visualize, and full of enough deaths and explosions to make my heart go pitter-pat. It’s a lovely book to curl up with, as it gets you revved up and then slowly pulls your emotions back down. Serengeti is one of those books you’ll end up re-reading, just to see if she can invoke the hope and melancholy in you all over again.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author for review consideration.
ruqiyah's review
3.0
Okay, two points to make. First, read that blurb. Isn't it brilliant? Isn't it fantastic? I had images of some sort of creepy sci-fi, people invading a ship while the ship is trying to get them out, like haunted house stuff but sci-fi with AI! I love AI!
The specific premise described in that blurb is an event that takes place two-thirds of the way through the book and is about ten pages long. This is not a book about that.
Second, I love space AI books. The last set I read was Ann Leckie's Ancillary books and Serengeti is at a disadvantage because this is a very different sort of AI. Which is to say you could replace Serengeti the AI with a lady in a little office off in a corner of the spaceship and I don't think the book would lose anything. It's an almost frustratingly human AI, who freaks out and gets distracted and is endlessly affectionate. That's not the book's fault - it's consistent and clear in its depiction of AI, it's just not my kind of AI. I don't read books about robots to read about robots blushing and giggling and being cutesy.
If I hadn't gone into this book hoping for something like Ancillary meets House of Leaves I probably would have liked it more, and I do think the blurb unfairly misrepresents it.
The specific premise described in that blurb is an event that takes place two-thirds of the way through the book and is about ten pages long. This is not a book about that.
Second, I love space AI books. The last set I read was Ann Leckie's Ancillary books and Serengeti is at a disadvantage because this is a very different sort of AI. Which is to say you could replace Serengeti the AI with a lady in a little office off in a corner of the spaceship and I don't think the book would lose anything. It's an almost frustratingly human AI, who freaks out and gets distracted and is endlessly affectionate. That's not the book's fault - it's consistent and clear in its depiction of AI, it's just not my kind of AI. I don't read books about robots to read about robots blushing and giggling and being cutesy.
If I hadn't gone into this book hoping for something like Ancillary meets House of Leaves I probably would have liked it more, and I do think the blurb unfairly misrepresents it.
kateshaw's review
5.0
I loved this one! The main character is a battle starship's AI, but while that might make you think of a militant HAL-type computer, Serengeti is anything but. She cares for her crew--human and robot--and will do anything to protect them, even if it means she might die.
The story is wonderfully different. At times it's action-packed and suspenseful, other times contemplative, but it's always warm and hopeful--even at the end when I kept having to blink back tears. I really hope there's a sequel!
The story is wonderfully different. At times it's action-packed and suspenseful, other times contemplative, but it's always warm and hopeful--even at the end when I kept having to blink back tears. I really hope there's a sequel!
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