Reviews

Well, that was fun!
Geeky, gently funny, and all on top of a quite plausible plot.

There's a consistency of tone (I hope so - everyone's Bob!) throughout, and a consistency in the level of the science - hard enough for detail, loose enough that you don't look too closely.

The Bobs are above average in competence, but never annoyingly so, and they get some things wrong. They face a competent opponent, and face very credible constraints in what they do.

As a standalone, this one has too many unresolved strands. But since I plan to read #2 and #2, no problem.

It's also a nice change to have a normal-sized novel instead of the 600-page monsters that have become normal lately.

Not to mention that DET's a Canadian, yay, and from the Seabus references I suspect he's my neighbour. (yes, with a "u")

moiscool's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I think maybe i like sci-fi?

gerceval's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

eandrews80's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

It took this a while to grow on me, but I ended up really enjoying it! Taylor has come up with a truly fantastic premise that allows all sorts of stories to play out over the long time period you need for technological advancement and space exploration. The prose is also really light-hearted and fun; there are some great one-liners and interactions between Bob and his ... well, I don't want to spoil anything.

My only complaints are: 1) there is a bit too much hard sci-fi and war strategy. Luckily, not all the plot lines center on this, so there was plenty of other stuff to enjoy. 2) There are basically no women in the book at all; I can count the number of female characters on one hand, and they all play extremely minor roles. As a woman who mostly reads books written by women centered on female characters, this felt very odd, but I suppose it's not the end of the world. I'm hoping the other books in the series address this issue.

rampulk's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

meganreadsome's review against another edition

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adventurous funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

thicc_spines's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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