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jamirama's review
bounced off because of the prose and lack of character development. soo much description.
samukele's review
First person historical science fiction (or alt history) not for me. Reminded me of Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (which I also didn't like)
stephenmeansme's review
4.0
This is a solid steam punk alternative-history adventure, just the kind of quick read done well that makes you like sf.
The premise is fairly simple: Ross's expedition to the Antarctic discovers a mysterious cometary fragment containing "anti-ice," which is probably antimatter but the physics of the 19th c. doesn't have the word for that yet. And so the British Empire basically becomes a nuclear power just in time for the Crimean War (in prologue) and Franco-Prussian War (in the main narrative). Add in a trip to the Moon and you've got yourself a retro-future tale a la Verne or Wells, with the added veneer of 20th c. physics and geopolitical allegory.
Baxter does a really good job making all the steam punk tech seem plausible---I did believe that given the "cheat" of this antimatter energy source, a sufficiently clever British engineer could build a rocket ship, monorail, warhead, etc. Somewhat less convincing was the period voice of the narrator; Baxter tried, and if I did the mental equivalent of squinting I could imagine a Wells-esque tone, but see for example "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" for a much better example of an period-emulating style.
Overall it's a fun little book, made me think a little bit, and yeah. Worth checking out from the library.
The premise is fairly simple: Ross's expedition to the Antarctic discovers a mysterious cometary fragment containing "anti-ice," which is probably antimatter but the physics of the 19th c. doesn't have the word for that yet. And so the British Empire basically becomes a nuclear power just in time for the Crimean War (in prologue) and Franco-Prussian War (in the main narrative). Add in a trip to the Moon and you've got yourself a retro-future tale a la Verne or Wells, with the added veneer of 20th c. physics and geopolitical allegory.
Baxter does a really good job making all the steam punk tech seem plausible---I did believe that given the "cheat" of this antimatter energy source, a sufficiently clever British engineer could build a rocket ship, monorail, warhead, etc. Somewhat less convincing was the period voice of the narrator; Baxter tried, and if I did the mental equivalent of squinting I could imagine a Wells-esque tone, but see for example "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" for a much better example of an period-emulating style.
Overall it's a fun little book, made me think a little bit, and yeah. Worth checking out from the library.
andrewspink's review against another edition
4.0
An enjoyable steam-punk style sci-fi alternative history. Stephen Baxter nicely catches the flavour of the period, and it definitely had the feel of a book by Jules Verne or H.G. Wells. That is a complement. I understand now why he wanted to write a sequel to The Time Machine, The Time Ships, which was also very good, albeit without incomparable clarity of text from H.G. Wells himself. Anti-Ice is great fun and definitely worth reading.
rixx's review against another edition
2.0
I finally read a book by *Stephen Baxter*! **Anti-Ice** seems like it should be very much down my road: Victorians! In space! Science! Alternate history!
… yeah, about that.
Spoilers up ahead.
Anti-Ice features a young ~anti-hero~ privileged idiot as protagonist. His character was one-dimensional, and served pretty well to tell the story, and also to invite info dumps. While the book wants you to believe that there was character development, there was none. He also falls in love with an **obvious French saboteur** after talking to her twice. Seriously. It's so obvious other characters comment on it. He never gets over it.
We also get the scientist with a conscience, the British patriot, the British butler, the French patriot, and we just about escaped having a Prussian cardboard cut-out.
Sadly, we don't get a plot. Well, except if you accept "Idiot goes to space by accident, discovers moon monsters, returns". Actually, that part of the story was *fun*, in a pulp-y sort of way. Like, there is no plot, but there are detailed descriptions of Victorians in space, which seems like a Jules Verne thing to do, and a lot of fun. Though Jules Verne would've been more realistic about things, seriously. Building a rocket that lives through both liftoff and re-entry? And air filtering, food, etc? Just like that, really? My suspension of disbelief took a big hit there, *and I don't even know all that much about rockets*.
Sadly, the book did not end there. We get another ~20% of info dumping on how the world developed after that. How the French and the Prussians concluded their war, how Europe evolved consequently. Sometimes characters go out of their way to explain how some Mr Dickens or Mr Disraeli are *really* not well-known because something derailed their career. Totally natural.
Anti-Ice itself is such a heavy-handed metaphor for nuclear power that it doesn't really bear mention. Includes all of methods of transport, missiles, destroying cities and armies, a cold war, etc. Pretty uninspired, I thought, because **this has been done**. In real life. Give me at least some "alternate" with my alternate history, please.
So, yeah. If you like steampunk, go ahead! Parts of it are really enjoyable! You won't get character development or a good plot, but the world-building is well done, so if you enjoy novels like that on occasion (I know I do, no judgement implied) – go ahead! I don't think I'll be returning to Baxter any time soon, though: My theory is that Victorians are somewhat tedious, and Baxter is a tedious writer, so they brought out the best in him.
… yeah, about that.
Spoilers up ahead.
Anti-Ice features a young ~anti-hero~ privileged idiot as protagonist. His character was one-dimensional, and served pretty well to tell the story, and also to invite info dumps. While the book wants you to believe that there was character development, there was none. He also falls in love with an **obvious French saboteur** after talking to her twice. Seriously. It's so obvious other characters comment on it. He never gets over it.
We also get the scientist with a conscience, the British patriot, the British butler, the French patriot, and we just about escaped having a Prussian cardboard cut-out.
Sadly, we don't get a plot. Well, except if you accept "Idiot goes to space by accident, discovers moon monsters, returns". Actually, that part of the story was *fun*, in a pulp-y sort of way. Like, there is no plot, but there are detailed descriptions of Victorians in space, which seems like a Jules Verne thing to do, and a lot of fun. Though Jules Verne would've been more realistic about things, seriously. Building a rocket that lives through both liftoff and re-entry? And air filtering, food, etc? Just like that, really? My suspension of disbelief took a big hit there, *and I don't even know all that much about rockets*.
Sadly, the book did not end there. We get another ~20% of info dumping on how the world developed after that. How the French and the Prussians concluded their war, how Europe evolved consequently. Sometimes characters go out of their way to explain how some Mr Dickens or Mr Disraeli are *really* not well-known because something derailed their career. Totally natural.
Anti-Ice itself is such a heavy-handed metaphor for nuclear power that it doesn't really bear mention. Includes all of methods of transport, missiles, destroying cities and armies, a cold war, etc. Pretty uninspired, I thought, because **this has been done**. In real life. Give me at least some "alternate" with my alternate history, please.
So, yeah. If you like steampunk, go ahead! Parts of it are really enjoyable! You won't get character development or a good plot, but the world-building is well done, so if you enjoy novels like that on occasion (I know I do, no judgement implied) – go ahead! I don't think I'll be returning to Baxter any time soon, though: My theory is that Victorians are somewhat tedious, and Baxter is a tedious writer, so they brought out the best in him.
vintonole's review
2.0
When I first read this I wasn't familiar with steampunk and didn't really enjoy alternative histories. The plot and ideas I read in this book have resurfaced in my mind often since then. Because of this... I guess I'd call it delayed enjoyment, I'd up the 2 star rating to at least a 3.
buildhergender's review
4.0
An alternate history.
An intrepid explorer uses a new element found to fuel his inventions. The fuel is clean, but when heated without the right containment explodes like an atom bomb, without the fallout.
Taking place in pre world war 1 Europe.
I like that the author included other things to add to the mix besides the new invention. Charles Dickens getting booed out of Britain is just one example.
An intrepid explorer uses a new element found to fuel his inventions. The fuel is clean, but when heated without the right containment explodes like an atom bomb, without the fallout.
Taking place in pre world war 1 Europe.
I like that the author included other things to add to the mix besides the new invention. Charles Dickens getting booed out of Britain is just one example.
pluralise's review
2.0
Space steampunk is just one of those things where I can't suspend my disbelief...
gunner's review
2.0
The only thing this book has going for it is that it reads very much like an H.G. Wells novel. Otherwise it is mostly boring, with uninteresting characters and both a ridiculous and largely pointless story. Maybe some will be intrigued by a 19th-century-styled science fiction story where the science is actually correct (one must only read The Island of Dr. Moreau to know how easily bad science can render a book laughably terrible), but for me that novelty was not enough to overcome the sheer uselessness of the plot and characters.
alistairr's review
4.0
An enjoyable adventure through an alternate 19th century, diverging from our own with the appearance of the 'little moon ' in the 1720s and the discovery of 'anti-ice' in the 1850s.
The cover depicts the main event of the prologue, The closure of the Crimean war and the begging of the new age powered by Anti-ice.
The story is told from the perspective of Ned Vicars in 1870, across a few eventful months and traces a journey across Europe and beyond.
The cover depicts the main event of the prologue, The closure of the Crimean war and the begging of the new age powered by Anti-ice.
The story is told from the perspective of Ned Vicars in 1870, across a few eventful months and traces a journey across Europe and beyond.
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