neery811's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
schnoebs13's review against another edition
3.0
Society has advanced to a point where crews are being sent into space for a variety of missions. The people on Eriophora are sent out to build gates which will form the basic infrastructure of space travel. To do this though, it takes thousands of people who rotate out of a stasis to work the mission to prevent aging causing major issues. This works great until millions of years down the line, they’re still building gates and their message to return back to Earth never comes. Now some crew members think it might be time to take control of this mission for the sanity of those around. But will this be able to occur with the vast amounts of technology and the AI running the ship?
I’m not to sure how much I enjoyed this book overall but I do know that I did like reading certain parts throughout it. Even though it wasn’t my favorite I think it was good I read it since it helps to better understand what types of sci-fi I enjoy. Personally I love going into detail about how things work and guesstimated reasons why certain technology is present in the future. Things such as the forests that live on this ship providing life support but in dark environments was really intriguing as well as hearing how people could get personally invested in their relationships with AI. On the other hand, I’m not too sure how much I enjoyed the entire story taking place on a ship. I’ve enjoyed others where this concept has been a part of the story and then the characters were able to change environments from time to time but having the ship as the whole scene was hard for me. The character dynamics were really interested and I enjoyed seeing the “creation” of subcultures and how people would build relationships when they were only awake for a few days at a time. Lastly, my favorite scene was probably the moments where they were just taking in the beauty and vastness of space. It felt very human and is an emotion many can quickly connect with. Overall, would highly suggest for those who like hard science stories.
I’m not to sure how much I enjoyed this book overall but I do know that I did like reading certain parts throughout it. Even though it wasn’t my favorite I think it was good I read it since it helps to better understand what types of sci-fi I enjoy. Personally I love going into detail about how things work and guesstimated reasons why certain technology is present in the future. Things such as the forests that live on this ship providing life support but in dark environments was really intriguing as well as hearing how people could get personally invested in their relationships with AI. On the other hand, I’m not too sure how much I enjoyed the entire story taking place on a ship. I’ve enjoyed others where this concept has been a part of the story and then the characters were able to change environments from time to time but having the ship as the whole scene was hard for me. The character dynamics were really interested and I enjoyed seeing the “creation” of subcultures and how people would build relationships when they were only awake for a few days at a time. Lastly, my favorite scene was probably the moments where they were just taking in the beauty and vastness of space. It felt very human and is an emotion many can quickly connect with. Overall, would highly suggest for those who like hard science stories.
rossbm's review against another edition
3.0
(Read a ebook)
What's it about?
There's a spaceship that is travelling around the galaxy building wormhole "gates" for faster than light travel. The spaceship itself doesn't travel faster than light. It is million of years into its journey. It has a crew of 30,000 people. They are mostly in stasis, woken up for short intervals to assist on more complex "builds". As a result, even if million of years have passed, subjectively, only maybe a dozen have passed for most of the crew
Most builds are done unsupervised by Chimp, an AI. Chimp is not a particularly intelligent AI, having been designed with limitations to prevent it from deviating from mission parameters. That is why human crew is needed for more complex builds; also, why Chimp is called Chimp.
Despite millions of years having passed and thousands of gates being built, no contact from Earth has been received. No signal to stop the mission and stand down. As a result, some of the crew members want to stop the mission. However, Chimp puts the mission above all else.
What did I think?
A very interesting concept. Got a decent sense of how strange, weird and wonderful it would be to be on such a voyage. Didn't feel like the "revolution" aspect was fleshed out enough. The interactions and relationship between Sunday, the protagonist, and Chimp were interesting.
What's it about?
There's a spaceship that is travelling around the galaxy building wormhole "gates" for faster than light travel. The spaceship itself doesn't travel faster than light. It is million of years into its journey. It has a crew of 30,000 people. They are mostly in stasis, woken up for short intervals to assist on more complex "builds". As a result, even if million of years have passed, subjectively, only maybe a dozen have passed for most of the crew
Most builds are done unsupervised by Chimp, an AI. Chimp is not a particularly intelligent AI, having been designed with limitations to prevent it from deviating from mission parameters. That is why human crew is needed for more complex builds; also, why Chimp is called Chimp.
Despite millions of years having passed and thousands of gates being built, no contact from Earth has been received. No signal to stop the mission and stand down. As a result, some of the crew members want to stop the mission. However, Chimp puts the mission above all else.
What did I think?
A very interesting concept. Got a decent sense of how strange, weird and wonderful it would be to be on such a voyage. Didn't feel like the "revolution" aspect was fleshed out enough. The interactions and relationship between Sunday, the protagonist, and Chimp were interesting.
antigonus's review against another edition
4.0
This is a remarkable novella, one which is the second story in a series. The fact that I read it first, and treated it as a standalone, meant that I didn’t quite grasp some of the hard science concepts, but the characters and circumstances were compelling enough to carry the whole story along. Definitely worth checking out the author’s related works.
vernscul's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
For some reason I thought this was a short story collection. But it's not! So I was super confused for a bit in the beginning.
For some reason I thought this was a short story collection. But it's not! So I was super confused for a bit in the beginning.
makoshark44's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
louisallama's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Red text: (noted down myself but copied from Reddit so I don't have to format it)
I see you've found my eighth notes. The first few, anyway: for the rest, check out the archived gene map for Usurper alternant is D, consecutive mitochondrial introns just downstream from COX-five. Also www.rifters.com/Eriophora-Root-Archive-Log-Ahzmundin--frag/derelict.htm
Spoiler
I see you've found my eighth notes. The first few, anyway: for the rest, check out the archived gene map for Usurper alternant is D, consecutive mitochondrial introns just downstream from COX-five. Also www.rifters.com/Eriophora-Root-Archive-Log-Ahzmundin--frag/derelict.htm
tombomp's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Very compelling page turner with a really interesting concept. I did not understand all the science jargon (bits of which I think he just invented without explaining, which fine) but the stuff I *did* understand was genuinely interesting. In a way having a lot of words I only vaguely got an impression from was good because it makes the whole thing seem as alien and out of my comprehension as it should be.
phantomofthebookshop's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hopeboyce's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75