kitvaria_sarene's review against another edition
3.0
First off - if you don't count Orson Scott Card, this is only my second SciFi novel, so I don't have a lot of comparison.
I bought this, because I decided to read the Nebula Award nominees.
I got into the story quite fast, and it was a good and fun read.
It was not exactly what I was expecting - especially in the beginning it felt more like a spy/action novel with cold storage units, than SciFi.
It's only in the second half. that we get to see a bit of a spaceship, and meet more then the one single "Alien" from the first half.
I liked both parts, and especially that the POV characters all got greek code names, and the chapters therefore are headed "Odysseus" or "Circe" and so on.
But I also had some problems with the book.
The main character Caine is - simply said - perfect. Too perfect. He get's minimal training, but he manages to stay on top of every situation throughout the book, and of course all women love him.
I missed a bit more "spacey" stuff ;) I love Star Trek, Doctor Who and such TV series, so I missed my "warp drives" "quantum fluctuations" and such.
The Aliens were a bit stereotype for me.
All in all I would have wanted to give 3,5 half stars, but since that's not possible I'll round it up to 4 stars.
I bought this, because I decided to read the Nebula Award nominees.
I got into the story quite fast, and it was a good and fun read.
It was not exactly what I was expecting - especially in the beginning it felt more like a spy/action novel with cold storage units, than SciFi.
It's only in the second half. that we get to see a bit of a spaceship, and meet more then the one single "Alien" from the first half.
I liked both parts, and especially that the POV characters all got greek code names, and the chapters therefore are headed "Odysseus" or "Circe" and so on.
But I also had some problems with the book.
The main character Caine is - simply said - perfect. Too perfect. He get's minimal training, but he manages to stay on top of every situation throughout the book, and of course all women love him.
I missed a bit more "spacey" stuff ;) I love Star Trek, Doctor Who and such TV series, so I missed my "warp drives" "quantum fluctuations" and such.
The Aliens were a bit stereotype for me.
All in all I would have wanted to give 3,5 half stars, but since that's not possible I'll round it up to 4 stars.
titusfortner's review against another edition
2.0
What an odd book. I picked this up because Gannon keeps getting Nebula award nominations. I have zero idea why this book was nominated because it is objectively not that great.
From the too good protagonist, to the odd plot (it almost feels like two separate book ideas were combined into one after their first draft), to the horrible female character representations...
I did enjoy bits of this but I'm rounding down to 2 stars because of the undeserved hype.
From the too good protagonist, to the odd plot (it almost feels like two separate book ideas were combined into one after their first draft), to the horrible female character representations...
I did enjoy bits of this but I'm rounding down to 2 stars because of the undeserved hype.
thinde's review against another edition
3.0
This book seems to be ageing quickly, or perhaps it was created pre-aged. I actually had to check the initial publish date (2013) to be sure, since it seemed to be a creation of the 1980's. Despite being set in the 22nd century, auto-drive cars have only recently become a thing and gender bias is still a topic of concern/jokes. It just seems anachronistic. Even the military descriptions seem pulled from ten years ago, not 100 year in the future. Oh well.
As a thriller/mystery it works well. While I was frustrated with, what seemed like, manufactured mystery, the book's ending made the main characters' actions somewhat justified, and left me with a desire to continue reading. I won't be rushing to pick up the sequel, but it's on my list.
As a thriller/mystery it works well. While I was frustrated with, what seemed like, manufactured mystery, the book's ending made the main characters' actions somewhat justified, and left me with a desire to continue reading. I won't be rushing to pick up the sequel, but it's on my list.
minotaursmaze's review against another edition
4.0
Good new series. Interesting characters that are well developed. I still hate being left with a thousand questions. And the main characters a little to perfect. But I already started looking for details on the next book.
datadog1's review against another edition
3.0
While I did like this book it was a bit of a slog to get through. It was clearly the setup for a series or a sequel, and the large amount of data dump felt more like work than an enjoyable reading experience. The main protagonist Caine was too good at everything, often taking me out of the story due to my rolling eyes. And the political situation of Earth seems way too close to today, or even outdated a bit. That being said there was an interesting mystery which remains unresolved by the end, and the aliens were pretty interesting too. My TBR pile is too big to spend more time on this bloated series however.
I think I was especially annoyed by the flaws in this book because I could see how with editing this could easily have been a super fun book I lost myself in. Instead I struggled to get through it and the plot points that interested me remained unresolved by the end.
I think I was especially annoyed by the flaws in this book because I could see how with editing this could easily have been a super fun book I lost myself in. Instead I struggled to get through it and the plot points that interested me remained unresolved by the end.
scamp1234's review against another edition
3.0
Really wanted to enjoy this, but couldn't find myself liking the characters too much. The story just kept moving and felt like it wasn't going anywhere as well.
pegolon's review against another edition
1.0
In the 60ies the biggest James Bond fan of all was abducted by Aliens, put into cryo-sleep, re-awakened in 2012 and forced to write a Science Fiction novel.
That was my take when I had to stop in the first half of the book since it is so unimaginative as you can guess. Although humanity discovered FTL travel in about 100 years, right after that they invent self-driving, speaking (sic!) cars and still use paper cash when traveling to Mars where they solve crimes by comparing blood-types instead of gene analysis. All important work is done by men, women only appear as side kicks with limited background.
I could not stand reading any further, it just upset me too much.
That was my take when I had to stop in the first half of the book since it is so unimaginative as you can guess. Although humanity discovered FTL travel in about 100 years, right after that they invent self-driving, speaking (sic!) cars and still use paper cash when traveling to Mars where they solve crimes by comparing blood-types instead of gene analysis. All important work is done by men, women only appear as side kicks with limited background.
I could not stand reading any further, it just upset me too much.
midnightgarden's review
4.0
Great world building, excellent spycraft, compelling characterization. I'm looking forward to the next book!
tashalostinbooks's review
1.0
Sloppily written. I enjoyed the very beginning, but then that storyline was dropped and the book turned into a spy thriller for a few hundred pages. By the time it got back to being a space opera I had checked out and didn't care anymore. Caine was annoyingly perfect at everything in every situation, and had no character arc.