kodermike's review against another edition
3.0
A fair alien invasion story, complete with victory, defeat, and more. I wish there was more backstory for the starfish, but all in all a fun read.
abmgw's review against another edition
5.0
That book prooves that military SF is NOT a complete waste of time.
Very nice ideas, wel written.
Very nice ideas, wel written.
dave_lyesmith's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
wildadvent604's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lyrrael's review against another edition
3.0
What happens when telepathic aliens invade the Earth and can predict your every move before you make it? You genetically engineer super soldiers resistant to telepathy to fight them. What happens when the war is over? Do you give vocational training to your super soldiers who literally know nothing but war? Neat thought experiment about the levels to which you may not want to go to win.
sirlancelot2021's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
kytimeforbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Closer to 3.5. I really like Will McIntosh's stories and characters, but this was a lot more action-based than I prefer and I ended up skimming most of the battle scenes (of which there were quite a few). Also super gory. If you're into that kind of thing, this is definitely for you.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
Wow that was dark. And relentless. And as I expected from [a:Will McIntosh|2938554|Will McIntosh|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1363376502p2/2938554.jpg], worth reading. This is the fourth good book in a row - though the first one I didn't five star. And I guess that's because it made [b:Soft Apocalypse|10075553|Soft Apocalypse|Will McIntosh|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327942697s/10075553.jpg|14972161] look uplifting. The aliens were creepifying, the created soldiers were were. The people who were our pov were pretty much broken, though to be fair everyone was pretty much broken. By the end of the book all you had were bad guys, less bad guys and perhaps slightly less bad guys. So what would you do to survive? What would anyone do? Certainly a question worth asking, and this book takes one try at trying to answer it.
athnyx230's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Xenophobia
patremagne's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. That was a powerful novel.
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http://abitterdraft.com/2014/04/defenders-by-will-mcintosh.html
Last year, Will McIntosh’s social science novel Love Minus Eighty took many genre readers by surprise in its exploration of human feelings. McIntosh changed things up this time around with Defenders, a novel about an alien invasion of Earth.
An alien race known as the Luyten have invaded Earth, wreaking havoc throughout the planet with their heat guns, melting people, cars, and buildings alike. The Luyten have a distinct and incredible advantage over humanity – they’re telepathic. They can read minds. How unfair is that? Turns out it’s extremely unfair, and humanity is on the brink of destruction; thousands are dying whenever a group of Luyten – often called “Starfish” by the protagonists – attack. Nothing Earth’s generals can come up with works because the Starfish know it’s coming. In a last-ditch effort, Earth’s most brilliant minds create the defenders – seventeen foot-tall beings who know nothing but war. They’re missing serotonin, the chemical in the brain that controls feelings, therefore the Luyten can’t use telepathy on them.
The blurb is fairly misleading in that upon reading it, you’d think that the war is over and the issue of what to do with the defenders is the main plot. Nearly half of the story is actually prior to the engineering of the defenders, while humanity is getting its ass kicked by the Luyten. We’re brought through the brutality of the war through the eyes of Lila, Oliver, and Kai, and no punches are held. McIntosh’s prose is elegant, but also simple – something I’d liken to Mark Lawrence. They both write beautifully, but succinctly – not flowery, overbearing, or “purple” as some call it. The structure of Defenders is strange in that, as mentioned before, the blurb doesn’t describe the novel’s full plot, and thus it’s difficult to talk about without spoiling.
Defenders is a deceptively deep novel. On the surface, it reads fast, but beneath it, McIntosh continues his exploration of human nature and what it is to be human. One scene in particular stood out:
"Humans made defenders with three legs, because you see us as valuable, but not as valuable as humans. Mammals have four legs, insects six, and Luyten either six or seven. So killing a Luyten means nothing, but you should only kill a dog if you intend to eat it. Do you think that makes sense?"
It’s very thought-provoking stuff. The interactions with the defenders are where it really stands out. Lacking serotonin and therefore emotion, they try to do things that they see humans do in their warlike manner, but the effect isn’t the same as it would be if a human did it. The inability of the defenders to properly interact with their creators leads them to distance defender society from that of the humans, and that’s when the conflict mentioned in the blurb begins.
Will McIntosh’s Defenders is definitely one of the best science fiction novels I’ve read in recent time. The characters are deep enough that you’ll feel various things for them, ranging from annoyance, to hatred, to love, and that’s where McIntosh thrives – in his characters. Orbit continues to earn its reputation as one of the top publishers in the business.
-------
http://abitterdraft.com/2014/04/defenders-by-will-mcintosh.html
Last year, Will McIntosh’s social science novel Love Minus Eighty took many genre readers by surprise in its exploration of human feelings. McIntosh changed things up this time around with Defenders, a novel about an alien invasion of Earth.
An alien race known as the Luyten have invaded Earth, wreaking havoc throughout the planet with their heat guns, melting people, cars, and buildings alike. The Luyten have a distinct and incredible advantage over humanity – they’re telepathic. They can read minds. How unfair is that? Turns out it’s extremely unfair, and humanity is on the brink of destruction; thousands are dying whenever a group of Luyten – often called “Starfish” by the protagonists – attack. Nothing Earth’s generals can come up with works because the Starfish know it’s coming. In a last-ditch effort, Earth’s most brilliant minds create the defenders – seventeen foot-tall beings who know nothing but war. They’re missing serotonin, the chemical in the brain that controls feelings, therefore the Luyten can’t use telepathy on them.
The blurb is fairly misleading in that upon reading it, you’d think that the war is over and the issue of what to do with the defenders is the main plot. Nearly half of the story is actually prior to the engineering of the defenders, while humanity is getting its ass kicked by the Luyten. We’re brought through the brutality of the war through the eyes of Lila, Oliver, and Kai, and no punches are held. McIntosh’s prose is elegant, but also simple – something I’d liken to Mark Lawrence. They both write beautifully, but succinctly – not flowery, overbearing, or “purple” as some call it. The structure of Defenders is strange in that, as mentioned before, the blurb doesn’t describe the novel’s full plot, and thus it’s difficult to talk about without spoiling.
Defenders is a deceptively deep novel. On the surface, it reads fast, but beneath it, McIntosh continues his exploration of human nature and what it is to be human. One scene in particular stood out:
"Humans made defenders with three legs, because you see us as valuable, but not as valuable as humans. Mammals have four legs, insects six, and Luyten either six or seven. So killing a Luyten means nothing, but you should only kill a dog if you intend to eat it. Do you think that makes sense?"
It’s very thought-provoking stuff. The interactions with the defenders are where it really stands out. Lacking serotonin and therefore emotion, they try to do things that they see humans do in their warlike manner, but the effect isn’t the same as it would be if a human did it. The inability of the defenders to properly interact with their creators leads them to distance defender society from that of the humans, and that’s when the conflict mentioned in the blurb begins.
Will McIntosh’s Defenders is definitely one of the best science fiction novels I’ve read in recent time. The characters are deep enough that you’ll feel various things for them, ranging from annoyance, to hatred, to love, and that’s where McIntosh thrives – in his characters. Orbit continues to earn its reputation as one of the top publishers in the business.