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jstilts's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Full disclosure: I picked up this book because the cover caught my eye, then the title intrigued me, then I realised I know the author!
It's labelled as Book One, but the story is completely self-contained with a satisfying ending, although I will be very happy to read more about these characters in the future.
"A Strange Taste of Metal" begins on Mars where people have been living there long enough that it's shifting from being purely an Industrial Port to include a tourist economy. Once we've nicely settled into this relatively grounded environment, met most of the characters and set up some intrigues, the plot takes us and them to explore a distant and almost unexplored world bursting with unique alien life. This part of the book - which makes up the bulk of the novel - is a tale of exploration and survival as we unlock the mysteries of this world and this crew, and what it means for Mars, Earth and the rest of the populated solar system. While this sounds more of a fantastical sci-fi it's themes of scientific survey and survival keep it well grounded and relatable. The final (quarter, maybe?) of the book veers into hard sci-fi that also makes for a good upping of the tension, but I would also have happily stayed stuck on the new planet, although I doubt the crew would agree!
I had great fun reading this book - quickly immersed and invested in the world and the characters, fooled by some of the twists, and worried when I realised I was nearing the end that it was all going to be over. Looking back, while the book certainly feels very satisfyingly complete I can see a few dangling threads that the next book could pick up on - and I very much look forward to that happening.
It's labelled as Book One, but the story is completely self-contained with a satisfying ending, although I will be very happy to read more about these characters in the future.
"A Strange Taste of Metal" begins on Mars where people have been living there long enough that it's shifting from being purely an Industrial Port to include a tourist economy. Once we've nicely settled into this relatively grounded environment, met most of the characters and set up some intrigues, the plot takes us and them to explore a distant and almost unexplored world bursting with unique alien life. This part of the book - which makes up the bulk of the novel - is a tale of exploration and survival as we unlock the mysteries of this world and this crew, and what it means for Mars, Earth and the rest of the populated solar system. While this sounds more of a fantastical sci-fi it's themes of scientific survey and survival keep it well grounded and relatable. The final (quarter, maybe?) of the book veers into hard sci-fi that also makes for a good upping of the tension, but I would also have happily stayed stuck on the new planet, although I doubt the crew would agree!
I had great fun reading this book - quickly immersed and invested in the world and the characters, fooled by some of the twists, and worried when I realised I was nearing the end that it was all going to be over. Looking back, while the book certainly feels very satisfyingly complete I can see a few dangling threads that the next book could pick up on - and I very much look forward to that happening.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Medical content
Minor: Gore, Grief, Infertility, and Confinement
amcglinchey's review
4.0
Lots of fun - The Martian meets Leviathan Wakes with a dash of Firefly.
The premise is great - a jack-of-all-trades adventurer on Mars joins a research mission to a new planet. Along the way they discover remarkable and dangerous life forms, as well as signs of another intelligent species in the cosmos. It all culminates in an alien artefact from that alien species making its way back to our own solar system, and our intrepid crew must save the day with bravery and cleverness.
If I can make some constructive feedback: the crew of the ship are lightly drawn, to the point where I had some trouble remembering who was who. Each crew member had their own motivations and an arc, but each was brief enough that I barely really followed them.
I definitely enjoyed the characters' snappy dialogue. They tease and bicker and show their adventurous bravado with quips. They do seem to do this even in moments of considerable stress and horror -- one of their crew is badly mutilated by a wild alien animal, or they are at life-threatening risk of being stranded by a solar storm and a malfunctioning spaceship, and still they wisecrack and discuss what they're having for lunch.
Also, they drink a *heroic* amount of coffee.
Some of my favorite parts are the bits of science fiction research: the characters undergo intense g-forces during acceleration or deceleration, there's discussion of Lagrange points and why a planet might be tidally locked, there's auroras, interplanetary lightspeed-limited communications, radiation damage, a solar system economy of settlements on moons and planets, plus a thoughtful ecology of interacting plants and animals on a planet with different conditions from ours. Very satisfying sci-fi world-building.
The premise is great - a jack-of-all-trades adventurer on Mars joins a research mission to a new planet. Along the way they discover remarkable and dangerous life forms, as well as signs of another intelligent species in the cosmos. It all culminates in an alien artefact from that alien species making its way back to our own solar system, and our intrepid crew must save the day with bravery and cleverness.
If I can make some constructive feedback: the crew of the ship are lightly drawn, to the point where I had some trouble remembering who was who. Each crew member had their own motivations and an arc, but each was brief enough that I barely really followed them.
I definitely enjoyed the characters' snappy dialogue. They tease and bicker and show their adventurous bravado with quips. They do seem to do this even in moments of considerable stress and horror -- one of their crew is badly mutilated by a wild alien animal, or they are at life-threatening risk of being stranded by a solar storm and a malfunctioning spaceship, and still they wisecrack and discuss what they're having for lunch.
Also, they drink a *heroic* amount of coffee.
Some of my favorite parts are the bits of science fiction research: the characters undergo intense g-forces during acceleration or deceleration, there's discussion of Lagrange points and why a planet might be tidally locked, there's auroras, interplanetary lightspeed-limited communications, radiation damage, a solar system economy of settlements on moons and planets, plus a thoughtful ecology of interacting plants and animals on a planet with different conditions from ours. Very satisfying sci-fi world-building.
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