waclements7's review
3.0
Lots of details and world building is good, but it’s hard to really get attached to any of the characters.
coolcurrybooks's review
3.0
Burning Bright was fun and a good enough way to pass the time.
When Lioe arrives on the world of Burning Bright, she’s not thinking about anything other than the Game: the continous video game RPG which is popular with humans across the known universe. However, when Lioe uses character templates of a Burning Bright native, she becomes inadvertently drawn into complex local politics.
As far as I know, everyone in Burning Bright was bisexual, which was fantastic. I also liked that this future world didn’t seem to have any problems with homophobia and sexism.
Lioe is involved with a woman, Rosche, for most of the book, but I’m not sure if it was really a romance. Lioe and Rosche don’t seem to feel much for each other, but that could just be a general flaw of the novel. Besides, Rosche is a pretty flat character. I still don’t know much about her besides that she’s presented as a sexy, fiery dockworker.
I think the most emotional relationship was probably between Ransome and Chauvelin, but again there’s issues with the characters appearing emotionally dampened, particularly at the end. I would venture to guess that none of these characters really feeling anything is why I never became attached to them.
Besides that, my other quibble is the three sections that took place inside the RPG game. I just didn’t get the point of them and felt that they slowed down the pacing.
The world building was amazing. Scott never uses infodumps, but you are still able to get a sense of the scope of the universe she’s created. This feels like a real, breathing world. The descriptions of the Storm and the carnival on Burning Bright were particularly lovely, and there were also some nice things going on with the idea of the alien’s kinship structures.
All in all, I found Burning Bright to be entertaining but not a book I’m likely to ever return to. I would recommend this to people looking for a science fiction book with a focus on video games or which brings same sex relationships to the forefront.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
When Lioe arrives on the world of Burning Bright, she’s not thinking about anything other than the Game: the continous video game RPG which is popular with humans across the known universe. However, when Lioe uses character templates of a Burning Bright native, she becomes inadvertently drawn into complex local politics.
As far as I know, everyone in Burning Bright was bisexual, which was fantastic. I also liked that this future world didn’t seem to have any problems with homophobia and sexism.
Lioe is involved with a woman, Rosche, for most of the book, but I’m not sure if it was really a romance. Lioe and Rosche don’t seem to feel much for each other, but that could just be a general flaw of the novel. Besides, Rosche is a pretty flat character. I still don’t know much about her besides that she’s presented as a sexy, fiery dockworker.
I think the most emotional relationship was probably between Ransome and Chauvelin, but again there’s issues with the characters appearing emotionally dampened, particularly at the end. I would venture to guess that none of these characters really feeling anything is why I never became attached to them.
Besides that, my other quibble is the three sections that took place inside the RPG game. I just didn’t get the point of them and felt that they slowed down the pacing.
The world building was amazing. Scott never uses infodumps, but you are still able to get a sense of the scope of the universe she’s created. This feels like a real, breathing world. The descriptions of the Storm and the carnival on Burning Bright were particularly lovely, and there were also some nice things going on with the idea of the alien’s kinship structures.
All in all, I found Burning Bright to be entertaining but not a book I’m likely to ever return to. I would recommend this to people looking for a science fiction book with a focus on video games or which brings same sex relationships to the forefront.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
vortacist's review
challenging
reflective
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
3.0
stelepami's review
4.0
An old favorite. I've been a fan of Ms. Scott for about ten years, and this is one of my favorites. I wish there were books on this world, it's such a fascinating and intricate place. The plot, I think, is secondary to the setting. Which is not to say that the plot isn't any good, just that I would like to visit Burning Bright.
jmoses's review
3.0
I....wanted to like this book more than I do. It was interesting, both characters and world, but...there's too much going on. There's this weird tri-cornered trade/political thing going on, and then there's this Game thing. And we're just kind of...tossed into the mix of it, with little regard.
I think that if this was less busy, or had a slower ramp up before the story really got going, it would have been better. Both parts of the story were interesting, but it took me so long to really place what was going on that I constantly felt like I was behind the curve. It was irritating, when all I wanted to do was get into the story.
A shame, because the world seems pretty neat.
Also a lot of the characters had similar names it was it was a pain in the ass to keep them straight. Authors, I want to like your book, and your characters, and I only have so many brain cells. Help me out, please.
I think that if this was less busy, or had a slower ramp up before the story really got going, it would have been better. Both parts of the story were interesting, but it took me so long to really place what was going on that I constantly felt like I was behind the curve. It was irritating, when all I wanted to do was get into the story.
A shame, because the world seems pretty neat.
Also a lot of the characters had similar names it was it was a pain in the ass to keep them straight. Authors, I want to like your book, and your characters, and I only have so many brain cells. Help me out, please.
More...