quiraang's review against another edition
4.0
The Age of Scorpio is a lengthy, but compelling trilogy. The storyline is spread across three narratives, set in the Ancient Past, Now, and the distant future. Eventually it becomes clear that all three stories are linked, and they come together in this, the final installment.
Well worth a read.
Well worth a read.
scotoma's review against another edition
3.0
I read the first two books of the trilogy in 2016, started the last in 2017 and then stalled somewhere at the halfway mark as it felt like this was going nowhere. It’s an ambitious narrative split into three parts that happen in the far past in a somewhat fantastic rendition of mythological history, in the present that goes from somewhat normal to post-apocalyptic, and the far future with lots of large-scale violence and against the backdrop of extremely advanced technology.
And all of these three threads kept going from the first to the last book and kept me wondering how it tied together and why Smith had chosen to tell the story this way. At the end of the second book, it was clearer how these narratives were connected, but it was still open if they led to a place where it would all be tied together.
With the third book over, I’m not quite convinced it all worked. It’s easy to lose sight of who is who and what exactly is going on, not because of an inherent complexity that makes it hard to understand, but because of the massive quantity of things that happen, such that you easily forget details that you need to remember to get the whole picture.
It’s a trilogy where the texture of the world-building and the overall journey is more important than where it all leads to. Sure, the third book offers some explanations of why everything started and it has sort of an ending that tries to tie together the three strands. It sort of works. I probably would have to re-read the last chapters to really get a better understanding just if what I think happened actually did, and to be honest after spending so much time on it, I don’t really feel like doing it.
There’s a final confrontation that manages to upstage earlier already impressive fights, but I wasn’t actually sure whether the conflict was really solved in the end, or not at all. Whether it was another defeat, a delayed victory or time loop that would resolve the whole conflict in another iteration. Smith is highly adept at staging action in such a way that even with lots of things going on you never lose sight of who is fighting who and what happens, but sadly that doesn’t apply to the bigger plot.
I’m not entirely sure whether that’s intentional or not, whether Smith wanted to keep the ending somewhat opaque, or whether he thought he was completely clear, and it just wasn’t.
If somebody asked me if the trilogy was worth reading, I would probably say it depends. If you’re the kind of reader that expects a mind-blowing payoff at the end of such a long and complicated narrative, you likely end up disappointed. If you expect thoughtful sci-fi speculation, this is not it.
This is smart, well-written modern pulp that plays with a lot of the posthuman toybox, but it’s not about subtle forecasting and social speculation. By no means stupid and Smith’s fiction often uses extreme violence to critique it at the same time, but it’s easy to oversee in all the gunplay.
That said, if you like action that includes posthuman tech that allows people to take and dish out damage on a scale almost unimaginable, then this might be for you. It’s a self-indulgent, somewhat inventive, crazy romp that may be going on longer than it should, but it has its moments.
And all of these three threads kept going from the first to the last book and kept me wondering how it tied together and why Smith had chosen to tell the story this way. At the end of the second book, it was clearer how these narratives were connected, but it was still open if they led to a place where it would all be tied together.
With the third book over, I’m not quite convinced it all worked. It’s easy to lose sight of who is who and what exactly is going on, not because of an inherent complexity that makes it hard to understand, but because of the massive quantity of things that happen, such that you easily forget details that you need to remember to get the whole picture.
It’s a trilogy where the texture of the world-building and the overall journey is more important than where it all leads to. Sure, the third book offers some explanations of why everything started and it has sort of an ending that tries to tie together the three strands. It sort of works. I probably would have to re-read the last chapters to really get a better understanding just if what I think happened actually did, and to be honest after spending so much time on it, I don’t really feel like doing it.
There’s a final confrontation that manages to upstage earlier already impressive fights, but I wasn’t actually sure whether the conflict was really solved in the end, or not at all. Whether it was another defeat, a delayed victory or time loop that would resolve the whole conflict in another iteration. Smith is highly adept at staging action in such a way that even with lots of things going on you never lose sight of who is fighting who and what happens, but sadly that doesn’t apply to the bigger plot.
I’m not entirely sure whether that’s intentional or not, whether Smith wanted to keep the ending somewhat opaque, or whether he thought he was completely clear, and it just wasn’t.
If somebody asked me if the trilogy was worth reading, I would probably say it depends. If you’re the kind of reader that expects a mind-blowing payoff at the end of such a long and complicated narrative, you likely end up disappointed. If you expect thoughtful sci-fi speculation, this is not it.
This is smart, well-written modern pulp that plays with a lot of the posthuman toybox, but it’s not about subtle forecasting and social speculation. By no means stupid and Smith’s fiction often uses extreme violence to critique it at the same time, but it’s easy to oversee in all the gunplay.
That said, if you like action that includes posthuman tech that allows people to take and dish out damage on a scale almost unimaginable, then this might be for you. It’s a self-indulgent, somewhat inventive, crazy romp that may be going on longer than it should, but it has its moments.
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