mitchellsack's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
3.5
Good premise, but I kind of lost the plot on this one. The last 10% moved quite fast. I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish reading the series.
yhtgrace's review against another edition
4.0
Even better than the first? Still the only science fiction I've ever read where I'm tempted to look in the glossary but the glossary doesn't exist. It's really hard to feel upset about that though because so much is happening and you've gotta just jump off the cliff and trust that there's a web to break your fall. Mieli and Sydan (and Perhonen) break my heart.
rachelini's review against another edition
4.0
There's so much imagination in the writing. I really enjoyed the parts of the story around Tawaddud. Some of the rest of it didn't coalesce for me, although I found the end pretty satisfying.
kieralesley's review against another edition
3.0
I was really, really enjoying this! Right up until say the last 40 pages. It lost me and it lost me hard. Rajaniemi has a brutal "show, don't tell" style and the conclusion here gave sketchy details at best. It left me feeling frustrated and dumb rather than satisfied. I didn't enjoy the feeling.
There's lots to like here, though. Mieli's character development is great, the worldbuilding on Earth is as fantastic as it was in the previous book on Mars, there's a lot of really fascinating stuff about minds and mnemonic devices and stories that is really, really beautifully crafted. The Sirr with their jinn and Seals and everything was amazing. I loved everything about that world. I loved getting a better grip on the Sobornost Founders and the zoku and the wider world all of this is playing out in. The scope of these books is enormous. The amount of concepts packed into such a slim novel is insane - this is not scifi for the faint-hearted!
Overall I liked this book, but I'm hesitant about finishing the series. I just think I'm never going to get my head around things enough to really appreciate or enjoy what's happening in these books. Again, it makes me feel dumb to admit it, but I constantly feel like I'm missing steps with these books and that compounds as the plot ties up. I don't know if I'm motivated enough by the story being woven here to experience that again...but I'll debrief with someone more across the world and what's happening before I write the series off entirely.
3 stars: liked it, but struggled.
There's lots to like here, though. Mieli's character development is great, the worldbuilding on Earth is as fantastic as it was in the previous book on Mars, there's a lot of really fascinating stuff about minds and mnemonic devices and stories that is really, really beautifully crafted. The Sirr with their jinn and Seals and everything was amazing. I loved everything about that world. I loved getting a better grip on the Sobornost Founders and the zoku and the wider world all of this is playing out in. The scope of these books is enormous. The amount of concepts packed into such a slim novel is insane - this is not scifi for the faint-hearted!
Overall I liked this book, but I'm hesitant about finishing the series. I just think I'm never going to get my head around things enough to really appreciate or enjoy what's happening in these books. Again, it makes me feel dumb to admit it, but I constantly feel like I'm missing steps with these books and that compounds as the plot ties up. I don't know if I'm motivated enough by the story being woven here to experience that again...but I'll debrief with someone more across the world and what's happening before I write the series off entirely.
3 stars: liked it, but struggled.
quiraang's review against another edition
4.0
WooHoo! Another high tech slalom ride. The plot thickens. An excellent continuation of the first novel.
jonas_gehrlein's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting science fantasy the jargon was a bit heavy but the worldbuilding was really interesting with it's pecket dimensions, stories and true names.
msaari's review against another edition
4.0
Hannu Rajaniemi continues writing strong novels. The text flies high and getting it all is a bit of a challenge; but it is a good ride nevertheless. There's a cool, subtle XKCD reference in the book; I found that hilarious.
dreadpirateshawn's review against another edition
4.0
This book lives in the canny valley between cyberpunk and science fantasy.
The second book in the Jean le Flambeur trilogy is an even wilder ride than the first, with an increasing conceptual scope. The biggest... feature? problem? challenge? is that with increased scope comes an increase in complexity in the warp and weave of the story.
In short -- having completed the book, I've only got a general sense of how it ends. To the author's credit -- that's intentionally part of the journey/surprise, and I suspect an immediate re-read would clarify at least half of my confusion. Nested realities and nested stories are both integral to the conceit, and in both cases it's easier to follow where they begin once you know where they end.
That having been said, I'm very eager to read the third book! Hopefully it will clarify more about the second book's climax, with some of the ambiguity being used as a teaser for the finale, rather than pure obfuscation.
The second book in the Jean le Flambeur trilogy is an even wilder ride than the first, with an increasing conceptual scope. The biggest... feature? problem? challenge? is that with increased scope comes an increase in complexity in the warp and weave of the story.
In short -- having completed the book, I've only got a general sense of how it ends. To the author's credit -- that's intentionally part of the journey/surprise, and I suspect an immediate re-read would clarify at least half of my confusion. Nested realities and nested stories are both integral to the conceit, and in both cases it's easier to follow where they begin once you know where they end.
That having been said, I'm very eager to read the third book! Hopefully it will clarify more about the second book's climax, with some of the ambiguity being used as a teaser for the finale, rather than pure obfuscation.
msjoanna's review against another edition
5.0
Scott Brick again delivers an excellent narration of this complicated novel. This book is the sequel to [b:The Quantum Thief|7562764|The Quantum Thief (Jean le Flambeur, #1)|Hannu Rajaniemi|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327950631s/7562764.jpg|9886333]. Without the background from the first book, this book will make less sense and the characters will lack back story. Definitely start with [b:The Quantum Thief|7562764|The Quantum Thief (Jean le Flambeur, #1)|Hannu Rajaniemi|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327950631s/7562764.jpg|9886333].
I still feel that I don't understand all the details of the complicated world presented in these books, but I'm okay with that. The book is fast-paced and drops the reader (back) into the deep end of this universe where complicated computer technology has radically changed the face of just about everything. This book gives more context for some of these technologies, including more explanation of different kinds of minds and intelligence -- both individual and more global, both organic and computer/tech based.
This book focuses on stories and story telling and the possibility of achieving immortality therefrom.
I'll definitely be reading the third book in the trilogy. I'm sad that it isn't narrated by Scott Brick as he's done such a fabulous job with the first two books in the series.
I still feel that I don't understand all the details of the complicated world presented in these books, but I'm okay with that. The book is fast-paced and drops the reader (back) into the deep end of this universe where complicated computer technology has radically changed the face of just about everything. This book gives more context for some of these technologies, including more explanation of different kinds of minds and intelligence -- both individual and more global, both organic and computer/tech based.
This book focuses on stories and story telling and the possibility of achieving immortality therefrom.
I'll definitely be reading the third book in the trilogy. I'm sad that it isn't narrated by Scott Brick as he's done such a fabulous job with the first two books in the series.