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timinbc's review
2.0
Hmph. Didn't work for me. I just about tagged this as fantasy. See, I've always liked the concept that SF is about stuff that *could* happen, while fantasy plays more with "couldn't happen but let's explore it anyway." This slips over the line.
We dive right in with the GREEN and the RED and the BLUE etc. which seem to be a cross between S*lly P*utty, L*GO, and computer circuits with a dash of magic. Except the GREEN can somehow slow the progress of a fatal disease. The one Silde goes on and on about at first; can't blame her but it's tedious and obviously she ain't gonna die of it, she's effectively the POV character.
We have a threesome–and I use the term intentionally–of salvagers. They're after valuable stuff, but there seem to be very few of them, all polite except a few Bad Guys. Until we find that among all the GREEN and RED and BLUE wtf-ium one might find a Gift. At first I thought "Excalibur?" No, not as likely as that. Magic psychic nanites. No, really.
We meet a Bad Guy who's the classic "what do I want? Bwah-hah, I want to be badder than bad! And break the universe, ahhahha!"
We go to a planet, they rent a vehicle, and ol' Gabby Hayes at the store says, "A'course ya gotta be careful in case there's a storm," and they say, "It's cool, dude, we checked the forecast." Hah. You KNOW what's gonna happen, dont'cha? Yep. It happened, but it was uneventful and I am not sure why Scott bothered with that scene unless it was a sly joke.
The scene with Dehlin is thoughtful and good.
Then we get into the gods who made this stuff. They gots these magic doodads that heal people, and they made them with time crystals and alternate "possibles, and you know what? I'm getting tired of all the handwaving. Especially when our heroes suffered dyschronorrhea from jumping outside time for a moment, until they could latch into a time signal (this is, of course, just a fancy version of the old [wakes up] "how long was I out?" cliché.
At the end, these leftover ultrapowerful whatevers are somehow contained. OK, mythology is chock full of gods and demigods locked up forever with "no chance of escaping (pauses) unless ... nah, couldn't possibly happen" so I'll allow this. They telepath our plucky heroine "let us free, we'll be good this time, Scout's honor" and she's like "nah" and we're done. Huh? I would have liked an exit that included a bit of "Sooooo, what are we gonna do with these her Gifts? What else do ya s'pose they can do?" As Scott has a character say at the end, they have (ahem) plenty of time.
Lookit, I've enjoyed reading along with orogeny and ringworlds and life on a gas giant, and tribbles, and sentient fungus, and I am NOT fussy about worldbuilding. But this one reads more like a comic book or a Star Wars "Kessel run in less than a parsec," or what Vonnegut called a chronosynclastic infundibulum. Every new scene left me expecting a new surprise, like weight-loss pies made from backwards atoms. This is a basic story dressed up in seven-league boots and invisibility cloaks.
AND .. what bugged me most: these Gifts are incredibly rare, and yet our crew of three thinks it's perfectly natural to plan to ... no, I won't say it. I've done enough spoiling.
I've liked quite a few of her others, but for me Scott has been too inventive in this book.
We dive right in with the GREEN and the RED and the BLUE etc. which seem to be a cross between S*lly P*utty, L*GO, and computer circuits with a dash of magic. Except the GREEN can somehow slow the progress of a fatal disease. The one Silde goes on and on about at first; can't blame her but it's tedious and obviously she ain't gonna die of it, she's effectively the POV character.
We have a threesome–and I use the term intentionally–of salvagers. They're after valuable stuff, but there seem to be very few of them, all polite except a few Bad Guys. Until we find that among all the GREEN and RED and BLUE wtf-ium one might find a Gift. At first I thought "Excalibur?" No, not as likely as that. Magic psychic nanites. No, really.
We meet a Bad Guy who's the classic "what do I want? Bwah-hah, I want to be badder than bad! And break the universe, ahhahha!"
We go to a planet, they rent a vehicle, and ol' Gabby Hayes at the store says, "A'course ya gotta be careful in case there's a storm," and they say, "It's cool, dude, we checked the forecast." Hah. You KNOW what's gonna happen, dont'cha? Yep. It happened, but it was uneventful and I am not sure why Scott bothered with that scene unless it was a sly joke.
The scene with Dehlin is thoughtful and good.
Then we get into the gods who made this stuff. They gots these magic doodads that heal people, and they made them with time crystals and alternate "possibles, and you know what? I'm getting tired of all the handwaving. Especially when our heroes suffered dyschronorrhea from jumping outside time for a moment, until they could latch into a time signal (this is, of course, just a fancy version of the old [wakes up] "how long was I out?" cliché.
At the end, these leftover ultrapowerful whatevers are somehow contained. OK, mythology is chock full of gods and demigods locked up forever with "no chance of escaping (pauses) unless ... nah, couldn't possibly happen" so I'll allow this. They telepath our plucky heroine "let us free, we'll be good this time, Scout's honor" and she's like "nah" and we're done. Huh? I would have liked an exit that included a bit of "Sooooo, what are we gonna do with these her Gifts? What else do ya s'pose they can do?" As Scott has a character say at the end, they have (ahem) plenty of time.
Lookit, I've enjoyed reading along with orogeny and ringworlds and life on a gas giant, and tribbles, and sentient fungus, and I am NOT fussy about worldbuilding. But this one reads more like a comic book or a Star Wars "Kessel run in less than a parsec," or what Vonnegut called a chronosynclastic infundibulum. Every new scene left me expecting a new surprise, like weight-loss pies made from backwards atoms. This is a basic story dressed up in seven-league boots and invisibility cloaks.
AND .. what bugged me most: these Gifts are incredibly rare, and yet our crew of three thinks it's perfectly natural to plan to ... no, I won't say it. I've done enough spoiling.
I've liked quite a few of her others, but for me Scott has been too inventive in this book.
kathflynn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
jesslynh's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Looking forward to #2
raucous's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
This is a well written post-apocalyptic space opera with mostly interesting characters and intriguing world building. I got hooked early on and blazed through it. I'll be looking for more of the author's work.
jerseygrrrl's review
4.0
I loved this book. Based on an interesting concept (scavengers reclaim the relics of an earlier age of humans who innovated and then destroyed themselves), the book was fast-paced, easy to slip into, and interesting. The central relationship was a triad and beautiful in its straight-forward, sweet depiction of 3 people in love. There were a few moments that felt a little overdone (didn't need that much navigational detail), but I adored this book and I will eagerly read any and all in the series.
majkia's review
5.0
What a fun read! Archaeology in Space! Well, Indiana Jones in space, at least, with salvagers finding the keys to the kingdom.
ally_lester's review against another edition
5.0
I love the normative queerness of all Melissa Scott's writing and this is no exception. It features a three-way poly relationship between salvage operators scrounging the ruins of an inexplicable civilization for the bits and bobs that will keep their remnant tech working. The crew find that there is more going on than they know about and the suspense is set against the low-key renegotiating of their relationship. I really enjoyed it.
kake's review against another edition
DNF: It’s not the book’s fault, but right now a story about people having to be constantly on their guard is just way too stressful for me.
jamiereadthis's review against another edition
4.0
I wish the relationship dynamics were the bulk of the novel, that’s how much I liked them.
goodbyepuckpie's review against another edition
4.0
As easy to devour as all of Melissa Scott's, this was an intriguing and enjoyable sf story, and I'm definitely keen to see where else it goes. Enjoyed the triad relationship of our main protagonists, and the world building was interesting and pretty easy to understand. (Though ever since a friend mentioned the trace of Highlander you can feel in the tone I can't unsee it, heh.)