david_agranoff's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty cool alternate universe/history swashbuckling adventure that that takes place in the 22nd century and 17th century through out the solar system with lots alternate universe historical figures. Liked it full review coming.
bookmason's review against another edition
3.0
Very strange, steampunk, scifi, fantasy novel.
A blend modern scifi and pulp that mostly works but falls apart in the final act.
First in a series of three, not sure that I'll try to read the two others as I think the concept is a bit of a stretch beyond the first book.
Loved the fantasy element of the alchemy allowing wooden ships to fly through space, but the story was best before the two elements collide at the ending in a weird rushed finish.
A blend modern scifi and pulp that mostly works but falls apart in the final act.
First in a series of three, not sure that I'll try to read the two others as I think the concept is a bit of a stretch beyond the first book.
Loved the fantasy element of the alchemy allowing wooden ships to fly through space, but the story was best before the two elements collide at the ending in a weird rushed finish.
gallusgallus's review against another edition
3.0
Solid, fun spec fic adventure - the cross between historical fantasy and sci-fi is great, it's like getting two books in one.
bmahaffy's review against another edition
3.0
It took awhile for this book to really catch my interest. I'm not really sure why; not enough tension across the length of the book to really hook me into it. The bringing together of two entirely separate story arcs was clever and made for a good ending.
sashas_books's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
theartolater's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure if it's just that I've picked up a lot of books that are going along the "two plots are seemingly unrelated, but end up intertwining in unpredictable and interesting ways" theme, but we can add The Daedalus Incident to that list regardless
On one hand, you have an alternate late-1700s where spacebound pirate/merchant ships exist and there's a lot of political and interstellar strife. On the other, you have the future 400 years later regarding a Mars expedition that has a lot of mysteries happening on the uninhabited red planet.
As usually happens with these books, I felt really invested in the future story while finding the alternate history lacking until things started to make sense. With that said, the payoff was such where I didn't feel my time in the story I was less into was a waste. There's a lot of fun elements in all areas here, and the ending was really interesting.
This won't be for everyone, but it's worth your time if you're looking for something a little different.
On one hand, you have an alternate late-1700s where spacebound pirate/merchant ships exist and there's a lot of political and interstellar strife. On the other, you have the future 400 years later regarding a Mars expedition that has a lot of mysteries happening on the uninhabited red planet.
As usually happens with these books, I felt really invested in the future story while finding the alternate history lacking until things started to make sense. With that said, the payoff was such where I didn't feel my time in the story I was less into was a waste. There's a lot of fun elements in all areas here, and the ending was really interesting.
This won't be for everyone, but it's worth your time if you're looking for something a little different.
markfoskey's review against another edition
3.0
I gave this book only three stars as part of my one-person fight against star grade inflation, but there's no question it's an enjoyable read.
sardonic_writer's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good, considering there's two competing narratives that don't really tie into each other until a good way into the book. One world is much more fleshed out than the other, so I'm hoping we'll get a better look at Jain's universe in the sequels.