liadra's review against another edition
3.0
To be honest, I didn't finish reading this book. I still give it a three star rating because what I did read of it I enjoyed. Except...
Two things went on with this novel that led to my ultimately not finishing. The first being it is very science heavy - which in and of itself isn't a problem, but coupled with the second factor, did make it one. The second factor being the movement of the novel into the action/plot was so very slow that I found myself unable to sustain interest. Which was a shame - the story *sounded* like it probably was going to be very interesting, but I just couldn't get through the intro slog to that story. Because my copy was large print (just happened to be the book I was able to get my hands on) it's hard to say exactly how far along I got before throwing in the towel, but certainly more than 100 pages in that format.
I think that this may be a book that at another time I may have more patience to sit and plow my way through to when things start to pick up. Sometimes books are like that - it's just not the time nor place for them when you first stumble upon them. The writing itself was good. The characters were interesting. I just wanted more to be going on and it wasn't. Perhaps that's the bane of science fiction - sometimes the science setup slows you down.
Two things went on with this novel that led to my ultimately not finishing. The first being it is very science heavy - which in and of itself isn't a problem, but coupled with the second factor, did make it one. The second factor being the movement of the novel into the action/plot was so very slow that I found myself unable to sustain interest. Which was a shame - the story *sounded* like it probably was going to be very interesting, but I just couldn't get through the intro slog to that story. Because my copy was large print (just happened to be the book I was able to get my hands on) it's hard to say exactly how far along I got before throwing in the towel, but certainly more than 100 pages in that format.
I think that this may be a book that at another time I may have more patience to sit and plow my way through to when things start to pick up. Sometimes books are like that - it's just not the time nor place for them when you first stumble upon them. The writing itself was good. The characters were interesting. I just wanted more to be going on and it wasn't. Perhaps that's the bane of science fiction - sometimes the science setup slows you down.
rogan27's review against another edition
3.0
Not quite as good as the Mars Trilogy, Science in the Capital Series, or The Years of Rice and Salt; this was still a good read.
hawkeyegough's review against another edition
2.0
This book had really good world-building and tech. The culture and politics were interesting. One of the story lines is even intriguing. Unfortunately this is all buried under my antipathy for the main characters. I didn't really like any of them, which prevented me from engaging much with this book. It also seems like an interesting take to be patronizing to anybody who happens to live on Earth. It's almost as if this book was intended for audiences several centuries in the future who live in the Andromeda galaxy. I also felt as though the main character felt as though she was superior to the Earth-bound humans and treated them like children. She scorned their decadence while living in a pretty decadent fashion herself. The hypocrisy of this made it really hard to root for her, and the supporting cast was too bland to counteract this. I wish I had heard more about the flying habitats/spacecraft and less about the beneficial effects of hermaphroditism on lifespan and health. It all came together in a confusing jumble of preachy, rambly, kinda gross slog with random sections of free association chapters that added little to nothing to the plot. I think aliens might love this, but I can't recommend it to anyone who lives on Earth.
nanceoir's review against another edition
2.0
I wish I could say I even liked this book, but... I didn't. I didn't hate it, but I got rather bored (and then frustrated) with it and wanted it to be done. And now I'm (finally) done. Yay?
Reading Sunil's review, I thought, "Hey, this is exactly what I thought... except expressed much more coherently than I could pull off!"
Reading Sunil's review, I thought, "Hey, this is exactly what I thought... except expressed much more coherently than I could pull off!"
rhysciar's review against another edition
4.0
That was a slow book and a slow read for me, but I have to say, I liked it! This was my first Robinson book, and I was afraid of it, I've read that this one is controversial, but fortunately I enjoyed the atmospheric writing. Apart from the low paced storytelling, I loved the world building, I loved how Robinson built up his galaxy, the different cultures, societies. I loved how open-minded was Robinson, especially when it came to the people's gender identity. I loved him for that, it was a very heart warming experience for me, so I'm glad I read this book. Of course there were other elements I enjoyed (like all the different planets' world, the technology, the calmness of the galaxy, etc. etc), and I'm eagerly waiting to pick up his other books in the future.
ja_hopkins's review against another edition
3.0
This is an interesting read, although as ever with KSR I found a few sections less interesting than others – I suppose having read many of the author’s books, it should not be a surprise.
The world building is as ever excellent. We jump forward three centuries; the Solar System is colonised and ‘humans’ are not just humans anymore – a vast array of genetic modifications means there are dozens of types of people. All are represented – spacers, smalls, mixed sex, the list goes on. Our lead is Swan, a middle-aged artist, adventurer and well, all sorts. Her home is Terminator, a city on Mercury that moves with the sun to avoid burning up. Here KSR takes us on an evocative tour of the planet, and later we get the same treatment for asteroids turned into farms, spacecraft, zoos, and tourist attractions, we tour the moons and rings of Saturn, the skies of Venus and a climate change devasted Earth. Swan is slowly pulled into the world of politics, following in her grandmother’s footsteps as an unofficial representative of one of the main power blocks in the Solar System.
There are some oddities. The book is littered with chapters called ‘extracts’ which appear to be, well, random extracts from some text or other, and ‘lists’ which are, lists of stuff. I am not entirely sure of the purpose of these sections and I could have done without them. There is also a long chapter where Swan and another character as stuck in a long tunnel – perhaps there is some deeper meaning to it, but it passed me by.
Overall, this is worth a read for the world-building if nothing else – it is absolutely superb. The surfing on Saturn, the sailing on an ocean terrarium (terraformed asteroids), the trips around the ‘drowned’ planet Earth, which is always central to people – the homeland as it were.
The world building is as ever excellent. We jump forward three centuries; the Solar System is colonised and ‘humans’ are not just humans anymore – a vast array of genetic modifications means there are dozens of types of people. All are represented – spacers, smalls, mixed sex, the list goes on. Our lead is Swan, a middle-aged artist, adventurer and well, all sorts. Her home is Terminator, a city on Mercury that moves with the sun to avoid burning up. Here KSR takes us on an evocative tour of the planet, and later we get the same treatment for asteroids turned into farms, spacecraft, zoos, and tourist attractions, we tour the moons and rings of Saturn, the skies of Venus and a climate change devasted Earth. Swan is slowly pulled into the world of politics, following in her grandmother’s footsteps as an unofficial representative of one of the main power blocks in the Solar System.
There are some oddities. The book is littered with chapters called ‘extracts’ which appear to be, well, random extracts from some text or other, and ‘lists’ which are, lists of stuff. I am not entirely sure of the purpose of these sections and I could have done without them. There is also a long chapter where Swan and another character as stuck in a long tunnel – perhaps there is some deeper meaning to it, but it passed me by.
Overall, this is worth a read for the world-building if nothing else – it is absolutely superb. The surfing on Saturn, the sailing on an ocean terrarium (terraformed asteroids), the trips around the ‘drowned’ planet Earth, which is always central to people – the homeland as it were.
djhobby's review against another edition
3.0
This is an interesting book. It is beautifully written, and has some interesting characters. In my opinion, the only thing missing is a driving story.
At times, the writing is almost poetry. Robinson excels at describing Swan's feelings and the subtle beauty of the alien landscapes. You can almost feel the sun's radiation cooking you as it rises over Mercury. Also the science of the book makes the reader feel like the author has a time machine and is accurately describing the future of space travel. NASA employees should read Robinson's works to prepare for the future. I just wish there was more of the conflict between the planets.
The book almost feels like a prequel for a previously written novel. When I finished reading it I wanted to read the rest of the story. But so far, the story ends at 2312.
To sum up the book, it's an exact one year slice of life from the year 2312. The story starts in the middle of Swan's life. We get a brief look into what it's like to live in the future. Then after death, crisis, confusion, sex, disaster, love, and triumph, the year 2312 is over, and the book concludes.
At times, the writing is almost poetry. Robinson excels at describing Swan's feelings and the subtle beauty of the alien landscapes. You can almost feel the sun's radiation cooking you as it rises over Mercury. Also the science of the book makes the reader feel like the author has a time machine and is accurately describing the future of space travel. NASA employees should read Robinson's works to prepare for the future. I just wish there was more of the conflict between the planets.
The book almost feels like a prequel for a previously written novel. When I finished reading it I wanted to read the rest of the story. But so far, the story ends at 2312.
To sum up the book, it's an exact one year slice of life from the year 2312. The story starts in the middle of Swan's life. We get a brief look into what it's like to live in the future. Then after death, crisis, confusion, sex, disaster, love, and triumph, the year 2312 is over, and the book concludes.
gullevek's review against another edition
3.0
Neither really good nor really bad. It had its moments and it had its passages of utter dullness. The story itself is really good and the idea behind too, but the execution is sadly lacking.
I honestly do not know if I would recommend this unless you are a hardcore KS Robinson fan or a hardcore sci-fi fan. There are better books, you can skip this one.
I honestly do not know if I would recommend this unless you are a hardcore KS Robinson fan or a hardcore sci-fi fan. There are better books, you can skip this one.
trudilibrarian's review against another edition
1.0
Abandoning this one at about the 50% mark. I gave it the ol' college try, but turns out this really ain't for me. Densely written, huge passages of world-building (and terraforming), but not enough of a propulsive plot or engaging characters to keep me turning the pages.