skylar2's review against another edition
5.0
Elysium Fire is a book in the same vein as the Prefect, and explores a bit more of the Glitter Band. It has the same main characters (Dreyfus, Ng, and Sparver), though it focuses a bit more on Ng and Sparver than the Prefect did, which I enjoyed. The plot and pacing kept the book interesting to the very end, and I'm certainly hoping there will be a third book soon.
leyaruth42's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent sequel to the Prefect. The plot and mystery of the Prefect were much more engaging and thrilling than in this book. Like many other reviewers, I was hoping this had more to do with the actual Melding Plague, but hopefully, we'll get more books in the future.
pauljacobson's review against another edition
4.0
This book follows soon after the first Tom Dreyfus story. By this time, you're more familiar with the main characters, so you can explore their personalities a little further through the story. The story focuses on a new crisis that grips the Glitter Band, with a seemingly unrelated side story.
The emphasis in this story seemed to be more on Dreyfus, his two deputies, and the Supreme Prefect, than the underlying crisis. It felt like a bit of a reverse of the first Tom Dreyfus story in this respect, and made this book a little more sentimental than the first.
I like how Reynolds' books are a little edgier than other popular sci-fi books that I've read (not exactly a fair representation of sci-fi generally, though). This one didn't feel as edgy. Still, I enjoyed the book and was a little surprised to see that I finished it in about five days.
The emphasis in this story seemed to be more on Dreyfus, his two deputies, and the Supreme Prefect, than the underlying crisis. It felt like a bit of a reverse of the first Tom Dreyfus story in this respect, and made this book a little more sentimental than the first.
I like how Reynolds' books are a little edgier than other popular sci-fi books that I've read (not exactly a fair representation of sci-fi generally, though). This one didn't feel as edgy. Still, I enjoyed the book and was a little surprised to see that I finished it in about five days.
thorjan's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
morganw24's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
impending_feta's review against another edition
mysterious
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
wyrmbergmalcolm's review
5.0
This is the second book in this police-procedural story and does follow on from the first book in many ways; I highly recommend reading Aurora Rises first. I did and am very glad of it. I also recommend reading the short story: Open and Shut which fills the gap between books one and two - it's freely available to read on the internet. What I did find a curious choice was that, despite how integral book one was to certain parts of the story, the world-building in book two was much more forgiving than in book one. What I mean by that is that certain aspects of this futuristic environment that are introduced in book one are not really explained until book two. Quickmatter, for example, was referenced several times in book one but with no explanation as to what it actually was. By the end of the book, I had fathomed enough to at least understand what it does. However, book two takes the time to provide details on its operation and uses. This is the same for many aspects. This isn't a negative thing necessarily, but just odd that that level of detail wasn't in book one with perhaps a small reminder in book two.
Right, on to the story. The story bounced between three separate areas: investigation into the deaths; the separatist issue; and two boys hunting virtual animals. I must confess, I initially struggled with the parts with the boys as it seemingly had nothing to do with the main story points for the vast majority of the book. Thankfully those segments were short and not too frequent and did eventually become significant.
The rest of the book was fully engaging with the satisfying progressions and red herrings that good investigative stories contain. There were some nice surprises leading on from book one that helped give the two books cohesion.
Dreyfus, Thalia and Sparver, the three Panoply agents investigating the cases were extremely likable and I enjoyed the role reversal for Thalia and Sparver.
Fingers crossed for a book three.
Right, on to the story. The story bounced between three separate areas: investigation into the deaths; the separatist issue; and two boys hunting virtual animals. I must confess, I initially struggled with the parts with the boys as it seemingly had nothing to do with the main story points for the vast majority of the book. Thankfully those segments were short and not too frequent and did eventually become significant.
The rest of the book was fully engaging with the satisfying progressions and red herrings that good investigative stories contain. There were some nice surprises leading on from book one that helped give the two books cohesion.
Dreyfus, Thalia and Sparver, the three Panoply agents investigating the cases were extremely likable and I enjoyed the role reversal for Thalia and Sparver.
Fingers crossed for a book three.
frfiallo's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
longhorn396's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5