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jmitch01's review against another edition
5.0
A really fine effort from an Indie author, I thoroughly enjoyed it. In the fourth millenium, anyone with enough money can live indefinitely. The book deals with the implications of this, both in society and in the realm of human emotion and relationship. It becomes almost an extended meditation on mortality, with some pretty involving and poignant individual stories. Left me with a vivid sense of the brevity of our own lives as we have them now. Well worth a read.
diomuller's review against another edition
3.0
Hm. I'm kinda divided with this book. The world it created is interesting and creative - it's the future of mankind, if we never really died. However, parts of this are really weird, shouldn't exist, or should've been edited a bit more. There are a few weird moments and dialogs, a few not interesting moments that drag a bit too much. The book gets better as it goes, but there is some weirdness even near the end.
But, in spite of the negatives, the story overrall is interesting. Some of the characters are well developed, others are well used secondary characters... and some, you ask yourself why they were exactly there - Tamika is one of those. Another is Jamal. Those may have important roles in the end, but they are... just there in the background, most of the time.
Is it worth reading? Yeah, because the universe and the implications it has are very interesting. I kinda want to see more of this universe, even if the first book was kinda uneven.
But, in spite of the negatives, the story overrall is interesting. Some of the characters are well developed, others are well used secondary characters... and some, you ask yourself why they were exactly there - Tamika is one of those. Another is Jamal. Those may have important roles in the end, but they are... just there in the background, most of the time.
Is it worth reading? Yeah, because the universe and the implications it has are very interesting. I kinda want to see more of this universe, even if the first book was kinda uneven.
aryadeschain's review against another edition
3.0
I was never really a fan of Science Fiction and this book didn't really change my opinion, but one thing I must say: there are some really interesting things in it. The characters are... okay, I guess. They can handle the story, but honestly, there are characters that you don't really notice until the end of the book. Some of them go through the story unnoticed even after the end of the book (sorry, Tamika. I tried to like you. I really did. But you were as significant as a fork in a drawer). While the author did a pretty good job with the two main characters, the others seemed to have their presences shadowed.
The good thing about this book are the ideas and the concepts rather than the story itself. I dare say that the story is actually poor given the vast universe where it occurs and there are several details that are really hard for me to accept (like... how come a living being can reboot, but they still haven't come up with a solution for energy limit after so much time and technological advance?), but there are a couple of points that really give you something to think about in the story, like "do we really want to reach an equality between the genders?" or "is it really an advantage to live forever?" or even "how would it feel like if we could always reboot, but knowing that there are people that for some reason can't do that?".
I believe that if the author had focused on the characters relations (because Mohandas' interaction with the other crew members was starting to get pretty cool, but he barely talked with Tamika, for an instance) and turned the book into an epic adventure rather than a trip to two or three planets and LOTS and LOTS of research, this book would have been a lot more enjoyable. The world as he described looked pretty nice and the story of Draco and The Pleiads was so awesome, but at a certain point of the story I got lost with so many names that ended up showing up only once or twice.
If you like SciFi, go ahead, this book is worth your time. Otherwise, you might as well look for something else to read.
The good thing about this book are the ideas and the concepts rather than the story itself. I dare say that the story is actually poor given the vast universe where it occurs and there are several details that are really hard for me to accept (like... how come a living being can reboot, but they still haven't come up with a solution for energy limit after so much time and technological advance?), but there are a couple of points that really give you something to think about in the story, like "do we really want to reach an equality between the genders?" or "is it really an advantage to live forever?" or even "how would it feel like if we could always reboot, but knowing that there are people that for some reason can't do that?".
I believe that if the author had focused on the characters relations (because Mohandas' interaction with the other crew members was starting to get pretty cool, but he barely talked with Tamika, for an instance) and turned the book into an epic adventure rather than a trip to two or three planets and LOTS and LOTS of research, this book would have been a lot more enjoyable. The world as he described looked pretty nice and the story of Draco and The Pleiads was so awesome, but at a certain point of the story I got lost with so many names that ended up showing up only once or twice.
If you like SciFi, go ahead, this book is worth your time. Otherwise, you might as well look for something else to read.
reidob's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very accomplished first science fiction novel that could have used some judicious editing. I am not familiar with the Camel Press imprint, but my suspicion is that it may be a gussied-up version of self-publishing. Not that I in any way disdain such enterprises; I believe that the future of publishing is in this realm. I only mention this to say that it would have be wonderful if the author had had the benefit of a professional editor who could be honest with him about some of the book's flaws. Who knows? This may happen yet. This would not be the first book published by a small press picked up by a larger one to be polished and marketed to a larger audience.
The plot of Dancing With Eternity is very clever and to the best of my knowledge, original. Our species has (more or less) solved the problem of death; when one's body dies or if one merely becomes tired of the current model, the solution is to reboot into a new one. Problem solved. If you die suddenly, your thoughts and memories are automatically stored onto the net because everyone has become permanently connected through a microchip inserted directly into the brain. Even faster than death can take your brain, the net can upload your mind. You are then rebooted into a new body and on you go. Ingenious.
But Lowrie takes the implications of this even further to speculate on what would happen in such a universe politically, economically and socially. War and violence become unthinkable because you constantly have access to the perspective of every other person in the universe and harming another under these circumstances would be akin not only to harming yourself but to harming several billion other people who would then be mightily angry with you. A very perspicacious conclusion; I don't know that the whole idea of interconnectedness has ever before been taken to these logical lengths, not even by the father of this idea, [a:William Gibson|9226|William Gibson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1282769227p2/9226.jpg]. (It should be mentioned that this is kept from becoming a claustrophobic phenomenon by the fact that one has the option to be logged on or not).
Our hero, Mohandas, joins up with the crew of a starship captained by the ultra-wealthy Steel, a woman of formidable drive and intelligence. She has a particular aim in mind for the mission they embark upon (far be it from me to put spoilers into my review) that she pursues with a tenacity that is at first inexplicable but is gradually revealed as the plot develops. Lowrie is an accomplished portraitist and develops the character of the crew members with great care and skill.
The author has an impressive range of knowledge to draw from. I will have to take his word for the astrophysics and much of the other science; I assume he knows whereof he speaks— it certainly sounds impressive. He also has a certain grasp of such diverse fields as biology, geology and chemistry. Unfortunately, he is a bit more shaky in both psychology and sociology; the incredible disruptions to society and psyche both get only a glancing treatment here. Though the effect of particular events resonate with some characters, the whole idea of being immortal is barely touched upon. I understand that part of this is because the world he describes has become inured to the reality of their immortality, but investigating the implications further would have been fascinating. One important realm left unexplored is the deep disconnection one would eventually feel toward humanity when one is so constantly in intimate contact with them.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing about this otherwise accomplished book is the same thing that is exasperating in so many inexperienced authors: the suspension of disbelief is made enormously difficult by the fact that the author clearly has a plot arc in mind and all things must be made to bend to this arc, no matter how awkward or unreal they may seem as a result. To take a few examples:
Finally, Lowrie's use of language is sometimes a bit jarring. He occasionally exhibits a rather bad case of "adjectivitis", the excessive use of adjectives where none are required, though this is more of an issue at the beginning of the book than elsewhere. He has a tendency to show off his vocabulary and use scientific jargon where a simpler word would achieve the same effect, except it wouldn't demonstrate how very smart he is. At some points he can be flowery to the point of causing one to wince ("He rested his head on hers. They stayed that way for a long time—forever, maybe, or maybe not long enough." or, speaking of a rock wall, "As I touched it to more intimately grasp its texture and shape, it informed me of my own. It was my teacher, my mentor, my mirror." Ooookay).
All of this criticism, though, is from a perspective of admiration. I wish this book could have been better and it still has the potential to be. I admire, too, the dedication and love the author has clearly lavished on his characters and the entire work. Perhaps next time he will have the benefit of the editorial help he obviously so richly deserves.
The plot of Dancing With Eternity is very clever and to the best of my knowledge, original. Our species has (more or less) solved the problem of death; when one's body dies or if one merely becomes tired of the current model, the solution is to reboot into a new one. Problem solved. If you die suddenly, your thoughts and memories are automatically stored onto the net because everyone has become permanently connected through a microchip inserted directly into the brain. Even faster than death can take your brain, the net can upload your mind. You are then rebooted into a new body and on you go. Ingenious.
But Lowrie takes the implications of this even further to speculate on what would happen in such a universe politically, economically and socially. War and violence become unthinkable because you constantly have access to the perspective of every other person in the universe and harming another under these circumstances would be akin not only to harming yourself but to harming several billion other people who would then be mightily angry with you. A very perspicacious conclusion; I don't know that the whole idea of interconnectedness has ever before been taken to these logical lengths, not even by the father of this idea, [a:William Gibson|9226|William Gibson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1282769227p2/9226.jpg]. (It should be mentioned that this is kept from becoming a claustrophobic phenomenon by the fact that one has the option to be logged on or not).
Our hero, Mohandas, joins up with the crew of a starship captained by the ultra-wealthy Steel, a woman of formidable drive and intelligence. She has a particular aim in mind for the mission they embark upon (far be it from me to put spoilers into my review) that she pursues with a tenacity that is at first inexplicable but is gradually revealed as the plot develops. Lowrie is an accomplished portraitist and develops the character of the crew members with great care and skill.
The author has an impressive range of knowledge to draw from. I will have to take his word for the astrophysics and much of the other science; I assume he knows whereof he speaks— it certainly sounds impressive. He also has a certain grasp of such diverse fields as biology, geology and chemistry. Unfortunately, he is a bit more shaky in both psychology and sociology; the incredible disruptions to society and psyche both get only a glancing treatment here. Though the effect of particular events resonate with some characters, the whole idea of being immortal is barely touched upon. I understand that part of this is because the world he describes has become inured to the reality of their immortality, but investigating the implications further would have been fascinating. One important realm left unexplored is the deep disconnection one would eventually feel toward humanity when one is so constantly in intimate contact with them.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing about this otherwise accomplished book is the same thing that is exasperating in so many inexperienced authors: the suspension of disbelief is made enormously difficult by the fact that the author clearly has a plot arc in mind and all things must be made to bend to this arc, no matter how awkward or unreal they may seem as a result. To take a few examples:
**Mohandas is integrated into the emotional life of the crew far too quickly. Is this a result of the new social order? If so, some mention of this would have been helpful. I suspect, though, that his rapid integration was essential to the plot moving forward and so was manipulated into place.
**Unless Steel is already deeply insane at the time, which the story doesn't imply, why does she keep insisting on such a narrow range to their study on the planet they visit? She is intelligent enough to know that only a broad understanding can lead to the end she seeks. If she is insane, none of the crew choose to comment on it or respond accordingly.
**Most people choose to remain the same gender when they reboot. This is the most heavy-handed of the author's manipulations because it (and an entirely superfluous visit to a feminist planet) allow him to hold forth on the sociological manifestations of feminism, patriarchal societies and other subjects on which he is not particularly qualified to speak, it seems to me. This is not to say he doesn't make some interesting points, but his perspective on male domination in most human societies is simplistic, at best.
**The highly risky visit to the planet of Eden doesn't seem to have any purpose proportional to its risk. They are aware that one of their party cannot reboot, yet they still choose to risk her death so she can pay a visit to a relative. Other than the author's need to tell this part of the story (and it is one of the best written sections of the book), the logic of the visit is highly questionable.
Finally, Lowrie's use of language is sometimes a bit jarring. He occasionally exhibits a rather bad case of "adjectivitis", the excessive use of adjectives where none are required, though this is more of an issue at the beginning of the book than elsewhere. He has a tendency to show off his vocabulary and use scientific jargon where a simpler word would achieve the same effect, except it wouldn't demonstrate how very smart he is. At some points he can be flowery to the point of causing one to wince ("He rested his head on hers. They stayed that way for a long time—forever, maybe, or maybe not long enough." or, speaking of a rock wall, "As I touched it to more intimately grasp its texture and shape, it informed me of my own. It was my teacher, my mentor, my mirror." Ooookay).
All of this criticism, though, is from a perspective of admiration. I wish this book could have been better and it still has the potential to be. I admire, too, the dedication and love the author has clearly lavished on his characters and the entire work. Perhaps next time he will have the benefit of the editorial help he obviously so richly deserves.
jennkei's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know how I found this book, but I'm glad I did.
It was epic. Got a bit draggy around the middle, but plod through that and adventure, adventure. I loved Lowrie's long-haul concepts and themes. Rebooting, newbies, freewheeling (GATTAI! Okay, no one will get this Aquarion EVOL reference. >.>), perspectives, Draco/Pleiades, family, effects of space dilation, the reveal for Brainard's Planet.
Though I thought the blurb sounded rather tacky. ._. I'm glad I read the book first, it's a lot more elegant than that, lol.
It was epic. Got a bit draggy around the middle, but plod through that and adventure, adventure. I loved Lowrie's long-haul concepts and themes. Rebooting, newbies, freewheeling (GATTAI! Okay, no one will get this Aquarion EVOL reference. >.>), perspectives, Draco/Pleiades, family, effects of space dilation, the reveal for Brainard's Planet.
Though I thought the blurb sounded rather tacky. ._. I'm glad I read the book first, it's a lot more elegant than that, lol.
m4marya's review against another edition
3.0
This book was entertaining. I found some of the opinions about feminism to be a bit heavy handed and slightly out of place, when compared with the tone of the rest of the book. I was able to ignore this part of it and enjoy the rest of the story. As I was reading it I felt like I was reading a science fiction novel from an earlier era, one that attempted to imagine how society would change but could not really imagine the loss of that era's morals and values. So, it felt a bit old-fashioned to me. It was an interesting mix of cultures, religions and personalities.
zarahhs's review against another edition
2.0
2.75 stars. this was good i guess. sometimes i was a little bored, and sometimes a bit confused by the story. but i did enjoy it, and im a big space lover so just the fact that this book was set in space is a big part of why im giving it the rating i am. i didnt really bond a lit with the characters, and many of them went by unnoticed, it wasnt really until the end i started caring about them.