theamazingmrg's review against another edition
3.0
An odd book. I feel I'm doing it a disservice with only 3 stars because it was certainly intriguing, but there was no real resolution to anything. Time jumps around and you never quite get the details of what happens in the gaps. And about 2/3 of the way through the book, the focus shifts from the main character to several different ancillary characters who the main character comes into contact with. It's confusing.
I am interested enough to read the sequel though. It does feel like the tale has only just started. I just hope future instalments fix some of the issues.
I am interested enough to read the sequel though. It does feel like the tale has only just started. I just hope future instalments fix some of the issues.
djryan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
d_audy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A very strange yet fascinating and atmospheric piece of literature that's at the same time a classic spy thriller with strong Cold War overtones, a very well crafted exercice of near future political speculative fiction and, by the end, the start of a great science-fiction story.
Hutchinson adopted a curious narrative structure, which starts with very low stakes and characters who seem entirely peripheral to the larger events happening in their world, and then goes through a series of episodes in the life of the main character Rudi, ranging from more mundane to action packed yet baffling. By mid book it almost reads like interconnected novellas and at one point feels almost even a disjointed, but then comes the last act where Hutchinson manages to brilliantly bring it all together, providing just enough answers to suddenly make sense of all the apparent incongruities and holes - which is more than enough to make for a satisfying ending, but leaves plenty for the three other books of the series to answer.
It's the story of the rather sympathetic Rudi, a very young Estonian chef in a second rate restaurant in Krakow, in a mid to late 21st century Europe that following a series of crisis (economic collapse, decline and fall of the EU, refugee and war against terror crisis, deadly pandemic etc.) has fractured even beyond what it was in the 17th century, with "countries" being small neighbourhoods of big cities controlled by gangs, escaping governmental control, or else cruise ships that declared themselves independent territory, for their rich clients. After going through something of a test doing a favour for a local criminal, Rudi gets offered to join the Coureurs des Bois, a mysterious post-national organization that's part courier part intelligence agency, which brings people and goods across the post Schengen Space nightmarish plethora of borders. But it doesn't take long before Rudi becomes embroiled in stranger and stranger events as missions go awry, meet a lot of people across the continent during those missions, and by the end no longer knows who he is really working for or if someone's after him, or if he's just a pawn moved by powerful people in a game of chess or go he doesn't even start to understand. And it's only the start of events that will completely change his vision of the world.
Part Cold War era Le Carré, part the TV show Counterpart, with some cyberpunk influences despite being fairly low tech (for most of the book, anyway), Europe in Autumn is a unique beast and a great start to what hopefully will be a great series.
Hutchinson adopted a curious narrative structure, which starts with very low stakes and characters who seem entirely peripheral to the larger events happening in their world, and then goes through a series of episodes in the life of the main character Rudi, ranging from more mundane to action packed yet baffling. By mid book it almost reads like interconnected novellas and at one point feels almost even a disjointed, but then comes the last act where Hutchinson manages to brilliantly bring it all together, providing just enough answers to suddenly make sense of all the apparent incongruities and holes - which is more than enough to make for a satisfying ending, but leaves plenty for the three other books of the series to answer.
It's the story of the rather sympathetic Rudi, a very young Estonian chef in a second rate restaurant in Krakow, in a mid to late 21st century Europe that following a series of crisis (economic collapse, decline and fall of the EU, refugee and war against terror crisis, deadly pandemic etc.) has fractured even beyond what it was in the 17th century, with "countries" being small neighbourhoods of big cities controlled by gangs, escaping governmental control, or else cruise ships that declared themselves independent territory, for their rich clients. After going through something of a test doing a favour for a local criminal, Rudi gets offered to join the Coureurs des Bois, a mysterious post-national organization that's part courier part intelligence agency, which brings people and goods across the post Schengen Space nightmarish plethora of borders. But it doesn't take long before Rudi becomes embroiled in stranger and stranger events as missions go awry, meet a lot of people across the continent during those missions, and by the end no longer knows who he is really working for or if someone's after him, or if he's just a pawn moved by powerful people in a game of chess or go he doesn't even start to understand. And it's only the start of events that will completely change his vision of the world.
Part Cold War era Le Carré, part the TV show Counterpart, with some cyberpunk influences despite being fairly low tech (for most of the book, anyway), Europe in Autumn is a unique beast and a great start to what hopefully will be a great series.
mrfrenchtoasts's review against another edition
3.0
https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/c6mbr7/any_modern_day_high_tech_spy_novels/esbmtrr/
zeljana's review against another edition
2.0
This was a mess. The setting could hardly be more interesting - a spy story set in fragmented Europe in alternative-reality near future. However, it is just so poorly written that I barely made it until the end. I didn't like the structure and the pacing in this novel. The worst was that the new characters kept being introduced until the very end which made for a very tiring read. There was not much character development either. If it hadn't been for the big plot twist towards the end of the book, I'd have rated this 1 star.
I also felt there was a lot of negative stereotyping in this book, mainly regarding the "Eastern Europeans" and a slight tone of misogyny for those few parts where female characters were even involved. It makes me think the author does not know very much about the geographical parts he is describing (or their inhabitants).
I also felt there was a lot of negative stereotyping in this book, mainly regarding the "Eastern Europeans" and a slight tone of misogyny for those few parts where female characters were even involved. It makes me think the author does not know very much about the geographical parts he is describing (or their inhabitants).
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
This was nominated for a number of awards awhile back. As were the sequels. But neither of my libraries had this in physical form. And for a long time not in digital either. But now with the pandemic and the kindle and all, it was time.
And it was weird. It kind of had a fractured plot. And characters did a bunch of things without really convincing me of their motivations. Especially our main pov character, the Estonian chef Rudy.
So kind of a post modern mild decay gonzo near-ish future Europe. Maybe with a parallel world?
And some amount of cooking. And spy stuff. And casual almost accidental violence but not all the time.
Not obvious, but interesting. 3.5 of 5.
And it was weird. It kind of had a fractured plot. And characters did a bunch of things without really convincing me of their motivations. Especially our main pov character, the Estonian chef Rudy.
So kind of a post modern mild decay gonzo near-ish future Europe. Maybe with a parallel world?
And some amount of cooking. And spy stuff. And casual almost accidental violence but not all the time.
Not obvious, but interesting. 3.5 of 5.
david_r_grigg's review against another edition
5.0
Europe in Autumn; Europe at Midnight; Europe in Winter ~ Dave Hutchinson
The first book in this ‘Fractured Europe’ series was recommended to me by a friend, and I bought it as a ebook for a few dollars. Then I rapidly went out and bought the second. The third, maddeningly, wasn’t yet released, but I placed it on pre-order and it arrived a couple of weeks ago.
So I read these three books in a matter of a few weeks. And then I turned around and immediately read them all through again from cover to cover, and I’m glad I did — so much I had missed or not understood now became clear(er). But even now I’m not sure that I fully understand what has been going on, and I’m wondering if there will be a fourth or fifth book in the series which may reveal more. Talk about ‘a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma’! (A not-inappropriate quotation, as it turns out).
Where to start? Well, first we have to set the scene, which is the near-term future in Europe after the European Union has essentially broken up back into its individual nations. But the rot hasn’t stopped there, and there’s a wave of independent nations, principalities or ‘polities’ breaking off from those nations, as regional and ethnic loyalties come to the fore. This reaches an almost absurd degree, with in some cases a few blocks of some cities declaring their independence. The whole concept of the Schengen Treaty of doing away with borders in Europe is now a sad, half-forgotten joke. Borders and border controls are everywhere.
Even more interesting, a trans-continental railway line has been built from Spain through to Eastern Sibera. On its completion the company promptly declares the railway and the land immediately surrounding it to be sovereign territory, and that the Line is now an independent nation. The Line’s stations are Consulates. One needs a visa to travel on the train, and to become a citizen to work for the Line. The author somehow makes this all seem perfectly rational.
We’re introduced to Rudi, the young Estonian-born chef at Restaurant Max in Kraków, in Poland. Through some shady connections of his boss Max, Rudi is eventually recruited into a shadowy organisation called Les Coureurs de Bois (“the runners of the woods”?). It’s kind of a courier operation, carrying mail and packages from one nation to another — something no longer easy, or even necessarily legal. It’s like a cross between a courier company, a smuggling ring, and an espionage outfit. Most governments heavily disapprove of it.
For most of the first book, we’re learning about Rudi and following him on the various Situations he’s placed in from time to time (while still mostly working as a chef). Some of these go well, a few go wrong, and eventually disastrously wrong. Something very strange is going on, and Rudi finds that he is being hunted and that his life is in danger. All of this (other than the slighly futuristic setting) has the engaging fascination of a spy thriller, or perhaps one of the Jason Bourne movies. Apart from the occasional use of advanced technology like ‘stealth suits’, this all seems barely like science fiction at all.
I can’t describe too much more without spoilers. Suffice it to say that about 80% through the first book, Rudi has finally tracked down what a dying former Coureur tells him is ‘the proof’. It’s in the deciphering of this proof that Rudi discovers a secret which does plunge us into real science fiction territory.
I enjoyed the second book even more than the first, as we encounter the first person narrative of ‘Rupert’ who lives in a vast (really vast) university campus run as a totalitarian regime, which has just undergone a bloody revolution. How this ties in with what Rudi has discovered in the first book takes quite a while to emerge.
It was really worthwhile re-reading the books. So much of what is going on in earlier parts of the narrative is explained by what comes later that you are almost compelled to go back and read those earlier passages again. It’s a tribute to how good the writing is that all three books were just as enjoyable to read again so soon.
Gosh these books are good! Puzzling, challenging, but very good. Written, by someone who seems to know Eastern Europe (and the restaurant trade) very well; very clever plotting; really original concepts; great characterisation. I loved them and look forward to reading more from this author.
The first book in this ‘Fractured Europe’ series was recommended to me by a friend, and I bought it as a ebook for a few dollars. Then I rapidly went out and bought the second. The third, maddeningly, wasn’t yet released, but I placed it on pre-order and it arrived a couple of weeks ago.
So I read these three books in a matter of a few weeks. And then I turned around and immediately read them all through again from cover to cover, and I’m glad I did — so much I had missed or not understood now became clear(er). But even now I’m not sure that I fully understand what has been going on, and I’m wondering if there will be a fourth or fifth book in the series which may reveal more. Talk about ‘a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma’! (A not-inappropriate quotation, as it turns out).
Where to start? Well, first we have to set the scene, which is the near-term future in Europe after the European Union has essentially broken up back into its individual nations. But the rot hasn’t stopped there, and there’s a wave of independent nations, principalities or ‘polities’ breaking off from those nations, as regional and ethnic loyalties come to the fore. This reaches an almost absurd degree, with in some cases a few blocks of some cities declaring their independence. The whole concept of the Schengen Treaty of doing away with borders in Europe is now a sad, half-forgotten joke. Borders and border controls are everywhere.
Even more interesting, a trans-continental railway line has been built from Spain through to Eastern Sibera. On its completion the company promptly declares the railway and the land immediately surrounding it to be sovereign territory, and that the Line is now an independent nation. The Line’s stations are Consulates. One needs a visa to travel on the train, and to become a citizen to work for the Line. The author somehow makes this all seem perfectly rational.
We’re introduced to Rudi, the young Estonian-born chef at Restaurant Max in Kraków, in Poland. Through some shady connections of his boss Max, Rudi is eventually recruited into a shadowy organisation called Les Coureurs de Bois (“the runners of the woods”?). It’s kind of a courier operation, carrying mail and packages from one nation to another — something no longer easy, or even necessarily legal. It’s like a cross between a courier company, a smuggling ring, and an espionage outfit. Most governments heavily disapprove of it.
For most of the first book, we’re learning about Rudi and following him on the various Situations he’s placed in from time to time (while still mostly working as a chef). Some of these go well, a few go wrong, and eventually disastrously wrong. Something very strange is going on, and Rudi finds that he is being hunted and that his life is in danger. All of this (other than the slighly futuristic setting) has the engaging fascination of a spy thriller, or perhaps one of the Jason Bourne movies. Apart from the occasional use of advanced technology like ‘stealth suits’, this all seems barely like science fiction at all.
I can’t describe too much more without spoilers. Suffice it to say that about 80% through the first book, Rudi has finally tracked down what a dying former Coureur tells him is ‘the proof’. It’s in the deciphering of this proof that Rudi discovers a secret which does plunge us into real science fiction territory.
I enjoyed the second book even more than the first, as we encounter the first person narrative of ‘Rupert’ who lives in a vast (really vast) university campus run as a totalitarian regime, which has just undergone a bloody revolution. How this ties in with what Rudi has discovered in the first book takes quite a while to emerge.
It was really worthwhile re-reading the books. So much of what is going on in earlier parts of the narrative is explained by what comes later that you are almost compelled to go back and read those earlier passages again. It’s a tribute to how good the writing is that all three books were just as enjoyable to read again so soon.
Gosh these books are good! Puzzling, challenging, but very good. Written, by someone who seems to know Eastern Europe (and the restaurant trade) very well; very clever plotting; really original concepts; great characterisation. I loved them and look forward to reading more from this author.
matosapa's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
davidscrimshaw's review against another edition
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There are no robots, spaceships or aliens, but it's still sci-fi. It is also very good spy fiction.
The series is called the Fractured Europe sequence because it is set in a Europe of a couple decades from now where the EU has fractured and all sorts of tiny countries have split off from the countries we know now.
I feel badly for Dave Hutchinson because in his books, England is still in the EU, but the separate Scotland is not. But he wrote these books before Brexit.
The series is called the Fractured Europe sequence because it is set in a Europe of a couple decades from now where the EU has fractured and all sorts of tiny countries have split off from the countries we know now.
I feel badly for Dave Hutchinson because in his books, England is still in the EU, but the separate Scotland is not. But he wrote these books before Brexit.
smalljude's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0