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A review by tresat
The Causal Angel by Hannu Rajaniemi
3.0
Rajaniemi is in a one-upping contest with himself where every novel has to be both 1) more exciting and emotionally resonate while also being 2) more absolutely bewilderingly inscrutable than the last.
What exactly happened around Saturn? I know I cared about the Thief, Matjek and Mieli - I just can't follow exactly what they were trying to do. Simple things like the details of where each character is located, and if each character is currently trustworthy or infected/suborned in some fanciful way to the will of another escaped me. What was the state of the Solar System at the end of the book? I'm just not sure.
Each book in the trilogy was unfortunately shorter than the last, where the opposite was needed as the cast of characters and scope (and complexity) of the action broadened. In particular, the Sobornost - zoku war was just screaming for more focus. Also, basically everyone in this universe seems rather blithe about the various Apocali currently unfolding - wouldn't the lost of a couple of planets be kind of a wake up call?
It was good fun, and I appreciated the speed, I just wished there was a little more detail and exposition regarding the big moments and key plots. Also - we never really got the story of the founding of the Sobornost (though the Collapse was satisfyingly weaved into the plot), which was a shame.
Even though I liked it the least of the trilogy, it was still quite a ride. I'll sign up for another Rajaniemi novel whenever one comes out. A high 3.
What exactly happened around Saturn? I know I cared about the Thief, Matjek and Mieli - I just can't follow exactly what they were trying to do. Simple things like the details of where each character is located, and if each character is currently trustworthy or infected/suborned in some fanciful way to the will of another escaped me. What was the state of the Solar System at the end of the book? I'm just not sure.
Each book in the trilogy was unfortunately shorter than the last, where the opposite was needed as the cast of characters and scope (and complexity) of the action broadened. In particular, the Sobornost - zoku war was just screaming for more focus. Also, basically everyone in this universe seems rather blithe about the various Apocali currently unfolding - wouldn't the lost of a couple of planets be kind of a wake up call?
It was good fun, and I appreciated the speed, I just wished there was a little more detail and exposition regarding the big moments and key plots. Also - we never really got the story of the founding of the Sobornost (though the Collapse was satisfyingly weaved into the plot), which was a shame.
Even though I liked it the least of the trilogy, it was still quite a ride. I'll sign up for another Rajaniemi novel whenever one comes out. A high 3.