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A review by charles__
The Causal Angel by Hannu Rajaniemi
2.0
This is the third and last of the author's Jean le Flambeur series. I liked the first book (The Quantum Thief) and from there the series faded for me.
Rajaniemi's strength is in his world building. He writes space opera for physicists. Although despite giving copious credit to Newton, he does play fast and loose with solar distances. I also liked his 'Matrix-esque' use of cyber-technlogy. Wrapping my head around his virtual worlds within worlds left my head spinning.
Where the author lost me was with his plots within plots, I lost track of 'Who was on 1st.' My confusion was compounded by half-explained ideological movements with incomprehensible names. I also never really liked the characters. Jean le Flambeur's penchant for planetary carnage never endeared him to me. Mieli did not develop until this last book, but by then I didn't care. Oddly, with this last book, it was the evil Pellegrini who I liked the most.
In summary, I found the series to be technically credible, although over-complicated space opera/cyberpunk cross-over. Having started it, I felt I had to finish, but I'm not recommending it to others.
Rajaniemi's strength is in his world building. He writes space opera for physicists. Although despite giving copious credit to Newton, he does play fast and loose with solar distances. I also liked his 'Matrix-esque' use of cyber-technlogy. Wrapping my head around his virtual worlds within worlds left my head spinning.
Where the author lost me was with his plots within plots, I lost track of 'Who was on 1st.' My confusion was compounded by half-explained ideological movements with incomprehensible names. I also never really liked the characters. Jean le Flambeur's penchant for planetary carnage never endeared him to me. Mieli did not develop until this last book, but by then I didn't care. Oddly, with this last book, it was the evil Pellegrini who I liked the most.
In summary, I found the series to be technically credible, although over-complicated space opera/cyberpunk cross-over. Having started it, I felt I had to finish, but I'm not recommending it to others.