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A review by aceinit
The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi
5.0
This book was my first foray into literary sci-fi. I stumbled onto it via an article about the cover artist, and found the synopsis interesting. Unfortunately, the writer’s style combined with a gross unfamiliarly with the genre almost turned me off of the novel.
As the quests and stories of the novel’s central characters—imprisoned master thief Jean le Flambeur, his warden/rescuer Meili, amateur detective Isidore Beautrelet—are slowly brought forth to be unraveled, the shape of the world and its unusual terminology also becomes clear.
The reader is thrown into the thick of action via Jean’s prison break, and the author throws his terminology around without context for the first third or so of the novel, leading to a profound sense of bewilderment, and I feel the novel would have profited by explaining the critical concepts (such as the gogols, the gevulot system and the unique life cycle of Mars in relation to the living/Quiet) earlier to prevent initial reader frustration. As things stood, I almost gave up on this novel. It was only be deciding to suffer through one or two more chapters that I got to the heart of the story and my headache-inducing initial read paid off big time.
As Jean continues his search for the portions of his identity he has hidden even from from himself, and as Isidore and his mysterious psudeo-benefactor the Gentleman delve into the mysteries and conspiracies surrounding the moving city of the Oubliette, their stories slowly come together to form a beautiful and unexpected narrative.
Perhaps it was because I was out of my element with this book, but each twist came as a genuine surprise. The developments concerning both threw me, and when Jean realizes the final price he must pay for regaining his lost memories his old life, I was riveted.
Now, onto the criticisms. For such a complex novel, I was surprised to see it suffer from a plethora of basic typos (you instead of your and a few other pronoun mistakes being the most prominent), particularly in the second half.
I was also surprised by how, following a huge battle in an art gallery when Jean and Meili attempt to win over a potential ally, news of the event is nowhere to be found in the Oubliette media, yet news of Isidore’s drunken night at the zoku party is the talk of the town. News of the massive, destructive disturbance at Raymonde’s apartment? Never mentioned again. In fact, very little news of damage seems to get through to the general public. I am on the fence about whether this was a deliberate comment on the state of or a genuine plot hole. I am leaning towards the latter.
There is also an issue of
Both Jean and Isidore are beautifully rendered, and though I found Isidore the more engaging character, the glimpses we are given into Jean’s past are both poignant and intriguing. This is a man who has been around long enough to refer to this world’s gods as his old drinking buddies. I look forward to finding out more about his past in future installments.
Rajaniemi has left a lot of unresolved threads in this novel, the first of a trilogy. I am looking forward to the future volumes, and will be adding them all to my collection. It will also be interesting to see if, and how, Jean and Meili cross paths with Isidore again, or if his part of the story has come to an end.
A few random notes:
Sherlock may be the most adorable pet in all of sci-fi petdom. No, I don’t have a lot to draw from. But he is awesome.
As an avid player of MMOs, I found the concept of the zoku particularly fascinating. I really loved the concept of an entire species evolving from an MMO raiding guild, and I feel their representation was fairly accurate of exactly how that species would behave.
Perhonen was also delightfully charming. A spaceship who is a shameless flirt and who can kick ass. She won me over far faster than Jean or Meili.
As the quests and stories of the novel’s central characters—imprisoned master thief Jean le Flambeur, his warden/rescuer Meili, amateur detective Isidore Beautrelet—are slowly brought forth to be unraveled, the shape of the world and its unusual terminology also becomes clear.
The reader is thrown into the thick of action via Jean’s prison break, and the author throws his terminology around without context for the first third or so of the novel, leading to a profound sense of bewilderment, and I feel the novel would have profited by explaining the critical concepts (such as the gogols, the gevulot system and the unique life cycle of Mars in relation to the living/Quiet) earlier to prevent initial reader frustration. As things stood, I almost gave up on this novel. It was only be deciding to suffer through one or two more chapters that I got to the heart of the story and my headache-inducing initial read paid off big time.
As Jean continues his search for the portions of his identity he has hidden even from from himself, and as Isidore and his mysterious psudeo-benefactor the Gentleman delve into the mysteries and conspiracies surrounding the moving city of the Oubliette, their stories slowly come together to form a beautiful and unexpected narrative.
Perhaps it was because I was out of my element with this book, but each twist came as a genuine surprise. The developments concerning
Spoiler
Raymonde as The Gentleman’s true identity and the twist pertaining to Jean/Le Roi and Raymonde as Isidore’s parentsNow, onto the criticisms. For such a complex novel, I was surprised to see it suffer from a plethora of basic typos (you instead of your and a few other pronoun mistakes being the most prominent), particularly in the second half.
I was also surprised by how, following a huge battle in an art gallery when Jean and Meili attempt to win over a potential ally, news of the event is nowhere to be found in the Oubliette media, yet news of Isidore’s drunken night at the zoku party is the talk of the town. News of the massive, destructive disturbance at Raymonde’s apartment? Never mentioned again. In fact, very little news of damage seems to get through to the general public. I am on the fence about whether this was a deliberate comment on the state of
Spoiler
the exomemory/government control/whateverThere is also an issue of
Spoiler
paternity that the story would have been just fine without. Not everything has to be infused with “Luke, I am your father,” drama, yet it seems like everything I have read lately has felt the need to use this gimmick. There is nothing gained from a learning Isidore’s parentage that could have not been accomplished through Raymonde simply having a conscience, which she already has. And I found the whole “the prince must inherit the key to the kingdom" thing just plain silly.Both Jean and Isidore are beautifully rendered, and though I found Isidore the more engaging character, the glimpses we are given into Jean’s past are both poignant and intriguing. This is a man who has been around long enough to refer to this world’s gods as his old drinking buddies. I look forward to finding out more about his past in future installments.
Rajaniemi has left a lot of unresolved threads in this novel, the first of a trilogy. I am looking forward to the future volumes, and will be adding them all to my collection. It will also be interesting to see if, and how, Jean and Meili cross paths with Isidore again, or if his part of the story has come to an end.
A few random notes:
Sherlock may be the most adorable pet in all of sci-fi petdom. No, I don’t have a lot to draw from. But he is awesome.
As an avid player of MMOs, I found the concept of the zoku particularly fascinating. I really loved the concept of an entire species evolving from an MMO raiding guild, and I feel their representation was fairly accurate of exactly how that species would behave.
Perhonen was also delightfully charming. A spaceship who is a shameless flirt and who can kick ass. She won me over far faster than Jean or Meili.