Kenton

A collage of tired devices borrowed from greater works. Left a ton of loose ends, too. Never really explained why this was happening. Started to hint at a larger lesson to be learned at the hands of the greater intelligence, but never brought it home. Ended up just being a pointless gore fest.

My god, really? This is the author everyone fawns over.

It was my first OSC card book, and likely my last.

It's like listening to a chess match. UGHGHhhhh. The characters about as real life as Greek theater.

Honestly thought I was listening to a young adult book. Was I, and just missed it?

I tried. Really I did. I muscled through 3/4 of this thing, but it finally just wore me down.

And STUPID character names. LOAF? UMBO? Really? gahhhhh.

Good story. Alastair Reynolds can tell a good yarn, and in this one, he does really well.

John Lee as narrator, though, just drives me up the wall. He's fantastic for fantasy - I LOVED him for Perdido Street Station, but I just can't get my head around him for sci-fi. Too proper, too tweed, too academic. Not enough Asimov, not enough tech, not enough laser.

But then, I'm probably too American.

Battlestar Galactica without the passion.

Basically wrote a story about a US Navy aircraft carrier, and put it in space.

Actually read Zoe's Tale first by accident. LOVED it. So much more emotive and quirky.

Last Colony just fell flat for me.

LOVE Neil Gaiman.

Terry Pratchet?... Not s'much. I think he really de-sublimes Gaiman.

And the narration just put it over the edge. Martin Jarvis really pushed it to a place of Victorian pretense, and just couldn't capture the protagonist's child voice to save his life.

I really would have loved to see this one written solely by Gaiman. I think it would have had the power of The Graveyard Book, or American Gods.

I did enjoy One Second After, but more like I would a campy 1950s horror movie rather than the hard fiction apocalyptic tale he endeavors to weave.

I get it. We've all pretty much heard of the attack he describes. And yup, It's scary. But honestly, I think he assumes WAAAAY too much potency for the attack - basically 100% effective. No weapon in history has ever boasted that kind of efficacy. If there is a range of how bad an EMP attack would be, Fortschen has definitely turned the dial to 11.

Character behavior and their relationships appeal for emotive connection through the melancholy stoicism of the Confederacy. I actually enjoy this style, though, which is why I rated it as highly as I did. But I don't think it's anything like how people would behave today.

I also think his characters waste a ton of time and energy trying to establish an isolated 19th century society and culture through resurrection of obsolete technology, when they would probably get much further by simply trying to fix the current infrastructure lying repairable all around them.

For emotive story telling, though, I give Fortschen a 4. For realistic treatment of a real potential risk... a 2.

I very much enjoy the Old Man's War series. It's a gleeful stomping of any trace of political correctness in regard to violence. Not really gratuitous, but unrepentantly raw and continuous. And yet somehow, Scalzi manages to insert a solid morale tale into the bloodbath.

I will say though, that some of the emotional connection development between characters can feel like being spoon fed straight saccharin. I'd rather be left to build some of my own inferences without several Nelsonian last words proclamations of love.

James SA Corey's a successful collaborative effort overall, and I thoroughly enjoy the expanse series.

That said, I did find that the connections one author provided the other throughout the book where less subtle than I might have hoped for. I could almost hear the improve director yelling "CHANGE!" at the end of each author's segment.

I'd like to see more depth to the protomolecule too. I'm assuming book three will provide it. It was a little too much of a repeat of book one in that regard.

Thank you, Kim Stanley Robinson, for returning to the subject for which you have rightfully earned the crown – creating habitable worlds, and peopling them with wonderful characters and moving stories.

I wish there were a better word than terraforming. It's so artless when applied to what KSR's work. He lets us see and most importantly makes us FEEL what it would be like in a system of worlds made accessible by human creativity.

A christian friend asked me – "It's not blasphemy, or anything, is it?" Honestly had to think about it for a sec.

So fun. So irreverent. And yet, so poignantly in worship of all that is right in the Jesus story. Probably a lot closer to the truth than we will ever know.