Showing posts with label space opera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label space opera. Show all posts

Enemies (Roc Science Fiction) Review

Enemies (Roc Science Fiction)
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Enemies (Roc Science Fiction) ReviewLee Hogan is the kind of author you feel lucky to discover.
I don't give out five stars often but Enemies was such a pure pleasure to read, start to finish, that I'll happily assign it the highest rank I can.
Hogan's world of Belarus is a curious mix of old world traditions and advanced but abandoned technology. She's skillfully given her sci-fi novel some fantasy touches that evoke a mythical Russia without making them feel awkward or forced into the book's reality. People come back from the dead - as electronic avatars, programmed by people brilliant enough to engineer entire worlds back in the heyday of the Alliance. The tiny machines of nanotechnology are referred to as Sprites and have become sentient through a deliberate infection of a virus that brings self-awareness. The extra-dimensional skills of The Enemies and Baba Yaga's intimidating presence add a sense of cosmic mystery without sacrificing the sci-fi elements that let us take it all seriously.
The characters drawn into this mystery are well drawn themselves and strike a reader as capable people, each with their own type of strength to call on in a time of crisis. The technological superiority of the Union to Belarus is never used as a plot crutch and it's a satisfying combination of the forces of history combined with the personalities of those involved that drives the story. The villains are chilling and never one-dimensional, and the relationship the Enemies have with the Belarusians is interestingly complex, frightening and murky. Hogan draws us into the mystery and beauties of her world, harsh but beautiful, deadly but survivable by a people whose stubbornness and pragmatism become traits that you can't help but admire.
Perhaps best of all, you really want to root for these people not only because you like them but because you want to learn more about Hogan's well-crafted, intriguing universe through their eyes. The moment a sequel comes out I'm snapping it up immediately.Enemies (Roc Science Fiction) OverviewIn this extraordinary sequel, the once magnificent planet of Belarus has descended into centuries of isolationism and bigotry. When representatives of the new galactic Union contact Belarus, they claim to have their best interests at heart. But they also harbor a secret mission, related to the Enemies: the brutal alien race beneath the planet's surface.

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The Unincorporated War Review

The Unincorporated War
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The Unincorporated War ReviewI read the first book in this eventual trilogy and was very impressed. "The Unincorporated Man" is the story of Justin Cord, a businessman with terminal cancer, who gets himself frozen in the 21st century and is eventually revived in the 24th. Here he finds himself in a world where everyone becomes a legal corporation at birth and spend their lives trying to attain a majority of their own shares. The human race has by now expanded to inhabit the whole solar system all the way to the Oort cloud. The concepts are very well thought out and the science fiction is definitely of the hard variety with sound extrapolation of today's science several hundred years into the future. There is also a good villain, the evil Hektor Sambianco. This book reminded me in some ways of "The Space Merchants", the classic fifties novel by Frederick Pohl and C M Kornbluth of a future world dominated by big business.
The first book ends with Justin refusing to play the incorporation game, seeing it as slavery by another name. He is exiled to the outer solar system where he becomes somewhat of an anti incorporation messiah in the outer planets which leads to a war with the incorporation dominated inner solar system. This is where The Unincorporated War takes up the story and it's quite a different book in many ways being mostly dominated by epic space battles which I have to admit became a bit tedious after a while. It's also more verbose with plenty written about religious philosophy and I think could have been shorter. Interwoven in the story are the attempted manipulation of humanity by the avatars, self aware artificial intelligences who inhabit the future internet. Still, it's refreshing to see a well researched hard science fiction story like this and the authors deserve a lot of credit. The Unincorporated War has a cliffhanger ending and it's not clear how the story will conclude. Regardless of my slight reservations, I will definitely be buying the third book.
I've decided to give this four stars but if fractional stars were allowed it would probably be a strong 3 1/2. I didn't write a review for The Unincorporated Man but if I had it would have been a 5.The Unincorporated War Overview

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Look to Windward Review

Look to Windward
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Look to Windward ReviewLook to Windward is the seventh book in Banks' science fiction universe based on a utopian society of advanced artificial intelligences and the humans (and other organic life forms) that originally created them, loosely termed the Culture. With each book, Banks has built his plots out of the interstitial area where the idea of this utopia fails, typically in its dealings with other, different societies, through its para-military/intelligence arm called Special Circumstances. This time, the Culture has interferred in the "advancement" of another society, failing miserably, and then must deal with the diplomatic fallout from their actions. That the other society, the Chelgria was a predator-based race with a rigid class structure and a warlike demeanor, makes this all the more difficult.
On this backdrop is placed several interesting characters: the Chelgrian Ziller, a composer who has ex-patriated himself because of his support for the rebels who attempted to overthrow the class structure, and wishes to have nothing to do with his old society or race; the Chelgrian emissary, Quinlan, whose despair over losing his wife in the war between the traditionalists and the rebels will drive him to commit the unthinkable; and the orbital Mind known as Masaq', who has hosted Ziller for years and asked the composer to create a new symphony based on the fading light of two suns--suns that went nova two thousand years ago when Masaq', as a warship, set off a chain reaction that destroyed them and the two orbitals around them.
As in his other novels, this one has several storylines to follow that eventually come together by the climax. Each storyline is given its own chapters, which some people find difficult to follow but I've always enjoyed, although it makes keeping track of the story much more difficult when the time spent reading the book occurs over weeks rather than hours.
It's not that Banks brings anything new to science fiction in his Culture novels; even the Culture itself can be found by looking at some mixture of Cordwainer Smith and Isaac Asimov. His ideas are culled from the classics as well, as in this book the orbital is roughly Larry Niven's "ringworld" mixed with John Varley's world-mind Gaea from his Titan trilogy. But what Banks can do better than those four, and a host of other published SF writers, is create believable characters whose motivations mesh with the unlikely locations and situations he sets for them. There's a reason why this type of SF is called space opera, but in Banks' hands it refers not to the televised soap operas but the sturm und drang of classical music. Yes, there are exaggerations here, but when a Banks' character has amnesia, it becomes a thematic device, not just a crutch to get you from one chapter to the next.Look to Windward Overview

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Surface Detail (Culture) Review

Surface Detail (Culture)
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Surface Detail (Culture) ReviewIt is perhaps appropriate for a book that centres around the battle for the afterlife to begin this review with a confession: this was my first encounter with Iain M Banks' Culture series of science fiction novels. At first, I worried that this put me at a significant disadvantage as for the first 100 or so pages, I spend most of the time being completely confused about what was going on. However, as the strands started to come together, it became apparent that this is partly Banks' style and indeed it's one he uses in his non-science fiction books too. Keep going, it does come together.
As in his non-sci fi works, Banks juggles stories and characters with dazzling effect. He takes a number of characters whose stories may or may not ultimately come together and switches between their stories. And just when you think one line of story is not going anywhere in particular, he twists it round and it all makes perfect sense. The confusion is compounded by the fact that he is covering both the `Real' and `virtual' worlds, and particularly in the virtual worlds, characters may take on different roles and identities. Sound confusing? Well, it is at first but it's also highly entertaining, not to mention clever.
To the uninitiated, the Culture is a fictional interstellar enlightened, socialist, and utopian society operating amongst other, less benevolent and lesser civilized civilizations. This is at least the eighth book to feature the Culture, which first started with Consider Phlebas featuring the Culture's religious war against the Idiran Empire. We are told that the events of Surface Detail occur a millennium and a half after this war.
Surface Detail begins when Lededje Y'breq, a tattooed slave (surface detail, you see?) is attempting to escape from her evil owner, the rich and powerful Veppers who has made his family fortune in virtual war games. He's like an evil cross between Bill Gates and Hugh Heffner.
Meanwhile, in another part of the galaxy, a war rages over the right for Hell to exist. At first the Culture is not directly involved in this war being fought out in a virtual environment with the antagonists agreeing to abide by the outcome in the Real, which strikes me as a very good way of settling disputes. But that will change as the virtual war spills over into the Real.
This is terrifically bad news for the galaxy, but great news for the reader as it brings into play the Culture war ship `'Falling Outside The Normal Moral Constraints'` and it's avatar Demeisen introducing that classic sci fi fall back of entertaining computers communicating with humans. It maybe a well-used trick, but it affords great opportunity for humour. And if you think that ship's title is good, how about the `'Sense Amidst Madness, Wit Amidst Folly'`. I know that in the current economic climate cuts are likely in Defence spending here on Earth, but surely we can put something aside to re-name some of our Navy with these names!
There's double-crossing aplenty, action, revenge, love stories, virtual and real action, tech and humour and some terrific characters. But what sets this book apart is the quality of the writing and the depth of the author's imagination. Amongst all the mayhem, Banks raises some interesting questions about identity, death and the whole point of Hell.
Fans of the Culture series will need no encouragement to grab this latest installment. Sure, it can be confusing at times and Banks does rather leave some stories hanging (although he presents a little potted outcome of the characters at the end) but it's a wonderful trip and I for one will be eagerly diving into the earlier books.Surface Detail (Culture) Overview

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The Clone Elite Review

The Clone Elite
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The Clone Elite Review"The Clone Elite" is the fourth in the series from Ace scifi author Steven L. Kent. It's more of the same...but that's a good thing. The story of interstellar civil war expands to intergalactic invasion as a mysterious army of aliens takes the Milky Way by storm.
Kent further develops the conflicted cloned character of Wayson Harris in a heroic tale where the fate of humanity is held in balance. There are new enemies (both foreign and domestic) to kill and lots of new hardware to help do the job.
"The Clone Elite" weaves a compelling plot that explores more of clone culture. The introduction of a new extra-galactic alien threat and the inventive path that the characters use to defeat it, provides for a very entertaining read.
If you're a military scifi fan, this series is a must read. I already can't wait for the next three books!The Clone Elite Overview2514 A.D.: An unstoppable alien force is advancing on Earth, wiping out the Unified Authority's colonies one by one. It's up to Wayson Harris, an outlawed model of a clone, and his men to make a last stand on the planet of New Copenhagen, where they must win the battle and the war—or lose all.

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Synthesis (Star Trek: Titan #6) Review

Synthesis (Star Trek: Titan #6)
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Synthesis (Star Trek: Titan #6) ReviewSwallow's entry in to the STAR TREK: TITAN series is an interesting twist on sentient machines and AI, along with an original threat that is comparable with other "high concept" sci-fi novels out there. Combined with Swallow's excellent capture of the crew's voices and wonderful drama, SYNTHESIS is a novel that lives up to the core values of TREK: the wonder of exploration and adventure. Highly recommended.Synthesis (Star Trek: Titan #6) OverviewThe Starship Titan continues on her outward voyage of discovery. Ranging farther and farther from Federation space, Captain William Riker and the crew look forward to living Starfleet's mission: seeking out new life, discovering new civilizations. Striking a "sandbank" -- a spatial distortion -- the Titan is knocked out of warp, her crew shaken up but uninjured. Titan has stumbled across a battlefield, and floating in it, shattered and in pieces, are the remains of a ship. Searching for survivors, they discover the ship never had a crew. The away team removes the computer core, looking for answers. Once the device is restored, it becomes clear this is not just a computer, but a thinking, reasoning artificial intelligence. It identifies itself as SecondGen White-Blue, and it comes from a civilization composed entirely of sentient computers. Eons ago these artificial intelligences were charged to be the first line of defense against The Null -- a destructive force so all-consuming that generation upon generation have waged unending war trying to find a way to beat back this terror. Captain Riker offers to assist them, but years of war have left the AIs distrustful and suspicious, especially of organics. The tide of the battle is turning, and The Null is winning. Set free, it will destroy everything in this system and then, unchecked, spread its mindless destruction into the heart of the Federation.

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The Unincorporated Woman Review

The Unincorporated Woman
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The Unincorporated Woman ReviewContains Spoilers
I'm a little past the halfway point in Unincorporated Woman. And so far it has not disappointed. I got into this series last December when I went to the book store to buy a book, and my only criteria was that it be science fiction and thick. The Unincorporated Man (1st) book fit that criteria, and after reading the back cover blurb, I had to get it. And I am glad I did. The Unincorporated War (2nd book) was more of a military sci-fi novel-IMO, whereas the 1st book introduced us to a very interesting concept. The Unicorporated War continued that story though and was just as good as the first book, with one hell of nailbiter for an ending. The Unincorporated Woman is a bit heavy on the military action, yet comes across as a kind of blending of the first two books. By this, I mean in style only, but not in story by any means. The Unincorporated Woman, so far, is a very solid continuation of the story set up by the first two books. And if you do like military sci-fi, there is a space battle in this book that will absolutely keep you glued to your seat. Can't wait to finish this book, and start the next one when it comes out, which can't be soon enough.The Unincorporated Woman OverviewThere's a civil war in space and the unincorporated woman is enlisted! The epic continues.The award-winning saga of a revolutionary future takes a new turn. Justin Cord, the unincorporated man, is dead, betrayed, and his legacy of rebellion and individual freedom is in danger. General Black is the great hope of the military, but she cannot wage war from behind the President's desk. So there must be a new president, anointed by Black, to hold the desk job, and who better than the only woman resurrected from Justin Cord's past era, the scientist who created his resurrection device, the only born unincorporated woman. The perfect figurehead. Except that she has ideas of her own, and secrets of her own, and the talent to run the government her way. She is a force that no one anticipated, and no one can control.The first novel in this thought-provoking series, The Unincorporated Man, won the 2009 Prometheus Award for best novel.

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Centauri Wars Review

Centauri Wars
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Centauri Wars ReviewThis book is a must read for science fiction fans. Lots of action, high tech, mystery and romance awaits the readers. The characters are vividly described. Once you start reading it, its difficult to put down. I was not disappointed with my purchase and I recommend it highly.Centauri Wars Overview“Centauri Wars" is a spell-binding science-fiction adventure novel about our near future involving alien conflicts among Earth's society and our neighbors in outer space, the Alpha Centauri civilization and a technologically advanced culture within the Hyades star system, about 150 light-years away, known as the Kaelono. All are vying for resources that permit faster-than-light travel to give them dominance over our sector of the Milky Way Galaxy. One such resource, Psylobe, has been found uniquely in the Alpha Centauri system, and permits certain alien-human Hybrids to distort spacetime, allowing hyperlight travel through quantum hyperspace. The age-old nemesis of the Centaurians, the Kaelono, whose Anunnaki ancestors also plundered the Solar System, are again threatening the Centauri culture whose battles have been chronicled in ancient Hindu and Sumerian texts. Now the human race has joined the war over resources in the Centauri system, and rights to exploit valuable minerals within our own Solar System as well.However, the indigenous population on Alpha Centauri has their own ideas about how their resources should be utilized and has planned a counter-attack. Among their teleporting Hybrids, Valdar and his sister, Nari, have emerged as champions of the Centauri race and its Psylobe that allows them to tap into the vast powers of the Dark Energy. Together with a fighting priestess, Ashera, they are challenging both the ominous threat from the Kaelono's deadly space armada as well as Earth's attempts to stake a claim on the Psylobe within the Alpha Centauri system. Alpha Centaurians' Psylobe holds the key to harnessing the almost limitless Dark Energy reservoirs. And both Terran and Malthakosan governments are willing to wage a brutal war to gain control over this power. The fate of interstellar civilizations for the next 10,000 years hangs in the balance, while our Solar System has been caught in the middle of this deadly power struggle among mighty alien cultures. And who will take riches hidden in our Asteroid Belt?“Doc" Cormier, has drawn from his years of experience as a physician, writer and former NASA engineer to craft this fast-paced science-fiction adventure in the spirit of Asimov, Clark, Heinlein and Herbert. Educated at MIT, he has worked with numerous cutting-edge technologies, and has woven the latest advancements in vacuum energy, zero-point energy propulsion and nanotechnology into a spell-binding tale combining the best in hard science-fiction with plenty of adventure and drama. For the first time anywhere, “Centauri Wars" introduces the powerful forces of Dark Energy to form the basis for the "Corcas-drive" technology that may ultimately propel us to the stars. By contrast, atomic energy is as meager as a candle flame when compared to the colossal powers locked within the zero-point energy, and the mysterious Dark Energy. If you liked “Avatar", “Star Wars" and “Star Trek", or just the thrill of tightly-woven science-fiction with lots of action and thrills that will keep you on the edge of your seat, then you'll love “Centauri Wars".So if you're tired of hearing about the “Economy" and the “Energy Crisis", get some E-ticket fun and excitement instead and take the “Centauri Wars" challenge: settle back, fasten your space-harness, and hang on for a spine-tingling ride, in the best tradition of science fiction, on this wild journey into our near-future and that of our interstellar neighbors, as you travel through time and hyperspace. And don't miss these exciting “Centauri Wars" sequels coming soon --- “The Secret Weapon" and “Treasure of the Asteroid Pirates".

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Subversion at Q-Prime (Alter) Review

Subversion at Q-Prime (Alter)
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Subversion at Q-Prime (Alter) ReviewI generally judge a book by how I feel at the moment I read the last line. Was it worth the investment of my time? In the case of Subversion at Q Prime, I can definitely answer `yes' to that question. Although the first few chapters did require some concentrated effort in order to grasp the concepts (for somebody like me who is not a regular science fiction reader), once my mind had acclimatized to the setting and become accustomed to the writing style, the story flowed easily and took me on a journey sometimes exciting, sometimes shocking, sometimes humorous, sometimes surprising, leading finally to an altogether satisfying conclusion; a conclusion that does, however, leave a few questions unanswered and some anticipation of more to come.
A few readers could find some of the content offensive - take warning: if you are a devout Christian or Jew this book may not appeal to you. But, if you have an open mind and a curiosity about the origins of life and our perception of reality, you will find the author's ideas interesting and thought provoking. I recommend this book to anybody who sometimes ponders over these matters and I am looking forward to the release of the next installment in this series.
Subversion at Q-Prime (Alter) OverviewThe first instalment of an epic adventure trilogy, built on a sound scientific canvas, with the focus on the interaction between multitude of characters, from various classes, directly relating to the subversion of Q-Prime. This state of the art Prime computer is housed within a quantum energy field that contains an Artificial Intelligence called The Q. These quantum computers are used for a variety of purposes but only Q-Prime is the main Earth's communal computer housing some 28 billion human souls that are either logged in permanently or venture in on a regular basis. Quantum technologies of unimaginable complexity have evolved the once humble Avatar driven Virtual Worlds into workshops of Quantum Mechanics. While the body hibernates, requiring minimal maintenance on a planet where everything is in short supply, its soul can enjoy the perfect sanctuary within the quantum field.

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Islandia The Lost Colony (The ANKH Trilogy) Review

Islandia The Lost Colony (The ANKH Trilogy)
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Islandia The Lost Colony (The ANKH Trilogy) ReviewI am not much of a sci-fi fan but thouroughly enjoyed this book. This was much more than what I was expecting. Am looking forward to the next book so I can continue the story of Jonathon and Marcia as they teach and discover the world of Islandia.Islandia The Lost Colony (The ANKH Trilogy) OverviewBook one of the ANKH Trilogy, the story of Earth's fifteenth colony, 450 years after being settled. It is a water world with tens of thousands of islands and very little usable landmass to build the cities the original pioneers envisioned. Without the ability to recreate an Earth-like civilization, their descendents sink back to a more primitive time and create a society of clanboats and small villages. Into this world is born Jonathon McKinnah, known as Jonny Oarboy to his fellow clansmen. An accidental contact brings Jonny in touch with an alien entity who has rested quietly on Islandia for 6,000 years. The two of them start an incredible journey taking them from the past to the present, from Islandia to old Earth, and finally to Earth's other colonies.

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Fall of the White Ship Avatar Review

Fall of the White Ship Avatar
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Fall of the White Ship Avatar ReviewIn this, Daley's third installment of the "Adventures of Hobart Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh" (following _Requiem for a Ruler of Worlds_ and _Jinx on a Terran Inheritance_), we go beyond the scope of the original books into the past of Alacrity Fitzhugh--including his real name, his "Captain's Sidearm", and his obsession with the Precursors, an uber-race that has disappeared from the Cosmos--but not before leaving tantalizing technological clues. Much of the story takes place on an inhospitable planet as Floyt, Fitzhugh, and a female companion fight nature to reach an important meeting for the eponymous White Ship of the title. Enjoyable--but it leaves some unanswered questions, which, alas, will now remain that way with Daley's passing.Fall of the White Ship Avatar Overview

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Avatar Book Two of Two (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) Review

Avatar Book Two of Two (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
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Avatar Book Two of Two (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) ReviewWell, it seems DS9's story is not yet over, and if the next books in the series are as good as the Avatar Duology, then Star Trek fans have a great time ahead. Set 3 months after the events of "What You Leave Behind..", Avatar returns us to Starbase DS9 (is it the first time DS9 is reffered to as a STARBASE?) and to its key personnel : Kira, Bashir, Dax et al. (not to mention some new characters, some introduced earlier in the comic book series N-Vector). The plot? well, a real page-turner that deals with a newly-discovered ancient Bajoran text which deals with Sisko and Kassidy's unborn child. The effect of this text, as well as its future implications for Jake and Kira (above all others) keep the reader at the edge of his\hers seat and set the stage quite nicely for future tales. The new characters? I, for one , really like the new Jem'Hadar "observer" (and I won't spoil it for people who haven't read the books, but not all is what it seems..). I also took quite a liking to Commander Vaughn - the new soldier "first officer" in much the same way that Kira used to be.. ..quite a reversal, where once this was a Starfleet station with a Bajoran second-in-command, it is now , more than before, a Bajoran station with a Starfleet second-in-command.
All in all, a great start to the next phase of Star Trek in general and DS9 in particular. It is actually almost as good as the Millennium Trilogy, which ranks as my all-time favorite Trek story (including ALL incarnations!).
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!Avatar Book Two of Two (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) OverviewA new era begins in the annals of Deep Space Nine...As the story begun in Book One continues, the Federation prepares to launch a counterstrike against the Dominion. Searching for a way to prevent another galactic holocaust, Colonel Kira is forced to make a choice between being true to her faith and being true to her loyalties. Meanwhile, as the combined crews of Deep Space Nine and the USS Enterprise struggle to stop a treacherous plot from destroying both the station and the ship, the shocking truth behind a disturbing prophecy and a grisly murder is revealed. Dark secrets, divided allegiances, treachery and, ultimately, hope - AVATAR is Deep Space Nine at its multi-layered best.

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War of the Gods Review

War of the Gods
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War of the Gods ReviewThe text begins interestingly enough, albeit somewhat ponderously, as Poul Anderson, one of the greats of Science Fiction & Fantasy, essays once more to travel the mist-shrouded roads of Faery. Writing at least since the fifties (I enjoyed his stuff going back to the sixties), Anderson's "voice" seems to have mellowed and subtly altered with the passing of the years. Never one of the most moving or most profound of tale spinners, he was always, nevertheless, the consummate storyteller. Still this present tale lacks the energy and vitality of his earlier saga-like excursions. While The Broken Sword leaped with life and blood and darkness and Hrolf Kraki's Saga (basically a translation of a legendary Danish-Norse tale, with some additions by the author to make it more contemporary) charged onward from episode to episode until crashing mightily on the rocks of it's own climactic shore, this new tale seems oddly stilted and self-conscious. The language does not pour forth, carrying the reader over the unsure ground of fantasy, as Anderson was wont to do in former days, and the characters he has given us here seem paler than in the past -- and not nearly as interesting as their predecessors were. The protagonist, Hadding the Dane-King, for instance, moves sluggishly from one odd episode to another, always winning his battles and defeating his foes, never seeming to be in any serious danger at all, a circumstance which ultimately seems to tell on him as much as it does on us. And the people around him, as well as his enemies, never seem to be quite worthy of the attention he lavishes on them. Fostered by giants of old Norse legend and lover to his own foster mother (or sister) who adopts human form to be with him, guided by a mysterious one-eyed "wanderer", Hadding ought to be more multi-faceted than the invincible, noble hero we are given. Through much of this tale only the relatively easy-read prose (despite the incorporation of archaic words and forms to set the mood) and the intrinsically promising subject-matter (for those of us who like the Norse thing) keeps you reading. Written stolidly and with far more description than one is likely to find in the real Icelandic and Norse stuff, the tale yet retains the sleepy, dream-like presentation of events and images which is so characteristic of this material in its original form -- a form in which giants are never quite giants as we understand them (for they seem larger or smaller depending on their surroundings) and gods walk about like magicians. Nevertheless, Anderson has here created a tale which, surprisingly and for all its apparent faults, does stand up -- and admirably so, in the end. It is a story of sadness and, finally, understanding -- sketched against a backdrop of adventure and fighting and killing. The last part of the book redeems the slowness and awkward-seeming "forced" prose that went before as the truth of the tale is relentlessly brought home -- how a single life may be more than its appearance alone and how the worlds of fantasy and reality may intersect afterall. It's just a story, Anderson says in his afterword and, indeed, it is that -- but a story which reached me in a largely unexpected way. It takes an historical legend from much earlier times and revives it in a manner which does honor to the source material from which it is drawn while yet placing it in a perspective we moderns can grasp. As The Broken Sword was, no doubt, a young man's breathless and headlong tale (Anderson himself once suggested this in a foreword he'd written somewhat later to that book), so this one is the work of another writer entirely -- one who has lived his life and seen the fullness of it and its inevitable denouement. This one goes deeper than it seemed at the first. And redeems itself, and all of us, for that.
Stuart W. Mirsky
Author of The King of Vinland's SagaWar of the Gods Overview

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