I’m sure this story was groundbreaking in its time, but with time comes progress. ;-)
This is essentially an Idea variant of scienceA bit disappointing
I’m sure this story was groundbreaking in its time, but with time comes progress. ;-)
This is essentially an Idea variant of science fiction, much similar to Isaac Asimov and Jules Verne: thin characterization, minimal description or too much, depending on the paragraph, and mostly the Idea to drive the story.
It does pick up in the second half of the book....more
Just about perfect. Great characters, great plot. Interesting premise. And, of course, it sets up future books. Brandon, will you please finish somethJust about perfect. Great characters, great plot. Interesting premise. And, of course, it sets up future books. Brandon, will you please finish something?...more
Easily one of the best science fiction books I've read in a long time. I picked it up on a whim from the library, and I'm very glad I did.
Ean Lambert Easily one of the best science fiction books I've read in a long time. I picked it up on a whim from the library, and I'm very glad I did.
Ean Lambert is a misfit: a partially self-trained linesman, which are the people who manipulate the lines -- living energy -- into transporting ships through the void in speak to travel enormous distances. But there's more to the lines than even the linesmen know. When an alien ship and a strange confluence of lines show up in space, Ean is dragged into figuring out what's going on.
The world-building is terrific, and the characters well-drawn, if a bit one-dimensional. (Thankfully, each is a different dimension.). The plot moves along nicely. There's just enough politics and personality to make the characters' motivations realistic, without getting bogged down in too much detail....more
Intriguing idea about a girl getting treatments to wipe out her memory. She can't remember why. Then someone tries to kill her, and things get complicIntriguing idea about a girl getting treatments to wipe out her memory. She can't remember why. Then someone tries to kill her, and things get complicated in a hurry....more
Marisa is a risk-taker, a hacker, and a member of the Cherry Dogs, a team in the MMORPG Overworld, in the not-so-distant future, where cybernetic braiMarisa is a risk-taker, a hacker, and a member of the Cherry Dogs, a team in the MMORPG Overworld, in the not-so-distant future, where cybernetic brain implants and limb replacements are common, and the world is ruled by corporations. Marisa's neighborhood, Mirador, is falling apart, with gang-driven protection rackets feeding off her parents' restaurant income. Between the restaurant's struggles, her brother belonging to the gang that controls much of the neighborhood, and her own risky behavior, Marisa's life is not simple.
And then one of her teammates gets a virus in her brain implant, Marisa tries to track down the source, and things start getting really complicated.
I'm torn on this book. In many ways, I really, really liked it. The characters are believable (if a bit thin). I loved that Marisa has an actual family -- a young adult book with a heroine with a mostly-intact family? how refreshing! -- and that the family plays intimately into the story. The pacing was terrific, the characters choices drove the consequences, and there were real consequences. The tech discussions were mostly dead-on, with clear evolutionary paths from where we are now: nothing too far-fetched.
On the other hand, there were a few false notes. Like many books dealing with programming, hacking, and cyber-anything, the teenaged hero(ine) strolls through in scant seconds problems that would take very experienced teams of coders weeks or months to figure out. I have done a lot of programming, I have 15 years of experience in cybersecurity, I occasionally hack things for a living (with permission!), I work with some brilliant programmers, and none of us could do the things that some of these characters do as a matter of course.
If you can get past that minor flaw, the book is great fun....more
Really, my biggest criticism of this book is that it needed to be longer. I don't say that about many books, but this one needed a little more flesh.Really, my biggest criticism of this book is that it needed to be longer. I don't say that about many books, but this one needed a little more flesh....more
The nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a potential weapon that could take out nearly all of the electronics over a large area -- several hundred mThe nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a potential weapon that could take out nearly all of the electronics over a large area -- several hundred miles or more. First world countries are extremely vulnerable to this, because so much of what we have is driven by sensitive electronic components: computers, phones, cars, blenders, washing machines, dishwashers: the list goes on and on.
This is the story of a small community in North Carolina when an unknown assailant targets several nations with EMP nukes. It is not for the faint of heart, or stomach.
The story is okay. It's strongly reminiscent of Dies the Fire, though that book was better executed. This one sorely needed a more thorough editing job: missed closing parentheses, some awkward dialect (and dialogue, for that matter), and a fair bit of repetitious exposition. It is strongly patriotic -- perhaps excessively so -- but not so much as 1632.
It did get me thinking about how better to prepare for such an event. We have food storage and use it all the time. (Bonus: Homemade, whole grain food is cheaper and tastes better than store bought, although it takes a bit more work to make; not all that much more, though.) We know how to garden and eat its produce all year long. (Bonus: Gardening is relaxing, and eating your own produce is satisfying. The disadvantage is that I can no longer eat store-bought tomatoes. Even the organic greenhouse tomatoes taste like wood after eating fresh garden tomatoes.) Communications are potentially an issue. I recently certified as an amateur radio Technician, but that doesn't do me much good if my radio is fried.
All in all, the book is rather preachy, but provides very few solutions, and not much hope. Dies the Fire does a better job of presenting the horrors of a post-event world, and also outlines the kinds of skills and knowledge that would actually be useful for survival in a lot of disaster scenarios. The Knowledge actually provides useful information for boot-strapping back to a functional technology base. (I know, I know -- completely different genre. But if this book were less preachy, it wouldn't invite the comparison.)...more
Mmm. This one's kind of a navel book. You know, characters sit around contemplating their navels. There's no real conflict to speak of, even less thanMmm. This one's kind of a navel book. You know, characters sit around contemplating their navels. There's no real conflict to speak of, even less than Cryoburn, which was itself one of the weaker installments in the Vorkosigan series.
The only thing that makes this book even three stars is that the author's voice is good....more
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