I give this book two and a half stars but I am rounding it up to three. Fans of the “science” part of the sci-fi genre should enjoy this book. There’s cool stuff like black holes, asteroids getting farmed with a man made atmosphere, people growing up on the dark side of the moon, and lots of “rules of physics”. Crime fans or professionals in the fields of investigations, the military, and well anything to do with running a criminal interview or interrogation DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. I also have to believe anyone who’s studied human interpersonal behavior, or those who can’t tolerate complete lunatic decisions made by “best in their field” characters, will be dissatisfied with this book.
What I liked about the book:
1) The author has used her intense love and study of science to ground the futuristic ideas in real scientific theory. I had a love hate relationship with everything science all through school, so I don’t know/don’t care if the authors science is nonsense or real. It is one of the laurels marketing this book, and I did enjoy the science bits. It was cool to learn what the Anake’s super secret mission was, and I liked the idea of a black hole being inside the ship.
2) There are quite a few messages worked into this bit of fiction. The discussions about God and socialism were well presented. One of my favorite scenes is the back and forth between Althea and the Anake about God.
What I didn’t like about this book:
1) The author failed to do research about the less scientific things taking up at least fifty percent of the book. The interrogation of Ivan, and the military culture on board the Anake were poorly done. This book is a great example as to why writers need beta readers who are subject matter experts. It’s so sad to see a writer succeed at writing what she knows, but then fall flat on her face for not doing simple research into the occupations she’s not intimately familiar with. The interrogations were bad. Really-really bad. The awkward cobbled together military culture was even worse. As someone who has worked in both fields, it was insulting.
2) The plot is predictable. I think the biggest factor playing into this downfall is the number of one-dimensional characters. The only thing I didn’t correctly guess as each plot question presented, was the Anake’s super secret mission. Most of the plot can be determined by the books thirty five percent mark.
3) Call me a stickler for setting details, but there were several moments where I had a hard time believing this was set in the future. I was pulled out of the story every time a character shut off a manual alarm clock, or banged on a door. There is technology to house a black hole inside a spaceship, to run an entire craft on a crew of three, but bedside alarm clocks are still being used? Remote arms have replaced normal human functions, but characters are manually opening doors? My local Target store has auto doors, but the spaceship with a black hole in it doesn’t? That makes no sense to me.
I received an ARC of this book through Light in exchange for an honest review. Book Review: Fool’s Quest by: Robin Hobb
I give this book three out of five stars for its beautiful language, the lovely imagery of this twisting tale, and learning more about what happens to Fitz Chivalry, his young daughter Bee, and old friend Fool. I’m a fan of Hobb’s work, but some of the annoying repetition common to the Rain Wild’s Chronicles, surfaced in this series as well. This books redeeming qualities revolve around fleeting moments of action, a few fun surprises, and a trip that involved dragons. Other than that, be prepared for a lot of crying and gnashing of teeth, especially from Fitz. A good sixty percent of the book is Fitz giving monologues about how guilty and depressed he is. Normally I would not call this out in my into paragraph, but I think it’s important for readers sensitive to graphic rape or violence against women to be warned about the high amount of sexual violence in this book. There is actually a character Bee refers to as, “the handsome rapist.” There are multiple scenes where it is depicted, later discussed, and also scenes where more victims are interviewed or made to remember.
What I liked about the book:
1) Seeing Killisengre from other character point of views. I liked seeing little bits about the dragon keepers who were followed in Rain Wild Chronicles, presented in this book. I also liked the bits about King Verity and the stone dragons.
2) It was good to see Chine’s character evolving. I liked learning more about her history. It was good to see her and Bee working as team.
What I didn’t like about the book:
1) There are too many characters sitting around making poor decisions or just being stupid. Could one of the protagonists, besides little girl Bee, have their wits about them? Why do they ALL need to be making such poor decisions?
2) There’s so much talking, rehashing, and endless monologues about events from prior books. Then something new would happen, but within the same chapter or the next, characters are rehashing that action as well. It just bogs down the books pacing, and for me it was everything I hated in the Rain Wild Chronicles all over again. There really must be a high expectation for stupid fans when constructing this book. As if the majority of us readers don’t retain anything read prior.
3) Fitz is such a whiner in this book. He’s a grown man but he will not shut up, and when he does shut up, we then have to read all about his emotions, so it just never ends. Add the misery in Fitz’s scenes, to the sexual assaults in Bee’s scenes, to the graphic torture and recovery of the Fool and you have one huge mess of depression.
Book Review: Time’s Divide (The Chronos Files, # 3), By: Rysa Walker
What a terrific end to Kate’s fantastic adventure through time. I give this book five out of five star for its breakneck pace, jumping me back to interesting moments in American history and forward to a fascinating future. My mind bent with ideas of alternate timelines, and things capable of remaining constant when a change rocks the course of events in the past. Really this book earns every star just for tying up what felt like a million loose ends.
What I liked:
1) The stakes are high in this final book and it’s a nail biter. The lives of most of the world’s population are on the line as Cyrist’s seek world domination via a bio terrorist event. This event jeopardizes Kate’s life, and the lives of everyone she cares for. The danger only increases as people are murdered, lost in parallel timelines, and kidnapped. Will Kate gain true love in the end? Which Kate is she, Kiernan’s or Trey’s? I was happy to see the final book answers these question, as well as the biggest one of all, will Kate get her original life back?
2) The historical events covered in the book, each was picked well and added nicely to the underlying social ideas explored. One of my favorite moments in the book was young Pru’s rant to Kate about Victoria Woodhull, and why she was never taught in grade school. I enjoyed the mission to discover if Houdini possessed a Chronos key. Kate’s parallel moments of gender disparity from the Cyrist future, and the Beecher-Tilton trial past were well done.
3) The character’s, each demonstrated motives of their own, which I considered well developed, and unique. The suspense was terrific, with break neck action from line one. Those trusted in previous books are now suspect, and some considered adversaries become unexpected allies.
I recommend the other book in Kate’s series be read before reading this book. While I do think its possible to enjoy this book as a stand alone, some of the interesting details connecting the stories in this series will be lost. I purchased all of these prior books and loved them, which made the ARC of this book a real blessing. I received the ARC through Netgallery, in exchange for an honest review.
To learn more about the author Rysa Walker you can find her webpage HERE, and her titles on Amazon HERE.
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