Sly Mongoose (2008)

While I’m probably not doing justice to this book, having taken several years to finally get around to reading it since the middle part of the series, most of my basic problems with the series are still in view. While the setting and the concept is cool Buckell’s tale of Maroon rebels in space still seems a bit sparse as opposed to spare, and the constant switching of venue means that none of Buckell's societies are ever as well developed as they could be, though he does complete his series on a satisfying note. The thought that comes to me is that the essence of this series could probably have been boiled down to three or four strong novellas, but the reality is that when these novels came out there was no market for novellas, so you go with writing novels whether or not you have the material to fill them.

To get the maximum impact you should probably gather all three books at once and read them in one go. ( )

I still like Buckell's world—I don't mean the planet Chilo where this takes place, rather the larger political universe that these stories occupy. It evokes some thoughts of Brin's Uplift settings (a good thing) but with its own stamp of individuality. I especially like the Caribbean flair.

And I still like his characters, particularly Pepper, the person that provides continuity from one book to the next. However, in this regard, I think my enjoyment of Pepper is based upon the mental image I've built up from the previous two volumes since he seemed just a trifle undeveloped in this third installment. It's almost as if Buckell was saying, "Hey, you remember badass Pepper from Crystal Rain, right? No need for me to go into that again, is there?"

Beyond that, this was a little bit of a halfhearted book. The action seemed a bit pro forma. The frightening surface conditions of Chilo never had a real visceral feel to them. The terrifying infection of what can only be called zombies (yes, there are zombies and, no, this isn't a horror book) never really had the creepy sense of terror. Even the exposure of what was down on the surface was just a bit of, "Oh, okay," instead of some, "Wow!"

It didn't suck. Every author is allowed a dip or two in an otherwise good series. I'll definitely continue reading it. But it wasn't as good as the first two. ( )

Despite a one dimensional main hero and a poor choice in names (a pirate named Scarlett Riviera, really?) the world building, aliens and the space-operatic mind candy is top-notch, with some chapters (usually those which abandon the hero for the protagonists) even reminding me of Iain M. Banks at his best. The Venus-like planet never really comes off as threatening, and neither do the space zombies, who do most of their destruction off-camera, but all in all you could do worse for light summer reading. ( )

It was interesting at first, but then I got bored and never finished. True, I was v. busy at the time, but there have been many books that have kept my interest despite time limits. I was excited at the prospect of space zombies, but disappointed when it got dull. I may try it again in the future when I have more time to devote to it. ( )