Mark W. Tiedemann

Excellent character- and event-driven sci-fi. A relatively short book yet the scope contained within its mere 340 pages is immense. So many things happen, and there are so many layers to the storyline, that I had to stop at times just to think through the events being described. This is intelligent story-telling of the highest caliber.

Recommended.

Two very good novellas in this 2fer.

Jeffrey Turner's This Instance Of Me is a straight-up whodunit/adventure set on an orbital habitat. It's well-written with good dialog, good characterization & world-building, and a nicely flowing narrative. The mystery is pretty good too. Kept me guessing until the denouement.

Mark W. Tiedemann's Of Stars & Shadows is a Genghis Khan in space story. It imagines a massive horde of spaceships that swarms throughout the galaxy conquering as it goes. Killing show more the Emperor is the only way to stop the horde. Or is it? What happens when you realize your dream of vengeance against the ancient emperor - and then step into his place? How do you dismantle such a construct without the entire galaxy descending into chaos? Deep stuff with no easy answers for the protagonist - or the reader. I'm a fan of Tiedemann's writing and, once again, he does not disappoint here. show less

Good near-future techno thriller. No real big surprises as far as the mystery goes but that did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. Tiedemann can be a sly story-teller. Instead of drawing you a picture using crayons, he builds the world and the characters by sketching minor details; he might mention a little something about the political landscape that gives you an idea that America, in this book, is a very different place from what it is today. Or he might describe a piece of show more technology that the characters use that is clearly futuristic to us, but is commonplace to them. Even the clothing, cars, and character behavior is odd at first. As the story unfolds though, it all comes together into a cohesive whole that is, on the one hand, complex and. on the other, simply rendered. No mean feat that.

In typical Tiedemann fashion, (this is the 5th novel of his that I've read), the bulk of the story is driven by character interactions and action sequences. To keep up with what is happening, you will need to read between the lines and pay attention to what people are saying. It's not hard, but that is what will be expected of you as a reader. Thankfully, your task is made easy by the fact that the dialogue is smart, direct, and to the point.

The other appeal of this story is the development of the main character... When we first meet him, Grant Vozcek seems to be an arrogant, condescending, self-centered jerk. Ummm... hold on, there is actually no 'seems to be' about it. He is all of that. But then a strange thing happens; as the story progresses, so does Grant's persona. As details emerge, we find out why Vozcek is the way he is and, as he interacts with FBI agent Reva Cassonare, he also begins to look beyond his own motivations and triggers and finally comes out the other end changed in a positive way. It's not easy for me get to like a character that I started off disliking. Tiedemann manages to bring me around with this one. At the end Vozcek remains a tad unlikable, but he's a much better person than when we first meet him. Another example of 'no mean feat'.

My biggest complaint is agent Reva Cassonare... While she is depicted as being a strong female character, she really just ends up being a typical supporting act for our male hero (or anti-hero as the case may be). Too bad because her character has a lot of potential. Still, that's a small nit to pick for an otherwise smart and entertaining read.

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys the types of environments created by PKD, Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, or Neal Stephenson. While the style is somewhat different, the world-building is of that caliber. show less

I enjoyed this book very much. While there is not a ton of typical action in the narrative, the 'whodunit' suspense builds nicely to a well-constructed conclusion. I liked the noir detective feel of the story-telling and I found the characters to be satisfyingly complex. The distinct political and sociological, (even physiological), differences between the splintered societies in the off-Earth habitats was an interesting take on what life away from mother terra may bring to humanity.

Recommended.