Peter F. Hamilton is a favorite of mine, mainly because he writes mysteries in space, and he writes them well. So, when the eARC of this book popped up on NetGalley.com, I jumped all over it, and I'm glad I was selected to receive it.
Now, this book is long, and I'll be honest and let out the fact that the story dragged a bit in the mid-point, where the police are stymied and when our heroine, Angela, is somewhat snowed-in on another planet. However, that being said, the puzzle of the North clones and the killer and Angela and various other characters all end up intersecting nicely, though there can be too much of a feel-good thing, sometimes (e.g., the name of the captain of the spaceship at the end of the book); still, that's a very minor quibble. All-in-all, this was a quite satisfying read.
Now, this book is long, and I'll be honest and let out the fact that the story dragged a bit in the mid-point, where the police are stymied and when our heroine, Angela, is somewhat snowed-in on another planet. However, that being said, the puzzle of the North clones and the killer and Angela and various other characters all end up intersecting nicely, though there can be too much of a feel-good thing, sometimes (e.g., the name of the captain of the spaceship at the end of the book); still, that's a very minor quibble. All-in-all, this was a quite satisfying read.
This book had quite a lot of the things I look for in a good fantasy story: A semi-know-it-all humorous bad-ass, realistic dialogue, fighting and casualties and injuries that make sense, a dash of magic, and the cherry on the top of the whole thing would have to be the unique weapon used by Captain Killcoin (and how about that name?). My only real irritation was our POV character Arkamondos the Scribe as he could be a bit overly naive, in my opinion. Still, I quite enjoyed this book and will be happy to read the next in the series.
The author of this book wrote that he is a child of the eighties, and that he didn't pick up his first comic until age 23. He gives thanks to many, many comic creators for making his life better. Obviously, he loves comics so much that he's gone on to write books about his own heroes and villians, but in the case of this book, 7 Wonders, he has missed the essence of a good comic story by a very wide margin (and I write this based upon my own somewhat dimmed--but never fully burned out--love affair with comics for 3+ decades).
Essentially, what we have here is a book about cops and super-heroes and super-villains, but the problem is...not one of them is like-able!! Oh, there are brief flashes where you begin to favor one character, or another character, but then they are written such that any desire to empathize with them is completely shattered. Besides the "capes," the non-powered cop characters are also completely unsympathetic. Finally, the dialogue, if you want to call it that, is often of the "F*#k you, you expletive" variety, which is extremely tiresome. It's lucky I got this book as an eARC from the publisher, Angry Robot, because if I'd had a physical copy, I'd have binned it about three-quarters of the way through the story; I forced myself to finish it so I could write this review, but even then it took me a couple of months to gear myself up for the last hundred pages.
On the plus side, there is some good imagination shown here, but cool power stuff is defeated show more every time by poor characterization. show less
Essentially, what we have here is a book about cops and super-heroes and super-villains, but the problem is...not one of them is like-able!! Oh, there are brief flashes where you begin to favor one character, or another character, but then they are written such that any desire to empathize with them is completely shattered. Besides the "capes," the non-powered cop characters are also completely unsympathetic. Finally, the dialogue, if you want to call it that, is often of the "F*#k you, you expletive" variety, which is extremely tiresome. It's lucky I got this book as an eARC from the publisher, Angry Robot, because if I'd had a physical copy, I'd have binned it about three-quarters of the way through the story; I forced myself to finish it so I could write this review, but even then it took me a couple of months to gear myself up for the last hundred pages.
On the plus side, there is some good imagination shown here, but cool power stuff is defeated show more every time by poor characterization. show less
I really and truly hated this book...at the beginning. However, as supporting characters were introduced and Carl became less of a whining jerk, and the mystery progressed (actually, there's an ongoing mystery that doesn't get resolved, too), I ended up loving this book.
The U.S. translation/edition of the second book has been released in the last couple of weeks and I'm reading it now; so far, so good, 50 pages in.
This book gets
The U.S. translation/edition of the second book has been released in the last couple of weeks and I'm reading it now; so far, so good, 50 pages in.
This book gets
I got this as an eARC (electronic advance reading copy) from NetGalley.com.
I'm generally not a big fan of Mafia/Mob/Organized Crime, etc., based stories, so when I started reading this omnibus of three books and realized the main character does some work for a Mafia-esque organization, I almost put the book down (plus, Wilson was getting on my nerves as he is one of those super-assured characters, sort of like Jack Reacher, and that starts to bug me after a while). Anyway, despite the misgivings set forth previously, I found myself enjoying these books, especially the last two. There is plenty, and I mean plenty, of action in these books, with violence and weaponry galore.
I was about to sign off on this review in a short and sweet manner, and was thinking about what to write that would actually be short and sweet, when a book/series comparison popped into my head. The details are of course very different, but I would say if you liked reading Thomas Perry's Butcher's Boy books (just two of those, I think), then there is enough similarity here that I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy these three Wilson stories; 'nuff said, as they used to write over at Marvel Comics (and, maybe someone still writes it over there, I don't know).
This book gets a pretty solid
I'm generally not a big fan of Mafia/Mob/Organized Crime, etc., based stories, so when I started reading this omnibus of three books and realized the main character does some work for a Mafia-esque organization, I almost put the book down (plus, Wilson was getting on my nerves as he is one of those super-assured characters, sort of like Jack Reacher, and that starts to bug me after a while). Anyway, despite the misgivings set forth previously, I found myself enjoying these books, especially the last two. There is plenty, and I mean plenty, of action in these books, with violence and weaponry galore.
I was about to sign off on this review in a short and sweet manner, and was thinking about what to write that would actually be short and sweet, when a book/series comparison popped into my head. The details are of course very different, but I would say if you liked reading Thomas Perry's Butcher's Boy books (just two of those, I think), then there is enough similarity here that I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy these three Wilson stories; 'nuff said, as they used to write over at Marvel Comics (and, maybe someone still writes it over there, I don't know).
This book gets a pretty solid
For the first 20 pages, or so, I wasn't enjoying this book too much because the author would have a sentence or two of dialogue and then have 1-2 pages of the viewpoint character's thoughts/ramblings about various subjects touched upon (or not touched upon) during the dialogue, but once that initial bit of "getting to know the character" stuff was out of the way and the action began, well, I quickly revised my opinion of the book upward. It's clear the author is knowledgeable about weaponry, both modern and ancient, and I enjoyed his rapid-fire descriptions of the metal forging process quite a bit. There was also good dialogue between the two main characters, nice usage of mythology, and clever magic in this book. Further, the development of the main characters' relationship with one another as they built trust was handled well, even if it did start off with the Marvel comics-esque tradition of "fight first, ask questions later."
The author's real name (or, perhaps, his best-known pen name) is Jim Hetley and, despite despising the covers of his books written under that name, this book has inspired me to seek out those earlier urban fantasy works in order to add them to my library.
The author's real name (or, perhaps, his best-known pen name) is Jim Hetley and, despite despising the covers of his books written under that name, this book has inspired me to seek out those earlier urban fantasy works in order to add them to my library.
Normally I prefer extra-solar science fiction stories to tales where humans are still confined to the solar system. However, this near future sf/mystery story (first of a trilogy) hooked me from the beginning and just never let up. Every time I thought I knew where the authors (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck writing as James S.A. Corey) were going they threw in a nice twist. Add in really excellent dialogue, action and drama throughout the story, realistic technological explanations (without so much detail that I start to skip paragraphs) and well-done touches of humor (the stuff with the potential lawsuits at the end really cracked me up) and you've got a winner on your hands. Read and enjoy.
**CONTAINS SOME MINOR (I think) SPOILERS**
Naivete.
That's the word that comes to mind when I think of the 3 main characters in this book, as well as an important minor character. Don't get me wrong, I liked the characters quite a lot, but there are numerous instances where they act in manners contrary to their own best interests or, perhaps more importantly, the best interests of those dependent upon them. Of course, stories of adventure rely upon characters who don't act in their best interests, yet those characters still mostly overcome the odds, and that's fine, but in this story I think some of the characters should have known better.
Unlikely.
That's another word I think fits this book. I find it to be unlikely that it would be necessary to put the corporation's advanced weaponry to the use it was put when regular firearms would suffice. I also find it unlikely that certain important advanced technology would apparently be forgotten/abandoned by the corporation given their protective and secretive nature regarding the whole thing. I also find it unlikely that there are so many people so good at following other people (successfully) when the story needs it, yet our heroes are not followed (despite taking zero precautions), it apparently being unsafe to remain in their usual digs. I find it unlikely that someone as sharp as Hayes would ignore the repeated message as long as he did.
Inventive.
I liked the author's use of technology and ideas (I especially liked the concept show more for the subway cars that seemed very in-keeping with the time period of the story). I liked Brightly's method of cicumventing Haley's abilities. I liked the various uses of Hayes' abilities (though I can't say I much cared for the ultimate explanation for them) and I liked the explanation of the killer's abilities, as well as the resolution (though I did not think much of the whole garbage can usage scenario).
Still, over-all, I enjoyed the book and I will read other books by the author. show less
Naivete.
That's the word that comes to mind when I think of the 3 main characters in this book, as well as an important minor character. Don't get me wrong, I liked the characters quite a lot, but there are numerous instances where they act in manners contrary to their own best interests or, perhaps more importantly, the best interests of those dependent upon them. Of course, stories of adventure rely upon characters who don't act in their best interests, yet those characters still mostly overcome the odds, and that's fine, but in this story I think some of the characters should have known better.
Unlikely.
That's another word I think fits this book. I find it to be unlikely that it would be necessary to put the corporation's advanced weaponry to the use it was put when regular firearms would suffice. I also find it unlikely that certain important advanced technology would apparently be forgotten/abandoned by the corporation given their protective and secretive nature regarding the whole thing. I also find it unlikely that there are so many people so good at following other people (successfully) when the story needs it, yet our heroes are not followed (despite taking zero precautions), it apparently being unsafe to remain in their usual digs. I find it unlikely that someone as sharp as Hayes would ignore the repeated message as long as he did.
Inventive.
I liked the author's use of technology and ideas (I especially liked the concept show more for the subway cars that seemed very in-keeping with the time period of the story). I liked Brightly's method of cicumventing Haley's abilities. I liked the various uses of Hayes' abilities (though I can't say I much cared for the ultimate explanation for them) and I liked the explanation of the killer's abilities, as well as the resolution (though I did not think much of the whole garbage can usage scenario).
Still, over-all, I enjoyed the book and I will read other books by the author. show less
This story was gross enough that I considered stopping reading several times but I continued on because I just had to know what was going to happen to the main character, Awa, and I looked forward to the pistol-toting Dutch mercenary character (not what I was expecting, but the character turned out pretty well anyway).
As the story unfolded, and I became more and more caught up in Awa's quest, I came to really appreciate the author's imagination. I can't say I enjoyed all aspects of the main characters but that just made them more realistic and, ultimately, I came away really liking how the story turned out and I'm willing to go back and read the author's first book (which I've had on my shelves for a year or so), though I will wait until I've read a few other things before I sample more of the Bullington charm, heh.
As the story unfolded, and I became more and more caught up in Awa's quest, I came to really appreciate the author's imagination. I can't say I enjoyed all aspects of the main characters but that just made them more realistic and, ultimately, I came away really liking how the story turned out and I'm willing to go back and read the author's first book (which I've had on my shelves for a year or so), though I will wait until I've read a few other things before I sample more of the Bullington charm, heh.