Ventus

Ventus suffers from poor editing. This is all the more disappointing because it could have been wonderful rather than merely good. The editing problems range from minor (repeated descriptors, sentences that should be rearranged, action discontinuity) to major (without giving too much away, I'll just say that the idea that Armiger has no DNA is nonsensical in the context provided by the story), but all could have been addressed easily to make this a much better piece of writing. I enjoyed Ventus from the perspective of its worldbuilding, and as in some of Brin's novels, I enjoyed learning about the civilization through offhand comments and inference rather than direct exposition.

Artificial intelligences go rogue and turn against the humans they're supposed to protect, and no one knows why. One of them, a human transformed by an AI so powerful that it's considered a god, rediscovers his humanity and has to find his own way.

This was a great story - an interesting theme and the singularity-problem explored from an unusual angle, combined with characters with interesting, but very personal problems. A reasonable amount of romance and tragedy mixed in made for a really satisfying read. It also contains one of the most disturbing depictions of someone being literally scared to death I've ever read.

If only... yes, if only the editing weren't that bad. I don't get it really, the book was published by TOR before it got show more a CC license, and I'd assume that a publisher of such reknown knows how to line edit, but this reads in parts - getting worse towards the end - like a first draft with jumbled words, redundant repetitions and whole sentences that make no sense at all. It's a shame, really. show less

I had seen some of Karl Schroeder’s books in the library before, but I never picked one up until now. I’m glad I finally did. This isn’t a great book. There are weak spots. The prose, grammar, and punctuation could be better, but the story is outstanding. This is an imaginative science fiction tale in a seemingly fantasy-like medieval setting. I like this kind of cross-genre mixing and use it in my own stories.
Two investigators from a technologically advanced intergallactic civilization are on Ventus searching for an agent of recently defeated malevolent “god.” They fear he can resurrect (or perhaps recreate would be a better word) this entity. They want to stop him from doing so. They recruit (essentially kidnap) a young show more local boy who they believe can locate this agent.
The inner turmoil experienced by some of the main characters is well conceived, if a bit sparse. The main investigator is driven to succeed because of her past. The god’s agent is rediscovering his stolen humanity. The young local boy is growing up, questioning his past assumptions, and learning the world is a much bigger and more complex place than he ever imagined. The planet itself, Ventus, is a unique character in the book. Ventus is not the natural, Earth-like planet it appears to be. All of what passes for nature here, the flora, fauna, even the weather, were created and are being managed by a sentient nano-technological marvel. To say more on this would create spoilers but suffice it to say it too has its own internal conflicts to resolve.
For the engaging story, decent characters, overall positive tone, and imaginative setting, I recommend this book. It is an enjoyable read. show less

This was a slower read than some of his others, but once it builds up it has an awesome premise. It's hard to really describe, but it has to do with the idea of "thalience", a concept of things and beings existing together in a kind of harmony where they all know what they are and what their purpose is.
Humans first started with magic and superstition, then moved on the religion, then to science, and each of these eventually took over and calcified, becoming more of a hindrance than a help. So, "thalience" is the next wave of thinking about how to explain the world.

I said it was hard to describe. Oh well.

Enjoyable, though long-winded. File next to Iain M. Banks. Seems like Schroeder really wants to talk about some heavy philosophical ideas, realized through AI/material science--and that was the best part of the book. Wish he would have just come out with it.

Definitely a slow start, but GR friends have said it's worth the wait, so I'll persevere.
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June 2022
p.117 of an edition that has 477 pp. Iow, more than 20%. And much more than I, personally, think it deserves. Too many tropes. Too much political intrigue, and too medievalish of a world. The cover is either bad (though it vaguely resembles what Axel just told Jordon), or I'll get to a point where it makes sense and at that point the book will be even more lame. In my opinion. Cutting my losses.

One more thing: I despise epics and doorstoppers pretty much on principle. So, I do admit to a prejudice against this. You might like it better if you like hefty tomes and like what reviewers who praised it like.

This book is available as a free download from the author's website! http://www.kschroeder.com/

from his site:
Ventus is a novel of information apocalypse set in the far future. For a thousand years the sovereign Winds have maintained the delicate ecological balance of the terraformed planet Ventus. Now an alien force threatens to wrest control of the terraforming system away from the Winds...

Jordan Mason, a young tradesman, is thrust into the midst of an ancient galactic conflict when he becomes the only human on Ventus who can locate the source of the alien threat. But will he side with the Winds, who have brutally suppressed technological development among the human colonists of Ventus? Or will he throw in his lot with an entity that show more may be planning to remake Ventus in its own, deathly image? Ventus incorporates ideas about nanotechnology, terraforming, and information theory in an epic tale of war, tragic love, betrayal and transcendence. show less