Eternity's End

I've really been enjoying the Star Rigger Universe since picking up a bargain priced Dragons in the Stars, and this was no exception. Carver's hallucinatory almost-fantasy realm of the "Flux" through which ships ply faster than light travel is, to the best of my knowledge, a unique setting for science fiction. I appreciate too, that even though there are battles and interplanetary intrigue, these are not yet another MilSF battleship saga.

The twists and turns for Legroeder - fugitive from pirates, pariah, explorer - along with the planet bound intrigue for his lawyer and her minions, keeps the story moving and surprising. I've already queues up more of Carver's books in my Kindle (both Star Rigger 'verse and others).

This one is hard to pigeon hole.

In places it's quite morally ambiguous, and adult in the lack of clear conclusions.

In others it's over simple, like bad YA.

While the characters don't always ring true, it is an entertaining story, and an interesting backdrop that's at least partially filled out.

A solid three and a half stars you might just enjoy more than I did.

I must admit I was a little sceptical at the beginning about the whole 'Flying Dutchman .. in Space!"-thing. But it had a nice cover, the "magnus opus" stamp, and I wanted to try another one from the author, after having fun with the "Chaos Chronicles"-series. And true enouth, it started a little .. heavy, at least for my taste. Our hero is, for a time, in a really hopeless looking situation. And then it gets step by step worse. Still it builds engagement, I guess, because it gripped me and I couldn't really stop reading.

I don't want to give too much spoilers, so let me just say the assumption that the author is usually (ultimately) nice to his characters saved me in the middle of the book, when the suspense would have killed me show more otherwise. Its a correct assumption, by the way. But that is all I am saying.

Your mileage may vary, but I found a very _very_ skillful balance between giving subtle hints about the developments in advance and keeping me unsure what will happen next.

In the end I was quite fascinated. I could summarise the plot in very few words, and it would sound very silly indeed. Instead let me say that I think it's a very skillful remix of stories and settings that could have easily gone wrong. And some will probably think that it did.

Don't expect high literature, realistic drama, or serious, "hard" science fiction. If you want a crazy, silly ride with an ending, that I really, really should have seen coming (but didn't), then that book might just be for you :) show less

Had to give up about 1/3 of the way through. I thought turgid tomes were a fantasy speciality, but this is one in space opera. But some people obviously like long books that describe everything. Maybe this is your book.

Eternity's End is a high-space adventure that hearkens back to the days of sailing ships, complete with space pirates and romance too. This is one of those rare books that has stuck with me long after I finished reading. I enjoyed it from cover to cover and hope to find time to read it again someday.