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extrapenguinAll you need to know of the plot: A lost human colony, Darien, is rediscovered. However, it has a warpwell, created eons ago to for a war against the Dreamless. Mainline humanity's allies, the Sendrukans, have Ominous Plans regarding Darien. Also, there is a side-plot involving a guy from another lost human colony trying to get to Darien.
The gushing praise:
The reveal of what happened to the colonyship Forrestal's people was well-done.
The scathing criticism:
The guy can't foreshadow. He has a sentence that goes like this: "Somehow, X knew he wouldn't see Y alive again." Y is killed as X goes to see him again.
The women are mostly useless. Three women get to speak during the course of the book: one is a bitch who wants to reform because her treatment of Catriona now gives her the sads, another is a main character's mom and exists to be concerned/get imprisoned/whatever, and the third is Catriona, who is one of these "Mother Nature" hippie-esque people. A warship turns up, and she laments the fact that the newscasters are describing its design specs rather than gushing over how beautiful the external décor is.
Mr. Cobley has a serious problem in that he blathers in a very mystic way. He doesn't quite give prophecies, but it's close. Also, how come the Uvovo still know everything despite their cultural collapse? Also, thebook's trilogy's very plot rests on pointless anti-AI sentiment.
The aliens are described as humanoid in appearance! Whaat... (Please, if you can't make alien aliens, go the Foundation route and don't make any!)
I didn't care for Greg, Chel, Catriona, or Robert Horst as characters at all. One of them could've been killed horribly and I'd have just shrugged and read on. Theo was moderately interesting, but the only viewpoint character I cared for at all was Kao Chih, aka Mr. Side Plot. (Probably him having nothing to do with organised AI-hate aka the main plot had something to do with it.)
Recommendation: Don't read the trilogy when I can read it for you! (Buy some Asimov, it'll infuriate you less.)
The gushing praise:
The reveal of what happened to the colonyship Forrestal's people was well-done.
The scathing criticism:
The guy can't foreshadow. He has a sentence that goes like this: "Somehow, X knew he wouldn't see Y alive again." Y is killed as X goes to see him again.
The women are mostly useless. Three women get to speak during the course of the book: one is a bitch who wants to reform because her treatment of Catriona now gives her the sads, another is a main character's mom and exists to be concerned/get imprisoned/whatever, and the third is Catriona, who is one of these "Mother Nature" hippie-esque people. A warship turns up, and she laments the fact that the newscasters are describing its design specs rather than gushing over how beautiful the external décor is.
Mr. Cobley has a serious problem in that he blathers in a very mystic way. He doesn't quite give prophecies, but it's close. Also, how come the Uvovo still know everything despite their cultural collapse? Also, the
The aliens are described as humanoid in appearance! Whaat... (Please, if you can't make alien aliens, go the Foundation route and don't make any!)
I didn't care for Greg, Chel, Catriona, or Robert Horst as characters at all. One of them could've been killed horribly and I'd have just shrugged and read on. Theo was moderately interesting, but the only viewpoint character I cared for at all was Kao Chih, aka Mr. Side Plot. (Probably him having nothing to do with organised AI-hate aka the main plot had something to do with it.)
Recommendation: Don't read the trilogy when I can read it for you! (Buy some Asimov, it'll infuriate you less.)
