7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A very slow read, August 31, 2000
Given the Helpful/Not Helpful ratings of previous posts, Ms. Nagata seems to have fans who will punish any dissent, but dissent I must.
I am giving this book an average rating because I liked it but it has serious flaws. First and foremost, was an extremely slow, laborious read. Her characters were moderately interesting but they did not really grow or change in any significant fashion. For all his introspection, not even Lot changes so much as he moves around and lets events dictate what will happen to him. Urban's big surprise decision at the end was uetterly predictable since his character moved not one iota the entire novel. Other majour characters seem to act capriciously or randomly; one minute they're going one way, the other they've reversed themselves and while Lot seems to have a clue why (we are told anyway), Nagata never makes it terribly clear to us.
So, too the very creative society Nagata has envisioned. I found it intriguing, but it was so diffusely and haphazardly described that I never felt terribly invested in the conflicts that arose from it. And therein, perhaps lies the real problem with the book. The setting, concepts and central idea are all marvelous but the execution is second-rate. The real conflict arises so much from the setting, and so little from deep and convincing characterization, that Nagata is forced, again and again, to assert that events make sense or that a character's actions are reasonable - but I rarely felt that way simply from reading what happened. A truly great book would not need so much explanation and assertion.
I really had a hard time "getting into" this book even after I was halfway through it - so much so that, when I took it on a plane, I bought another book to read in flight because this one was too difficult to read steadily. Still, I liked the book. As an intellectual exercise, it was plenty interesting. It is written intelligently and fairly sparkles with the kind of imagination and creativity about ideas, cultures and settings that marks the very best SF produced today. The problem is, that isn't enough to set it above so much other quality work being produced.
In short: I won't hesitate to recommend that you buy and read this book if you have some free time, but if time constraints limit you to only reading the best, you'd be best served by looking elsewhere.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It was ok, but like reading the middle book of a trilogy, February 19, 1999
By A Customer
This is the first book I've read of Ms. Nagata's, and while she is obviously a talented writer, I didn't get a high degree of satisfaction from reading this particular novel. I never felt I was part of the world in which it was being told, which is a feeling I find vital in enjoying SF. The characters were compelling, the ideas interesting, but I felt like I joined the story in the middle, without proper exposition, and left it before it ended with any kind of climax.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
?, May 11, 1999
By A Customer
I found the book extremely difficult to follow. The author introduces past events and characters that define the present time setting, but how it all fits together is hard to figure out. The technology was so 'out there' that it was hard to understand. Jargon and concepts were introduced that never really got explained. How the society, it which the story takes place, came about was really never explained. Somehow the society was split between people over a hundred and under a hundred. How this arbitrary number came about is anyones guess. As far a the story goes, what the heck is going on!!! I get a vague idea, but then characters suddenly pop up that have some stake it what's going on but why they do is again unclear. The plot seems really inconsistent. Antagonists are suddenly allies then enemies again. Don't even get me started on the main character's dream sequences. Avoid this book if you want a clear, understandable plot and world.
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