Customer Reviews

GroundTies

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Netwalkers: GroundTies has several things going for it. You have strong, believable characters, male and female, and they have real quirks, flaws, and strengths. You have high technology alongside low-tech living, with a relevant and believable computer network problem. You have conflicting ideas by several groups, not just two sides, on how these people act and their beliefs and goals. You have space-going humans who think themselves advanced, and some of whom think others are backward. You have planet-dwelling colonists who want to live their lives as they see fit. You have moderates and radicals and kooks. You have real differences in how people live in space, on ships, on stations, on planets, and their cultural outlooks all differ. Then you have a strange technical problem and various groups with vested interests in solving or covering up or exploiting the problem. Now throw in a character who has been uprooted from all he knows and who is struggling to adapt, and a researcher banned for maverick ideas and behavior, and you have the highlights of a really good read. Get the book. Get the other books in the series. You'll want to know what happens next.

Groundties, complex and character-driven, is a story difficult to forget. Other reviewers have summarized the plot well, so I won't repeat it. Suffice it to say that moral and ethical situations related to technology and relationships are explored with such finesse that you'll be thinking about them for a long, long time. I love this book so much that despite already having it in paperback, I took advantage of its newly-released Kindle format and purchased it again.

Groundties is a GREAT read! Advice from someone who knows: plan ahead to read it on a day off, because it is so engrossing that you won't want to put it down.

In a web-connected future where intellectual property is infinitely copyable--and a copy cannot be told from the original...
How do the creators survive?
A character-driven novel about corruption, survival and the creative soul.

I first stumbled across the 'NetWalkers series some time ago, and truly enjoyed them. The combination of robust characters, a moving, sound plot line, and penetrating insights very much makes this series worth reading.

Though not solely a "techie" book, I found the extrapolations of where the 'net might take us, and the possibilities and ramifications to be absolutely fascinating.

The characters are well developed and quite believable. Rather than being in any way generic, they come across as having their own personal flaws and failings; in other words, as being real.

One hallmark of a truly well told story is that the layers of plot, motivation and character are revealed in an onion peeling manner; once you think you've got everything figured out, another layer is revealed. This is one of those tales.

Finally, it's just a fun story.

Highly recommended!

I bought this eBook from Jane Fancher without having read any of her work previously. I have to say I was very satisfied. Worth every penny and I would have been almost as happy paying the regular price (gotta love a deal).

This is an interesting mix of futuristic net-centric computing and the psychology/sociology of the characters and their groups. The characters are definitely richly developed and the plot is interesting. I keep looking for a "bad guy" but even the potential antagonists are 3-dimensional, so it's hard not to find something redeeming in their characters.

I recommend buying it instead of that soda - water is healthier anyway :)

It was good to discover GroundTies. Exciting story action, science speculation, and good portrayal of character interaction. This is the kind of science fiction I like.

Characters who feel real; complex and intriguing situations; fascinating possibilities in plausible future societies. I read this book some months ago and very much enjoyed it and the two books which will follow. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen to the characters -- and I'm not going to say more about them; other readers will want to find out for themselves. It's worth the wait! The writing is rich and professional and very satisfying. This is a real bargain, whether at $.99 or $2.99!

There is a gritty realism to the characters that immediately grabbed me and held my attention. Stephen's disturbed mental character was both endearing and frightening to me and I just had to read the book in one sitting until I was done. A very good read. In fact, for me, it has become a repeat read.

I read all three books several years ago. They are gripping and still relevant today. Jane does a great job building strong, compelling characters that live in a believable, complex and far flung future society. The story is potent and has a great finish; I couldn't wait to get to the next book! I'm eager for more of her work to hit the shelves!

A character-driven adventure, exploring (among other things) the social and psychological impact of Internet-like technology on individuals and their interactions, with an exiting plot.
The characters are complex individuals, well-rounded but flawed, and not static: they change and develop. First impressions can be misleading, and getting to know the people and what makes them tick is an interesting voyage of discovery.
The technology is believable. The far-flung future universe is very connected, through the 'Net, but not monolithic: there are many different groups with their own views and interests. This sets up tensions, for instance between planet-dwellers and spacers, as well as more political tensions between factions within these groups. Add in the personal likes and dislikes, including some difficult (reading between the lines) 'old history' of the primary characters, and the stage is set for a complex, many-layered exploration of the impact of the discovery of a problem with the all-pervading 'Net on all concerned.
A very interesting read, definitely worth rereading. It kept me thinking quite a while. It's not a light and fluffy read to finish in an hour on the beach, but if you like a story you can really get stuck into, with complex characters and a believable future, in which interpersonal as well as future-society ramifications are thoroughly explored, this is a book for you.
For people elsewhere in the world, who haven't got a Kindle: the printed book is becoming rare, but sometimes still available secondhand (look at Groundties), or you can get an e-pub version direct from the authors at www.closed-circle.net.

The story is continued in Uplink, which is available for Kindle as well: UpLink ('NetWalkers: Original Series). Together they form one story-arc. Though Groundties stops at a balance point, not a cliff-hanger, Uplink brings more satisfying conclusions to several of the story-lines started in Groundties. So, if you like complex, character-driven stories, with action and suspense, in a believable future-tech background, buy both books and you won't be disappointed.