Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A mixed bag..., July 15, 2004
This review is from: Newton's Wake: A Space Opera (Hardcover)
Newton's Wake is billed as "A Space Opera", which I guess is supposed to explain why this is a bit of a creampuff of a novel. MacLeod is a deft writer, with a nice ability to turn phrases. We are dropped into the action and MacLeod does a good job of the "slow reveal" of the characters and the circumstances. We get a good feel for this universe and the folks who inhabit it. We get a variety of characters who's basic humanity is challenged by circumstances: there were trapped as a program, head replaced with a metal head, social pariah, simulation of the original person, etc. And there are little touches (Ben Ami's play about Leonid Breznhev is a hoot). But... I found some jarring elements here too. We don't get close enough to most of these characters to really care all that much about them. Perhaps it is supposed to be telling that there are no real "bad guys" or "good guys", but the author should have had some stance on the Big Issues he raises, like: if you die and a version of you is brought back to life, it is really you? What if the version of you that is brought back isn't really you, it's just a reconstruction of other people's perception of you? Those are truly interesting questions and MacLeod goes nowhere with them: he asks without developing either an opinion or going near the really thorny bits. We are told more often than we are shown the developments that really matter. I was annoyed by some "reverse anachronisms" here: things from today that inappropriately show up in this far future time and don't fit. I found the debate about "Returners" vs. "Runners" was ultimately empty, as much of the plot was empty, because the author doesn't seem to feel the motivations. The conflicts in the novel are set pieces. As a space opera, this is neither gonzo enough to be a really wild ride nor pithy enough to really deal with the fascinating issues the book raises. This is a good read and I'll be keeping an eye on MacLeod, though. Here's an author with some talent. But this won't be his best novel.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Copies, Copies Everywhere!, May 24, 2005
This review is from: Newton's Wake: A Space Opera (Hardcover)
This novel is of a galaxy full of post-human technology, mind back-ups in case of death (with the associated question of identity survival), faster-than-light space travel, Drexler cornucopia macines, and post-singularity war machines. Most of the book centers around Carlyle's Drift, which are a series of wormholes connecting places many light years apart, with Lucinda Carlyle the principle character here. Across interstellar space there are several human factions, in various technological levels, competing with each other, allowing an interesting plot. I won't write about this further as I hate plot spoilers
I will give you my impressions of the book, however. At times, particularly the later one third, the writing seemed kind of vague, sometimes it was disjointed, making it difficult to recall who was fighting who. Perhaps MaCleod was trying to cover ground too quickly. But in the end it all does make sense. It may be that the main message of the novel is that we will always find ways to kill each other, and justify it, no matter how far technolgy takes us. After reading this, you may wonder as I did, what is real and what is'nt? If you enjoy this kind of science fiction, check out the fine novels by Richard K. Morgan.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, thoughtful, and approachable, August 8, 2004
This review is from: Newton's Wake: A Space Opera (Hardcover)
The war between Europe and the United States ended abruptly (although not before huge destruction) when the U.S. artifical intelligences jumped the firewalls and subsumed much of the human population. For moments, the hugely grown artificial intelligence was all-powerful, then, it vanished into infinity, too vast to be comprehended or even bothered by the petty wars and struggles left behind. Most of humanity was caught up in the 'rapture.' A few groups, though--America Offline descended from rural out-of-touch farmers, the Knights of Enlightenment--descendents of surviving Japanese and Chinese, Kemokratische Kommunistbund--northern Koreans cut off from computers by their governments isolationism, and a family of Scottish bandits (combat archeologists) who mostly control the tunnels between the stars. When Lucinda Carlyle of the Scots family stumbles across a planet settled by humans who had been on Mars at the time of the Rapture, everything changes. The inhabitants of Eurydice have access to the wormholes between the stars in a new way that puts the Carlyles to shame. But will the new variable in the equation mean war? And even in Eurydice, ancient rivalries between those who wanted to flee the solar system and those who hoped to save the humans forced into the artificial intelligence remain. Now, for the first time, it might actually be possible to realize that dream.
Author Ken MacLeod creates an intriguing universe and populates it with authentic characters and a touch of humor. He calls NEWTON'S WAKE a 'Space Opera,' and it does contain excitement, space travel, and youthful characters attempting to survive terrible mistakes and outrageous odds, but WAKE is much more thoughtful than an old-fashioned space opera. MacLeod asks fundamental questions about humanity, our future, and the nature of our goals--and provides only hints of an answer in the context of an entertaining story. Trust me, it works.
MacLeod is firmly tongue-in-cheek with his playwright, Benjamin Ben-Ami and his plays, including the 'Tragedy of Leonid Brezhnev,' 'The Madness of George II' and Jesus Koresh. I enjoyed the way MacLeod integrated his political beliefs into the story, unlike the more heavy-handed approach he had used in the earlier (but still enjoyable) books reviewed on this site. MacLeod is maturing as a writer, creating in layers now that make his work far more approachable, yet every bit as complex and thoughtful as his earlier novels.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
