Customer Reviews

A Signal Shattered

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I think the first thing that you must know about this book is that you should really read the book that came before it, Signal to Noise, also by Eric S. Nylund. Without the backstory, I think that this complex book would become even more confusing, and the first book was a good read on its own.

This book starts with all of humanity reduced to a handful of refugees scattered across space (I did say you should read the first book first, didn't I?). The catalyst who brought about the end of the world is Jack Potter, mathematician, cryptographer, and middle-man. And it is now up to Jack to save what remains of the human race. As if this task wasn't daunting enough, Jack must do this while battling such trifiling details as lack of oxygen, planets with insufficient rotational power to be of use (you'll see), two former best friends who seem to want him dead, a bizarre neurological disorder attacking everyone he knows, one or more fellow refugees who seem to want him dead, and oh yeah, at least one exceedingly power alien who wants him dead... or enslaved.

If you're going to read this book, be prepared to give it a careful read. It's certainly a worthwhile novel, but it demands attention otherwise details will slip by that will prove to be important later. The central theme of metaphor and illusion can make the story confusing and chaotic at times, though I believe that is the intent, and it reflects character turmoil well. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the ending, but that is something that you'll have to learn about and decide for yourselves.

I figured out about 5 pages into the book that it was a sequel. I cursed and finished it anyway.

Swooping ultra-tech, meshed with Zen riddles. It seems to make progress toward its goal, filling in without meandering, and read fairly quickly and cleanly - compelling, but not in a powerfully compelling way.

There is certainly science in there, and reading the back cover shows that the author has a MS in Chemical Physics. Having studied in that field for a time, I can appreciate some of the things that are discussed. It seems to be written well enough to be accessible to the layperson as well.

That the ending has elements of Deus Ex Machina can hardly be suprising, given the levels of technology.

That the characters are human, without being perfect or perfectly annoying makes this well worth reading. It is truely hard to find characters that having more than one dimension without being carictures of themselves.

Sometimes you just want to give the hero a swift kick, but you never feel like he's responding to the situation in a way that is implausible. The author doesn't even fall into the trap of having the Hero whine endlessly about how hard his life is. I'll happily file it in my collection, and tag it for a later re-reading.

I expect I'll enjoy it then too.

In 2071 on a secret base on the moon, mathematician Jack Potter knows that his defaulting on his business deal with the alien Wheeler led to the mass destruction of the Earth. Billions are dead.

The few survivors who escaped Earth via Wheeler's technology remain under attack by Wheeler. Internally, one of the members of the camp is sabotaging the earthlings' attempts to stay alive. When all of them seem doomed, the Gersham, another advanced alien race, arrives to offer Jack a new deal. Considering the calumnious results of his previous deal with an off-planet being, Jack has doubts as to whether to sign on with the Gersham. Then again, he has few options if the human race is to survive into the next century.

A SIGNAL SHATTERED, the sequel to the insanely wonderful satire SIGNAL TO NOISE, is a fabulous tale that leaves science fiction fans desiring more novels in the series. The action-packed story line is filled with energy and irony, but never stints on its characterization even with future technology buzzing through the pages. Though he heats up the action, Eric S. Nylund shows his understanding of the human essence as he obtains empathy from his audience for his surviving earthlings, especially Jack.

Harriet Klausner

I had first read Nylund when I picked up his book Dry Water, which I found to be promising, but not really fulfilling.

A Signal Shattered, to my mind, gets a lot closer to a mature work by a talented author. This is true despite some problems that I had with the book while reading it.

My biggest problem was that I was one of the unlucky few who did not realize that this was a sequel, and so I read this book without having read Signal To Noise. As a result, it took me a *long* time to figure out what was going on and probably longer than most people to get into the plot. I would agree that this was probably the wrong way to go about the book. For me, it is a pretty strong statement about the quality of the book that not only did I eventually get into the plot, I enjoyed reading the book quite a bit.

While Nylund has cyberpunk elements to his writing, I think he would be more reasonably compared to a writer like Tim Powers than to more traditional cyberpunk writers. His predominant strengths as a writer lie in his mix of concept and science with a strong lean towards the mystical in places. I would agree that perhaps more attention could have been paid to developing the character reactions to the situation they find themselves in, but I also should say that I was only a little bit bothered by the absence.

I really enjoyed this book. It starts with a premise which reminded me of Stars My Destination (i.e. instantaneous jumping from point to point), but this book is really about a psychological cat and mouse game among the protaganist, his "friends," and the evil alien traders. I liked that the aliens were not drawn as all that alien, they are just pure machiavellian capitalists taken to wild extremes. The style is great and I really liked the main character, especially his moral dillemas. There is also some cyber-punk type hacking, but with a cool (frankly unique) poetic, sensory view of programming. Overall an excellent read. My only beef is that the book itself does not state on the cover (or anywhere else) that it is a sequal. I picked this up cold from the book store and the first two pages of this novel gives spoilers (the whole plot and ending really) for the first one which I would have loved to have read fresh. Serves me right for not checking here first!!

My wife bought this book for me as a gift, and I read it before reading the first book. It was fantastic! As a writer I know that the first line, or at least the first page, is supposed to "hook" the reader. This one was fantastic and hooked me instantly, espcially since I hadn't read the first book. The book starts with a bang and the pace never lets up until the very end when things get so weird it's hard to imagine the reality he's portraying, but I *like* that! The whole reason I read sci-fi is to be drawn into visions of a reality I would never imagine on my own. It's hard S.F. but with strong characterization. Each character is unique and clearly defined. Bottom line: I couldn't put it down! I heartily recommend it.

This book doesn't waste any time. I found myself completely engrossed in the story at 10 pages. The story is fast, full of interesting characters and universe-sized challenges. Nylund's perspective of human potential and human nature is impressive and creative.

The science in this book is also interesting, but rather shallow and opaque; all the interesting technology is "alien" and is not described on anything beyond a superficial level. That's why I gave this book 4 instead of 5 stars.

"Signal Shattered" picks up the ever more complex plot of cross and double cross in "Signal to Noise". It has pace. It does sometimes becomes clogged, but then picks up again in a good way.

The end of "Signal Shattered" is almost as if Neylund _had_ to finish it and ran out of ideas, time or energy. The solution the main character finds to get out of the loop he has been manipulated in, was a dissappointment.

If you can copy yourself and your pocket quantum supercomputer and multiply your intelligence into infinity and beyond with each copy of yourselve, I believe I would have gone for a different solution, turning the tables in one last and final "triple cross".

I blame the editor of Avon.
A little more time, a little more effort could have make this book an absolute masterpiece. Now it gets 4 stars instead of the 6 it could have had.

Even though this book is a sequel it can stand on it's own. Howver, reading the original, "Signal to Noise" will add new depth to this read. The mix of Zen and technological problem solving are well done. The characters and plot movement are very good. Eric manages to explain the technology while progressing the plot. This is an uncommon ability and is greatly appreciated.

Action-packed, fast and exciting, this sequel to SIGNAL TO NOISE does not disappoint. On par with and reminisecent of good Zelazny. Check it out.