Customer Reviews

Singularity's Ring

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The idea of humans who can share thoughts and feelings is not a new concept in SF but I have never read a book that pulled the reader into the personal experience so completely. The personalities of the characters have depth and the reader becomes involved as they get to witness "linking" from the point of view of each of the participants. Action is laced throughout as the pace kept me totally engrossed and wanting to turn the page. Very good book and made me want it to be about twice as long. This is an author to watch.

Paul Melko's SINGULARITY'S RING, is a delightful experiment in characterization. As the book's dust jacket says, it is set in a "posthuman future." Interestingly that future is on earth, and the characters, Strom, Quant, Moira, Meda, Manuel - collectively Apollo Papadopulos coming of age in a dangerous time - are a real team; they travel it (the Rockies, the Amazon, Congo) and space above (Columbus Station, the Ring). Imaginative concepts, adventure and a well-paced plot result in an exceptional first novel. Quick to read, engaging, thoughtful, solid sci fi, I enjoyed it.

I loved reading Singularity's Ring. I became quite involved with the characters and found myself quite concerned over what became of them. Is that somewhere in the definition of a good read? Short and sweet, I wanted this book to go on and I can hardly wait for more from Paul Melko. Very highly recommended.

Which is pretty nice when it's my only complaint. The book presents an amazingly rich and well thought out world, and I couldn't help but wish we'd gotten a chance to see more of it.

This is a real standout in science fiction- good ideas and interesting characters... and at the end, everything makes sense... everything has an explanation that is organic to the plot. I was very pleased and surprised that no gimmicks were used to make it all work. Well done.

For the folks who are giving this book a hard time, you must have assumed you were going to read Science Fact. Well, this isn't it. It's "fiction," so the hard science doesn't have to be there for me. If I'm looking for that, there are plenty of other authors out there selling those wares. Is it a hard-core science-based book? No. Is it a fun read with good hooks and solid pacing? Yes, and I'm glad I took a chance on it.

At the end of any book I ask myself if it was worth the time and money, and Mr. Melko's book was that and more. Sometimes I like in-depth, informative sci-fi books, and sometimes I like page-turners. This one is the latter, and if that's what you're looking for you'll be pleasantly surprised.

If you don't purchase this book, there's a high likelihood that another you in another universe will.

As proof this is an excelent book, It just won the Compton Crook Award for best SF novel of 2008 by a first time SF novelist. The Crook Award is given by the entire membership of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society so you know the opinion is widely based. I look forward to his future work.

If I hadn't met Paul Melko last fall at Context 20 in Columbus, Ohio, I may have missed out on a great read! Paul was on a panel, and I spoke with him briefly afterwards, telling him I intended to buy his novel when it came out. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had any impetus to make this purchase, especially when I have so many other titles (about 4,000 more) sitting on my bookshelves. And it would have been most unfortunate if I hadn't read this. I had such a good experience reading it that after a couple of days, the adventure was through, leaving me wanting more. I'm not going to write a rehash here of what the novel was about...you can read that in the previous review and the description. What I want to emphasize with this review is that the cost of the book was worth every penny. If you at all liked Vernor Vinge's Tine race, or like the multiple narrative style of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, or what the world "could" be like in the future, this book will not disappoint.

Paul has a book of previously written short stories coming out this month, but I would love to see another adventure written in this universe. But perhaps whatever he has planned next will top this! I'm looking forward to reading more Melko in the future.

Not going to recap, anyone interested in The Singularity will find this Novel entertaining. Melko develops and allows you to understand the characters, where many Hard Sci-Fi authors choke. I'm a Singularity nerd at this point, but there are twists to this book that makes me feel it may not be the "pinnacle" of achievement. Loved the story, every time something major happens you think you know where it's going, then it doesn't. I wish it would have been a series, I could spend a lot more time in this world.

Interesting view of the future where engineered human multiples struggle to find their place against an overbearing government and people's predujice. Looking forward to the sequel.