Read more ...

McDevitt makes it easy to return to the far future world that Alex and his pilot Chase Kolpath inhabit. It is a largely pleasant, low-conflict future, though not entirely lacking in the typical anxieties that attend human society. Alex, now re-united with his recently recovered Uncle Gabe, is still selling antiquities and artifacts, and Chase is still getting him wherever he needs to go. The story kicks off when an exploratory vessel stumbles on a tiny alien colony in the furthest reaches of known space. Up until then the only other alien race humans had encountered were the Ashiyyur, with whom they fought a long and devastating war before achieving a peaceful resolution. So when a follow-up mission is sent to make first contact, they are even more surprised to discover that the colony has completely vanished, leaving no trace of its presence behind.

In another odd twist, a third, completely different alien race of spider-like humanoids shows up to make first contact with humans. These folks, the Ulakans, are friendly and inquisitive, and their culture is so similar to that of humanity that one of their great works of literature seems lifted from Shakespeare.

While the encounter with the Ulakans is a positive one in contrast with their previous encounter with the Ashiyyur, the question of whether to send another ship out to look for the missing alien colony becomes a political hot potato: the general consensus is, we got lucky with the Ulakans, who is to say whether these elusive alien colonists have similar goodwill and peaceful intentions or not? It is decided that no further missions to that star system will take place, and furthermore anyone who attempts to privately undergo a mission there will be subject to legal penalties.

Alex is of course having none of that. Soon he and Chase have put together a party to reach out and find where the lost colony went, and hopefully pick up a few artifacts along the way that might make up the losses they will incur for defying the law.
The novel's strengths are those typical of McDevitt's fiction. His ability to craft an engrossing and suspenseful scientific mystery has not diminished over the decades, and his characters are as likable, and likeably flawed, as ever. In this case, though, his weaknesses are magnified by design. McDevitt has always been a proponent of the idea that cultures will necessarily evolve in the general direction that European civilization has taken, hence the very Eurocentric slant of future humanity and the aliens they encounter. It bogs the story down in a conceit that isn't particularly illuminating or wonderous - that humanity ventures out to the far reaches of the galaxy to find alien races that are really kind of boring and like us. Additionally, the lack of a true antagonist, or anything but minor obstacles in Alex and company's path, keeps the stakes too low for this to be anything other than a minor entry in McDevitt's canon.

Read more ...

I found myself appreciating the interactions between Lilla and her future father-in-law and all of the other new characters in this book. I loved how this book has more of a quest feel to it. The fast-paced writing style and descriptive scene writing made me feel like I was right there with Lilla from start to end. I was happy to see that readers got to experience more planets within the Seven Galaxies to get a grasp of how big their universe truly is.

I would highly recommend this book for any reader who loves sci-fi, fantasy, adventure, and especially quest. I hope one day this book series gets developed into a tv show or movie. It would be amazing to see on screen!

Read more ...

Magical Asia, in which the reader finds himself, is similar to medieval China, or rather, to the world of ‘lakes and rivers’ of the famous Chinese epics and ‘wuxia’ adventure novels. Swaggering dukes, greedy governors, arrogant princes, industrious peasants, wise monks, and wandering warriors inhabit this world. Gods are there as well, busy with their own worries and problems.

Rich with colorful epithets and unusual proverbs, the language knits together fairy tales and a trickster novel, leaving an aftertaste of hidden poetry.

The adventures of Sun Wu-Kun, the tricks of Til Ulenspiegel and Khoja Nasreddin, the stories of Brother Rabbit — such associations arise while reading the ‘Prince of Blue Flowers’. In the humour that peeps between the lines, one can find echoes of novels and short stories by Robert Asprin and Terry Pratchett.

Under the guise of a light trickster tale lay a story about the roots of evil. It is a story about why it is easy to fool people who give in to their passions: greed, anger, ignorance.

“It won’t do for greedy people to swindle and get away with it. Here is a noble deed for my skills!” Our hero argues. But when his own bragging overcomes him, he himself gots into trouble. Luckily, as he understands that he became no better than his foes, the help gets on its way.

The moral of this book is simple: if you are greedy, angry, boastful, self-satisfied, and stupid, there will definitely be some trickster who will make you pay for your vices. Even if that trickster is yourself.

Read more ...

“The people with whom we are friends should never affect our morality; rather, our morality should affect with whom we are friends.”

The journey continues with Davian, Asha, Wirr, and Caeden, our four main characters.
My favorite character in the series is Caeden. After the surprising reveal in the first book, Caeden is trying to regain more of his memories to understand why he is who he is. Many mysteries are being revealed, and plot holes are being filled. The more we discover about Caeden, the clearer the story becomes.

Because Wirr is Gifted the Administrators do not want him to be part of their council. He struggles as a Northwarden to convince the Administration of the dangers of the Boundary, his mother in particular. Wirr also discovers his father’s journal, which answers questions about the rebellion 20 years ago.

The Elders in Tol Shen are not letting Davian and Ishelle deal with the Boundary. And Davian of course will not stand still and do nothing. While Asha is trying to find out how and where the Shadows disappeared.

I enjoyed this book cover to cover and that end adds more questions. One single flaw in the book is the characters’ development; they all have the same voice, except maybe Caeden. Honestly, this series needs to be at least five books. Three is not enough, I need more explanations, more depth, more details, and more characters. I know there is one book left. I hope it will have a satisfying conclusion though.

Read more ...

incomplete review… just a place to put my thoughts

—

I enjoyed reading this book up until the last chapters. My favorite character is sacrificed. I enjoyed seeing the development of Marasi and Ceresse. This series is one I have read multiple times and I know I will continue reading but I loved the comic relief my character offered, I wish that he was able to find redemption in a way that did not mean he had to die.

I am thrilled about the way the various sanderson worlds are connected afterall! I am looking forward to seeing these worlds collide. Some of the Gods in this book were new to me, but I recall shadesmar was mentioned multiple times as a means of interplanetary transport. I have read the stormlight archive. The main antagonist God automoy though was completely new to me. I am assuming she is from another series that I have not read though.

I was surprised that the main issue was stopping a bomb. It seemed a little simplistic to me in light of the problems that have seen with Sanderson books but I supposed because this is a metal/gun related world a bomb is a next natural step.

I don’t know how the next books will be without Wayne. I am going to miss him so much in this series.

Read more ...

The book's conspiratorial idea of ​​a library staging its own destruction is undeniably original. The magic that appears in the book is also original, which Olivie Blake has not blatantly copied, at least not from any fantasy story that I know. The book manages to keep its secrets hidden and mislead its readers down the wrong paths until the very end. And at the end comes a surprise that is impressive, though nothing mind-blowing.

The characters in the book are beautiful, young, rich, clever, and immensely powerful all right, but not terribly interesting. I didn't really identify with any of them, except maybe Reina, who I think should have been featured more. The end of the story really felt a bit lackluster, possibly because it is only a staging point. That's right, there will be at least one sequel to this book. Naturally.

The social media buzz surrounding The Atlas Six has ​​not been mere mass hysteria. I think the time I spent on this book wasn't wasted. However, it remains to be seen whether I will continue the series from now on.