eBook
polski language
Published April 7, 2010 by Ars Machina.
Ogromna, międzynarodowa korporacja wybudowała obiekt na Grzbiecie Juana de Fuki, na dnie Pacyfiku, by móc wykorzystywać nagromadzoną tam energię geotermalną. Następnie wysłała tam zmodyfikowaną biologicznie załogę - ludzi przystosowanych do oddychania wodą morską i znoszenia ogromnego ciśnienia - która ma żyć i pracować w tym osobliwym, podwodnym świecie.
Niestety, jedyni ludzie, którzy na dłuższą metę nadają się do pracy w eksperymentalnych elektrowniach, to szaleńcy. Część z nich na swój nieprzyjemny sposób. Ilu z nich dane będzie przetrwać, podczas gdy całemu światu zagraża niebezpieczeństwo z oceanicznych głębin?
Not sure the edgy stuff is worth the effort, even if there is good stuff in here. I will try the next book to confirm this. Blindsight/Echopraxia are a cut above this one.
Phenomenal story. I'm a sucker for anything in the deep ocean, and this book sure delivers! You've got hard science, fucked up characters, deep sea monstrosities and corporate shady dealings (with a dash of apocalyptic microbes and rogue AI, please!) what more could you ask for? Superbly written, I was not taken out of the story once while reading it. This one is going on the bookshelf, and I've got #2 read to go!
Engaging, although I find the setting and themes of his other stuff (Blindsight, Freeze Frame Revolution, The Things (!)) have more immediate appeal for me.
Starfish tells the story of the rifters, a group of misfits surgically altered and equipped to work deep undersea on a geothermal power plant. It takes a special breed to cope with the psychological extremes of such a habitat, and it turns out that those best suited to the environment are abuse survivors and sociopaths. The Juan de Fuca Ridge station ends up populated by an unusual crew that includes an incest victim, a wife beater, and even a serial child molester.
While the plot is fairly low-key for the first three quarters of the book, the setting and characters were so compelling that I raced through this book. Already set apart from the bulk of humanity by their violent and traumatic pasts, it was interesting to watch how the rifters, altered by both their implants and their living conditions, gradually became post-human. While some may find the characters unsympathetic …
Starfish tells the story of the rifters, a group of misfits surgically altered and equipped to work deep undersea on a geothermal power plant. It takes a special breed to cope with the psychological extremes of such a habitat, and it turns out that those best suited to the environment are abuse survivors and sociopaths. The Juan de Fuca Ridge station ends up populated by an unusual crew that includes an incest victim, a wife beater, and even a serial child molester.
While the plot is fairly low-key for the first three quarters of the book, the setting and characters were so compelling that I raced through this book. Already set apart from the bulk of humanity by their violent and traumatic pasts, it was interesting to watch how the rifters, altered by both their implants and their living conditions, gradually became post-human. While some may find the characters unsympathetic and hard to relate to, those readers would be missing the point. They start off damaged humans and end up even more alien.
The climax was exciting and interesting, if a little cryptic in parts. This is the first book of a trilogy, and while I'm excited to see what happens next, I hope that even with the drastic changes introduced at the end of Starfish the series continues to stick with the deep sea setting.
A tough read if you need a character to identify with.
But the first half or so is still great. The submerged world really came to life.
short review in ukrainian:
http://www.tivasyk.info/2010/08/blog-post_17.html
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трилогія rifters того ж таки вотса — в дещо іншому жанрі: три частини складаються у пост-апокаліптичний роман-катастрофу, але з елементами кібер-панка, детектива, місцями психологічного трилера, і з елементами фантастики. читається повільно, тому місцями важкувато, але в цілому — цікаво.
* starfish
* maelstrom
* behemoth
трилогія доступна на сайті rifters.com в різних форматах (див. сторінки кожної частини), а сам веб-сайт теж є джерелом додаткової інформації про пост-апокаліптичний світ роману.
