eBook, 406 pages
English language
Published Jan. 31, 2023 by Orbit.
Earth failed. In a desperate bid to escape, the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, Heorest Holt, carried its precious human cargo to a potential new paradise. Generations later, this fragile colony has managed to survive, eking out a hardy existence. Yet life is tough, and much technological knowledge has been lost.
Then strangers appear. They possess unparalleled knowledge and thrilling technology – and they've arrived from another world to help humanity’s colonies. But not all is as it seems, and the price of the strangers' help may be the colony itself.
SPOILERS returnreturnThis is a good book, original and engaging, as his others have been, but unlike the others, bloody hell is it grim. I would recommend it, but not if you're in any kind of dark place. It left me emotionally drained and grieving, for the twist.
I had seen a review saying this book differed from the first two, and from that perspective, the book seemed to be incredibly in line with the first two. I guess, it's also the overall feeling about it. Pretty cool that once again a similar-ish idea is made to feel fresh and interesting. Once again, cool to flirt with the idea of an intelligence sufficiently different from ours to be challenging to recognize yet familiar enough to be recognizable. Though the first book in the series is still the one with the most impact, the whole trilogy is wonderful and pretty much best books I've read.
The whole series is wonderful. Again a new super smart species of animal. Quite different from the other 2 books, and more philosophy than expected (in a good way). Nice!
LOVED IT. Now, waiting for the next one. Love the characters and the voice of the narration.
This one had a 'Star Trek' vibe to it. Need the next instalment.
Wow. Outstanding! This book is vastly different than the other two. I was frustrated with most of it and was sure I would be rating it 2 stars, maybe 3, even though the writing style was amazing, but the last hundred pages blew my mind.
Take all these 5 stars, Adrian, and go buy something nice with 'em.
I love stories of intelligences supposedly very different from mine so this was a very enjoyable story for me. I loved too that it took place over such a long period of time.
I'd heard booktubers use the term "redemption arc" and couldn't come up with examples in my own reading. Well, I kind of have one now. I mean the book starts with Kern establishing not being a very likeable person. It is kind of sudden when she decides, "ok, now I'll listen". But from there she seems to grow a bit more bearable.
And I must admit that I love the fantastic imagery that came to mind when reading this book. Give me cities and satellites and planet spanning rings built out of shimmering silk threads any day. Especially with a lush green planet as a basis.
