Started: 1/3/19
Gave up: 1/4/19
The dialogue killed me. The story could be good – combination of magic (special abilities, anyway) and space adventures – but the dialogue between every character in the first few chapters is PAINFUL. I quit.
Inane Chatter
What were you expecting?
Erik
I’m reading Revenger now, too. Just passed page 200. It was my airplane read for the flight up to Seattle and back over the holidays.
The pho-Victorian English is a bit off putting. Reynolds is trying for the Steam Punk genre but it’s getting in the way of his story. The story is getting a bit interesting but it’s running out of pages to make a proper evolution of the story.
Zannah
Good for you for pushing through! Let me know how it ends. And how it middled. I barely got through how it began. 🙂
Erik
I always thought Reynolds was a great world and universe builder that sometimes ran into trouble when it came time to do characters.
Terminal World was another interesting setting that he never got the dialogue pace just right.
He also doesn’t feel compelled to wrap everything up by the end of his stories. The characters resolve their story – or it moves onto some other adventure – and they never fully understand or resolve who or what is behind making the world what it is. As a reader I find that really frustrating but I also understand it as the limits of individual mortals.
Zannah
But characters are so important! I must admit this has lessened my interest in reading more of his stuff. If you had ONE of his to recommend, what would it be?
Erik
“Revelation Space.” Hands down his best work and I think a great book.
(I am growing suspicious about Revenger and the timeline it takes place during, by the way.)
“Pushing Ice” was good too, and “Blue Earth Remembered” is a solid third.
Zannah
Thanks! I think I have Revelation Space somewhere. I’ll look for it. But I’ll still have to get the ebook from the library if I want to read it anytime soon. 🙂
Erik
You did have Revelation Space, in McLean. Whether it is still in your library, I cannot say.
So, finished Revenger. I’m not sure if the dialogue got better or I just got used to it; but there is a point when Fura drops the sailor slang and speaks freely once all of her machinations begin to roll. That helped a bit.
There is a pretty blatant set up for a sequel at the end. “Why did you do these terrible things?” “Well, let me tell you about the great secret plot by…..” Have spaceship will travel.
Oh and the book she’s writing…. yeah, about that….. its dropped in the last couple of pages and leaves you with a WTF moment.
And because I am a self acknowledged sucker for series I just downloaded the next book.
Zannah
I’ve gotten a lot more ruthless. Good for you for keeping up hope! 🙂 We’ll balance each other out.