The book starts off with a great premise - an experimental ship with a black hole ...
358497
Save your money.  The book starts off with a great premise - an experimental ship with a black hole at its core - but then it leads you down a path with no pay off.  You never learn the real purpose of the ship and it troubles me that hundreds of years in the future the ship's computer can't communicate verbally?  Even our stupid smart phones are capable of that.  I bought this book because it was considered one of the 10 best sci-fi books for 2015.  Very disappointed.
288558
What would you do if you knew that within a decade or so, a rogue planet would likely crash into Earth? This first book chronicles the desperate attempt to create a spaceship and find a location to send a small group of humans who may end up being the last humans alive. There is a robust undercurrent of political intrigue. How will that play out in the new world? That is left for the next book... Multiple interesting characters. This feels like it could be the prologue to a large set of novels of a new world.
2647909
A post apocalypse space habitat is suffering system failure after generations in space.  Their solution is to dispose of teen age miscreants in an attempt to discover if Earth is habitable.

The book has an interesting premise.  The solution to their problem is similar to many culture by disposing of the young they remove both a problem and perhaps they solve one as well.  Societies have been sending their young off to battle since the cavemen.  This book is tepid science fiction combined with teen age romance.

The story eventually moved along after the reader is introduced to the romantic longings of a variety of teens.  It is a very fast read and I don't see it appealing to the older teen.  I think the very young teen and particularly the very young teen female may find the book appealing.  I am pleased to see an attempt to draw in the young teen girls into science fiction.  I do feel that the more kids read scifi, the better chance we have of getting more kids into science.

Interesting note, there is a TV show based on the book.  It claims to be young adult oriented but I think this is doing many young adults a disservice.  Considering the outlook of the high school kids I know, this book might be a touch lite.  I think the upper elementary or perhaps middle school audience would be more likely to favor the book.
4360494
Empire of Bones starts out as a great concept, but the author lets herself slip by putting in some foreshadowing that is actually explicit information to the reader about what is to come.  The last third of the novel loses momentum, and the ending is much too open and refuses to suggest answers to some major questions about self-determination and humankind's place in the Universe.  Also, if the alien culture is so similar to India's and the Hindu religion, why didn't that culture become the dominant one on Earth?  This is a wonderfully original story that loses power like a balloon running out of air.  I wish I could rate it higher, but its flaws bring it down to a level of only above average.
3457969
Originally I marked this as 4 stars but thinking about it more I decided to knock it down to 3 stars. I know I am going against the grain on this one. Plenty of people raved about this book and I think it was nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula awards. The book has a lot of promise but, ultimately, fails to deliver on this promise, I think.

The book starts with protagonist, Captain Kel Cheris, in the middle of a future military campaign against something called the Eels. Author Lee immediately bombards the reader with terminology that is not explained. You have no idea who the Eels are, no idea who the Kel are, what formations are, what calendrical heresy or calendrical weapons are. But if you are a veteran science fiction reader, this is okay. You should be used to being tossed into the deep end because you trust that the author will either teach you to swim or throw you a life preserver.

In my opinion, Yoon Ha Lee does neither. I listened to Luke Burrage's podcast review of this book and he is of the opinion that everything is clear by the end of the book. Maybe Luke is just that much smarter than I but I just had too many questions at the end. Lee does explain some things, like the functions of the different factions (but he doesn't explain why you needs hordes of people conditioned with similar traits), but many things (like how calendars can be used as weapons or why changing a calendar can be heretical) remain unexplained. There's no deeper exploration of formations and how employing a formation can have exotic (i.e. magical) effects.

That's not to say there aren't many positive aspects to the book. Lee hints at a very interesting universe; he just doesn't explore very much of it. And even some of the things I like are only hinted at. For example, space ships. In this world, space ships are called moths. We can guess at the different functions of them from their names. Void moths are long haul transports and cinder moths are akin to battleships. But somethings are too vague for my taste. What is a banner moth? How is it different from a cinder moth? Lee never tells us. (A note: I love the ship names.)

I found a review on ArsTechnica entitled "Ninefox Gambit is military science fiction for people who love mathematics". Uh, sorry. No. There's an awful lot of talk about mathematics but no actual math in the book at all. It's just assertion of mathematics.

Probably the strongest aspect of the book is the merging of Cheris with Jedao. In this world, the powers that be have stored the consciousness of a dead general, Jedao. In times of crisis, Jedao can be implanted (I think Lee refers to him as a 'shadow' when in this state) into a living person. This is what happens to Cheris. We learn some of Jedao's backstory and Cheris experiences some of it herself towards the end. It's an interesting and novel device and it works pretty well.

In the end, this book reminds of how, say, "Lost" promised so much and failed to deliver. Lee hints at a lot but then doesn't do the hard work of developing very much of it.
3039807
The premise of this novel is great. I won't waste your time repeating it here - undoubtedly you've already read about it in the other reviews here on Amazon. Suffice it to say, the premise hooked me into buying this book.
The story is less so. One of my gripes is that Wilson has the same small set of characters interact through a series of "coincidences" over two decades as the story unfolds. He explains these away as a time-related side-effect of the chronoliths. Now, I might buy this, except that he never really gives a clear explanation of what the twisted causality is that he refers to. I don't mean that I expect him to give a scientific explanation. But some examples (outside of the coincidental character interactions in the book) to illustrate his idea would lend it credence. Without this, these coincidences come across almost as laziness on the part of the author.
I have a hard time putting my finger on what else I didn't like about this book. The story moved along well and the main characters were fairly well-written. Perhaps it's the uneasiness that arose in me as the unfolding story told of a progressively bleak future for the world and the resulting degeneration of the American political scene. We Americans always seem to think of the future as better and brighter, and The Chronoliths points out that this might not always be the case.
In the end, I would like to give this story a better rating, but I can't. I might not recommend it, but on the other hand, you wouldn't be wasting your time if you chose to read it.
850124
This book opened strongly in a world of which I was eager to see more. The minute I read about Jess' mind-link connection with the advanced ship, I knew this was going to be a great book. The ideas behind the main character's relationship with the semi-sentient spaceship were awesome, but admittedly, I was left wanting more, both in the complexity of the plot, characterization, and any driving force behind the motivations for the entire book.

The characters were just different enough that I knew who was who, but they all eventually sounded the same and morphed into the same person. Jess is a sixteen-year-old boy, and he talks more like a posh adult than the senior-aged characters (who admittedly have more character). He seems extremely naive and innocent for someone who was born into the brutalities of slavery, as he was, and his extreme emotional attachments to just about everything were not in line with who this character probably should have been. I feel like this book should have been categorized as a YA Sci-Fi (main character being sixteen, innocent, and the "only one who can pilot the special ship"), but then that leaves me feeling extraordinarily uncomfortable about a sixteen-year-old protagonist having sex with his "first girlfriend and only love", when it really has nothing to do with the forward movement of the plot. This would have been much better done if Jess was three or four years older and a little bit more hardened.

Overall this book gets three stars from me because I don't think it saw an editor. Consistency for spelling, punctuation, and grammar was nonexistent. I had to reread about 75% of the sentences because there was an overwhelmingly disappointing misuse of commas, semi-colons (complete lack thereof), and only about half of the possessive nouns (like "the ship's weapons", with an apostrophe) actually had apostrophes. If the writing was cleaned up and the dialogue was made to be a lot more natural and "teenager-sounding", I'd give 'Wanderer's Escape' four stars.
4317706
This novel starts brilliantly, with an intriguing premise, a strange world and culture, and a cast of interesting, complex, yet likable characters. It's unfortunate that it peters out at the end, with a conclusion that manages to feel both rushed and hanging. I get the feeling this might have made a better duology, an idea reinforced by the five-year "jump" that occurs in the middle of the book which, while it ultimately makes sense, is nevertheless jarring.

My favorite aspect of the book is the fact that it presents all sides of every situation, from every perspective.  We're first led to sympathize with the Pandoran's refusal to allow refugees to immigrate to their planet, then later to demonize them for it. Likewise, the interplanetary Authority and its representative, Beleraja Poulos, are first painted as bad guys, throwing their weight around and using force and terror to bully the Pandorans into helping them. Later, as we learn more about Beleraja and the situation she faces, we start to respect her courage. Zettel refuses to paint her characters in black and white; each has complicated motivations and conflicting values and it's quickly obvious that there's no "right" solution.

Even the situation presented to the two main protagonists, young sisters Chena and Teal Trust, is fraught with "do the ends justify the means" quandaries. Told their genetic makeup is uniquely suited to creating a cure for the mysterious disease striking colonized worlds across the galaxy, they are nevertheless hesitant to allow the Pandorans access to their bodies.  Their qualms are perfectly understandable, yet also selfishly motivated. What if the Trusts could save lives through the sacrifice of their freedom (or perhaps lives)? Would it be worth it?

Zettel, unfortunately, makes little attempt to answer this question. The second half of the book seems to lose focus, dissolving into a confusing jumble of double-crossing. The scenes with the city-mind of Pandora, an artificial intelligence named Aleph, are so full of promise yet so ultimately confusing and secondary to the main plot that we are left frustrated.

Yet overall, this is a fascinating book with a lot of great ideas. The images of the ecology of Pandora are great, as are the descriptions of the unique culture the Pandorans have created to protect it. And Chena and Teal Trust are absolutely believable as adolescents and sisters, flawed yet likable and resourceful. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes intelligent science fiction.
1876872
I thought the premise of the book was quite interesting.  It held my attention throughout the book, but I it did get a little much by the end.  The author did a great job developing the main character at the beginning.  He seemed like a real person.  But as it progressed the situation got more and more ridiculous.  I wish writers wouldn't compromise their main character for the sake of super action.
398999
Spook begins with an interesting premise: what happens when we die?  I suppose a lot of it has to do with one's upbringing, beliefs, culture, and religion.

The book begins with the concept of reincarnation, an idea that is dubious at best.  It seems that the author, Mary Roach, had a hard time believing the occurrence.  Of course, with no proof whatsoever, the idea is borderline ludicrous.  From there the ideas of mediums, electromagneticism as it relates to hauntings, ghost hunters, conscious weighing, and out of body experiences are all explored.

There's even a section of the book dealing with ectoplasm - which immediately made me think of Ghostbusters, and the equal level of realism that movie and this book share.  While reading, I began to wonder why there was not a chapter devoted to the Staypuft marshmallow man.

The book's idea is a great one with a ton of potential.  Unfortunately, it's boring without at least some of the dramatics, regardless of the great research and effort, and weak attemps at comedy.  Nobody would want to watch a ghost movie in which the ghost is never seen, and the book's lack of resolution or conclusive findings proves to be borderline pointless since we knew what the book provides to begin with.  Maybe next the author can do a book on the mysteries surrounding the alleged heat created by the sun.
4085202
This book starts out with a good science fiction premise, a large mass called Nomad is approaching the earth and the entire planet is in danger of being destroyed.  Then the story  wanders off into a romance developing between an American tourist and an Italian baron. With the destruction of the earth imminent what do people do? Well Pakistan and India decide to destroy each other with nuclear bombs as does Israel and its Arab neighbors. And, the Italian baron and his new American girl friend get involved in a centuries old Italian vendetta to kill the baron.  Some of the events in these plots just seem silly and beyond belief.  The science fiction seems to take second place behind the romance and murderous adventures.  I wish the author incorporated more of the information which  he supplies in the appendix,  to the story itself.  I won't be reading the second book in this series.
372671
The Carpet Makers opens with three very tragic vignettes.  These are totally captivating, but the book suffers from continuing as a steady stream of vignettes that are only loosely connected.  Characters, locations and time are constantly changing, and after not too long, the story becomes disjointed, and consistently disappointing; we get involved with a set of characters, only to lose the thread of their story completely.  Even so, the premise is a good one, and the book stays very engaging for quite a while.  Once the story leaves the hair carpet weavers world, however, it loses a lot of steam.  As with many great sci-fi ideas, the resolution is not nearly as interesting as the initial mystery.  3.5 out of 5
891095
The story starts out with an intriguing premise, but quickly becomes convoluted with an increasingly unbelievable series of improbable complications and scientific impossibilities.  With too many sub-plotlines and wild technical distractions, unfortunately the author lost me two-thirds of the way through the novel and it became too difficult to finish.

On the plus side, the author has an engaging writing style and interesting character development and interplay.
4394183
I started this book with great excitement and high hopes. The premise sounded fascinating and it's the first book I've read by Ted Dekker (co-written with Erin Healy).

It started out great. The prologue grabbed me and I couldn't stop turning the pages. I read the first half in one day. Almost in one sitting. Twists, turns, high stakes, and a maze of clues all made for an exhilarating read. But, once Shauna starts figuring out who she can and cannot trust, it started to lose me. More than once, she puts herself in situations that make no sense. Her father, Landon McAllister, seems a bit gullible for a presidential candidate. And the final confrontation felt somewhat anticlimactic, with Shauna not taking a big enough role.

Having said all that, I still enjoyed the book and would rate it at 4 out of 5 stars. I just wish the end had lived up to the promise of the beginning.
2590197
I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this book so my rating is more a 3.5 stars.

This is the first book by Kim Stanley Robinson that I've read. If the book had ended halfway through I think it would have made the book better.

There's a lot of interesting ideas proposed in the book. It's a perspective on generational space ships I haven't read before and was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. The ship's narration, the tension between passengers, the unthinkable happening. I at least didn't see a lot of this book coming and that's what made it so good.

It's a book that provokes a lot of questions but wasn't particularly satisfying for me.
2237774
This story starts (and continues) with a really interesting premise: that scientists tinkering with one concept end up accidentally discovering one that seems to turn the laws of physics on their head, and creates an opening for persons with evil intentions to use the accidental discovery to their advantage, and shuffle the existing power structures on Earth. Both of those ideas are compelling. But instead of building THAT story line, the authors choose to focus on the small and petty base impulses, grudges, and emotional traumas of a few individual characters, which turns what could have been some really good sci-fi into a really slow, boring soap opera.
4131596
The first 100 pages of Timeline raised my expectations, but the rest of the book fails to live up to them. Crichton sets up an intriguing premise (parallel universe time travel), some interesting characters, and a well  described setting (the archeological site).  Right after they go back in  time, he switches into a "Lost World" writing mode more  appropriate for a screenplay than a book.  Any prospect of ongoing  character development goes out the window, the most interesting  implications of multiple universe time travel are ignored and feudal France  is never given the rich description it deserves (those little castle  drawings are nice, but they don't make up for a lack of descriptive prose).
Characterization, which seemed so promising in the opening chapters,  goes downhill with amazing abruptness.  The denizens of medieval France are  scarcely more than cardboard cutouts.  What little character they have  seems to be inconsistent from scene to scene.  The team of historians, so  interesting in the 20th century, seems to become two-dimensional themselves  after arriving in the past (a side affect of time travel perhaps?  :-)
It's easy to see how the movie adaptation (surely in the works) will  play out.  The first 100 pages will be dealt with in about 10 minutes and  the rest will be standard Hollywood action fare (one hope for the movie is  that it really will provide us with a more vivid look at 14th century  France, which is lacking in the book).  I wonder if Crichton checked to see  if Steven Spielberg, would be available to direct before he even started  writing the book?
As a science fiction fan (as opposed to a Crichton fan)  I was rather disappointed that many of the more interesting aspects of  parallel universe time travel were glossed over or ignored.  Why is ITC  mucking about in feudal France when they could be travelling to more  advanced societies and bringing back new technologies (cold fusion  anyone?). For a more in depth look at the particular problems of parallel  universe time travel, I would recommend the short story "All the Myrid  Ways" by Larry Niven.  It's available in the anthology by the same  name along with Niven's essay "The Theory and Practice of Time  Travel."