Review of The Siren Depths by Martha Wells
Dec
13
2012
The Siren Depths
by Martha Wells
320pp (Paperback)
My Rating: 8.5/10
Amazon Rating: 4.9/5
LibraryThing Rating: 4/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.57/5
 

The Siren Depths is the third volume in The Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells, whose work has been nominated for the Nebula Award. This science fiction/fantasy series has become one of my favorite recent book discoveries, both for its original setting of the Three Worlds and its endearing characters. For this reason, I was glad to hear that Martha Wells will be writing four novellas set in the same world that will be published as ebooks. At least the first two will feature the same characters as the novels.

This review will mention events from the previous two books. Since these are books I mostly enjoy for the world and characters, I don’t think there’s anything here that would have bothered me to know before reading the previous books, but that’s just my perspective. If you are not caught up on this series and do not want to read potential spoilers for the first two books, you may want to look at some links for the previous books instead:

  1. The Cloud Roads (My Review | Author’s Page with Excerpt)
  2. The Serpent Sea (My Review | Author’s Page with Excerpt)

The paperback version of the book was available before the official release date on December 4, but the ebook was not. Now that the official release date has passed, the ebook version of The Siren Depths is also available.

In The Cloud Roads, Moon was finally reunited with fellow Raksura after spending years wondering about what exactly he was. He found a home with Indigo Cloud as Jade’s consort, and the entire court had to move to a new home in The Serpent Sea. When they discovered the seed had been stolen from the mountain-tree they were now living in, Moon and the others had to recover the seed—or the heartwood in the tree would die, leaving them homeless once again. Now that the seed is back where it belongs, Moon and the other Raksura of Indigo Cloud are settling into life in their new home and looking toward solving the problem of their low numbers. Moon and Jade are trying to start a clutch, and Jade and Pearl are trying to decide if the time is right for the rest of the Aeriat to start new clutches. In the meantime, Moon’s quick thinking in response to some challenges Indigo Cloud encounters garners him some newfound respect, and he seems to finally be starting to become accepted as a member of the court.

One day, some visitors from Emerald Twilight arrive, but the queens of Indigo Cloud refuse to discuss the reason for their visit when asked. The Emerald Twilight Raksura return later, and then Moon learns what happened: their queen Ice suspected she knew Moon’s court of origin when she met him and contacted the Raksura of this court to see if they had lost him. They had, and they also had a rather unexpected reaction to discovering their missing consort was alive—demanding Moon be returned to them. Indigo Cloud feels that it has no choice but to comply with this other court’s wishes, although Jade insists she will follow and will get permission from Moon’s family to keep her consort. Yet Moon arrives to learn there are more problems than just dealing with his newfound family—they have a secret from the past involving the Fell and an augury has shown that they will learn more about it when the Fell soon return.

The Books of the Raksura are well-told stories set in a wonderfully imaginative world featuring some compelling characters. The Siren Depths shares the same strengths as the first two books, but it is one of those books that is richer for having read them. It is my favorite of the three, partially because I’ve grown attached to the various characters and the world over the course of the series and reading a new story about them was a treat. Another big reason I loved this one so much is that it addresses some of the unanswered questions in the series concerning Moon’s backstory and the Fell plan to cross-breed with Raksura. The Siren Depths was an engaging book from start to finish, and I think the focus on these previously unresolved mysteries made it especially absorbing, memorable, and satisfying.

The theme of finding a place to belong is a strong one in this series, and I love how it was still important in this volume without feeling like it was retreading the same old ground covered in the previous books. At the beginning of the book, Moon proves himself to be worthy of respect on a couple of occasions and many of the Raksura of Indigo Cloud begin to rely on him. Yet, just as Moon seems on the road to acceptance in his new life, he’s ripped away from his new family and left with a lot of doubts about his relationship with Jade. After all, Jade hid the truth about the reason for Emerald Twilight’s visit from him until she had no choice, and she’s been given a new consort as an apology from Emerald Twilight. As far as Moon’s concerned, it seems as though he’s been replaced, and he has doubts about whether or not Jade means it when she says she’s not willing to let him go, especially since Moon has been cast aside so many times before. It’s heartbreaking to see him forced to leave Jade and his friends behind to face the family he never knew—a family he feels abandoned him or surely they would have found him all those years ago. His longing for a place to belong is such a sympathetic situation, and I really loved both meeting his new family and seeing how Indigo Cloud dealt with the situation.

This series is simply written on the surface, but there is a lot going on underneath. The different races and cultures are very well-done and fascinating to read about. I also appreciate how it manages to show all kinds of different relationships with the main character instead of falling into the trap of mainly focusing on the one with the love interest. In this book Moon struggles with how much he can trust Jade, but theirs is not the only important bond. Moon also has complications with his new relatives and close friendships like the one he shares with Chime. My favorite relationship is the one between Moon and Stone, the ancient line-grandfather who found Moon and has become a friend, mentor, and somewhat of a father figure to him. Moon is also a caregiver, teacher, and friend to the orphans he found in The Cloud Roads. I love that Moon has all kinds of different types of relationships and how much more true to life the books are for details like that even though the world is so unlike our own.

One aspect of this series I’ve found particularly intriguing is how the Raksura are born into their roles. Raksura with certain characteristics have specific niches, such as warriors, queens, consorts, or mentors. It’s all very neat for most Raksura (the big exception is Chime, who has had to adjust from changing from a mentor to a warrior when that was what Indigo Cloud needed more). However, Moon challenges the conventions attached to a consort. Consorts around Moon’s age are typically shy and sheltered so he is completely different from the norm due to living as a solitary for so many years. In this book, I found it particularly interesting that Moon seemed to be a better warrior than those born warriors since he had more first-hand experience that came from surviving on his own for so long. The warriors would just rush in for the kill, while Moon would actually analyze the situation and think about the best way to approach it. It makes me wonder if some of these roles should not be so neatly assigned, and I like that there are parts like this that provide something to think about.

The one thing that bothered me about The Siren Depths is the same major problem I had with The Cloud Roads—the Fell seemed very evil, making them seem less like people than the Raksura did. I’m not completely sure it’s fair of me to feel this way since this world is not composed of humans, but a big reason it doesn’t quite gel with me is that the Raksura and Fell are related. The Raksura all have different personalities and a wide range of characteristics, yet the Fell always seem very black-hearted as a whole. I would have liked to have seen them have more depth, especially considering their common origin with the Raksura, which made it seem a bit odd to me that one of them seemed to be characterized as pretty thoroughly rotten. There are certain elements in this book that make me believe it’s possible the nature of the Fell is due to culture and upbringing rather than being an innate personality trait, but I’d still be curious to learn more about why the the Fell all seem to exhibit similar behavior or if there are any exceptions. All in all, that’s a minor complaint in what still succeeds as a very enjoyable novel, though.

The Siren Depths has more of what I’ve come to love about the Books of the Raksura—a compelling story, great world-building in a unique setting, and lovable characters with very realistic problems. In my opinion, it’s also the most satisfying installment in the series because it does provide some answers to questions set up in the first two books and remains absorbing from start to finish. It’s a wonderful addition to an imaginative series that I only love more with each new installment.

My Rating: 8.5/10

Where I got my reading copy: I purchased it.

Read Chapters One and Two

Other Reviews of The Siren Depths:

Guest Post: It’s a Mad Mad Mad Science by Lev AC Rosen
Dec
11
2012

Today I’m happy to share a guest post about mad scientists by Lev AC Rosen! His debut novel, All Men of Genius, was one of my favorite books I read last year (my review). I was quite drawn to the idea of this steampunk novel inspired by both William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, and it ended up being just as wonderful as it sounded. The story mainly follows Violet, a young woman with an extraordinary gift for mechanics. Unfortunately, the academy of her dreams only accepts men, but she gets around this little problem by pretending to be her twin brother—and, of course, chaos ensues! I found All Men of Genius delightfully entertaining, at times both humorous and heart-warming.

All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen Lev AC Rosen

Please give a warm welcome to Lev AC Rosen!

It’s a Mad Mad Mad Science.

Mad science is like pornography; difficult to define beyond “you know it when you see it.”  After all, mechanical limbs were seen as mad science in the Victorian era, but now we use them all the time for amputee victims.  What if the scientist is nuts, but his/her invention seems pretty useful (think of those neurotic computer geniuses).  So when Kristen suggested my favorite mad scientists as a topic, at first I was very excited (cause, awesome), but then I started getting caught up in what exactly it meant.  So I’m going with the pornography definition.  If you disagree, think a scientist isn’t mad enough, or think I’m missing someone, just chime in in the comments.  There’s enough mad science to go around.  Also, I thought it would be déclassé to mention the mad scientists in my own book, All Men of Genius, but rest assured it is filled with mad science, including flying ferrets, killer robots, mind-altering chemicals and foul-mouthed rabbits.  But I’m not including any of that on the list.  That might just come across as shameless self-promotion.

So, anyway.  Favorite mad scientists.

Let’s start with the classic:  Dr. Jekyll.  Most Victorian mad scientists, like Jekyll, or Frankenstein, were mad, in my opinion, because their science was about manipulating the soul.  With Frankenstein, that meant creating life, but with Jekyll, it was more interesting – it was about distillation.  He wanted to purify himself, not through religious devotion or attempting to live a better life, but with chemistry.  What’s more fascinating is that once this goes horribly wrong – that is, once he creates Mr. Hyde, who is not, it is worth noting, a creature of pure evil, but merely one free of conscience – he becomes addicted to becoming Hyde.  Jekyll isn’t pure good – in this regard, his experiment failed.  Instead, what happens is he becomes a man who shrugs off Victorian morality (in fact, most forms of morality) and lives a life without second thoughts, doing what he wants, being debauched and not suffering any guilt over it… until he turns back into Jekyll.  And he admits to liking being Hyde – the freedom that comes with it.  After Hyde kills a girl he tries to stop, to keep away from the potion, but starts transforming without it, and eventually, he kills himself.  As a parable, it’s fairly obvious, but for the Victorian time, this addiction to amorality is fascinating and dark.  It’s not the lure of being bad that seduces Jekyll, you see, it’s the lure of not having any guilt about it.  He’s already bad.  And that’s sort of a wonderful way to show a mad scientist – his madness stems from his own repression of his inner madness… which just serves to make him crazier in the end.

Dr. Frankenstein is also up here, I don’t want to leave him out.  But Victor’s main source of madness is his ego – the idea that he can create life, thus proving he is just like God.  I generally think that this is sort of the background madness for all mad scientists, and since Victor, other forms of crazy have been piled on top of the huge ego.  And, as Victor pretty quickly feels bad about what he did, he then becomes crazy with guilt.  He’s worth noting and he is fascinating (the book is one of my favorites), but in terms of real madness, he’s pretty low on the totem pole.

Dr. Feelgood, as Sidney Gottlieb was known, is going to be the only real-life historical figure on this list.  Because I don’t feel comfortable diagnosing the “madness” of actual people.  But in Dr. Feelgood’s case, I’m going to be talking more about the legend (which has to be at least 50% exaggeration and rumor, right?) than the actual man, who obviously I have never met.  So, Dr. Feelgood wasn’t just the MKULTRA guy who said LSD is the way to mind control.  He’s also the guy who said “let’s send Castro a poison wetsuit” and “let’s poison Castro with thallium, so his beard falls out and he is powerless.”  He liked poisoning a lot.  But mostly he’s known for the whole “let’s test LSD on people and make them go insane.”  Now, I’m not entirely sure about the reasoning behind this, and maybe it’s not as crazy as it sounds, considering how much was known about LSD at the time.  I don’t know.  But he’s on this list because he became the iconic figure of the 60s drug-obsessed mad scientist, which lead to my favorite mad scientist, who I’ll get to right after…

Dr. Horrible.  What’s great about Dr. Horrible is that we get to see him go mad.  And he goes mad for love.  Awww.  He’s really the most sympathetic on the list; all he wants is to use his scientific genius to, like, steal crap, and maybe get Penny to notice him.  But that damned Captain Hammer steals her.  And then a horse threatens his life.  So he finally gets the nerve up, mostly, to kill Hammer, and of course can’t quite do it, so everything goes horribly wrong and Penny dies, making him cold and, I believe, genuinely mad.  I suppose we’ll have to wait for the promised sequel.  But I do love seeing the transformation, and how his science, although used for crime, come from a place of love.

And finally, my favorite mad scientist: Walter Bishop.  I know he’s old enough to be my father, but if Walter asked me back to his place, I would go in a heartbeat.  You just know it would be so much fun.  And Walter is genuinely mad – crazy in a sort of “pulling ideas out of nowhere, maybe this will work, maybe it won’t, have more drugs” sort of way.  Yes, everything he does is wildly dangerous, and yes he’s sort of a doddering old man, but he just makes it all look like such fun.  And he’s a great blend of good and bad; willing to do what it takes for a greater good, even if it means a bit of evil.  I just… cannot describe my love for him.  Terrifying and funny and sweet and insane all wrapped up in one package.  Who wouldn’t go home with that?

To learn more about Lev AC Rosen and All Men of Genius, visit his website. You can also follow him on Twitter.

The Leaning Pile of Books
Dec
09
2012

The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature where I talk about books I got over the last week – old or new, bought or received for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included.

Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire

Midnight Blue-Light Special (InCryptid #2) by Seanan McGuire

Midnight Blue-Light Special will be released in mass market paperback on March 5, 2013. Though it’s not listed yet, I’d imagine it will be available in ebook format as well since the first book is.

I’m excited about this one since I really enjoy Seanan McGuire’s books, which have been getting better and better. Also, I had a great time reading the first book in this series, Discount Armageddon (my review). I love the concept of this series, Verity and the entire Price family, and the sense of humor.

There doesn’t yet seem to be a description of this book available online, so here’s the series description from the InCryptid page on Seanan McGuire’s website instead:

The Covenant of St. George was founded to uphold one simple ideal: anything that was not present on the Ark—anything they deemed “unnatural”—needed to be destroyed. Monsters. Creatures of myth and legend. All of them would be wiped from the Earth in the name of Man’s dominion. Unfortunately for them, not all the monsters agreed with this plan…and neither did all the human beings.

After their rather abrupt departure from the Covenant, Alexander and Enid Healy found themselves alone in the world, but with a simple mission of their own: to protect the cryptids of the world from those who would harm them without just cause. It was a cause that would eventually claim both their lives, leaving their children, and their childrens’ children, to take up the fight. Now in the modern day, their descendants struggle to stay beneath the Covenant’s radar, while defending the cryptids from humanity—and humanity from the cryptids.

Hellhole: Awakening by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Hellhole Awakening (Hellhole #2) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

This science fiction novel will be released in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook in March 2013. Tor.com has an excerpt containing the first 100 pages of Hellhole, the previous book.

General Adolphus knows the Monarchy crackdown is coming. Now he needs to pull together all the resources of the Hellhole colony, the ever-expanding shadow-Xayan settlement, and his connections with the other Deep Zone worlds. On Sonjeera, Diadem Michella Duchenet has collected a huge fleet, led by firebrand Commissar Escobar Hallholme, son of the man who originally defeated Adolphus.

Uniting themselves and pooling their minds, the shadow-Xayans send a power surge along the original stringline path that links Hellhole with the Monarchy’s hub on Sonjeera. All of the Diadem’s battleships are currently approaching on that route, and when the mental blast wipes out all the substations, the battleships are effectively stranded.  

A bigger threat appears. Three asteroids come in from the outer reaches of the Candela system. On Hellhole, the awakened Xayans finally reveal information that has been hidden even from their own followers. A large group of powerful, rogue telemancers split away from the main race. Now that the Xayan civilization is reawakening, these violent fanatics have come back to destroy them once and for all. They are coming for Hellhole, and this time they will completely destroy it.

The Rise of Ransom City Giveaway Winner
Dec
08
2012

The giveaway for 1 copy of The Rise of Ransom City by Felix Gilman is over, and a winner has been drawn. The winner is:

Memory

Congratulations, and I hope you enjoy the book!

The Leaning Pile of Books
Dec
02
2012

The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature where I talk about books I got over the last week – old or new, bought or received for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included.

Fade To Black by Francis Knight

Fade to Black (Rojan Dizon #1) by Francis Knight

This debut novel will be released in February 2013. The US release date is February 26th, and it will be released in trade paperback and ebook.

Here’s what the author has to say about it on her website (linked to above since this is right on the home page of her website):

 

Suffice to say the noirish trilogy features a cynical, snarky main character, a femme fatale and lots of rain. Oh and magic, yes, that too. Not very nice magic, it has to be said.

I really like the sound of the characters, the layered city, and the not very nice magic, so I’m quite curious about this one!

Mahala: a city built in the dark depths of a valley. A city built up in layers, not across – where streets are built upon streets, buildings balance precariously upon buildings. A city that the Ministry rules from its lofty perch at the sunlit summit & where the forsaken lurk in the shadowy depths of the Pit.

Rojan is a bounty hunter trying to make his way in the city. Everyone knows he’s a womaniser, a shirker of all responsibility, but they don’t know he’s also a pain-mage: able to draw magic from his own & other people’s pain. He’s not keen on using it (not least because it’s outlawed), but when his niece is abducted and taken to the dark depths of the Pit, he may just be forced to unleash his power . . .

The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett

The Daylight War (The Demon Cycle #3) by Peter V. Brett

The Daylight War will be on sale in hardcover and ebook on February 12, 2013. It follows The Warded Man (titled The Painted Man in the UK) and The Desert Spear. This is not the end of the series, which will have five books total.

Excerpts from the first two books are available:

  1. The Warded Man
  2. The Desert Spear

With The Warded Man and The Desert Spear, Peter V. Brett surged to the front rank of contemporary fantasy, standing alongside giants in the field like George R. R. Martin, Robert Jordan, and Terry Brooks. The Daylight War, the eagerly anticipated third volume in Brett’s internationally bestselling Demon Cycle, continues the epic tale of humanity’s last stand against an army of demons that rise each night to prey on mankind.

On the night of the new moon, the demons rise in force, seeking the deaths of two men both of whom have the potential to become the fabled Deliverer, the man prophesied to reunite the scattered remnants of humanity in a final push to destroy the demon corelings once and for all.

Arlen Bales was once an ordinary man, but now he has become something more—the Warded Man, tattooed with eldritch wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon. Arlen denies he is the Deliverer at every turn, but the more he tries to be one with the common folk, the more fervently they believe. Many would follow him, but Arlen’s path threatens to lead him to a dark place he alone can travel to, and from which there may be no returning.

The only one with hope of keeping Arlen in the world of men, or joining him in his descent into the world of demons, is Renna Tanner, a fierce young woman in danger of losing herself to the power of demon magic.

Ahmann Jardir has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army and proclaimed himself Shar’Dama Ka, the Deliverer. He carries ancient weapons—a spear and a crown—that give credence to his claim, and already vast swaths of the green lands bow to his control.

But Jardir did not come to power on his own. His rise was engineered by his First Wife, Inevera, a cunning and powerful priestess whose formidable demon bone magic gives her the ability to glimpse the future. Inevera’s motives and past are shrouded in mystery, and even Jardir does not entirely trust her.

Once Arlen and Jardir were as close as brothers. Now they are the bitterest of rivals. As humanity’s enemies rise, the only two men capable of defeating them are divided against each other by the most deadly demons of all—those lurking in the human heart.

Review of The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks
Nov
29
2012
The Hydrogen Sonata
by Iain M. Banks
528pp (Hardcover)
My Rating: 7.5/10
Amazon Rating: 4.1/5
LibraryThing Rating: 3.79/5
Goodreads Rating: 3.98/5
 

The Hydrogen Sonata is the tenth Culture book by Iain M.Banks, joining the ranks of eight other novels and one short story collection. This latest Culture novel was just released this year, which marks the 25th anniversary of the publication of the first Culture novel.

This is one of those series that often leaves new readers confused about where to start, but each book is supposed to stand alone very well. The entire list of Culture books in publication order can be found on the author’s website (it’s at the very bottom of the page). Many people do recommend beginning with a book other than the first published, Consider Phlebas, since it’s generally not considered to be as good as the other books, and The Player of Games is often recommended as a decent place to start. This is where I started, but I’d suggest checking out this helpful overview of the series on Kirkus, which includes a general description for each book with the recommendation to just pick one that sounds interesting and start reading.

The Gzilt people are counting down they days until they will Sublime, leaving the Real behind and transcending to a new state of existence. With only twenty-three days remaining until the big event, Lieutenant Commander (reserve) Vyr Cossont continues to attempt to complete her life task in the time that remains. Vyr’s chosen achievement is playing an extremely difficult piece of music perfectly from start to finish. T. C. Vilabier’s 26th String-Specific Sonata for an Instrument Yet To Be Invented, otherwise known as “The Hydrogen Sonata,” requires four arms to play properly on the instrument that was eventually invented for it—and is renowned both for its near impossibility to play and its rather unpleasant sound.

During one of her practice sessions, Vyr is visited by Commissar-Colonel Etalde, who informs her that she is being recommissioned for an emergency so secret he doesn’t even know what it is. Once she arrives at their destination and is briefed, Vyr learns that a visiting ship had a confession to share before the Gzilt left the Real behind: the Gzilt have been lied to and much of what they believed is not true. This message mentioned that a man by the name of QiRia would be able to verify its claim to be true. QiRia is quite possibly the oldest man alive at over nine thousand years old, and he was present for both the formation of the Culture and the Gzilt’s sudden decision not to join the Culture. Vyr met and befriended QiRia when she was an exchange student and was even given a copy of his mind state, though it’s no longer in her possession. Now she, her familiar Pyan, and an android who thinks it’s in a simulation are sent on a dangerous mission to discover what QiRia knows about the past of the Gzilt people, while some Culture Minds are doing some investigating of their own.

Banks has a very engaging writing style, and he has developed a fascinating universe in the Culture books. The Hydrogen Sonata is lighter (er, not literally, since it’s a bigger book) and less thoughtful than either of the other Culture books I have read, The Player of Games and Use of Weapons. While I preferred these other two books to The Hydrogen Sonata, it is also very enjoyable and reminded me that I need to read more of the Culture books.

The first 100 – 150 pages of The Hydrogen Sonata were fantastic. The opening chapter describing the confrontation between the Gzilt ship and the alien ship bearing unfortunate news to the Gzilt was very intriguing, and I very much enjoy Banks’s writing style imbued with a sharp, intelligent sense of humor and images such as these:

 

The Gzilt ship dwarfed the alien one; it looked like a thousand dark broadswords gathered into a god’s fist and brandished at the skies. [pp. 2]

At times, there is a tendency toward overlong sentences; for instance, the sentence immediately after that is about 8 lines long and there were a few others I had to stop and read a couple of times due to their length. There were also quite a bit of infodumps, but this is a case where they did not bother me in the least. In fact, these were some of my favorite parts of the book since I found the details of the Gzilt civilization and their religious book, other civilizations, Subliming, and the Simming Problem fascinating. The Culture books have grand science fiction ideas, and I love how they show the vastness of space and possible societies. The ones in this particular book are not necessarily original science fiction ideas with the hodge-podge of AIs, downloadable people who can live on once the body has died, and ship avatars, but they’re still very compelling and fleshed out well, particularly when combined with the inner workings of the different people involved.

The Gzilt society and their problem was a great setup. I found myself really eager to see where it all went and a little disappointed with the middle section of the book, which often seemed rather unfocused to me. First of all, the book bounced around from character to character a lot. Vyr, various Culture Minds, a Gzilt government official, QiRia’s former lover Tefwe, and more receive some focus in the book. This allowed for some interesting insights, but there were a couple of viewpoints that seemed at least somewhat unnecessary (or at the very least like they could have been shorter). The second problem was that the search for QiRia dragged on for so long that I did find myself often just wishing SOMEBODY would just find him already so I could find out what was going on. Vyr’s frequent flashbacks to conversations with him were really interesting, and I just wanted to meet him and find out what he knew instead of spending so much time reading about people trying to figure out what he knew.

Toward the end was very action-packed and exciting, but the conclusion seemed a bit hastily explained and was a bit of a letdown since not much was learned that hadn’t already been speculated about. After so many pages were spent on the importance of QiRia’s information, I was expecting to discover much bigger and better things by the end than were in fact revealed.

That probably makes it sound like I didn’t like this book very much, but that’s very far from the truth. Books can be weird. Sometimes I read one that I can’t see many flaws with, but it doesn’t gel with me for some reason. Other times, I read books I think are flawed, yet I still really enjoy reading them. The Hydrogen Sonata falls into the latter category. Despite the meandering plot and lackluster resolution, the writing, the frequent amusing lines and dialogue, and the details of the universe kept me turning the pages. While I do think the other two Culture books I’ve read are better, I still finished this book feeling like it was time well spent.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Where I got my reading copy: Review copy from the publisher.

Read Chapter One

Interview with Iain M. Banks

Other Reviews of The Hydrogen Sonata:

Reviews of Other Culture Books: