Void Star by Zachary MasonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Void Star is an excellent if imperfect read. Many of the reviews compare it to work by William Gibson or Neal Stephenson, and I agree fully. The descriptions are rich, the world is sprawling, and the storytelling skates on the edge of getting out of hand. That last may be where the comparison starts to break down--in this book the plot always seems to be getting closer to spinning out of control than in Gibson or Stephenson's work, even though the plot itself is pretty simple--big powerful oligarch is trying to steal plucky protagonist Irina's memories, and also live forever. Stop him. Mason describes larger forces (rogue AIs) at play so there's the possibility of more here, but for this book that's it.
The jacket blurb is somewhat misleading. Irina may not be wealthy like the oligarchs, but she certainly plays in their league. I never thought of her as an underdog in the fight, though perhaps not quite an equal to Cromwell. The other protagonists (Kern the favela dweller and Thales the mathematician/political scion) get their due in the narrative but they are support players.
I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it highly. The span of the story is challenging and fun.
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