Seven Surrenders, by Ada Palmer

Seven Surrenders by Ada Palmer

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


So I found Too Like the Lightning a hard slog through the first half of the book, but in the second half it picked up enough for me to actually enjoy it and give it 4 stars. I find all the dense language distracting--it might be fine for the 19th century but I don't think modern authors bring it off all that well. I never finished Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle for not being able to get past that writing.

But to the topic at hand. I just finished Seven Surrenders, and this time I can't forgive Ada Palmer. I worked my way through the first half of the book, remembering the reward in the second. And indeed there was a shift halfway through. This time, what do we get? A batch of big reveals, heavily and I guess intentionally theatrical, one after the other. It's all a grand conspiracy by the great families. Oh, and our earthly Gods too.

I don't know, I don't know. We are 300 years into a utopia that started 300 years past our current time. Flying car networks managed by humans? Seems like that would have been necessary 500 years in the past of this book, but not in its current context. But mostly it's just never been very clear to me how we get from where we are to the society this book depicts. And if we're not meant to need that, then what makes us care about these people? These over-the-top caricatures?

It seems like a lot of folks are really looking for this sort of thing, and loving it. If you like your writing dense and florid, this may work better for you. For me, two weeks was way too long to spend for this payoff.



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The Stars Are Legion, by Kameron Hurley

The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


So this is my first time reading Kameron Hurley. Now I'll know what to expect--you do literally have to set your stomach for it, much like reading Jeff Vandermeer novels. It is SF with a lot of horror mixed in. And it got off to a somewhat slow start for me, as the two major protagonists (Zan and Jayd) that drive the narrative are very similar, even though they say they are very different. I think that is deliberate on Hurley's part and shows some very layered writing. But Zan and Jayd are very stilted, while some of the other characters in the book (told through Zan and Jayd) seem to have actual differences.

But enough self-referential character development stuff. This novel is packed with ideas. Organic world-ships are not a new thing, but the way Hurley reveals their scale is really good stuff. There's an archetype Hero's Journey in it that is the best part of the book, but you have to get through almost half of the book to see it.

Persistence paid off and in the end I liked, but did not love, the book. Promising but just a bit too stiff and rough around the edges to be excellent.



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Luna: New Moon, by Ian McDonald

New Moon by Ian McDonald

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


One thing for sure, this book will not bore you. A page turner all the way through. Many good action scenes, maybe not quite as good on the sex scenes, but it's definitely a solid thriller that will get your adrenaline humming.

Some good points: Finding alternate sexuality in a book is really easy these days, in fact it's pretty much the default. McDonald's lunar society finds a way to make it feel deliberate and natural at the same time--everyone is pretty much full-on horny for everyone else all the time. This feels natural because it's consistent with lunar culture, every aspect is intense. Believable maybe--a good story grounding, definitely. I was able to round up to four stars because of this. There are a few genuine cultural moments as well, in particular the description of the Long Run.

Problems: The appeal begins and ends with the storytelling, the story itself is well worn. I am reading the award winners this year, and picked this up as a catch-up for Wolf Moon, which is nominated for a Locus award. Does everyone have to write about Great Family rivalries? John Scalzi's The Collapsing Empire, Yoon Ha Lee's Raven Stratagem, Fonda Lee's Jade City--I could go on and on. Basically everything by Aliette De Bodard. Yes, it's always been a popular story framework, but is it truly the ONLY one? I may be an outlier because, while I enjoy the Song of Ice and Fire, I'm not blinded by it. Goodness.

Other reviewers have mentioned the poor production quality of the book. There are definitely enough errors to be distracting, almost causing me to lower the rating to 3 stars. Not quite.



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