The Ghost Brigades are the Special Forces of the Colonial Defense Forces, elite troops created …
Where's John Perry?
3 stars
Found as EN "boxed set" and read the trilogy (with Old Man's War & The Last Colony) in less than a week (nights mainly).
Less entertaining than #1 IMHO, but "needed" to jump into #3
Book 1 I was surprised but pleased the sex had toned down a bit. It's back again, although I'd concede it's I guess-sort-of-plot-relevant. I read this while unable to sleep so I struggled a lot with the far-future sci-fi gobbledegook. Reading it during the day might have been easier! Much like the Void books, once the sci-fi gets this far ahead it feels a bit comic fantasy.
Astra has become one of the most popular Sentinels in Chicago, past scandals notwithstanding, and …
Not really part #4
2 stars
This is book #4 in the series, but it's not the fourth part. Apparently there's a short story, "Omega Night", and it contained both plot and character developments that significantly impact this book. However, even on the official author's website it's not listed between books 3 and 4. It's listed after the final book, among other "related works".
And the author doesn't really do a good job of recapping what happened, it's just an abrupt jump, and now Hope/Astra's angsting over a new crush that started during that book, freaking out over a danger to one of her friends that's due to events in that book, and a number of other sudden changes.
And these changes continue to casually come up over the course of the entire book, so that put a serious damper on my enjoyment of it.
Beyond that, the premise/setting was unique and somewhat interesting, but a …
This is book #4 in the series, but it's not the fourth part. Apparently there's a short story, "Omega Night", and it contained both plot and character developments that significantly impact this book. However, even on the official author's website it's not listed between books 3 and 4. It's listed after the final book, among other "related works".
And the author doesn't really do a good job of recapping what happened, it's just an abrupt jump, and now Hope/Astra's angsting over a new crush that started during that book, freaking out over a danger to one of her friends that's due to events in that book, and a number of other sudden changes.
And these changes continue to casually come up over the course of the entire book, so that put a serious damper on my enjoyment of it.
Beyond that, the premise/setting was unique and somewhat interesting, but a lot of it felt like repeating "same song, different verse." Just marking things off a checklist. Astra has a crush that she doesn't want to act on (thankfully not the same one as at the end of book #3). Astra asks for advice, then ignores it in a way that could cause trouble for the one who gave it. Astra manages to get separated from her team (but thankfully not abducted this time). Astra makes mistakes and spends time berating herself. Important rules get massively broken but a loophole means it's okay. And the Perfect Defenses get destroyed via the most plausible method, which somehow no-one saw coming.
I did really like that, after introducing a terrifying Islamic terrorist supervillain in book #1, the author chose to introduce a character that showcases the more peaceful side of Islam. I wish the character was ongoing, but it doesn't look like he will be.
I really didn't like the friend drama for this book - it felt pretty contrived, but Astra was utterly poleaxed. Honestly, the number of times something relatively trivial knocks Astra so off her stride that she can't think straight for several days should probably be cause for serious concern among the team leadership.
Critics have compared the engrossing space operas of Peter F. Hamilton to the classic sagas …
Horny sci-fi opera
4 stars
After a break of reading PFH, I've started reading some of his books again. I still absolutely love Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. I really liked his previous long space opera (Night's Dawn) but this universe feels a bit more fleshed out. Cars and trains (oh, the trains) have models and people clearly have preferences. There's discussions about sports and brands and TV and paying attention to some of it now rewards later on, but not in a major way.
The action is good, the science is fun, but unlike his next trilogy in this universe, it doesn't feel cartoonish. The Void Trilogy to me feels like a lot of technobabble and deus ex machina. Book 1 here starts well.
But it's difficult to ignore the sex. Everyone is constantly horny and having sex with at least one other person. In fact it is stated in the book that after …
After a break of reading PFH, I've started reading some of his books again. I still absolutely love Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. I really liked his previous long space opera (Night's Dawn) but this universe feels a bit more fleshed out. Cars and trains (oh, the trains) have models and people clearly have preferences. There's discussions about sports and brands and TV and paying attention to some of it now rewards later on, but not in a major way.
The action is good, the science is fun, but unlike his next trilogy in this universe, it doesn't feel cartoonish. The Void Trilogy to me feels like a lot of technobabble and deus ex machina. Book 1 here starts well.
But it's difficult to ignore the sex. Everyone is constantly horny and having sex with at least one other person. In fact it is stated in the book that after a human goes through medical rejuvenation, there are whole planets for no-strings sex. Unlike previous books, PFH has calmed down a bit and we don't get a shopping list of positions every single time.
Despite the two main characters having the same character, this was fun and fresh and slightly silly. It reminds me of Unsouled (Cradle #1) but also a bit of Ed Greenwood's Band of Four series.
His life has been a cocktail of melancholy, sorrow, and desire. When a skateboarder dips …
Intriguing poetic portrait
4 stars
I will admit that, when I was first offered a review copy of Postcards From Beyond Reality, I wasn't sure how well the project would work out. I knew how convincingly Bernard Jan had managed to inhabit Michael Daniels' personality within the novel Cruel Summer, but to repeat the feat for a whole poetry collection did seem ambitious to say the least. I should have had more faith!
I loved being given deeper insights into Michael's character through his poetry. It often felt as though I was surreptitiously reading his journal or diary instead. The work is so personal yet also addresses universal themes, particularly those that are important to young people. On remembering how the events of Cruel Summer affected Michael, I could see echoes within the poems however I don't think it is necessary to have already read the novel in order to appreciate Postcards From Beyond Reality. …
I will admit that, when I was first offered a review copy of Postcards From Beyond Reality, I wasn't sure how well the project would work out. I knew how convincingly Bernard Jan had managed to inhabit Michael Daniels' personality within the novel Cruel Summer, but to repeat the feat for a whole poetry collection did seem ambitious to say the least. I should have had more faith!
I loved being given deeper insights into Michael's character through his poetry. It often felt as though I was surreptitiously reading his journal or diary instead. The work is so personal yet also addresses universal themes, particularly those that are important to young people. On remembering how the events of Cruel Summer affected Michael, I could see echoes within the poems however I don't think it is necessary to have already read the novel in order to appreciate Postcards From Beyond Reality. The two works are very much companions rather than a series so I can imagine that it would be just as rewarding to experience Michael's poetry before learning more about his life.
P.S. It's not often that I'm up on reading trends, but I spotted, on the day after Bernard Jan announced Postcards From Beyond Reality was available for pre-order, that it was already the #1 New Release in Amazon.com's Teen & Young Adult Poetry eBooks category!
