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wordsofclover 's review for:
The Cruel Stars
by John Birmingham
I received a copy of this book from Head of Zeus in exchange for an honest review.
Thousands of years in the future, humanity has brought space travel to a whole new level and now, for most people, space and space colonies are the only thing they know. As well as new planetary discoveries, technology has advanced to a point when most people don't need to learn skills - they can just download them, and for the more privileged person, death doesn't truly exist - they can be regenerated again and again. However, death does become a real threat once again for everyone when a human faction called the Sturm, who believe in the purified version of a human being, come back for vengeance after almost 700 years of silence.
This is a fantastic first book in what I hope continues to be an action-packed duology, and I'm really pleased The Cruel Stars ended up living up the hype in my head. The book from the start is really well-paced with the first seven or so chapters being introductory chapters to each of our main characters who range from military leaders, princesses, space pirates and ancient scholars among others. This layout and pace of the book did remind me of James SA Corey's The Expanse series which is no bad thing as I felt like this type of book is exciting, and easy to dive in and out of at any opportunity.
At first I was afraid of the amount of characters we were following, but I actually quickly got to grips with everyone, and I found that I enjoyed all POVs equally and never felt shortchanged when one character's chapter would end and another's would begin. There is some humour and crassness included with some of the characters - particularly Frazer McLennan and his tense but rather hilarious relationship with the sentient AI that's been his companion for years.
The technology in this book is also immense, and the different types of tech used inside a human's body as well as how people live, die and reborn can take time to get your head around. There are also all kinds of spacebots, as well as some sentient AIs that honestly I couldn't help but picture as a plumbob from the Sims that talked and flashed colours. Because of the expansive world of technolody in this world, and the amount of vernacular and jargon used in terms of military sci-fi and general space travel, I would warn sci-fi newbies away from this book as I feel it could become confusing and overwhelming. Definitely one to tackle after you've gotten used to the style of the genre.
One of the only things I would have liked more of in this book (despire just more in general as I was enjoying the world so much) would have been more insight into the Sturm. We did get a few chapters from the POV of one of the generals but I don't think this view was well-rounded enough. Everyone appeared very black and white, and I think it would be interesting to see a Sturm who maybe isn't quite as brainwashed into the fascist ideology as the others.
A fast-paced, exciting space adventure that I definitely recommend!
Thousands of years in the future, humanity has brought space travel to a whole new level and now, for most people, space and space colonies are the only thing they know. As well as new planetary discoveries, technology has advanced to a point when most people don't need to learn skills - they can just download them, and for the more privileged person, death doesn't truly exist - they can be regenerated again and again. However, death does become a real threat once again for everyone when a human faction called the Sturm, who believe in the purified version of a human being, come back for vengeance after almost 700 years of silence.
This is a fantastic first book in what I hope continues to be an action-packed duology, and I'm really pleased The Cruel Stars ended up living up the hype in my head. The book from the start is really well-paced with the first seven or so chapters being introductory chapters to each of our main characters who range from military leaders, princesses, space pirates and ancient scholars among others. This layout and pace of the book did remind me of James SA Corey's The Expanse series which is no bad thing as I felt like this type of book is exciting, and easy to dive in and out of at any opportunity.
At first I was afraid of the amount of characters we were following, but I actually quickly got to grips with everyone, and I found that I enjoyed all POVs equally and never felt shortchanged when one character's chapter would end and another's would begin. There is some humour and crassness included with some of the characters - particularly Frazer McLennan and his tense but rather hilarious relationship with the sentient AI that's been his companion for years.
The technology in this book is also immense, and the different types of tech used inside a human's body as well as how people live, die and reborn can take time to get your head around. There are also all kinds of spacebots, as well as some sentient AIs that honestly I couldn't help but picture as a plumbob from the Sims that talked and flashed colours. Because of the expansive world of technolody in this world, and the amount of vernacular and jargon used in terms of military sci-fi and general space travel, I would warn sci-fi newbies away from this book as I feel it could become confusing and overwhelming. Definitely one to tackle after you've gotten used to the style of the genre.
One of the only things I would have liked more of in this book (despire just more in general as I was enjoying the world so much) would have been more insight into the Sturm. We did get a few chapters from the POV of one of the generals but I don't think this view was well-rounded enough. Everyone appeared very black and white, and I think it would be interesting to see a Sturm who maybe isn't quite as brainwashed into the fascist ideology as the others.
A fast-paced, exciting space adventure that I definitely recommend!