Pie Palace

It kind of delivers. Sort of. The generation ship plot falls by the wayside early on; the protagonist’s disability isn’t mentioned after the first few pages; and the aliens are more "chuffed" than "evil". But the story arc concerning the church works pretty well.

Overall, it reads like a Jack McDevitt novel, but with characters.

(SPOILER: Despite the cover, there are no tractor beams.)

The story follows some of the same characters, as their world changes and adjusts to the events of the first book. The themes are darker – we get to see what life is like for the genetic underclass, and more of the implications of poverty in a world with rejuvenation treatment.

Sadly, the book doesn’t have the same bounce as its predecessor. There’s less humour. Some of the characters are a little wooden. The author’s hand is apparent in some of the plot twists.

Regardless, it’s still a good read. I recommend this to any sci fi fan who remembers cyberpunk fondly.

The story promises to be interesting, but fails on execution. The writing is good, as is the dialog, but the story is lacking. There’s no story arc. There’s no tension between the possibility of alien attack and reality that the main character is experiencing.

As much as I wanted to like this book, I was bored into submission and opted to stop reading.

If you’re looking for Cold War sci fi, check out Charlie Stross’s "Atrocity Archives" or something by Tim Powers.

The story is simple: the president of a corporate conglomerate is lost in a crash, her head stored away in a cryogenic container. The good guys want her head back in one piece, while the baddies want to finish her off.

Although there’s lots of world building, there isn’t much depth: we get to know some of the characters, but the ins and outs of the future world aren’t explored too closely. Yeah, there’s overpopulation, a ban on unlicensed human reproduction, rampant nanotech terrorism, and rejuvenation treatments; but those are used as part of the setting.

The book contains a few inexplicable events and scenes that feel more like they’re there for atmosphere rather than moving the plot along. But they’re fun to read, so I can’t complain too loudly.

The writing is strong. The Marusek ties four or five plot lines together for a tight ending that is well paced and explicable. Most of the characters are well drawn, with interesting personalities and backgrounds.

Overall: it’s a great genre book. If you enjoy cyberpunk, or any near future SF, you’ll probably enjoy it. For what it is: highly recommended.

Let me save two hours of your life: some anonymous kid hops on a train and goes to the North Pole. The kid is bland and boring. You won’t care what happens to him. When the kid gets there, there are some elves, but they don’t do very much. Santa Claus shows up, and doesn’t do much. The kid goes home. The end.

None of the characters are interesting. There are no challenges. There is no story line.

You could find similar excitement by getting on the O-Train and riding from South Keys to Bayview and back again for two hours.

Avoid this movie.