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Absolution Gap

Advantages: Hard to put down
Disadvantages: Last of 3

...Redemption Ark and then finally Absolution Gap. Most of the old characters survive into this book, and the book goes on to complete the story. some new characters are introduced and some old ones die off. Quite a few new devices are born. The story starts on the world Arat where the refugees have ended up from the previous book. To save humanity and everyone else a trip to Hela is needed and the starship nostalgia for Infinity flies again. Hela ...
...built about the gas giant is very interesting in itself, especially how it came about and how it is maintained. The remains of an old alien race called the Scuttlers is being examined and provides clues on the way forward to defeat the inhibitors (also called the Wolves) Overall this book like the other ones is a fight between the various factions of humanity and the inhibitors and the discovery of weird and wonderful devices that may help us and ...

Shoplord 21.02.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Absolution gap - Alastair Reynolds

Great if you like this sort of thing

Advantages: Wonderful descriptive writing. Well developed plot and characters
Disadvantages: Can be tedious

Robinson is best known for his 'Mars' series, which have gained him a place amongst the best 'hard' SF writers of recent years. His latest novel is 'Antarctica', set in the near future and based on the ice continent. The plot revolves around the ecological issues facing the various groups and authorities using and responsible for Antarctica. The plot is actually quite straightforward, but as you go through the book you will come across a number ...
...is in the descriptive passages of the beautiful and harsh environment. I challenge anyone to read this and not want to visit the place! If you want a fast moving, action packed novel then this is not for you; but if you enjoy learning about a place whilst being entertained then get the book. ...

rwsweet 26.09.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Antarctica - Kim Stanley Robinson

Rankin Ranks highly

Advantages: totally bizarre
Disadvantages: where's the time gone?

...answer is: it can't. Armageddon the Musical is often credited as the novel that 'made' Robert Rankin the purveyor of far-fetched fiction he's loved for. I for one am glad I decided to pick up that book (although it's since cost me a fortune in hardbacks over the years since that day). To get a true appreciation for Armageddon the Musical, you should also read Armageddon 2: the B-Movie and Armageddon 3. Only then will you fully appreciate the mad ...
...his characters find themselves in, and of course the rolling gags and the strange feeling of reja-vu (I'll be seeing this one again), which must be a tradition, and old charter or something. Put it this way, if I ever need to *seriously* cheer myself up, it's one of the few books I can safely say will keep me reading and laughing from start to finish. ...

angehodgson 17.04.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Armageddon the Musical - Robert Rankin

Closer to Heaven

Advantages: Great character building
Disadvantages: A little slow paced for my taste

Fantasy and science fiction are genres that mesh well together. Some authors have written successfully across both genres, but not usually in the same story. Jaine Fenn has managed to combine both in one book and it's an interesting read. One night, a stranger is found lying unconscious in a bog just outside the village of Dangwern. He appears to have come from nowhere and, apart from a strange piece of cloth lying near his naked body, there is nothing ...
...Unfortunately, this includes the stranger himself, as he is suffering from amnesia and has no idea even where he is, much less how he came to be there. Fortunately for Sais, as he is nicknamed, the boy who finds him is "sky touched". This means he is soon to travel to the City of Lights to be tested to see if he is worthy of being a consort of the goddesses. The village elders permit Sais and the boy's mother Kerin to accompany him to see if anyone ...

Soho_Black 19.12.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Consorts of Heaven - Jaine Fenn

It is not just about football!

Advantages: It's very funny, and oh so true!
Disadvantages: None

The Disc, for those who don't know, continues to float in space, supported by the elephants who ride the back of the great swimming turtle A'tuin. The Hub about which the planet spins is a centre of great magic, and best avoided if you want to live a happy and contented life. At the outer perimeter is the great circle sea which unendingly streams over the rim into the void, which is best avoided if you want to continue to live at all. Most Discians ...
...Smeems, for instance, is the Candle Nave at the Unseen University. He has to worry about keeping the candles not just alight, but properly melted, artistically, gothicly, dribbled, as it were. Of course, there's Trevor to help. And there's Nutt. With two t's. Trevor Likely has a tendency to skive off work whenever possible, and to kick a tin can around. His dad was a legend. Nutt is… well, no-one's quite sure what Nutt is, even him. Goblin isn't ...

hiker 07.12.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Unseen Academicals - Terry Pratchett