An entertaining, amusing, and relatable SF tale with diverse characters.
In this SF novel, a lonely interplanetary trash collector survives a crisis in outer space and finds unusual new friends.
Feckless 30-something Kenyan Enoch Owusu, an interstellar trash collector, has just received several sudden, heavy blows in his personal life—his parents died; his girlfriend deserted him; and his best friend and partner left for a different job in quick succession. The year is 2742, and after centuries of wars and disasters, humans have colonized Mars, the moon, and Europa, all of which are governed by a military-style regime called SysNav. The Church of All Faiths, a new religion, believes that Earth received an alien signal centuries ago and expects the extraterrestrials to return and benefit humankind. Feeling out of shape, sad, alone, and powerless, Enoch is picking up space debris with a basic artificial intelligence system as his only companion when he detects a distress signal of unknown origin. His good-hearted decision to go check it out begins a series of surprising adventures that fulfill the promise of the subtitle. Watt’s narrative tone is delightfully snarky, especially in the 68 footnotes that explain various details of future history and daily life in a spaceship. Pithy, humorous descriptions vividly bring the setting and characters to life. The narrative is original and full of apt observations, including “Enoch tried to walk as sarcastically as he could...just to show them he wasn’t scared,” and “Finding a bunch of black ships in a black background of space was like one of those puzzles where you had to find the stripy shirt guy in the environment full of stripy things.” Enoch’s personal journey from pathetic basket case to brave, open-minded, and confident man is satisfying and relatable. The other characters are also intriguing and well drawn. The scientific explanations of “slip drive,” a method of fast space travel, seem plausible enough not to get in the way of the story. The ending leaves many questions unanswered, making readers hope for a sequel. Overall, this novel is a fun read that successfully combines a humane sensibility, a classic adventure story, and humor.
An entertaining, amusing, and relatable SF tale with diverse characters.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 328
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Too much puzzle-solving, not enough suspense.
Video-game players embrace the quest of a lifetime in a virtual world; screenwriter Cline’s first novel is old wine in new bottles.
The real world, in 2045, is the usual dystopian horror story. So who can blame Wade, our narrator, if he spends most of his time in a virtual world? The 18-year-old, orphaned at 11, has no friends in his vertical trailer park in Oklahoma City, while the OASIS has captivating bells and whistles, and it’s free. Its creator, the legendary billionaire James Halliday, left a curious will. He had devised an elaborate online game, a hunt for a hidden Easter egg. The finder would inherit his estate. Old-fashioned riddles lead to three keys and three gates. Wade, or rather his avatar Parzival, is the first gunter (egg-hunter) to win the Copper Key, first of three. Halliday was obsessed with the pop culture of the 1980s, primarily the arcade games, so the novel is as much retro as futurist. Parzival’s great strength is that he has absorbed all Halliday’s obsessions; he knows by heart three essential movies, crossing the line from geek to freak. His most formidable competitors are the Sixers, contract gunters working for the evil conglomerate IOI, whose goal is to acquire the OASIS. Cline’s narrative is straightforward but loaded with exposition. It takes a while to reach a scene that crackles with excitement: the meeting between Parzival (now world famous as the lead contender) and Sorrento, the head of IOI. The latter tries to recruit Parzival; when he fails, he issues and executes a death threat. Wade’s trailer is demolished, his relatives killed; luckily Wade was not at home. Too bad this is the dramatic high point. Parzival threads his way between more ’80s games and movies to gain the other keys; it’s clever but not exciting. Even a romance with another avatar and the ultimate “epic throwdown” fail to stir the blood.
Too much puzzle-solving, not enough suspense.Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-307-88743-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
This dark tale of martial arts and ancient Codes in a fallen world will captivate readers who crave action.
A gritty tale set in a world where fighting well is the highest honor.
“We fight so the rest shall not have to.” For Murray, an aging former fighter with a strong sense of honor, these words are his way of life: The strongest and best Grievars fight in single combat to settle national disputes. No longer able to fight himself, he’s forced to scout the dangerous Deep for kids with potential—even though most of his "discoveries" never stand a real chance. But when he watches an apparently blind boy dominate a much larger Grievar in a fight, he sees his chance to restore honor to his profession through a new fighter who lives by the ancient Codes. That boy, Cego, has memories of another life—training with a master alongside his brothers, studying fighting and meditation techniques on a black-sand beach. What he doesn’t know is how he ended up in the sordid Underground, blinded by light he wasn’t used to, easy prey for slavers looking for fresh fighting meat. For Cego, Murray’s offer to take him to the Surface and give him a chance to train at the prestigious Lyceum is at first a chance to find his brothers and his old master. But as Murray teaches him the ancient Codes, Cego realizes how similar they are to the teachings of his old master and gets swept up in the drive to do well at the Lyceum Trials. Cego and Murray are both compelling characters. The novel takes a while to clearly establish a goal for each of them, but the world and characters are strong enough to carry the reader through to the point where Cego’s quest to prove himself at the Lyceum takes over as the engine of the plot. Clearly drawn martial arts bouts add action and drama to the narrative.
This dark tale of martial arts and ancient Codes in a fallen world will captivate readers who crave action.Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9780316493000
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Orbit
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
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