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threemonkeysJust finished Newton's Wake by Ken MacLeod. I'm finding it hard to say anything much about it. I have a good number of his books before and so know what to expect. That might be the problem - I got what I expected and nothing else new.
When I first encountered MacLeod's work it was pretty startling stuff - hard science including nano-tech, space travel, fast paced story telling all mixed in with political consciousness. Space opera for the modern age. I remember being in Fobidden Planet in London when MacLeod's first book came out and the manager of the store almost forced it into my hands, so convinced was he that it was the herald of a new literay age or somesuch. When I read it I was inclined to agree.
Time has passed and Alastair Renolds has come along to do much the same thing better while Ken has not really progressed his style all that much. Hindsight also softens the original impact. Its now possible to see that first work (The Star Fraction) in the context of what went on beforehand and was going on in British writing around the same time.
Having blathered on about all that, viewed in isolation, Newton's Wake is actually a pretty good book - I certainly enjoyed it while I was reading it. Plenty of action, funky gadgets, flawed characters, spooky politics and so forth. Instead of carping that he has not progressed his writing, perhaps I should be grateful that he can keep his quality level constant and not fade away as many others have done.
When I first encountered MacLeod's work it was pretty startling stuff - hard science including nano-tech, space travel, fast paced story telling all mixed in with political consciousness. Space opera for the modern age. I remember being in Fobidden Planet in London when MacLeod's first book came out and the manager of the store almost forced it into my hands, so convinced was he that it was the herald of a new literay age or somesuch. When I read it I was inclined to agree.
Time has passed and Alastair Renolds has come along to do much the same thing better while Ken has not really progressed his style all that much. Hindsight also softens the original impact. Its now possible to see that first work (The Star Fraction) in the context of what went on beforehand and was going on in British writing around the same time.
Having blathered on about all that, viewed in isolation, Newton's Wake is actually a pretty good book - I certainly enjoyed it while I was reading it. Plenty of action, funky gadgets, flawed characters, spooky politics and so forth. Instead of carping that he has not progressed his writing, perhaps I should be grateful that he can keep his quality level constant and not fade away as many others have done.