- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Tor; First Edition edition (2 July 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0230706819
- ISBN-13: 978-0230706811
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.2 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 271,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Empire of Light (Shoal 3)
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Product Description
Review
`Gripping, imaginative and morally complex... This is page-turning SF with a distinctive identity and brutal, stylish action sequences, all of which adds up to a compulsive read... A sharp, distinctive piece of sci-fi, an Gibson has certainly proved himself a name to watch out for.' --Four stars, SFX magazine
Product Description
The third novel in the Shoal space opera series featuring Dakota Merrick continuing from Stealing Light and Nova War
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having enjoyed the first two books, this was a massive disappointment. So many threads left dangling, so much that was far too easy, so little explanation of what is going on.
Very little of the story makes sense. There's a weapon that can destroy FTL drives. Our heroes find it rather easily, even though the god-like Makers have been searching for it for millennia. And the weapon destroys 80% of the Emissaries' Fleet. Instantaneously. And rather wonderfully Trader provides Dakota with weapons and shields from a vanished civilisation that are much better than anything the Magi ships have and which mean she can invade Emissary space to launch the weapon. Oh, and the Emissaries can track Dakota through some technology that nobody thought to tell anybody about before. Planted by Hugh for reasons that are never given. And Trader has been on an expedition to the Greater Magellenic Cloud and found out how to work the weapon. But he didn't tell anybody. Deus ex machina indeed.
At the end, we still don't really understand the Makers or why they are leaving caches all over the place, we don't meet the Emissaries at all (except in battle) and so get no further with what they are about and there are hinted at links between the Makers and the Atn that never go anywhere. And the Magi? and the makers of the weapon? Who knows?
For good measure, there's some sort of nonsense about the weapon only working for the just or the not so bad or something that is never explained. And Lucas becomes really good at fighting and Dakota dies twice. But she's alive at the end again. Or something.
I don't really know what wrong here. Having set up great situation, Gibson seems to have completely run out of ideas as to how he's going to resolve it. Instead he pretty much rewrites the back story so as to provide solutions to all the problems he has created - oh, didn't I tell you that I have the control programme/brilliant weapons/tracking devices/location of Excalibur? He descends into sub-fantasy with his magic weapon that is only for the virtuous and chickens out of having his main characters die.
A real shame, as Nova War set up the conclusion so well. Two stars because if you have read the others, you have to read this one, otherwise on a stand-alone basis 0 or 1.
Very little of the story makes sense. There's a weapon that can destroy FTL drives. Our heroes find it rather easily, even though the god-like Makers have been searching for it for millennia. And the weapon destroys 80% of the Emissaries' Fleet. Instantaneously. And rather wonderfully Trader provides Dakota with weapons and shields from a vanished civilisation that are much better than anything the Magi ships have and which mean she can invade Emissary space to launch the weapon. Oh, and the Emissaries can track Dakota through some technology that nobody thought to tell anybody about before. Planted by Hugh for reasons that are never given. And Trader has been on an expedition to the Greater Magellenic Cloud and found out how to work the weapon. But he didn't tell anybody. Deus ex machina indeed.
At the end, we still don't really understand the Makers or why they are leaving caches all over the place, we don't meet the Emissaries at all (except in battle) and so get no further with what they are about and there are hinted at links between the Makers and the Atn that never go anywhere. And the Magi? and the makers of the weapon? Who knows?
For good measure, there's some sort of nonsense about the weapon only working for the just or the not so bad or something that is never explained. And Lucas becomes really good at fighting and Dakota dies twice. But she's alive at the end again. Or something.
I don't really know what wrong here. Having set up great situation, Gibson seems to have completely run out of ideas as to how he's going to resolve it. Instead he pretty much rewrites the back story so as to provide solutions to all the problems he has created - oh, didn't I tell you that I have the control programme/brilliant weapons/tracking devices/location of Excalibur? He descends into sub-fantasy with his magic weapon that is only for the virtuous and chickens out of having his main characters die.
A real shame, as Nova War set up the conclusion so well. Two stars because if you have read the others, you have to read this one, otherwise on a stand-alone basis 0 or 1.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Gary Gibson was definitely on my must-buy list after Stealing Light and Nova War, but - having just finished Empire of Light - I'm sorry to say he drops the ball badly on the third outing.
The plot lacks tension as solutions to problems present themselves seeming without any effort on behalf of either of the main protagonists... super weapons just crop up out of nowhere as gifts (if the Shoal knew about them, then why the heck didn't they use them in their war against the Emissaries?) or just neatly resolve themselves. The vast majority of the action takes place aboard one ship and as a result feels claustrophobic and a little... well... boring. In fact, by the end you're desperate for the journey to end - if I had to sit through yet another section about drive-spine maintenance I felt like I was going to weep! I found myself wanting to skip through sections and found it difficult to maintain my interest as the main characters began to merge together into one big "tough guy" blur - what happened to the pacifist Lucas or the damaged and vulnerable Dakota?
The first two books were excellent, and Gibson is a talented writer - but frankly he need to let this one mature for far longer... At times it seems like he's bored and constrained by the universe he has created - like he was in a rush to dispose of the Shoal Sequence and get started his new book - and it showed.
The plot lacks tension as solutions to problems present themselves seeming without any effort on behalf of either of the main protagonists... super weapons just crop up out of nowhere as gifts (if the Shoal knew about them, then why the heck didn't they use them in their war against the Emissaries?) or just neatly resolve themselves. The vast majority of the action takes place aboard one ship and as a result feels claustrophobic and a little... well... boring. In fact, by the end you're desperate for the journey to end - if I had to sit through yet another section about drive-spine maintenance I felt like I was going to weep! I found myself wanting to skip through sections and found it difficult to maintain my interest as the main characters began to merge together into one big "tough guy" blur - what happened to the pacifist Lucas or the damaged and vulnerable Dakota?
The first two books were excellent, and Gibson is a talented writer - but frankly he need to let this one mature for far longer... At times it seems like he's bored and constrained by the universe he has created - like he was in a rush to dispose of the Shoal Sequence and get started his new book - and it showed.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I admit it took me a while to get to this third book in the trilogy - didn't really find myself compelled to leap to it and read it after having read the first two books. All in all, and I think I find myself reviewing the trilogy as a whole here, I found it all rather disappointing. Great premise, could have been a great story - but just never quite got there. I still find it reminiscent, but sadly nowhere near as good as, Simon Green's Deathstalker series. But in this series, I just never found myself giving a damn about the characters. I really couldn't care whether the `good' guys won or not. The potential of the storyline, and the grand epic sweep and feel which was set up relatively well in the first book just never lived up to its promise. Sadly underwhelming overall.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A not-so-good ending to a great series
I have to say, I was a bit let down by this book after book 2, The Nova War, showed so much promise. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Susan
A disappointing end
I was a big fan os the first two books in the Shoal sequence, and I have to admit I found Empire of Light a bit of a let down. Read more
Published 17 months ago by R. M. Lindley
Amazing
Empire of Light is amazing!!! Incredible Space Opera!! I love Dakota Merrick, she's one of the most relevant sci-fi characters I have ever read... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Lallo Bontempi
A Personal view
I enjoy "Space Opera" and hard SF. This book was the final part of three and well worth the read. A blizzard of thought provoking ideas. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mr. Roderick Head
Super Nova
Gary, for me, has always been an author who has taken new directions and provides the reader with the unexpected. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog
A reasonable conclusion, but fails to live up to expectations
The Shoal Hegemony and the Emissaries of God are locked in a devastating nova war between the Perseus and Orion arms of the Galaxy. Read more
Published 21 months ago by A. Whitehead
Great finish to a great saga.
I could not put it down a great conclusion with the possibility of being able to continue the story.
Published 21 months ago by Christopher P. Sprott
A gripping finale with hints of more to come
A really pacey and gripping finale to the Shoal Sequence trilogy. I love space opera and in this series Gibson has really delivered in terms of a very believable universe,... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Ed F
Empire of Light
This is an exultant ending to Gary Gibson trilogy. I slipped into the caricator as I started reading which was very good as I am a slow reader, took me about a week to finish it. Read more
Published 22 months ago by gazebo4
More Fun with Dakota and Lucas
The third book in the Gary Gibson's 'Shoal Sequence' trilogy (the other two being first 'Stealing Light' and then 'Nova War') provides a pretty good 'grand finale' while still just... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Diziet
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