Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining but nothing like Banks, 23 Jan 2004
I have to agree with the reviewer who said this book isn't a patch on Banks. It was entertaining, and I will definitely be picking up the other two books in this series, but it did have faults too. For instance, Roche is an intelligence officer with the COE... a spy if you will, yet she seems completely unable to take care of herself. She is trained to evaluate situations and fight if need be. She is supposedly skilled with or without weapons, yet The Box seems to do all her thinking for her, and Cane all her fighting.Roche did not come across as a believable spy to me. She was more like a woman caught up in events she had no control over and was obviously in over her head from day one. As someone else said, this book is a conventional space opera. It is an easy and quick read, but certainly not a thought provoking one. I do look forward to learning more about Cane in the next book. He is the only character with some mystery about him. The other characters are pretty much standard for this kind of story. Reviewed by Mark E. Cooper
Author of Warrior Within
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14 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A New Space Opera, 18 April 2001
By A Customer
I picked up 'The Prodigal Sun' after I noticed some advertiment posters in my local bookshop. I'm very glad I did. I was looking for something new to read, something with good plot, decent characters and plenty of action. This book gave me all of that and more. It is filled with exciting chases, explosive battles and heart-pounding suspense. It literally graps you by the throat and pulls you right in. I read this book in one night and I would defy anyone to be able to stop reading. The twists in the plot, especially towards the end are very good (yet somewhat expected) but still provide new entertainment at every step. Locus' review mentions; "Niven, modified by Bester, or, better yet, of Iain M. Banks". This is very true, especially of the similarity with Banks. The calm yet shadowy 'Box' is possibly a rival to many of Bank's sentinent space vessels and drones. The Box wields almost the same omnipotent power as those creations but doles out a good deal more bloodshed, providing the distinction between writers. The books deliberately leaves questions unanswered to draw you into the following books but you really don't mind because you know the journey there is going to be entertaining and exciting. The writers have apparentley been asked to write a new trilogy to the Star Wars saga, this is clearly a testament to their skill at their craft and I'm sure the books will be well worth reading.
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4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Like Iain Banks? I don't agree., 4 Mar 2003
I bought this book having been influenced by the quote from locus, compairing it to Iain Banks 'against a dark background.I found it very disappointing, as it shows none of the range of invention , wit, or style associated with Bank's work. I also did not find it 'layered'.This book is instead a fairly conventional space opera, told in a linear fashion. There is plenty of action, but the characterisation is weak, and there is little novelty in the plot.Like Bester? - a little, but not as inventive. Like Niven? - on an off day perhaps. But not like Banks.
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