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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Big-canvas Space Opera, with wit , depth and style, 13 Aug 2005
Charles Stross now lives in Edinburgh where, no doubt, he spends his free time with the other SF alumni of that city (Banks, McLeod et al). Indeed, fans of the 'Edinburgh set' are going to lap this novel up with great relish; 'Iron Sunrise' is a big-canvas space opera, and manages to pack a whole lot of action, intrigue and nasty plot twists into a surprisingly punchy page-count. There are echoes of the dark humour of Banks, if a little more up-front, and there is plenty of political intrigue and ideological interplay, without the socialist gong-beating of McLeod. Simultaneously serious and entertaining, this book stands alone from its predecessor, 'Singularity Sky', with no problems at all, but the post-singularity universe Stross is building here is all the more enjoyable when you immerse yourself in it as completely as possible.
To briefly synopsise; Rachel Mansour, causal WMD inspector for a far future evolution of the UN, is called to 'take out' a crazed terrorist with a nuke in the centre of Geneva. Meanwhile, the sun of the New Moscow system has been destroyed, taking the system with it, by protagonists unknown. Wednesday Shadowmist, a teenage malcontent from said system, finds herself entangled in a nasty web of people who want to kill her, because of a little mission her 'imaginary friend' Herman asked her to do before evacuating her original home. These threads and more are drawn into a complex yet rewarding tapestry spanning lightyears of space and time, all embellished with Stross's trademark wit and attention to detail. Suffice to say, if you like modern, high-octane, more-ideas-to-the-gallon space opera, then 'Iron Sunrise' is a must read.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tightly plotted, strong characterisation, well written too., 23 Feb 2006
Iron Sunrise overtops the movie script dictum of "start with an earthquake and build to a climax" by kicking off with the destruction of a whole solar system, with collateral damage to nearby star systems. The "Iron Sunrise" indeed.
Our youngest protagonist is evacuated from an outpost in a nearby system to avoid the radiation storm, and holds the key to who did the deed. Those familiar with previous works will recognise the team sent to solve the conundrum, which involves saving another inhabited system from the consequences of the Sunrise.
Wittily written, a potential classic in its own time. Highly recommended read.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
BIG IDEAS and wit, 1 Mar 2005
By A Customer
This is a sequel to Stross's first novel (Singularity Sky) though I have no doubt it would work equally well for anyone who hadn't read the first one.The good news is that this is even better than Singularity Sky - it isn't quite as balls-to-the-wall inventive (there isn't anything quite as madcap as the Festival)but it is still full of big sf ideas (the "iron sunrise" itself is a memorable concept). The writing is noticeably sharper (though he was in no sense a bad writer before) the plotting is more measured and the whole thing just hangs together beautifully. What it really has going for it, though, is the sly humour. There are more clowns (a Stross trademark?) and plenty of weirdness but it all serves the story. A very, very good book.
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