Dark Light: Bk. 2 (Engines of Light): Amazon.co.uk: Ken MacLeod: Books

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Review
'A modern-day George Orwell' SFX 'A hectic ride, through slaloms of audacious complexity, irreverent ingenuity and paradox as purposeful as it is playful' GUARDIAN --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

GUARDIAN
'A hectic ride, through slaloms of audacious complexity, irreverent ingenuity and paradox as purposeful as it is playful' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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8 Reviews

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4.0 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful handling of the "tricky" second novel in a series., 3 Jan 2002

By	Peter Dawson (ten-x.sa@zajil.net) (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia/ Tagudin, Philippines.) - See all my reviews

The tricky second novel in any series is fraught with pitfals all of which MacLeod avoids skillfully. MacLeod's skill in characterization and plot development are displyed to good effect in Dark Light. If I could offer any constructive criticism it would be that MacLeod spins off ideas that would merit further deveolpment with such frequency that I found myself wishing for a book twice or thrice the size to fully explore all of them. I suppose that I am complaining about taught prose that leaves you wanting more which means that Ken, Mic and Tim have done their jobs rather well, not much of a complaint if truth be told.
The alternating timelines of Cosmanaut Keep have been dispensed with in favour of a linnear narrative which may make for easier reading for some. Criticism has been leveled at MacLeod in the past for the alternate political views expressed in his novels, while they are still present in Dark Light they are much less overt and are presented alongside many of the philosophical arguments behind those political systems, which is not nearly as dry as it sounds (what, you expected New Labour, Blair, Brown et al to get you to the stars?).
I should also make it clear that the naming of a heretical anthropologist in the novel had nothing to do with me but the honour was bought in an auction at a SF convention by Guy Dawson and not myself (More's the pity!).
I find it increasingly perplexing that Macleod continues to be nominated for the Clark prize and continually fails to win, especially as he seems to have developed a corollary to Clarks law that states if any sufficently advanced technology is indistiguisable from magic then the holder of the technology is probably ripe for worship from any lesser civilization.
As an author MacLeod has always been and continues to be very good value in all respects and Dark Light is no exception...

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating speculation that does require some patience, 12 Mar 2003

By	Neal C. Reynolds (Indianapolis, Indiana) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dark Light (Engines of Light) (Paperback)

Those who have read COSMONAUT KEEP should find this a worthwhile continuation. I liked it better than the first book, myself, because of the increased political and theological speculation.

Especially fascinating is MacLeod's concept of the Gods and their relationship with humanity. Not highly recommended to extreme conservative religionists.

I did find myself mired down a couple of times in the political dissertations. However, MacLeod basically tells a good story. How good a story it is depends, I suppose, on the concluding book in the series. But these first two are interesting enough and I'm getting to better like the characters, and so I will be reading the final installment.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fascinating, 9 Aug 2003

By	ru (london) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Light (Engines of Light) (Paperback)

i read this book in a single 14-hour sitting, which gives you an idea of what a page-turner i found it.

it's much improved over Cosmonaut Keep. the main charaters are much more active, and i love the way the sections from the POV of the 200+ year old Matt Cairns are all written in the present tense - it gives a very strong sense of a man out of time.

the politics in the book is very academic (and a bit dated), but interesting nonetheless. the idea of political systems as technology that can be introduced with just as potent effect as internal combustion deserves exploration; it's a shame that many people will turn their noses up at it because it doesn't gel with their own views.

so, not quite five stars; the eulogising of the "heathens" rings quite false, it would have been more convincing if a more balanced picture of their society was portayed. also i thought it was implausible that there should be such racial tension between humans, and yet little evident between different species. still, those are pretty minor considerations in a good book.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The trilogy develops well
Less sf this time and more of a politicial / social thriller, this is the second volume in the trilogy begun by Cosmonaut Keep. Read more

Published on 2 Jan 2004 by Andy Dingley

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good
The second part of a trilogy always has an difficult task - most of the concepts aren't entirely new, but the story can't be bought to an end either. Read more

Published on 10 Mar 2003 by toby02

4.0 out of 5 stars Continuing the trans-galactic romp
With this second book in the series, it's clear that Macleod's Engines of Light series is plotting a different course than the one you might expect from the author of the Fall... Read more

Published on 7 Mar 2003 by Nick Barlow

3.0 out of 5 stars I found his use of the present tense in narrative annoying.
I don't remember him using the present tense for description and narrative in his other books, but his use in this book I found both destracting and annoying. Read more

Published on 3 Feb 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars Close, but no cigar (yet!)
Well, after being somewhat disappointed by "Cosmonaut Keep" this was a bit of an improvement, but still not quite all it could be. Read more

Published on 22 Jan 2002 by Steven Fouch

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Engine City (Engines of Light)

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	71% buy the item featured on this page: Dark Light: Bk. 2 (Engines of Light) 4.0 out of 5 stars (8)
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Dark Light: Bk. 2 (Engines of Light) (Hardcover)

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