Quite honestly, this is one of those books that, after you finish, you wonder if maybe it's your fault that it didn't grab you. But also again quite honestly, I gave up toward the end and skipped to the last page just to see if the universe went on intact. It's not that...
See moreQuite honestly, this is one of those books that, after you finish, you wonder if maybe it's your fault that it didn't grab you. But also again quite honestly, I gave up toward the end and skipped to the last page just to see if the universe went on intact. It's not that it's badly written -- it's not, nor would I expect it to be,coming from Charles Sheffield. Consider, though (trying not to give anything away), that a serial killer (Oliver Guest) has become one of the good guys, guiding another not particularly nice character from the first book in divining who on the space station is also a serial murderer. Mr Guest, however, sniffs at the boorish and messy way the murders were carried out. As a backdrop to this murder mystery (and it IS merely a backdrop), it appears that the Earth may very well perish along with everyone in the space station in the next few days. So we go back and forth from Sherlock-like sleuthing to the impending doom of the planet. It's an incredibly hard balancing act, and for me it didn't succeed. It reminds me of "Independence Day" when, even though aliens have landed and life is certainly never going to be the same, Will Smith's character is despondent because he got another rejection slip from the astronaut program. It's one of those "Huh! " moments that are hard to get past, especially when so much of the book is involved with that particular subplot. It's always difficult when an author you admire puts out something with which you just can't connect. My advice? Think for yourself. If the book sounds as if it would appeal to you, buy it. If you enjoy it, read more of Mr. Sheffield. But if you didn't enjoy it, don't despair. My advice is the same. Read other books by Mr. Sheffield.
Quite honestly, this is one of those books that, after you finish, you wonder if maybe it's your fault that it didn't grab you. But also again quite honestly, I gave up toward the end and skipped to the last page just to see if the universe went on intact. It's not that it's badly written -- it's not, nor would I expect it to be,coming from Charles Sheffield. Consider, though (trying not to give anything away), that a serial killer (Oliver Guest) has become one of the good guys, guiding another not particularly nice character from the first book in divining who on the space station is also a serial murderer. Mr Guest, however, sniffs at the boorish and messy way the murders were carried out.
As a backdrop to this murder mystery (and it IS merely a backdrop), it appears that the Earth may very well perish along with everyone in the space station in the next few days. So we go back and forth from Sherlock-like sleuthing to the impending doom of the planet. It's an incredibly hard balancing act, and for me it didn't succeed. It reminds me of "Independence Day" when, even though aliens have landed and life is certainly never going to be the same, Will Smith's character is despondent because he got another rejection slip from the astronaut program. It's one of those "Huh! " moments that are hard to get past, especially when so much of the book is involved with that particular subplot.
It's always difficult when an author you admire puts out something with which you just can't connect. My advice? Think for yourself. If the book sounds as if it would appeal to you, buy it. If you enjoy it, read more of Mr. Sheffield. But if you didn't enjoy it, don't despair. My advice is the same. Read other books by Mr. Sheffield.
