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Subject: Alastair Reynolds - Terminal World (Book Review)
I'm a huge Alastair Reynolds fan. He writes vast, galaxy-encompassing space opera books that grab my imagination and shake it vigorously until the very last page. I've loved every single one of his previous books, including the ones that stepped outside of his normal space opera genre.
Terminal World is one of those different books, and it's filled with neat ideas. What it lacks though is any kind of polish. It reads as if written by a first-time writer, with prose that'd be cumbersome from a high school student. All of the dialogue is clunky, with characters speaking the same sort of stilted, explanatory drivel you'd expect from a George Lucas movie. It's really painful to read, and it's repetitive too: In the span of a few dozen pages the main character explains his situation, in full, to three characters he's been introduced to. Reynolds is an accomplished enough author to spare the reader this pain, but doesn't for reasons I cannot begin to imagine.
It's even poorly edited:
Now, I pirated the book, maybe it's pre-release? It's so bad I want to believe someone else wrote it for release credit. I want to go and buy it just in case the author whose work I respect so much has actually written a different, better book. It's so awful in places that, even when I'm bored in a waiting room, I can't stand to read more than three pages before shutting it off again.
Reynolds writes galaxies with skill and style, but in this novel he has failed, quite miserably, to write anything that's even remotely interesting. I'm hugely disappointed.
Terminal World is one of those different books, and it's filled with neat ideas. What it lacks though is any kind of polish. It reads as if written by a first-time writer, with prose that'd be cumbersome from a high school student. All of the dialogue is clunky, with characters speaking the same sort of stilted, explanatory drivel you'd expect from a George Lucas movie. It's really painful to read, and it's repetitive too: In the span of a few dozen pages the main character explains his situation, in full, to three characters he's been introduced to. Reynolds is an accomplished enough author to spare the reader this pain, but doesn't for reasons I cannot begin to imagine.
It's even poorly edited:
Meroka, Kalis and Nimcha were herded out of the steam-truck. Quillon watched them through a gauze of pain. Their hands were untied, then Quillon's. At gunpoint, Meroka was made to remove her backpack and coat. The leader spread the coat open on the ground, beaming at the vicious delights it held. Someone grabbed Quillon's coat by the collar and hauled him roughly to his feet. The ruined glasses slid from his ruined nose. He wanted to grab for them but his hands were still tied.
Now, I pirated the book, maybe it's pre-release? It's so bad I want to believe someone else wrote it for release credit. I want to go and buy it just in case the author whose work I respect so much has actually written a different, better book. It's so awful in places that, even when I'm bored in a waiting room, I can't stand to read more than three pages before shutting it off again.
Reynolds writes galaxies with skill and style, but in this novel he has failed, quite miserably, to write anything that's even remotely interesting. I'm hugely disappointed.
BLEARGH