Tag Archives: novel

Eon by Greg Bear

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I’m not really a hard sci-fi guy.  I’m just not smart enough for all the science.  Reading this book made me feel a little bit dumb and was definitely a brain workout.  I also prefer to read books for their story and hard sci-fi has a tendency to pause the story to explain the science, I feel like.  Some people with more scientifically inclined brains enjoy it I am sure, but I am not a fan.  It probably didn’t help either that I kept getting distracted while reading it, especially in the beginning, so there were a number of things that probably would have made more sense had I not been distracted.  Although, despite all the science explanation, I still have questions, mainly how the Stone’s presence affects gravity on Earth if at all.
In terms of the actual writing, I am not a huge fan.  I don’t really like the point of view.  I like very limited third person and first person.  This was less limited.  It felt like it was following one person, but then it would be focused on another person only to revert back.  Again, it is a personal preference, but I did not really enjoy it.  The action felt removed at times, like we were disengaged and being told through an outside observer rather than being made a part of the story, they happen so matter-of-fact-ly.  Again, personal preference and the story wasn’t focused on the action, so it was understandable.  Some of the reactions and interactions didn’t feel real, however.  There were a few times I thought “no person ever would say that or be that cool.”  Maybe I just haven’t been around the right kind of people, but I was doubting.
The story was good.  It was a step away from my usual conflict and war-based stories, but It was pretty good.  There didn’t really seem to be a whole lot of buildup throughout, which felt a little off, but, again, it might just be that I kept getting distracted, so I wasn’t fully engaged in the story.  The beginning of the book and the end are very different.  So much happens throughout.  That is a little overwhelming and makes some of the major events feel less important, they are just kind of drowned out.  
Overall, not really my kind of book, but it was good.  If you enjoy hard sci-fi, then I’d say read it.  If you don’t like hard sci-fi, it is your choice.

Ruin by John Gwynne

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I had a long enough break between the last book and this one to reengage fully with the story and I enjoyed it all the way through this book.  It was pretty unrealistic at times, aside from the obvious fantasy elements.  The biggest example of this was the remarkable timing.  There were many times when certain events happened at just the right time, such as two groups of people meeting up just in time to join a battle that was all but lost.  But those were forgivable, as the story as a whole was still enjoyable.  I very much admire Gwynne’s ability to have all these different storylines and characters moving alongside each other and have them come affect each other and come together.  With this book, a lot of the stories converged and the overall story built significantly.  Very exciting and kept me up three hours too late last night so I could finish.
The actual writing is much the same as the first two books.  Still different than I am used to, but it is usually clear.  He does still have a habit of restating things.  Sometimes I understand why he does, it is from a different character’s POV, but it often offers no new information and I’m left thinking “we already know this.”  His use of thoughts still bugs me.  I am not a fan of direct thoughts in most instances anyway, but his use sometimes has no apparent use.  It often feels like the thoughts were added after the fact, restating something word for word.  And there is so much of it some places.  A few pages are half italicized and it feels off and distracts from the story.
Overall, I very much liked the book.  I do have some issues with how it is written, but they do little to detract from my enjoyment.  I still recommend the series and look forward to the next book.