レビュー

• thought provoking

  Very good It looks at two cultures and while the ending is a bit polyanish, the author does a good job of presenting the two cultures and the struggles a questions they face and attempt to solve. Overall very good story and I highly recommend this book.

• A Classic Piece Of McLeod Imagining

  Only Ken MacLeod would think of a universe in which the Earth people seem strange and alien and the bat people familiar and close. This is a wonderfully imagined story of first contact in which our descendants are the travellers from space and aliens have to try and come to terms with a technologically more advanced invader. Lots of lovely detail in the early twentieth century technology of the bat people especially in the techniques of astronomy.

• Fesselnde Vision

  Ich fand dieses Buch prima. Wenn man etwas anführen könnte, dann dass die Projektion unserer Entwicklung als Spezies sich so anfühlt, als könnte das bereits in wenigen Jahrzehnten Realität sein. Also wie wir unsere Körper und Sinneswahrnehmung verändern werden (Genmanipulation oder Implantate), wie die Gesellschaft sich weiter entwickelt und wie "die Jugend" so drauf sein wird. Aber das Buch erzählt von einer Zukunft, die 14.000 Jahre entfernt ist... Spannend ist es trotzdem.

• Ken MacLeod's first contact novel

  Ken MacLeod has written some excellent novels. I particularly like his Fall Revolution books. Those books were intelligent, completely unlike anything I'd read, and at times were a screaming, supercharged ride. However, I remember his Engines of Light books as though they were a series of interesting scenes strung together to make novels. In this novel of first contact, the pace is a bit slow, at times, and MacLeod jumps over what sounded like some very interesting parts of the story in order to get to the end. Nothing's wrong with the story. In fact, I was happy to find that this novel stood on its own, but had MacLeod chosen to do so, there were lots of other interesting bits that he could have written and decided not to. A few other reviewers felt that the story was choppy. Well, the story is covering a lot of ground and a fair span of time. If you wanted 4 or 5 novels on the subject, like a lot of other authors feel pressed to do in order to sell more books, fine. But, you'd still be waiting for book 3, while we all know now how it turns out (WHAT! We find out what happens by only purchasing ONE BOOK?!?!? AMAZING!!!). I find MacLeod's political bent interesting, and I appreciate the extra dimension it gives his books. Again, this may not be to everyone's liking, especially those who just want things to get complicated, people to fight, and stuff to explode. If you are looking for something a bit more intelligent, give MacLeod a chance. He tells a good story, and his are usually positive without being obvious or simple-minded. Unlike what a few reviewers said, this novel is actually quite spare with the politics, and this may be a good place for readers new to MacLeod to start. And who complains about people getting together to talk stuff over and find solutions? Someone who lives under a rock, doesn't acknowledge or have peers or colleagues, and is either told what to do or never discusses anything, I would guess. MacLeod's characters are likable, and they do what a lot of educated people do: they think about things and discuss them. Perhaps the mere suggestion of political activism is anathema to some Americans, these days. How sad. At a time when we need people more engaged in actual debate, calling our politicians on bad choices, and pushing for better solutions, an author who suggests such a thing gets lambasted for it. I wonder if this is because the author is Scottish and occasionally voices communist views (common in Europe), or if it's due to intolerance of politics and change, in general. In any case, if that's NOT you, then pick up one or more of MacLeod's books and feed your brain.

• I really do hope that people are this friendly and co-operative in The Future...

  A great easy read: well-imagined, and nicely planned, with a unique twist in that much of it is told from the point of view of an alien civilisation. However, the alien civilisation might be bats (literally!) but they're really like quaint middle-class pseudo-Victorians, polite and well-meaning. There's a hint of menace in the possibility of war, but if humans truly do meet another species, this sounds like the best possible scenario. On the other hand, it's good to see an SF author not resting on the easy plot device of the "wormhole". The humans in this story travel between the stars the hard way: the trip took four hundred years. A great story, and one I'd recommend to younger readers, too.

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