Helpful Score: 1
So. Hm. Existence.
Essentially, this is the story of humanity's first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, without the magic of warp drives, wormholes, or other mechanisms to cheat Einstein. And done in a way that's meant to fit the reality of Fermi's Paradox (why is the sky silent?).
The first 60% of the novel is just wonderful. It's got Brin's touch of connecting just-out-of-reach technology with social optimism, and finding fascinating ways it all flows together. (The idea of a "smart-mob" is here, and terrific.) Reading this kind of conjecture always makes me feel smarter, and that the text is more than just mere escapism.
The last 40% though gets a bit more silly. Some plot threads get dropped entirely, and there are at least a few pieces of "then many years pass..." which left me wanting more. (Though, perhaps, that "more" would have been worse. It's hard to know.) It does feel a bit like "I need to fill out my outline to meet my deadlines" kind of writing. It's quality, but it's missing the punch of the earlier portions of the book.
I'm still giving the book 5 of 5 stars, though. There are a lot of neat things to think about in here, and generally speaking, it is a very well crafted yarn.
Essentially, this is the story of humanity's first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, without the magic of warp drives, wormholes, or other mechanisms to cheat Einstein. And done in a way that's meant to fit the reality of Fermi's Paradox (why is the sky silent?).
The first 60% of the novel is just wonderful. It's got Brin's touch of connecting just-out-of-reach technology with social optimism, and finding fascinating ways it all flows together. (The idea of a "smart-mob" is here, and terrific.) Reading this kind of conjecture always makes me feel smarter, and that the text is more than just mere escapism.
The last 40% though gets a bit more silly. Some plot threads get dropped entirely, and there are at least a few pieces of "then many years pass..." which left me wanting more. (Though, perhaps, that "more" would have been worse. It's hard to know.) It does feel a bit like "I need to fill out my outline to meet my deadlines" kind of writing. It's quality, but it's missing the punch of the earlier portions of the book.
I'm still giving the book 5 of 5 stars, though. There are a lot of neat things to think about in here, and generally speaking, it is a very well crafted yarn.
