Debris

Aug 03, 2011 Maja rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: huge-disappointment, moments-of-great-frustration, netgalley, wake-me-up-next-year, horrible-whiner, fantasy, reviewed-in-2011

1.5 star

Why would someone who is so obviously not good at worldbuilding decide to write fantasy is beyond me. I wasted a lot of time trying to find something nice to say about this book, especially because Jo Anderton is a debut author and as such, deserves my best effort. So here it is: the IDEA for Debris was really very interesting. (view spoiler)

Everything was made up of pions, from the...more 1.5 star

Why would someone who is so obviously not good at worldbuilding decide to write fantasy is beyond me. I wasted a lot of time trying to find something nice to say about this book, especially because Jo Anderton is a debut author and as such, deserves my best effort. So here it is: the IDEA for Debris was really very interesting. (view spoiler)

Everything was made up of pions, from the steel in Grandeur’s finger bones to the sun-spotted skin that stretched across the back of my hand. I saw them as lights, a myriad of tiny fireflies.

A woman with the ability to control pions, the smallest particles of I-have-no-idea-what (it was quite unclear) finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy and loses the thing that separates her from the rest of the population. Without her ability to see these particles, she is unable to perform her job at the center of a nine-point circle (quite unclear, too) and has to start collecting debris instead. (Basically she goes from being a CEO to being a trash collector in just a few days.) Seeing as she was blamed for the big accident that, wonder of all wonders, wasn’t her fault at all, veche, the organization that controls everything, makes her work off her debt with a group of debris collectors in the worst part of the city.

This story, in its core, is about class differences and social injustice, but in order to sympathize with anyone, be that an individual or an entire (invisible) layer of society, I must understand the social structure first! The city of Movoc-under-Keeper is controlled by the veche, an omnipotent organization, council or something similar, but the exact nature of veche or how it came to power remains a mystery throughout the novel.

Here's another good thing (good because I found it interesting): the author used a lot of Slavic words and Slavic-sounding names: Tanyana (the main character), Volski, Devich… In fact, the word veche itself is Slavic (that would be vijeće in Croatian) and it means council. So I guess that answers my earlier questions, but it still should have been made clear(er).

Tanyana was a terrible character: no matter how hurt she was or how much they took from her, I found it very hard to feel sorry for her because she was… well, a selfish cow. True, she went from being a Lady to being nobody in a week, she lost everything, including her home and her friends, but she insisted on behaving like a spoiled, irresponsible brat.

I could go on and on about every single thing that was wrong with this book, but it would be a waste of everyone’s time. Here’s what it comes down to: the worldbuilding was incomplete, the main character was whiny and the love story was unconvincing. All in all, I did my best to like it but I really can’t recommend this to anyone.
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Mar 21, 2012 Joel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: did-not-finish, 2012, library-books, sci-fi-fantasy

Yeah, I'm not going to finish this one.

The thing is, I don't think this is a bad book, despite the middling rating here, where anything under, say, 3.75 stars indicates mixed reviews, at best. I thought it was fine. The world is unique, a blend of sci-fi and magic that posits that there are small pieces of energy (pions) in all living things that can be spoken to/manipulated and used to build stuff, move heavy things, generate electricity -- do pretty much anything -- and though many people have...more Yeah, I'm not going to finish this one.

The thing is, I don't think this is a bad book, despite the middling rating here, where anything under, say, 3.75 stars indicates mixed reviews, at best. I thought it was fine. The world is unique, a blend of sci-fi and magic that posits that there are small pieces of energy (pions) in all living things that can be spoken to/manipulated and used to build stuff, move heavy things, generate electricity -- do pretty much anything -- and though many people have minor skill at manipulating them, it is a revered, exclusive class that can control them adroitly.

The first-person narrator is interesting enough -- a pion master who loses control of a construction project, causing extensive damage and suffering an injury that results in the loss of her skills. The central mystery -- what happened to her and why -- is compelling enough. The genre trappings -- the unusual makeup of a pion-powered city, the weird bio-mechanical suit she is forced to wear in her new job as a "debris collector" (too much to explain, never mind) -- are nifty enough. The supporting characters I've encountered so far are fairly cliche but likeable enough.

Really, there is nothing wrong with the book. The whole thing is enough.

Except I don't much care if I finish it. I like reading it fine, but I don't feel compelled to do so. I have no motivation either -- my reading goal for the year is out the window, I got it from the library instead of buying it, it isn't for book club and no one else I know read or recommended it*. So I'm just going to stop. Don't get me wrong, I want to know what happens. I'd totally read a plot summary on Wikipedia to find out. I just won't read 300 more pages.

I might, though, if the cover didn't proudly proclaim "BOOK ONE OF THE VEILED WORLDS." Book one! Book one! I hate seeing book one on the cover for an untried author. Maybe let me decide if I like you before you ask me to commit to an entire series to figure out your story. I didn't like it when Rothfuss did it, and I can't exactly treat you any different. (Lie, I totally can and likely will in the future; I love being contradictory on Goodreads. Pisses people off.)

Aside: the cover of BOOK TWO OF THE VEILED WORLDS is kind of silly, eh?

*partial lie; Goodreads friend Ian recommended it via cover blurb. Sorry, Ian. It's a nice blurb.(less)

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Jul 16, 2012 Ben Babcock rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook, 2012-read, fantasy, urban-fantasy

What do you do when you undergo an accident that leaves you unable to interact with the basic technology underpinning your society? What do you do when that accident leaves you fit for one task few others would care to assume? What do you do when your new status leaves your old friends uncomfortable and your new ones unimpressed with you?

What do you do when it turns out your accident was no accident, and no one will listen?

In Debris, Tanyana is among the elite of Varsnia. In her society, technol...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: spec-fic

C2011. FWFTB: particles, accident, collector, lowest, purpose.
Whoever selects the books for the Angry Robot label deserves a medal and when this one popped up on my radar, there was no doubt that I was just going to have to read it. Unusual and interesting story line with some great characters that appear to have been effortlessly drawn.
The atmosphere and tension that is sustained is excellent and I was shouting at the heroine and doing some vague tsk tsks when I realised what the heroine didn’t...more

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May 13, 2012 Celia Powell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-books, australian-author, sci-fi

It took me ages to finish this book, so I wasn't exactly captivated by it. In a future world, Tanyana is a pion worker - pions, as far as I could tell, are basic building blocks of matter, and Tanyana manipulates them as part of a circle to make grand architectural edifaces. Manipulates them with her braaaain. So it's a little bit fantasy, little bit sci fi - you couldn't call it sci fi, as the details as to how this world functions aren't entirely there.

Anyway, a disaster on one of Tanyana's bu...more

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Feb 05, 2012 Marlene rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Debris, by Jo Anderton, is the first book of The Veiled World Trilogy. It is the story of the catastrophic fall, and eventual stumbling rise, of Tanyana Vladha. It is Tanyana's story, and it is told in her incredibly compelling voice.

Tanyana starts out as a pion-builder in the great city of Movoc-under-Keeper. Pion-builders are a combination of architect, engineer and designer, working with a substance that is part molecule, part light and part magic. It also turns out to be part myth, but that...more Debris, by Jo Anderton, is the first book of The Veiled World Trilogy. It is the story of the catastrophic fall, and eventual stumbling rise, of Tanyana Vladha. It is Tanyana's story, and it is told in her incredibly compelling voice.

Tanyana starts out as a pion-builder in the great city of Movoc-under-Keeper. Pion-builders are a combination of architect, engineer and designer, working with a substance that is part molecule, part light and part magic. It also turns out to be part myth, but that comes later. Most people in Tan's world can see pions, but few can do what she does, bend them to her will to create masterpieces--not just buildings, but also art and sculpture.

800 feet in the air, erecting a statue unfortunately named "Grandeur", in the middle of a surprise inspection by the strange government creatures known as the "veche", Tan's world falls apart. Literally. Her formerly obedient pions go wild, bringing the statue crashing to the ground, on top of her. Her injuries are extreme. Although pions later heal her physical damage, her great statue also struck her in the head, knocking out her ability to even perceive pions.

Tan falls from the elite of the builders to the lowest of the low. Damaged people become "Collectors", those who can see the debris that pion factories produce. Collectors are necessary. Pion factories power the lights, the heat, the water supply--everything we use electricity and fossil fuel for in our world. But debris collecting is dangerous as debris is toxic. So Tan, like all collectors, is fitted with a special collecting "suit", a suit that is bonded to, and extrudes from, her very bones. Her suit provides armor, weapons, and even locator beacons for debris. It also permanently marks her as "other".

Tan tries to juggle her old life and her new one. She doesn't want to fall. She saw what happened at Grandeur, and she knows it was deliberate. But every person involved has been exiled or their career has been derailed or they have been hushed up in some way. She has been changed almost beyond recognition. And in her fall, she discovers a different world, one that might be more genuine than the glittering but superficial society she left. But just as Tan begins to adapt, she learns that, just as the pions at Grandeur were deliberately agitating to crush her, now the debris is increasing, searching for her.

Escape rating A: The first time I sat down with this book, I picked myself up about 100 pages later. Tan is a character that just gets hold of you and doesn't let go. Writing a book in first person perspective is hard, and Anderton made Tan someone I wanted to get to know. I felt for her struggle, even on the occasions when I wanted to slap her to "get real already".

The Russian names of the characters add to the gritty feel. This is a dark, urban landscape, and it feels like it's only going to get darker and grimmer from here. There were glimpses of an older mythology that had been lost in the mists of time that were very nicely done. I'm amazed that this is Anderton's first novel. And I'm truly glad that Suited, the second book in the trilogy, is scheduled for April 2012.(less)

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Jan 20, 2012 Tsana Dolichva rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks

I enjoyed Debris by Jo Anderton.

I read a lot of fantasy, especially by Australian writers (no surprise that they’re dominating my reading so far this year). I’ve found that Australian fantasy is less likely to stick to clichéd convention and in that respect, Debris definitely does not disappoint.

The magical system Anderton has developed is focused around pions — bearing no resemblance to the mesons beloved by particle physicists, if you were wondering — tiny, glowing particles that permeate real...more I enjoyed Debris by Jo Anderton.

I read a lot of fantasy, especially by Australian writers (no surprise that they’re dominating my reading so far this year). I’ve found that Australian fantasy is less likely to stick to clichéd convention and in that respect, Debris definitely does not disappoint.

The magical system Anderton has developed is focused around pions — bearing no resemblance to the mesons beloved by particle physicists, if you were wondering — tiny, glowing particles that permeate reality and which can be manipulated by people sufficiently skilled and trained. Some people can bind pions to their will, some can’t even see them. The debris of the title is magical matter left over from pion binding; useless refuse that disrupts crucial pions if not cleared away. Overall, the world has a little bit of a steampunk feel to it, mostly because that was the level of technology the society reached before the pion revolution something like 200 years before the start of the story.

The main character, Tanyana, is a highly skilled pion binder architect before she falls — both literally and metaphorically — in the first chapter. Or was she pushed? Forced to live the life of a lowly debris collector when her former lifestyle is lost to her, Tanyana struggles to find some explanation for what happened to her. Because she is convinced something else was there, when she fell, something that pushed her but that no one else could see.

I enjoyed Tanyana as a character. She is arrogant, but I didn’t see that as a bad thing. It made her interesting. She is both realistic and self-deluded about different things (for example, she’s not trying to get her life back, rather to find answers, but on the other hand, she tries to cling to the trappings of her old life a little too long). Most of all, when everything is taken from her, she is a survivor. She finds something else to be a part of. Of course, she doesn’t enjoy it at first, but she accepts it fairly quickly.

The other characters weren’t painted nearly as brightly as Tanyana. Mostly, this is due to the first person nature of the narrative. We know exactly what’s going on in Tanyana’s head all the time, but she doesn’t spend overly much time dwelling on other people (barring special exceptions). It was very much a one-woman show, with everyone else playing second fiddle, which isn’t a bad thing, given the external events also revolve about Tanyana. The only thing, characterisation-wise, that put me off a bit was her love interest. In the scene where they first hook up, I couldn’t really understand at the time why she interested in him, beyond the fact that he provoked her. It does make sense in retrospect, and the subsequent interactions between them worked well, but at the time that first scene left me ambivalent.

The conspiracy and the action in the latter half of the book had be eagerly turning the pages, however it started a more slowly and built up the world gradually. Also, while the climax was very much the most crucial scene in the book, I found the penultimate all-hell-breaks-loose disaster more exciting, in the action-packed sense.

As I said at the start, I enjoyed this book a lot. I am looking forward to reading the sequel out in July this year.

I am also about to go off and read Grandeur, a prequel short story which you can find on Jo Anderton’s website here.(less)

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Jan 26, 2012 Amber rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This books is, in many ways, difficult to categorize. It's not traditional fantasy, because the setting is futuristic rather than medieval, but it's not really science fiction, because the fantastical elements are more like a magic system than a scientific gadget or principle. It's not really a YA title, but it has many elements usually found in that genre, and is driven by a coming-of-age type character arc. Despite being quite difficult to classify it is an enjoyable book, although not without...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Sean the Bookonaut rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Someone is doing a damn fine job at Angry Robot in picking up talented authors. Debris is Jo Anderton’s debut novel, though you wouldn’t know it on a reading of Debris.

Jo blends genres with the skill of someone who has more than one novel under their wing.

Like Jamieson’s Roil, Debris is a book that avoids being easily categorised. Angry Robot calls it Science Fantasy and files it under Science Fiction. I am at a loss to come up with anything more definitive or more accurate than that.

The world...more Someone is doing a damn fine job at Angry Robot in picking up talented authors. Debris is Jo Anderton’s debut novel, though you wouldn’t know it on a reading of Debris.

Jo blends genres with the skill of someone who has more than one novel under their wing.

Like Jamieson’s Roil, Debris is a book that avoids being easily categorised. Angry Robot calls it Science Fantasy and files it under Science Fiction. I am at a loss to come up with anything more definitive or more accurate than that.

The world building is infused with a number of influences that create a unique and coherent world. The naming of the characters has an Eastern European or Russian flavour, this combined with the symbol of the bear, the ever watchful “puppet men”, the cold and the references to the old city gave me a strong post glasnost/ final fantasy feel.

The magic system, while definitely fantastical is presented in such away that it feels very much like a technology, the result of a revolution like the Industrial. Pion’s to me, don’t seem to be a mystical force, more like sub atomic particles. It feels perhaps like magic but with modern technical sensibility or perspective placed upon it.

The wonderful world building aside, the core of this novel is the unravelling of a mystery and a search for justice'- there’s adventure, some explicit romance but ultimately Anderton hooks us in and tantalises us with mysteries both central to the plot and tangential.

Tanyana is a strong character and Anderton has done a wonderful job of pointing her in harms way without resorting to clichéd fantasy tropes. There’s no rampaging orcs, or evil outsiders. Indeed there’s a small element of distrust in the powers that be, the powers that are supposed to look after the people of the city of Movoc-under-Keeper.

It’s worth noting that Debris written in the first person, which can be a difficult perspective to pull off for experienced authors. Anderton has done it well, all the more so for it being her first outing. This point of view created an intimacy that drew me in as a reader, that and the fall from grace and resurrection made her readily identifiable and familiar.

For all its brilliance I felt the ending was a little toned down. A side effect of Anderton’s wonderful world building. I was expecting more revelations perhaps. This is a small disappointment though and I would heartily recommend it to lovers of science fiction and fantasy.

It falls into that category of wonderful books that play successfully with different genres in interesting ways. You’ll enjoy it if you like Roil, The Alloy of Law or Burn Bright.

It is both gritty and fantastical. I can’t wait for Suited (book two) in the middle of the year.

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Sep 23, 2011 Jo (Mixed Book Bag) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

[Image]“In a far future where technology is all but indistinguishable from magic, Tanyana is one of the elite.

She can control pions, the building blocks of matter, shaping them into new forms using ritual gestures and techniques. The rewards are great, and she is one of most highly regarded people in the city. But that was before the “accident”.”

She goes from one of the most highly regarded people in the city to one of the lowest. Jo Anderton has built an unusual world and has used the story and...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Steve Johnston rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thought this was a decent book and got a reasonable amount of enjoyment reading it. I didn't find myself as annoyed with the main character as others did. I think this book would have benefitted from a revision before releasing.

I like the general concept behind the story. There are some things that bother me though. The whole story centers around the city and every once in a while mention is made of other cities / lands. Either drop anything outside of the city or make it part of the story. A...more

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Jun 22, 2011 Miranda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

Debris, while I rather enjoyed it, does have some major issues I hope will be fixed in the sequel. My biggest issue with the novel was the pacing. It was really rather slow, and while this comes down on the tastes of the reader, I found my interest waning a bit in the middle because the pacing was dragging. There were interesting things happening, but since Tanyana, for most of the novel, is kept from pursuing them, nothing really comes from them until the end. Thankfully the beginning and the e...more Debris, while I rather enjoyed it, does have some major issues I hope will be fixed in the sequel. My biggest issue with the novel was the pacing. It was really rather slow, and while this comes down on the tastes of the reader, I found my interest waning a bit in the middle because the pacing was dragging. There were interesting things happening, but since Tanyana, for most of the novel, is kept from pursuing them, nothing really comes from them until the end. Thankfully the beginning and the end part make up for the middle, especially the end, where Anderton weaves her mythology and world building together to give the reader a taste of what she has in store for the sequel. In fact I’ll most likely check out the sequel based on the strength of the ending alone, though the novel itself was strong enough to keep me interested.

Tanyana, in the beginning, is actually unlikable. At one point in the novel, after the accident and her switch to her new job, which is far away from her home, she throws a fit about how much landau (cab/transportation) fare costs and uses her previous status to bully the man into lowering the fare. The man, as far as I knew, was telling the truth about how much it cost to drive her from one place to the other, as the text gave no other indication that he was trying to cheat her. It left a bad taste in my mouth after I had sympathized with Tanyana in the beginning, that she should do something like that. You could probably try to pass it off as her not adapting well to her new situation, which she doesn’t, but bullying a person into paying a substantially lower amount for his services, no matter how crappy, does not endear me to a character. There’s also the irritating character trait of hers to put off doing things that are exceedingly important, such as refusing to look for a new house because she still hasn’t accepted her new situation and the fact that her new paycheck can’t support her. When these decisions lead to their logical conclusions it was hard to feel a great deal of sympathy for her.

Thankfully Tanyana grows and learns, and once she accepted her situation for what it is, I found myself liking her again. By the end I had thoroughly enjoyed watching her develop, especially as a major moment in the end of the book is a very empowering thing to read and watch her go through. Unfortunately in contrast it seemed like the secondary characters didn’t get as much development as she did, or the two other main characters, Kichlan and his brother Lad. Which is fair, I suppose, as at the heart of it, Debris is a story about these three people. But when all I know about their four debris collecting team mates is that one just intensely dislikes Tanyana and may be in love with Kichlan, one is pouty and overly negative, and two are some rather morbidly humorous twins, that may be a sign that there needs to be more growth or focus on these characters, especially as they’re present for a large part of the novel. I sincerely hope that more focus is put on them in the sequel and they develop as much as Tanyana and Kichlan developed in this one.

The same can sadly be said for Tanyana’s main love interest, Devich. She and him got together with very little development to that point, and while I see why Anderton wrote it that way, it was still a little off putting at first. It’s easier to swallow now that I know what happens but it may be a little hard for others to take in at first. I called how his character would end up pretty early on, so while I wasn’t surprised it happened, I might have been able to feel more... something towards it if their relationship had been a bit more believable. I’m interested in seeing if the romantic relationship between Tanyana and another character is dealt with the same in the next book.

The writing was good and smooth, though at times some of the descriptions were a bit odd. There’s a scene near the beginning that’s honestly downright chilling, and the accident that causes everything was beautifully written in a tragic sort of way. Still, I never quite felt like Anderton was forcing anything out, which is always a major plus. The world building is obviously well done, and I’m honestly couldn't have called the twist about the debris if I tried. It was definitely well thought out and Anderton has obviously put a lot of work into Movoc, and it's a world I'm looking forward to seeing more of.

Overall, while it had some problems that kept it from being a great read, I enjoyed Debris. It’s a slow novel that’s getting the pieces set out for future installments and that’s fine. There’s a good enough basis here that if the issues are worked on, it would be a great book. As it is I’m interested in seeing how things play out for Tanyana and Movoc, so I’ll most likely be looking into the sequel when it comes out.

A galley of this title was generously provided by the publisher through NetGalley.(less)

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Jun 29, 2011 Jane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

In many ways Debris was a somewhat frustrating read. The world-building is top-notch and the premise of the plot is intriguing. It's just that, while it is a solid read, the book doesn't really fulfill the promise that those two elements suggest.

Tanyana works pions - the smallest particles of energy/matter that make up every object in Movoc. Her ability is so great that she has become one of the premiere architects in the city. Her latest project is working on a massive 800 foot tall sculpture t...more In many ways Debris was a somewhat frustrating read. The world-building is top-notch and the premise of the plot is intriguing. It's just that, while it is a solid read, the book doesn't really fulfill the promise that those two elements suggest.

Tanyana works pions - the smallest particles of energy/matter that make up every object in Movoc. Her ability is so great that she has become one of the premiere architects in the city. Her latest project is working on a massive 800 foot tall sculpture that will put her at the pinnacle of her profession. One day as she works the pions with her circle, she begins to lose control of the pions. They seem to almost be working against her rather then with her and the loss of control is so great that the massive statue comes crashing down, taking Tanyana with it.

When Tanyana wakes, she finds herself scarred and alone in a bleak room. And for the first time in her life she is unable to see any pions at all. Without that ability, the powers that be decide the only thing she will now be able to do is collect debris. Debris are the remnants left over from all those pions being put to work. It gathers in pockets and must be collected or it will gum up the works. Before she can process what has happened, Tanyana is assigned to a debris collecting team and abandoned by just about everyone who knew her. Her only remaining connection is Devich, the man who is responsible for implanting the strange metal that makes up the suit she needs for debris collecting. While she adjusts to her new circumstances Tanyana gets to know her team-leader, Kichlan and his apparently developmentally delayed brother Lad.

I kept thinking, as I read, that this was a YA novel. Tanyana's personal story arc, from arrogant architect to humbled but wiser debris collector feels a bit coming-of-age. While it is understandable that this tragedy has had an earth-shaking effect on her psyche, Tanyana's immaturity in the face of it reads more like a teenager's response then an adult's. She is determined to prove the accident was not her fault and yet every time she gets a small piece of the puzzle, she lets it drop and attempts more denial. Part of this is writerly - in that the author needs to keep the reader in the dark and thus Tanyana remains willfully blind - but part of it is Tanyana's character as written. When she realizes, early on, that she in no way will be able to pay her bills in her swank apartment, does she attempt to sell the belongings that are worth some money and find a cheaper place? No, she pretends that bills and rent don't exist and then is shocked when violent men come to the apartment to throw her out and take all her belongings to pay those bills.

This example is indicative of who Tanyana is. When something displeases her, she pretends it doesn't exist. When something frustrates her, she lets it drop. It makes her realistic as human beings go, but it also makes her hard to root for. When she does so little to control her own trajectory, she becomes less interesting. As I said, some of this is writerly choice in setting up the suspense and I get that. But it also affects the pacing. Tanyana's inertia makes the middle part of the book slow-going as she shows little progress - either in her quest or in her personal life.

All that said, I do think there is a very clever idea here and the author has done a good job of creating her world. Enough so that I will read the next book.(less)

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Sep 19, 2011 Justin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-debut, read-2011, fantasy, 2011-release, angry-robot

http://staffersmusings.blogspot.com/2...

I think I've mentioned this observation in the past, but it continues to prove out the more books I read from the 2011 catalog. First person person narrators are hip in the publishing world. I was listening to an Odyssey podcast the other day and Richard Sawyer was talking about point of view. He made the remark that something like 80% of fantasy and science fiction is written in the third person. In years past, I would totally agree. Today it seems that m...more

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Jul 03, 2011 Cat rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook

The world of Debris is a fantastic place. I think the author did a fantastic job of creating this world without overloading us with information all at once. I did take it upon myself to look up the definition of a pion. For the record, a pion is: a meson that is a combination of up and down quarks and antiquarks, that may be positive, negative, or neutral, and that has a mass about 270 times that of the electron (from Merriam-Webster). Basically, it’s a really small bit of energy, which is what...more The world of Debris is a fantastic place. I think the author did a fantastic job of creating this world without overloading us with information all at once. I did take it upon myself to look up the definition of a pion. For the record, a pion is: a meson that is a combination of up and down quarks and antiquarks, that may be positive, negative, or neutral, and that has a mass about 270 times that of the electron (from Merriam-Webster). Basically, it’s a really small bit of energy, which is what you get from the book anyway.

The entire book is very cleverly imagined. It’s the most original sci fi/fantasy story I’ve read in a long time. It’s a world where energy – little bits of energy – is everything. The worldbuilding elements are all there. There is a lot of description in a lot of points, but it is not burdensome. We see the world as Tanyana does; we follow her every step up of the way from her fall and the lost of her power. When Tanyana loses her ability to see or manipulate that energy, the world goes dark, to a certain extent. Things like paper and gas lamps are nearly unheard of among higher circles. Only those who can’t see the energy – can’t see pions – use those sorts of things. While there is a lot of description in certain parts, there are sometimes where there is not enough description. I think it was a bit unbalanced, there were chapters where I wished the circumstances were better described, and still other chapters where they were described far too well. It was well done and clever enough that this didn't bother me as much as it might have in another book.

I’m going to assume that Tanyana was not supposed to be likeable in the beginning. Sometimes, I would feel sorry for her and I would wish her better luck, but then the very next page and I’d change my mind. She’s selfish and she believes she deserves better treatment than the entire rest of the population. Tanyana was skilled, she was the best there was, and she lost it all. She was used to being treated better for what she could do, now she has to learn how to prove herself for who she truly was. She grows toward the end of the book, just as a character should. At the beginning, she is insistent that no one could possibly know or understand her. I mean, how in the world could these people possibly know what happened to her? I wouldn’t suppose that there’s something like gossip in her world? If there is, she seems to think she’s above it. By the end, she is more willing to understand. By the end, Tanyana has formed a bond with the people she never would have looked at before and was willing to fight for them, as we see in the final pages of this book. I found that I enjoyed watching her journey from rich snob to understanding debris collector. She learns throughout the book, exactly as a good character should. At the end of the book, I appreciate her journey and I'm excited to see her grow more in the next one.

The book was captivating. It not only bought my attention but it also earned it. Except for the slow beginning, there wasn’t a moment where I didn’t want to flip to the next page. Most of this book was read during my breaks at work. I hate taking breaks because I hate not doing anything, it’s just a character flaw, but this book made me look forward to my breaks. It made me wish they were longer so I could read more. I loved that there was no dumping of information in the book. There were things in the book that were never exactly explained, they simply had to be discovered or inferred. Other things were explained later as they were explained to Tanyana. It was very well done, though, and I never really felt confused or lost in the book.

There were a few things about the book that bothered me. First was the unanswered questions. So many questions were raised in the process of this novel and only a few were answered or sort of explained. I suppose thats what the sequel is for, but now I'm concerned that this will turn into an infodump in the next book. I felt like the promise of this novel wasn't particularly fulfilled within the pages of this book, but I guess I had originally assumed it was standalone. I guess we'll see with the sequel. Part of me wishes it was a standalone novel, if simply for the fact that I generally tend to prefer standalone against series. I also didn't appreciate the abundance of sex scenes in the novel. Ok, so I use abundance a bit liberally, but my point remains: there was no point. They served no purpose and did nothing to push the plot along. Nevermind the moral issue of it for a minute, there was no reason for them. Even the romance itself approached too quickly for me, although that was a little more forgivable. The romance itself helped to push the plot along, it made sense for Tanyana and where she was at that time. The sex didn't. I think it was just an unnecessary plot point and could have very well been excluded.

Over all, a great debut novel from Jo Anderton. I’m looking forward to seeing more from her in the future – especially a certain book two coming out next year – and I definitely think she has a lot of potential as a science fiction author.

(See original review here.)(less)

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Nov 14, 2011 Jacqie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: didnt-finish

Got about 75 pages in and didn't feel like picking it up after I'd put it down. I liked the pion idea, which was an interesting visual, and the first scene was strongly built. But then we went abruptly to a hospital, our main character was "suited" (still no idea what that means, what it does, or any social context with it)meets a creepy doctor that I'm afraid is going to be her love interest, and then bemoans her fate at home. I don't mind being put into a story without info-dumps and kind of f...more

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May 19, 2012 Paul rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed Jo Anderton's debut novel. Its very different from the fantasy / sci-fi that I normally read and I'm glad to have taken a chance on this book. The author has created a very strong character to narrate the story, though I did take some time to warm to her, which was one of the things I enjoyed most about this book. With only a few exceptions, none of the principle characters end the book the same as they started it, and being a part of their journey is one reason I liked it so mu...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Lyn Battersby rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hand on my heart one of the best science fantasy novel I have ever read. Like my favourite Science Fantasy novelist, Sharon Shinn, Anderton invests as much interest into her characters as she does the Science and Fantasy elements.

If I must have a quibble (and yes, I must) I have to say I'm never fond of authors who masculinise a female protagonist in order to make them credible in their job/role. Chop Tanyana's hair short. Fine. I have short hair, so I know short hair is sexy. But does she reall...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Ranting Dragon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: michelle

http://www.rantingdragon.com/debris-t...

Debris is the debut novel of Australian author Jo Anderton and the first in a projected trilogy, The Veiled Worlds, to be published by Angry Robot Books. Despite some minor flaws, Debris is quite a solid first novel and showcases Anderton’s substantial storytelling talent, marking her as a name to watch in the future.

What goes up must come down
Debris takes place in Movoc, a remarkable technologically advanced city that sits in the shadow of a symbolic moun...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Melanti rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-book, 2012

Very good in terms of character-building but a little too light on the world-building.

I’m fascinated by the magic/technology system, yet we’re only starting to understand it at the very end of the novel. I don’t want the pions/debris to be explained in any technical detail – I don’t think there’s any sort of scientific explanation that would hold water, so it’s best not to bother. But I would have liked to have had a bit more of the history of the world; maybe how they discovered pions, or how i...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Ove rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Who did this to me?

This is a different universe with advanced technology built on something that looks like magic. Some people have the ability to see and manipulate invisible entities or particles called pions much like magic. They use it for everything we use technology for. It is hinted in the novel that they have used technology at some time in their history but it got replaced when the pions were discovered.

There is a problem though, using pions also create a waste substance called debris (...more Who did this to me?

This is a different universe with advanced technology built on something that looks like magic. Some people have the ability to see and manipulate invisible entities or particles called pions much like magic. They use it for everything we use technology for. It is hinted in the novel that they have used technology at some time in their history but it got replaced when the pions were discovered.

There is a problem though, using pions also create a waste substance called debris (thus the name of the book) and the lowest of the low in society are the debris collectors.

This is the tale of Tanyana, a successful and powerful pion-binder architect who survives a pion related accident that robs her of her powers and she has to start life as a debris collector. She is convinced someone did this to her and her quest to find out who uncovers truths she never imagined.

This fall from high above to the underside of society reveals how unjust her society is and Tanyana takes a good look at herself and those around her. Things are not made simpler by two love interests she has to deal with in the story, one from high society and one from below.

One thing i found had a lot of symbolism in was the way the government trapped her in a special suit for her to become a debris collector. The suit was rather cool in many ways but it was still trapping her and sat her aside in society.

I am a character person and this book has some good characters maybe of the more typical kind but I enjoyed them. Tanyana’s interaction with the collector team was a great part of my enjoyment with the story, they have some great characters there.

There is an overall mystery about the history of the world and the nature of pions and Tanyana’s flair with them I am sure we will learn more about as the series progresses.

This is mostly fantasy but I am not sure if this is just fantasy, it could as well be science fiction so fans of both can enjoy this book.

Jo Anderton pleases me well with her first novel. I would gladly read more by her. Fortunately Debris is the first in a series. I look forward to the next installment.(less)

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Jul 02, 2011 Jessica rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: advanced-review-copy, fantasy

The problem with having the narrative in 1st person POV is that loads of internal dialog ranging in tone between bitter, self-righteous, whiny and (deliberately) clueless can create a truly irritating main character. Add to that muddled world-building (the whole pion binding thing still makes very little practical sense to me) and an unengaging plot stretched out over a few hundred seemingly-endless pages, and I did not enjoy this book at all.

I tried, I really did. I wanted to find something to...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Amanda Meggs rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dark but hopeful, Debris is one of the most innovative storylines I've read in a long, long time. The world building is descriptive without being too long winded. Tan's team are all well finished characters, all of whom may not even like her, they still work together to get their job done. Kichlan, Lad, Yicor, Valya and Eugeny all characters with a depth yet to be explored but certainly waiting to be told.

The puppet men are a 'faceless' enemy that Tan doesn't understand but never-the-less fears....more

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Apr 22, 2012 Faith Chin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: grade-6

This book was simply amazing! But, at times where there are still some confusing parts. In fact, this book is quite hard to understand. This book is about Tanyana Vladha, a girl in a far-future society. She is able to move and talk to these particles called "pions" that can create beautiful things. She was the strongest architect and among the highest ranking pion-benders able to bend these pions. She used pions to make all sorts of unique things. You see, in her city, everything is made out of...more This book was simply amazing! But, at times where there are still some confusing parts. In fact, this book is quite hard to understand. This book is about Tanyana Vladha, a girl in a far-future society. She is able to move and talk to these particles called "pions" that can create beautiful things. She was the strongest architect and among the highest ranking pion-benders able to bend these pions. She used pions to make all sorts of unique things. You see, in her city, everything is made out of pions. Pions create light, pions create color so everything looked beautiful, pions create water and everything else. But one day, as she was building a 800 ft statue, unusual red pions attacked her. Knocked her down, which led her to bruises, cuts, stitches and scars in the hospital. But, the sad thing is, because of that horrible accident, she couldn't see or talk to anymore pions, so she was cast to the lowest rank in her city, little more than a debris collector. But, she was told that if she was the best at pion-bending, then she was also the best at debris collecting. She was given a suit of silver bands literally stitched on to her wrists, ankles, neck and waist. They will never come off her. Little did she know what is installed for her. She encounters new adventures as she learns how to use her suit. She can use it to find debris, weapons and even to coat herself in a silver suit, kinda like the Silver Surfer. But, one of her team members, Lad, a mental boy who was able to talk to debris and he can hear them, which makes him able to find debris in seconds. Later, Tanyana was able to do that too. But, how does Lad do that? How does Tanyana do that? How did Tanyana came here? Who did this to her? Why was she the targeted person to become a collector? She searches for an answer. So what's the theme for this book? I believe it's: Never give up and never stop searching for what you are looking for. I think that's the theme because Tanyana never gave up on being a debris collector, even though she didn't like it. Instead of being sulky about it, she learns how to be one and learn what to do. She also never gave up and never stop searching on what she needed to find out about debris, herself, Lad, about her city, and also about the people who targeted on her and made her like this. She wants to know why, so she finds the answer. And she did. (less)

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Oct 14, 2012 William rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover but take one look at the thing and tell me what you see? Because I see a woman seemingly going all kinds of ape sh*t, raising a city to the ground with a deft mix of telekinesis and awesomeness. And also a blimp in the background for some reason!?

So yeah, none of that is in the book... A shame? maybe. The ultimate riddle however is why the blimp? Think about it! It just makes no sense, Damn it why a blimp??? It's just so random. The whole...more I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover but take one look at the thing and tell me what you see? Because I see a woman seemingly going all kinds of ape sh*t, raising a city to the ground with a deft mix of telekinesis and awesomeness. And also a blimp in the background for some reason!?

So yeah, none of that is in the book... A shame? maybe. The ultimate riddle however is why the blimp? Think about it! It just makes no sense, Damn it why a blimp??? It's just so random. The whole book I'm thinking "wow this Tanyana's really not so bright... I wonder what happens with the blimp?" The books actually not bad. And it really doesn't matter. But I just, why? you know?

In a nutshell, Tanyana is this crazy gifted pion bender and head Architect of her own 9 point circle. Well at least for about a chapter and a half. In a slick move somebody manages to destroy her latest project Grandeur, a giant ass statue of a Lady doing an I'm awesome pose. Not only making it look like it was her fault and effectively destroying her social status, but also her ability to see and manipulate pions along with it. Life changing hilarity ensues.

The book is kind of a slow read. Consequently it didnt feel like anything of any real importance was going on for the majority of the middle. That being said, I liked the world. It's well written and is definitely building to something much bigger which has all the potential of being quite awesome.

Some of the below might spoil some of the story if you haven't read it.

I stand by that I liked the world but holy Hell Movocs-under-Keeper is a terrible place to live. Apparently being convicted after a trial where you could give no defence because you were still unconscious is perfectly normal!? And then there's the waking up in a hospital and having a metal suit jammed into you body without your consent. In this city the Government can drain your bank accounts at will, Universities can revoke you from their honour role and pretty much everybody hates you for no apparent reason.

Seriously! there is a lot of hating in the book that I didn't entirely get. People just seemed to get their hate on for seemingly no other reason than just because. Random teachers, receptionists, debt collectors, even just people passing by on the street. I get that the city is all about class difference but it gets a little crazy. Like that one chick from the Debris team, the f*ck was her problem anyway? You almost get so used to it that at one point everybody seems to be angry at the main character for fighting the debris and pretty much saving their lives and it almost doesn't feel irrational.

You also really didn't get that much out of the other characters which really could have helped level things out with the main character. Understandably the point of view style does make it difficult. However I thought that the author danced dangerously close to that line between a somewhat naive main character and just making the character conveniently clueless in the parts that she wanted. And if there was, say, a few more scenes with the twins, who were probably the most likeable characters (next to Kichlan), or the Dude with the big library to add some more depth to what was happening. I think it may have balanced out Tanyanas general obliviousness or at the very least made it less in your face. Besides those guys were awesome and I could have read more with them in it.

I can't begin to express my relief that she didn't go with the YA love triangle. It came close there for a minute, but I don't think anybody was surprised by Devich so it was just a waiting game. I actually didn't mind what happened there. Don't get me wrong, the dude just screamed restraining order right from the get go but the main character was very much alone and had lost everything! So come on, give her a break. Plus Devich was not a bad transitional piece to parallel her state of mind as things progressed.

Overall there is some good stuff mixed with some horribly irritating stuff which can tip the scale one way or the other.But I dare say that all three books put together will make a pretty great story.(less)

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Feb 03, 2012 Mark Webb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review forms part of my contribution to theAustralian Women Writers 2012 Reading Challenge.

Debrisis the debut novel from Jo Anderton, a Sydney based author.

This story has an interesting premise - a world that has been built around a form of magic, the manipulation of tiny particles called pions. The resulting society is not your typical medieval high-fantasy arrangement, rather represents an alternative development path that has incorporated pions into technology to reach a more urban level...more

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Nov 16, 2011 J.M. Jeffries rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Picked this up out of curiosity and couldn't put it down. Read the whole story in two days.

Tanyana is a binder of pions, the units that are the building blocks of her world. When a accident takes away her ability to see the pions, she sinks from being the best of what she does to the lowest most despised level of duty in her world. Now she collects debris, the waste from pions, and is scorned by those in upper levels.

This unusual fantasy combined with steampunk was so intriguing I couldn't sto...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Barbara ★ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, female-lead, first-in-series, read-2012, h-h-abused-tortured, h-h-disfigured-handicapped, paranormal-magic, series-r-us

In Movoc-under-Keeper you are either a pion worker or a debris collector. A pion handler gets paid the rather big bucks because they can create darn near anything from buildings to statues to electricity and everything in between. A pion handler is sort of a magician. They use an inherent magical ability to manipulate pions. On the other hand, a debris collector is sort of like a garbage man and gets paid accordingly; picking up the hazardous waste by-producs of the pion usage. The debris is str...more

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Nov 23, 2012 Lesley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although this had a number of things that are not on my completely don't-touch-with-a-tenfoot-bargepole list but do tend me to be somewhat disinclined towards a narrative (I really have less and less patience with first person stroppy alpha female narrators when there are no other significant women characters and the various supporting ones are largely weak, bitchy, or rivalrous, while all plot-important interactions are with male characters; and the initial plot set-up I found a bit been there...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Bibliotropic rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Even if I hadn't read a description of this novel that said it drew many themes from manga and anime, I would have been able to tell. It was quite easy to picture this entire novel as an anime, and to that end, the themes and imagery were quite clear and creative, and I would have very much enjoyed watching it.

But some things that would be great visually don't always transfer well to text, and I found this to be the case in a few instances of Debris Not that the novel was lacking or flawed in th...more Even if I hadn't read a description of this novel that said it drew many themes from manga and anime, I would have been able to tell. It was quite easy to picture this entire novel as an anime, and to that end, the themes and imagery were quite clear and creative, and I would have very much enjoyed watching it.

But some things that would be great visually don't always transfer well to text, and I found this to be the case in a few instances of Debris Not that the novel was lacking or flawed in that sense, but I found myself thinking more than once that one scene or another would have made a better visual presentation than a textual one. This was particularly the case when it came to the character of Tanyana investigating debris. Many of the attacks and overloads of debris felt episodic rather than part of a flowing story, almost in the way that shows do when they fill half of their episodes of "new bad guy of the week" plots.

Still, it's quite clear that Anderton has a brilliantly creative mind, and really put the effort into world-building. Creating the history of the world with brief tie-ins to our own history, culture-building, creating rich and interesting characters; it was all there, and it was a treat to read. Her writing and smooth and moved the plot along quite easily, and in spite of the somewhat episodic segments of the story, the pacing was also quite good, pulling the reader in and building layers onto the mystery of pions, debris, and the puppet-men who watched over everything that was happening.

Where it seemed Anderton fell down, though, was in foreshadowing. From the very beginning it was clear that Devich wasn't all he appeared to be, and that although Tanyana had some friction with Kichlan (no rhyming pun intended), they were obviously going to sort it out and get involved with each other. Kichlan almost fit the "grumpy love interest" archetype to a T, and Devich practically wandered around carrying a sign reading, "I'm using you, Tanyana," the entire time. Why Tanyana didn't pick up on at least Devich's motivations, I can't say. She's demonstrably not a stupid woman, but he practically tells her that he's going to betray her at one point and she just brushes it off. Subtlty was not the name of the game in Debris, and it spoiled a bit of the reading for me. It's hard to want to invest yourself in a character when you can't help but wonder how she can be so uncharacteristically blind.

Still, for the few flaws it had, it was still fun to read, and I enjoyed Anderton's writing and creativity more than enough to want to read the sequel when it's released. While this may not be the book for everyone, it definitely had strong merits that endeared me to it, and I enjoyed following the plot and trying to figure out the mystery of debris and pions alongside Tanyana. I would recommend this book mostly to fantasy fans who are accustomed to the plot and imagery found in anime, as I think that would help them appreciate it all the more, and to those fans who are looking for an easy and fun read that doesn't lack for mystery and talent.(less)

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Debris (The Veiled Worlds #1)

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