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84th out of 146 books
—
350 voters
Newton's Wake: A Space Opera
by
Ken MacLeod
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
In the aftermath of the Hard Rapture-a cataclysmic war sparked by the explosive evolution of Earth's artificial intelligences into godlike beings-a few remnants of humanity managed to survive. Some even prospered.
Lucinda Carlyle, head of an ambitious clan of galactic entrepreneurs, had carved out a profitable niche for herself and her kin by taking contr...more
In the aftermath of the Hard Rapture-a cataclysmic war sparked by the explosive evolution of Earth's artificial intelligences into godlike beings-a few remnants of humanity managed to survive. Some even prospered.
Lucinda Carlyle, head of an ambitious clan of galactic entrepreneurs, had carved out a profitable niche for herself and her kin by taking contr...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
March 1st 2005
by Tor Science Fiction
(first published 2004)
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MacLeod's space opera follows nowadays common threat: the humanity is out there in the space and possesses wondrous technology which it does not fully understand and doesn't even put this understanding very high on its list of future goals. So the humanity stumbles on in an eternal struggle between its various factions a little bit afraid what might lay ahead and some what concerned about what it has created in the past.
So the story follows the many factions of humanity, the ones that were left...more
So the story follows the many factions of humanity, the ones that were left...more
Newton's Wake by Ken MacLeod has some good ideas and interesting characters within it's pages but in the end it can't find an ending or a villain to cheer for when the good guys possibly win the day.
Taking place in the future where singularities, faster than light travel and backing yourself up before going out on a dangerous mission the story is quite simple: A group of combat archeologists find a world named Eurydice that was cut off from Earth after a devastating war and bit by bit everyone f...more
Taking place in the future where singularities, faster than light travel and backing yourself up before going out on a dangerous mission the story is quite simple: A group of combat archeologists find a world named Eurydice that was cut off from Earth after a devastating war and bit by bit everyone f...more
'Where is here, anyway?'
'We call the planet Eurydice. The star — we don't have a name for it. We know it is in the Sagittarius Arm.’
'No shit!' Carlyle grinned with unfeigned delight. 'We didn't know the skein stretched this far.'
'Skein?'
She waved her hands. 'That wormhole, it's linked to lots of others in a sort of messy tangle.'
He stared at her' his teeth playing on his lower lip.
'And you and your colleagues came here through the wormhole?'
'Of course.' She wrapped her arms around herself while...more
'We call the planet Eurydice. The star — we don't have a name for it. We know it is in the Sagittarius Arm.’
'No shit!' Carlyle grinned with unfeigned delight. 'We didn't know the skein stretched this far.'
'Skein?'
She waved her hands. 'That wormhole, it's linked to lots of others in a sort of messy tangle.'
He stared at her' his teeth playing on his lower lip.
'And you and your colleagues came here through the wormhole?'
'Of course.' She wrapped her arms around herself while...more
You know...there was nothing really wrong with this book. It just never really grabbed me all that firmly. I kept losing interest in the plot throughout. It seems like the sort of thing I should like--crazy far future space stuff, horrifying posthuman artifacts, adventure and solid writing--but it just never came together in any sort of magic way.
Like, the plot just doesn't even leap out at me. I couldn't really tell you what the plot is, because nothing in the book strikes me as important enoug...more
Like, the plot just doesn't even leap out at me. I couldn't really tell you what the plot is, because nothing in the book strikes me as important enoug...more
Reminded me a bit of Vernor Vinge's _A Fire Upon The Deep_. (A favorite of mine.) For the most part enjoyed the first 80% of the novel. After that though it became unclear what was going on, and more especially _Why_. We are left with soft, dream-like imagery with no real conflicts to speak of. Along that line, the conflict we should be speaking of, the one the novel sets up pieces and relationships for, builds up for most of the work, passes by quickly once it happens, almost a non-event (aside...more
The book presents an some interesting ideas, but the author has a long way to go to make truly wonderful science fiction. The potential is there.
The story doesn't really seem to start until about halfway through the book. The beginning section provides some information about the world of the book, but it does not provide anything to the story or the characters. It is often muddy, dragging, and really doesn't have a direction.
There is also a story line about singers that seems forced into the boo...more
The story doesn't really seem to start until about halfway through the book. The beginning section provides some information about the world of the book, but it does not provide anything to the story or the characters. It is often muddy, dragging, and really doesn't have a direction.
There is also a story line about singers that seems forced into the boo...more
I wanted some chewy scifi (nothing hard enough to require work, just something a bit toothsome). This got the job done – post singularity wormhole explorers playing in the remnants of godlike AI’s, space communists, mass consciousness uploads, etc. Second cousin to Stargate original flavor with a certain Kage Baker-ish soupcon to the protagonist, the faintest touch of the gigglies, and some deliberately terrible folk music as a bonus. Nothing groundbreaking or particularly new or exciting, but i...more
1 like · like · see review
I loved both Ken MacLeod's Fall Revolution tetralogy and Engines of Light trilogy but this, the first standalone novel by him that I have read, was a bit of a disappointment. I think MacLeod is likely one of the most intellectually brilliant authors writing Science Fiction today, and he definitely has one of the most fertile (and bizarre) imaginations, but both those things seem to be getting in the way of making a Newton’s Wake live up to his previous work. While the novel is packed full to ove...more
Dec 17, 2008
Susanne
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
MacLeod fans
Recommended to Susanne by:
internets
Shelves:
sff
Ended up with only 3 stars because it starts to drag around the half-way mark. I hugely enjoyed the beginning, I liked the concept and the posthuman history - I like having me my post-singularity explained and shown in sprinkled detail.
But once the Lamont plot strand kick in, I'd have wished for a more speedy execution. Everything just seems to take too long - a sign that I'm getting impatient and not being invested enough in the story.
I couldn't bring myself to enjoy the Ben-Ami/Winter/Calder s...more
But once the Lamont plot strand kick in, I'd have wished for a more speedy execution. Everything just seems to take too long - a sign that I'm getting impatient and not being invested enough in the story.
I couldn't bring myself to enjoy the Ben-Ami/Winter/Calder s...more
Maybe if io9 hadn't pumped up my expectations so much, I would have enjoyed this one more. Not bad—a fun read, in fact—but not one "that will change your life".
Ken MacLeod gives us a fun, rollicking space opera replete with the familiar tropes of faster-than-light ships (bounded by causality laws), wormhole gates (set up as a network for traveling), posthuman minds (bounded by virtual reality prisons), and the fractured competing empires of humankind (in exodus). MacLeod's story borrows a bit fr...more
Ken MacLeod gives us a fun, rollicking space opera replete with the familiar tropes of faster-than-light ships (bounded by causality laws), wormhole gates (set up as a network for traveling), posthuman minds (bounded by virtual reality prisons), and the fractured competing empires of humankind (in exodus). MacLeod's story borrows a bit fr...more
Jan 22, 2008
Tom Leary
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
science fictions fans
Recommended to Tom by:
Amazon.com
I went into this book looking for an engaging Science Fiction story with multiple interesting story lines which touch on one-another and comprise a while story.
I ended up with a somewhat disjointed story that never seemed to find closure. there were a lot of different characters that I found unmemorable and, consequently, hard to differentiate between. There also seemed to be clear visualizations in the authors mind which I couldn't capture in my own.
Most frustrating was the final description o...more
I ended up with a somewhat disjointed story that never seemed to find closure. there were a lot of different characters that I found unmemorable and, consequently, hard to differentiate between. There also seemed to be clear visualizations in the authors mind which I couldn't capture in my own.
Most frustrating was the final description o...more
An interesting take on "Judgement Day", in which the machines become aware, take over, kill almost everybody, but then sublime off to some higher plane, leaving the remaining humans to clean up the mess. And that's only the back story! This creative premise provided enough to keep me going, but the characters weren't especially interesting, and the plot jumped around enough that it was hard to keep track of who was doing what and why. A bit odd that the book had to assert in the very title that...more
A very hard read. The problems started right at the beginning, when the future Scottish vernacular made me doubt the ebooks integrity. I don't know if native speakers have the same issues, but for me it was very hard tae read. It took some week until I was ready to give the book a second chance. This time it went a lot smoother, until somewhere between halfway and two thirds, when I stopped again. I finally finished it today, but it was a fight.
The main problem I had was that there's no continua...more
The main problem I had was that there's no continua...more
Most of this book feels like warmed over Charles Stross. The characterization is spotty, and the last fifty pages is downright muddy as to a) what people are doing, b) what the people hope to accomplish by doing that, and c) what the results of what they are doing are.
The scenes of FTL space combat are very inventive and exciting, and some of the intrigue is very well handled, but the confusing ending that mixes together Deux Ex Machina and the end of "Childhood's End" just doesn't do it for me.
The scenes of FTL space combat are very inventive and exciting, and some of the intrigue is very well handled, but the confusing ending that mixes together Deux Ex Machina and the end of "Childhood's End" just doesn't do it for me.
Definitely space opera, but not particularly remarkable. Similar to Vernor Vinge's post-singularity novels, Newton's Wake relies heavily on the mystery of super-intelligent machines' endeavors and artifacts. Unfortunately, the characters get somewhat left behind and the plot sometimes seems to drag along in the places where it should move fastest.
Overall, a decent weekend sci-fi read, but not a must-have for buffs.
Overall, a decent weekend sci-fi read, but not a must-have for buffs.
I think this is the book that defined, for me, the boundry between "really well done 'classic' science/speculative fiction" and "second-tier I should be reading other stuff science/speculative fiction."
All in all it was a good, interesting read...but I could never get involved with any of the characters. They seemed, at best, unlikably simplistic, or at worst, hyperbolized charicatures. Some of the ideas (hard raptures, autonomous machines, downloadable humanity) were really compelling...but the...more
All in all it was a good, interesting read...but I could never get involved with any of the characters. They seemed, at best, unlikably simplistic, or at worst, hyperbolized charicatures. Some of the ideas (hard raptures, autonomous machines, downloadable humanity) were really compelling...but the...more
Pretty good post-singularity novel. I liked all the interesting types of people and competing goals and how they managed to square with each other. Still felt a little distanced from them, watching players on a stage rather than really caring about them. Though it doesn't claim to be a part of the Fall Revolution series I think it helps to have read them.
Space opera tale of a universe where human society was almost wiped out by machines it created. In the aftermath, there are several groups vying for control and several bear tongue in cheek names to organizations we would recognize.
Apparently, when the machines had almost destroyed Earth, some human chose to stay and fight and the others, believed to be cowards, fled to another galaxy.
Wormholes, which are sort of like short cut tunnels or teleportation, discover these cowards who have created...more
Apparently, when the machines had almost destroyed Earth, some human chose to stay and fight and the others, believed to be cowards, fled to another galaxy.
Wormholes, which are sort of like short cut tunnels or teleportation, discover these cowards who have created...more
Sep 10, 2008
Priya
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Sci Fi fans, World Politics readers, People who dream of Scotland
Regular readers of my reviews here will not be surprised to hear that I liked Newton's Wake. I've mentioned MacLeod is like a darker, more cynical version of Iain M. Banks and Newton's Wake is probably an easier read since it's definitely funnier than other MacLeod books I've read. The story--a sort of Balance of Power view of the world where post-Great War (between Europe and the USA, of course) politics play out--is pretty good, especially if you're teaching (or studying) Intro to World Politi...more
Thought it had a very strong beginning, especially the tech and cultural implications, but it lost momentum in the second half and I ended up not really caring what happened. I don't think their was enough character development, perhaps because the scope of the book was so huge. Clearly he's a great writer though. Many of the ideas from this book will stay with me.
Confused half way through, still confused at the end. A fun read, but I am not really sure what happened. Machines taking over the world, self aware AIs, I like stories based on these (Asimov being on the top of the list), but I am not even sure now that that is what this was about. Nor am I sure who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, or if there are any bad guys!
Good. Interesting world(s). A little overexplained. Seemed like the author had a bunch of different ideas that he wanted to fit into the book, and some of them didn't have the room to be properly fleshed out. It would have been interesting to explore the world a bit more before everything was explained.
Excellent book except for 2 things:
1. I get it, the character is Scottish, the writer is Scottish, everyone is Scottish. You don't need to write the accent out constantly!
2. The end of the book seemed a bit rushed and confusing.
Otherwise this would have easily been a 5 star book
1. I get it, the character is Scottish, the writer is Scottish, everyone is Scottish. You don't need to write the accent out constantly!
2. The end of the book seemed a bit rushed and confusing.
Otherwise this would have easily been a 5 star book
Minor cribs first - 1. I wish the author had not settled on Scots as the main characters - trying to figure out what the scottish brogue they often lapse into means gave me a headache and 2. The ending got a little confusing. Otherwise, a damn good read.
Not a single character I cared about. Uninteresting plot, heavy handed cultural stereotyping, and a deus ex machina ending. Dreck. Not a good start with an author that several friends have recommended.
Scotts + space + "combat archaeologists" = One hell of a Sci-Fi read.
This novel is about treasure hunters and rapture fuckers out to get a little cash and have a little revolution of their own.
This novel is about treasure hunters and rapture fuckers out to get a little cash and have a little revolution of their own.
Dragged. Pretentious to the max to cover for just plain poor writing. Plot was almost non-existent, which was a shame, because the initial idea was good.
It just went exactly nowhere.
It just went exactly nowhere.
This is a good piece of transhuman fiction, and if you know what that means, and are interested in the genre, I recommend it.
There are several novel concepts introduced in this book, which to avoid spoilers I won't get into. If one of the things that makes a book good to you (as is true for me) is new ideas, or old ideas presented in new ways, this book will entertain.
There are several novel concepts introduced in this book, which to avoid spoilers I won't get into. If one of the things that makes a book good to you (as is true for me) is new ideas, or old ideas presented in new ways, this book will entertain.
Upon arriving at a totally mind-blowing plot point, we decide to completely ignore it and instead pursue a story that is comparatively lackluster and kind of dumb.
This book was my introduction to the work of Ken MacLeod, and I'd have to say it's an excellent stepping stone for anyone who's interested in his novels.
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Ken MacLeod is an award-winning Scottish science fiction writer.
His novels have won the Prometheus Award and the BSFA award, and been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards. He lives near Edinburgh, Scotland.
MacLeod graduated from Glasgow University with a degree in zoology and has worked as a computer programmer and written a masters thesis on biomechanics.
His novels often explore socialist, c...more
More about Ken MacLeod...
His novels have won the Prometheus Award and the BSFA award, and been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards. He lives near Edinburgh, Scotland.
MacLeod graduated from Glasgow University with a degree in zoology and has worked as a computer programmer and written a masters thesis on biomechanics.
His novels often explore socialist, c...more
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“Carlyle spread her hands. ‘I speculated that it was the remains of the starship that took the Eurydiceans to the planet. This seems to have been borne out.’ She smiled. ‘It transmitted a defensive virus that contained Microsoft patches.”
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:) - c.
May 29, 2009 09:46pm