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The Sunless Countries (Virga #4)
In an ocean of weightless air where sunlight has never been seen, only the running lights of the city of Sere glitter in the dark. One woman, Leal Hieronyma Maspeth, history tutor and dreamer, lives and dreams of love among the gaslit streets and cafés. And somewhere in the abyss of wind and twisted cloud through which Sere eternally falls, a great voice has begun speaking...more
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
August 4th 2009
by Tor Books
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Karl Schroeder’s Virga sequence is undoubtedly one of the best science fiction series in recent years, and in my opinion even among the best ever. It is almost like a small encyclopedia of science fiction in itself in that it showcases so many of the forms the genre takes – planetary romance, golden age adventure story, hard science speculation, singularity and steampunk. And the wonder of the series is that it pulls all those elements into a believable and even plausible whole and turns them in...more
Another strong book by Karl Schroeder. It's set in his bubble-world, Virga, which was constructed around an artificial sun. This book takes place in the darkness, far away from the lit inner countries, in Sere. This city may be the most intriguing visual yet, with its streets of copper burnished down the middle and green with verdigris at the untrodden edges, its vast turning wheels, sonorous foghorns,sweeping floodlights, and flea cars leaping from wheel to wheel to taxi their occupants to work...more
Leal Maspeth is a scholar in the city of Sere, on the edge of winter, far from any of the suns in Virga, and the only light they enjoy is the light they make themselves. But they're approaching a dark age of a completely different sort, as a particularly anti-intellectual religious faction is maneuvering itself into political power... but that may not be the biggest problem. For there's a new force out in the dark, making ships and towns disappear, and the fate of their whole world may depend on...more
The Sunless Countries is not as engaging as the three previous books in this series, set in a created haven for humanity, a balloon world called Virga that orbits the star Vega. Much of the book is spent in review and exposition, carefully explaining the events of the earlier novels from the point of view of historian Leal Maspeth. The details of the world's creation are intriguing, but it comes across as almost documentary when compared to the swashbuckling steampunk feel of the rest of the ser...more
The four book in the series and the one that made me hate the last three books.
This is a story mainly told from the perspective of a history teacher. Sound exciting? Yeah, it's not. The book uses the same plot devices as the other three. The characters live with a corrupt government and that is their major nemesis. There is only one character from any of the other books and it's basically a cameo.
There is nothing interesting, intriguing or interesting. The only reason to read this through to try...more
This is a story mainly told from the perspective of a history teacher. Sound exciting? Yeah, it's not. The book uses the same plot devices as the other three. The characters live with a corrupt government and that is their major nemesis. There is only one character from any of the other books and it's basically a cameo.
There is nothing interesting, intriguing or interesting. The only reason to read this through to try...more
Here's how the Virga books work. You get a slow build where you learn about the characters and the world they inhabit. The characters are probably new and the specific setting is definitely new. Schroeder's world building is so original, detailed and internally consistent you keep reading until you realize you're ripping through the last act like starving piranha being fed ham.
The first three Virga books resolved into jaw dropping swashbucklers, did I say jaw dropping? More like mandible un-fre...more
The first three Virga books resolved into jaw dropping swashbucklers, did I say jaw dropping? More like mandible un-fre...more
I have revised my opinion of this book.
The first time I read this book I really didn't enjoy it as much as the previous books in the Virga series. Its heroine seemed weaker and the story was less about crazy physics and world-building and more about a society teetering on the verge of authoritarianism. And then the ending got kind of weird.
This time around, however I appreciated that Leal Maspeth, the heroine, is actually a much subtler and more interesting character than the swashbuckling heroe...more
The first time I read this book I really didn't enjoy it as much as the previous books in the Virga series. Its heroine seemed weaker and the story was less about crazy physics and world-building and more about a society teetering on the verge of authoritarianism. And then the ending got kind of weird.
This time around, however I appreciated that Leal Maspeth, the heroine, is actually a much subtler and more interesting character than the swashbuckling heroe...more
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Like so much of my reading I read the forth of Karl Schroeder's Virga series, The Sunless Countries first. My newly opened library has designed their new books section to look like a book store. It makes the new books so appealing that I've been grabbing books later in the series.
The first three books follow Hayden Griffin a man bent on revenge for the deaths of his parents. They had been sun builders, a very valuable skill in the dark balloon skin of Virga. In The Sunless Countries Schroeder in...more
The first three books follow Hayden Griffin a man bent on revenge for the deaths of his parents. They had been sun builders, a very valuable skill in the dark balloon skin of Virga. In The Sunless Countries Schroeder in...more
I was on the fence. Two-and-a-half stars. I was going to give it the benefit of the doubt and round up to three. But then the end of the book came up fast and caught me off guard.
The book just ... ended. But the story didn't. I don't know what happens next. I don't know if the heroen succeeds in her quest. I don't know if she finds love, or saves her country from social and political unrest. The book clearly was designed for a sequel, but I can't figure out if a sequel is forthcoming and, more i...more
The book just ... ended. But the story didn't. I don't know what happens next. I don't know if the heroen succeeds in her quest. I don't know if she finds love, or saves her country from social and political unrest. The book clearly was designed for a sequel, but I can't figure out if a sequel is forthcoming and, more i...more
Out of the whole series this is the one I enjoyed the least. Most of the book is a bit slow compared to the other books, I think this is because a completely new character is introduced so her story needs to be setup. But the ending I think makes for it, but I would have liked what happens there to be explored more.
Still a boatload of fun, but by far the weakest in the series so far (but not enough to dissuade me from reading Ashes of Candesce.
One of the best of hard SciFi writers around. His stories are still very human centered with very strong female characters that are not male clones.
Not as good as the previous books. Too light, without enough SF. Also, Peter Watts explored the end concept in way more depth in Blindsight.
Though it is mainly focused on a Historian, it is a really good addition to the series. There is the issue with the government and she deals with it while also contributing to the bigger story. Many references to past characters. As well as a return of Hayden Griffen.
I love this series, and I think this was my favorite so far!
Not as good as the first three.
May 21, 2013
Angie
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2013
Liam
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2013
Becca
marked it as to-read
May 18, 2013
Tz Downs
added it
May 16, 2013
Beth
marked it as to-read
May 14, 2013
Nemo
marked it as to-read
May 08, 2013
Eveline
marked it as to-read
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