Of the Fall

Four Hundred Billion Stars #2

by Paul J. McAuley

Of the McAuley, Paul Of the Del FIRST First Edition, First Printing. Published by Del Rey, 1989. 12mo. Paperback. Book is like new. Seller 502734 Pulp Paperbacks

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 13, 1989

About the author

name Paul McAuley previously wrote under

Reviews

[Jon Pennycook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost completely disconnected from the rest of the 400 Billion Stars series, and without telepathy. A planet relies on colony ships arriving from Earth on a schedule. On this planet are a native intelligent species who freeze up in the presence of humans. The latest colony ship does not arrive and nothing is heard. A revolution ensues - people from the city-based Government, from the countryside, and the central computer vie for control, not realising that they may be being used by another power.
There's no need to read any other books in the series before reading this one.
My copy suffers from poor editing with typos, as though it has been through an OCR process, despite being a paperback from the 90s.

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. A bit of a slog for very little reward.
Perhaps a decent short story, bloated out past 300 pages?
Has very little bearing on the first book in the 'trilogy'. Set in the same universe, but contributes nothing to the first book.
It gets two stars for internal consistency...
Moving on to the third book of the trilogy, Eternal Light, but without much hope.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

It may have been because I took a long time to read this book that I missed a few things that would have made this a 4 star book for me. So, fair or not, this is my opinion.
I did not feel that the tension between the city and the settlements was shown to be at such a high level that it would lead to civil war.
The city's government and hierarchy was not made clear enough to me, nor was Savory's and Constat's role in it clear until almost the end of the book.
Still, I enjoyed the book. I enjoy the author's style. I will continue to read his books and I recommend this book.

[Emmanuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another alien setting, but with more human and AI in the forefront of the story.

[Kate Millin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Science fiction book about a settlement on a new world with existing intelligent life – a reasonable read with some Orson Scott card similarities with symbiotic life.

[Harry Blanchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although billed as in the same sequence as "400 Billion Stars" I found little or nothing to connect it to that book, either concretely or thematically. On a colony on a planet around Tau Ceti, an expected ship from Earth never shows up, spurring on a war between a main city settlement and outlying settlements. It's hard to keep track of narrative threads at times, it picks up a bit once an AI gets revealed and involved, but for me, the ending landed with a thud.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit tedious. Took me a long time to get into the rhythm of it. The story doesn't flow well or grab the reader, but the author has a good idea. The ending is good and the final chapter is worth reading the book for. FFO Destiny's Road.

[Lutefisk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting ideas, but it's very man focused and a lot happens off page.

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 3 out of 5]

The planet Elysium, around Tau Ceti, has been settled for nearly a century with regular supplies and contact from Earth, but when the Earth ships stop it is a signal for the simmering resentment of the settlers for the police rulers to erupt into insurrection. The settlement has been run by the supercomputer called Constat which has achieved functional AI, and it monitors everywhere within the human sphere. Some settlers periodically escape the towns and go dingo - become lone wanderers - but unbeknownst to most of the inhabitants, Constat has chipped most so that it can control their movements if necessary, via their portable computer consoles. Then there are the vaguely humanoid aborigines - thought not be sentient but who act like they have at least rudimentary intelligence. The book weaves the stories of three inhabitants of Elysium, Rick (an historian), Miguel (a dingo) and De Ramaira (a suspect academic) who, each in their own way, will contribute to the insurrection. When the insurgents finally break through into the city the plans of the computer are revealed in its sadly human-like hubris. Interesting tale from Paul J. McAuley but it leaves a few loose ends which presumably get tied up in the final book. This book is also known as Secret Harmonies.

[Dmadden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bang, bang. Fizzle. Typical.