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The Unity #1
Quietus
A transdimensional anthropologist can’t keep herself from interfering with Earth’s darkest period of history in this brilliant science fiction debut
Niccolucio, a young Florentine Carthusian monk, leads a devout life until the Black Death kills all of his brothers, leaving him alone and filled with doubt. Habidah, an anthropologist from another universe racked by plague, is overwhelmed by the suffering. Unable to maintain her observer neutrality, she saves Niccolucio from the brink of death.
Habidah discovers that neither her home's plague nor her assignment on Niccolucio's world are as she's been led to believe. Suddenly the pair are drawn into a worlds-spanning conspiracy to topple an empire larger than the human imagination can contain.
Niccolucio, a young Florentine Carthusian monk, leads a devout life until the Black Death kills all of his brothers, leaving him alone and filled with doubt. Habidah, an anthropologist from another universe racked by plague, is overwhelmed by the suffering. Unable to maintain her observer neutrality, she saves Niccolucio from the brink of death.
Habidah discovers that neither her home's plague nor her assignment on Niccolucio's world are as she's been led to believe. Suddenly the pair are drawn into a worlds-spanning conspiracy to topple an empire larger than the human imagination can contain.
512 pages, Paperback
First published March 6, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
October 19, 2018
Good first contact stories are as much about philosophical interplay as they are about cultural differences. “You have a unique vision”, dimensional traveler Habidah tells 14th century monk Niccolucio, about halfway through Tristan Palmgren’s debut novel, Quietus. She continues, “All of the Abrahamic religions on this world do. Few in the Unity see the body and the mind as separate in the way you do.” Habidah is from the Unity, the largest known planar empire in the multiverse, one that functions under a more holistic philosophy than the medieval Italian culture she encounters on Niccolucio’s plane of existence. The intersection of Niccoluccio’s dualism and Habidah’s holism tests what they understand (or misunderstand) about each other’s motives and has consequences for both their worlds.
Like the best genre fiction, Quietus has a premise and plot that juggles familiar elements with some fresh ideas: Habidah is a Unity anthropologist studying the effects of the Black Plague on European civilization. The Unity is suffering from its own devastating plague, called the onierophage, the only disease its god-like overseers, the amalgamates, could not produce a cure for. Habidah's assignment is to report on how this culture responds to and recovers from a pestilence it cannot cure or contain. When she first encounters Niccolucio he is wandering the wilderness after all watching all his brothers and their charges die from the plague, near-starving and being hunted by a pack of wolves. Her mission dictates that she not interfere with the natural progression of events on this world, but she has reached a point where she can no longer stand to see everyone she encounters suffer and die. She crosses that red line just once, rescuing him from certain death and nursing him back to health. To her own surprise, she receives little blowback for her transgression and her superiors agree to let her use him to “spy” on his hometown of Florence for them. Habidah soon comes to understand that their plans for this dimension go well beyond the academic.
The first half of Quietus balances the intimate story of a man coping with immense tragedy with an austere examination of the ethical sticking points that attend scientific field studies. The Unity can cure the Black Death, so aren't they obligated to intervene? Habidah’s intervention on Niccolucio's behalf is an impulsive response, though she believes she can justify its value. The repercussions come not because her choice was an unethical one, but because she was asking the wrong question to begin with. As Niccolucio digs his heels into the political realities of a society faced with a rapid decline, Habidah continues her work, unaware (or at least unwilling to recognize) that she had been facing the same problems all along. Not being political animals by nature, the question neither of them wanted to entertain was: What obligations do structures of power in a society have to its body politic, and vice versa? And who gets to decide the answer?
There are moments in the first half of the novel when the characters behave in ways that contradict their established motives. At other times, time overlaps from one chapter to the next, but events don’t seem to match up. There are reasons for such discrepancies and they pay off well. The novel doesn't resort to cheap tricks to surprise the reader - it rewards you for paying attention to the details.
Quietus is contemplative without being too ponderous or cerebral. It is intelligent and engaging as an intimate character study and as a grand-scale epic adventure. Like its wonderful cover (which you are welcome to judge it by), it seems to emerge from the mist, bathed in warm light, while its scale is terrifyingly sublime.
Thanks to Netgalley and Angry Robot Books fro the opportunity to read this ARC.
Like the best genre fiction, Quietus has a premise and plot that juggles familiar elements with some fresh ideas: Habidah is a Unity anthropologist studying the effects of the Black Plague on European civilization. The Unity is suffering from its own devastating plague, called the onierophage, the only disease its god-like overseers, the amalgamates, could not produce a cure for. Habidah's assignment is to report on how this culture responds to and recovers from a pestilence it cannot cure or contain. When she first encounters Niccolucio he is wandering the wilderness after all watching all his brothers and their charges die from the plague, near-starving and being hunted by a pack of wolves. Her mission dictates that she not interfere with the natural progression of events on this world, but she has reached a point where she can no longer stand to see everyone she encounters suffer and die. She crosses that red line just once, rescuing him from certain death and nursing him back to health. To her own surprise, she receives little blowback for her transgression and her superiors agree to let her use him to “spy” on his hometown of Florence for them. Habidah soon comes to understand that their plans for this dimension go well beyond the academic.
The first half of Quietus balances the intimate story of a man coping with immense tragedy with an austere examination of the ethical sticking points that attend scientific field studies. The Unity can cure the Black Death, so aren't they obligated to intervene? Habidah’s intervention on Niccolucio's behalf is an impulsive response, though she believes she can justify its value. The repercussions come not because her choice was an unethical one, but because she was asking the wrong question to begin with. As Niccolucio digs his heels into the political realities of a society faced with a rapid decline, Habidah continues her work, unaware (or at least unwilling to recognize) that she had been facing the same problems all along. Not being political animals by nature, the question neither of them wanted to entertain was: What obligations do structures of power in a society have to its body politic, and vice versa? And who gets to decide the answer?
There are moments in the first half of the novel when the characters behave in ways that contradict their established motives. At other times, time overlaps from one chapter to the next, but events don’t seem to match up. There are reasons for such discrepancies and they pay off well. The novel doesn't resort to cheap tricks to surprise the reader - it rewards you for paying attention to the details.
Quietus is contemplative without being too ponderous or cerebral. It is intelligent and engaging as an intimate character study and as a grand-scale epic adventure. Like its wonderful cover (which you are welcome to judge it by), it seems to emerge from the mist, bathed in warm light, while its scale is terrifyingly sublime.
Thanks to Netgalley and Angry Robot Books fro the opportunity to read this ARC.
February 2, 2018
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!
This book is going to be a difficult one to review because it breaks a lot of normal conventions. The first half of the novel reads like a good outsider/anthropological exploration of our Black Plague from the PoV of a visitor from an alternate universe (the many-concurrent-universes brane). The second half reads like an outright space-opera full of huge ships and a truly immense population across space and branes and a plague that threatens to wipe them all out.
Similarities? Of course. Direct-line similarities, even, and it gets even more interesting when we have nearly godlike extradimensional civilizations involved in long conflicts with each other and with their own followers. Adding a monk from the middle ages asking important questions about God and why he lets bad things happen becomes another direct mirror to the subjects in these huge extradimensional empires and god-like beings involved in plague warfare.
The structure of this novel is pretty top-notch. I can ruminate about it for a long time and still find some really great questions and explorations. I've barely scratched the surface here.
On the other side of the coin, the factor of how much fun the novel is, how easy it is to read, boils down to how much you like heavy doses of historical fiction. I saw HUGE comparisons to be made between the front half of this novel and Connie Willis's Doomsday Book. Her's was time traveling historians getting stuck in the Black Plague and Tristan's was the moral and ethical quandaries of a multiverse-hopping anthropologist. I enjoyed it well enough and it went in quite interesting directions when it came to messing with indigenous cultures (in a very Prime Directive way) and the question of unintended consequences in timeline-development.
The second half of the novel was spaceships and AI companions and godlike beings messing with all us puny mortals in a very high-class SF full of action, more ethical quandaries, the fate of two vast empires.
My initial reaction as I was reading it was mixed. I liked it well enough but I wanted something juicier and more exploratory. It just felt like a number of other novels I've loved, also including KSR's Years of Rice and Salt and Michael Flynn's Eifelheim.
I did eventually get it. It just took a while to really flow into the historical fiction slant because, with that cover, I really expected the later explosion of big SF. :) No worries. It's there.
This was something rather interesting. I really enjoy the chances it takes. :)
This book is going to be a difficult one to review because it breaks a lot of normal conventions. The first half of the novel reads like a good outsider/anthropological exploration of our Black Plague from the PoV of a visitor from an alternate universe (the many-concurrent-universes brane). The second half reads like an outright space-opera full of huge ships and a truly immense population across space and branes and a plague that threatens to wipe them all out.
Similarities? Of course. Direct-line similarities, even, and it gets even more interesting when we have nearly godlike extradimensional civilizations involved in long conflicts with each other and with their own followers. Adding a monk from the middle ages asking important questions about God and why he lets bad things happen becomes another direct mirror to the subjects in these huge extradimensional empires and god-like beings involved in plague warfare.
The structure of this novel is pretty top-notch. I can ruminate about it for a long time and still find some really great questions and explorations. I've barely scratched the surface here.
On the other side of the coin, the factor of how much fun the novel is, how easy it is to read, boils down to how much you like heavy doses of historical fiction. I saw HUGE comparisons to be made between the front half of this novel and Connie Willis's Doomsday Book. Her's was time traveling historians getting stuck in the Black Plague and Tristan's was the moral and ethical quandaries of a multiverse-hopping anthropologist. I enjoyed it well enough and it went in quite interesting directions when it came to messing with indigenous cultures (in a very Prime Directive way) and the question of unintended consequences in timeline-development.
The second half of the novel was spaceships and AI companions and godlike beings messing with all us puny mortals in a very high-class SF full of action, more ethical quandaries, the fate of two vast empires.
My initial reaction as I was reading it was mixed. I liked it well enough but I wanted something juicier and more exploratory. It just felt like a number of other novels I've loved, also including KSR's Years of Rice and Salt and Michael Flynn's Eifelheim.
I did eventually get it. It just took a while to really flow into the historical fiction slant because, with that cover, I really expected the later explosion of big SF. :) No worries. It's there.
This was something rather interesting. I really enjoy the chances it takes. :)
March 19, 2018
Ahoy there me mateys! I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .
This book appealed to me because it's about anthropologists from another plane doing research on the Black Death. Their plane is also suffering from a plague and they are hoping the research can save lives back home. Anthropologists are supposed to stay neutral but one member of the team, Habidah, breaks the rules and rescues a Florentine Carthusian monk named Niccolucio.
Now I abandoned this book at 48% but, to be fair, I loved the first half. I thought the story of Niccolucio was excellent and really enjoyed reading about the research of Habidah and her team. The imagery was well done and I really cared about both of the characters. The problem arose once the politics of the other plane got involved. The entire tone of the book switched, and I began to feel like I was reading a different book.
Because apparently the expedition had another goal besides the one that Habidah was given. I won't get into it here but basically it spoiled the premise for me and I didn't want to read about where the author wanted to take the story. I wanted a book more along the lines of the Doomsday book rather than a space opera. I did attempt to keep reading several times because I wanted to know what ends up happening to Niccolucio specifically. But alas I couldn't stay engaged once the plot switched. I do have other crew members that loved it though so it might work for ye.
So lastly . . .
Thank you Angry Robot Books!
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
This book appealed to me because it's about anthropologists from another plane doing research on the Black Death. Their plane is also suffering from a plague and they are hoping the research can save lives back home. Anthropologists are supposed to stay neutral but one member of the team, Habidah, breaks the rules and rescues a Florentine Carthusian monk named Niccolucio.
Now I abandoned this book at 48% but, to be fair, I loved the first half. I thought the story of Niccolucio was excellent and really enjoyed reading about the research of Habidah and her team. The imagery was well done and I really cared about both of the characters. The problem arose once the politics of the other plane got involved. The entire tone of the book switched, and I began to feel like I was reading a different book.
Because apparently the expedition had another goal besides the one that Habidah was given. I won't get into it here but basically it spoiled the premise for me and I didn't want to read about where the author wanted to take the story. I wanted a book more along the lines of the Doomsday book rather than a space opera. I did attempt to keep reading several times because I wanted to know what ends up happening to Niccolucio specifically. But alas I couldn't stay engaged once the plot switched. I do have other crew members that loved it though so it might work for ye.
So lastly . . .
Thank you Angry Robot Books!
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
May 31, 2018
Edelweiss #2
Many thanks go to Tristan Palmgren, Angry Robot, and Edelweiss for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.
Sci-fi book about plagues and time travel in a nutshell. Except the nutshell is the size of a spaceship not a walnut. I'm not going to try to use any of the characters' names because my spellcheck will explode. Just know that one is an Italian monk and the rest are from somewhere else. It's the interaction between the characters that makes the story so engrossing. I will admit about 2/3 through it does get a bit confusing. But just power through it because the Ah-ha moment is so worth it. I was so glad I did not give up.
Many thanks go to Tristan Palmgren, Angry Robot, and Edelweiss for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.
Sci-fi book about plagues and time travel in a nutshell. Except the nutshell is the size of a spaceship not a walnut. I'm not going to try to use any of the characters' names because my spellcheck will explode. Just know that one is an Italian monk and the rest are from somewhere else. It's the interaction between the characters that makes the story so engrossing. I will admit about 2/3 through it does get a bit confusing. But just power through it because the Ah-ha moment is so worth it. I was so glad I did not give up.
February 28, 2018
3.0 out of 5 stars
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
With the assistance of a Carthusian monk, anthropologists from distant planes of the multiverse study the spread of the Black Death on Earth to better understand the plague that is ravaging their home civilization.
Ah yes, the ol’ Carthusian monk meets transdimensional anthropologist story that we’ve all read a thousand times before. But seriously, this is a bold swing from a fresh new voice in speculative fiction. Author Tristan Palmgren deserves major points for creativity, even though this historical fiction/science fiction mashup wasn’t totally my cup of tea.
I very much enjoyed the characterization of the monk Niccoluccio Caracciola, who, aside from having a great name, was my favorite character to follow. He functions as a reader proxy, who experiences the infiltration of the anthropologists and gets swept up into a massive conspiracy while tackling his own internal conflict that evolves over the course of the novel. Niccoluccio’s perspective grounds the narrative in some semblance of reality before the story careens away into a somewhat convoluted direction.
Quietus functions most effectively when it's focused on its historical fiction beats and stumbles as it delves deeper into inaccessible science fiction elements. This, combined with slow pacing, and a story that feels 150 pages too long, leads to a lower rating than I wanted to give. Author Palmgren has a knack for original storytelling, but the blending of two disparate genres didn’t quite work for me.
See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
With the assistance of a Carthusian monk, anthropologists from distant planes of the multiverse study the spread of the Black Death on Earth to better understand the plague that is ravaging their home civilization.
Ah yes, the ol’ Carthusian monk meets transdimensional anthropologist story that we’ve all read a thousand times before. But seriously, this is a bold swing from a fresh new voice in speculative fiction. Author Tristan Palmgren deserves major points for creativity, even though this historical fiction/science fiction mashup wasn’t totally my cup of tea.
I very much enjoyed the characterization of the monk Niccoluccio Caracciola, who, aside from having a great name, was my favorite character to follow. He functions as a reader proxy, who experiences the infiltration of the anthropologists and gets swept up into a massive conspiracy while tackling his own internal conflict that evolves over the course of the novel. Niccoluccio’s perspective grounds the narrative in some semblance of reality before the story careens away into a somewhat convoluted direction.
Quietus functions most effectively when it's focused on its historical fiction beats and stumbles as it delves deeper into inaccessible science fiction elements. This, combined with slow pacing, and a story that feels 150 pages too long, leads to a lower rating than I wanted to give. Author Palmgren has a knack for original storytelling, but the blending of two disparate genres didn’t quite work for me.
See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.
June 13, 2018
This was an interesting novel. Part historical fiction with an outsiders view on the Black plague (more so an outsider from another world who just happens to be an outsider). This part is quite good. Loved the philosophical, sociological and historical aspects. I really enjoyed Niccolucio in this part. However, the second part becomes more a space opera sci fi novel, more akin to the front page. This part didnt do as well for me. I felt the sudden change in story just a little weird, and I felt the story telling suffered from it. The pacing of the novel was very slow overall. Dont expect a fast paced scifi novel with the action element. This is more a reflection on people and its expsoure to new cultures/philosophies/religion etc. A novel of 2 parts, one that worked well and the other not so much. For those people who want something different.
February 28, 2018
Quietus is a debut novel that combines historical fiction with science fiction. It has some elements I appreciated, but ultimately, I wasn’t wowed by it.
Habidah, an anthropologist from another dimension, has been sent to our world, during the Black Death’s sweep over Europe. Her own home, a set of alternate realities bound together by an AI-ruled trans-dimensional empire, is being devastated by its own, mysterious plague, and the goal is to learn cooping strategies by studying how Europe reacts to the Black Death. Habidah is supposed to be a neutral observer, but in the face of such suffering, she struggles to hold on to her neutrality, eventually making the decision to rescue one person: the monk Niccolucio. Niccolucio discovers there’s much more to the universe than he imagined, and, surprisingly, Habidah discovers the same.
To start off with, I think the plot structure was weak. It takes quite a while for Habidah and Niccolucio to come into contact with each other and even longer for the main trans-dimensional conflict to pick up speed. Basically, I felt like the story didn’t get started until around 60% into the book. Also, I never found the plot that interesting. There’s some concepts that are intriguing, such as the trans-dimensional empire and the plague that’s destroying its people on the molecule level. I found those elements satisfying, but somehow I kept considering putting the book down. I think overall there’s a lack of tension and pacing.
Going into Quietus, I was 95% sure that there’d end up being a romance between Habidah and Niccolucio. Look, I’ve read enough books to know to expect it, all right! However, in this instance I was actually wrong. There’s no romantic subplot in Quietus, which was quite refreshing. As for Habidah and Niccolucio themselves, neither was entirely memorable. I didn’t dislike them while reading, but they’re not compelling either. Sort of like the book as a whole?
The setting did feel believable and well researched, and I appreciated the innovative touches the science fiction added to the historical. I do think that Quietus suffers in comparison to Connie Willis’s Doomsday Book, which similarly combines science fiction with a historical fiction portrayal of the Black Death but with stronger pacing and an emotional center. Oh, well.
In conclusion, Quietus has a couple of interesting concepts but with hum-drum execution. I’m not planning on reading any sequels.
I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
Review originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
Habidah, an anthropologist from another dimension, has been sent to our world, during the Black Death’s sweep over Europe. Her own home, a set of alternate realities bound together by an AI-ruled trans-dimensional empire, is being devastated by its own, mysterious plague, and the goal is to learn cooping strategies by studying how Europe reacts to the Black Death. Habidah is supposed to be a neutral observer, but in the face of such suffering, she struggles to hold on to her neutrality, eventually making the decision to rescue one person: the monk Niccolucio. Niccolucio discovers there’s much more to the universe than he imagined, and, surprisingly, Habidah discovers the same.
To start off with, I think the plot structure was weak. It takes quite a while for Habidah and Niccolucio to come into contact with each other and even longer for the main trans-dimensional conflict to pick up speed. Basically, I felt like the story didn’t get started until around 60% into the book. Also, I never found the plot that interesting. There’s some concepts that are intriguing, such as the trans-dimensional empire and the plague that’s destroying its people on the molecule level. I found those elements satisfying, but somehow I kept considering putting the book down. I think overall there’s a lack of tension and pacing.
Going into Quietus, I was 95% sure that there’d end up being a romance between Habidah and Niccolucio. Look, I’ve read enough books to know to expect it, all right! However, in this instance I was actually wrong. There’s no romantic subplot in Quietus, which was quite refreshing. As for Habidah and Niccolucio themselves, neither was entirely memorable. I didn’t dislike them while reading, but they’re not compelling either. Sort of like the book as a whole?
The setting did feel believable and well researched, and I appreciated the innovative touches the science fiction added to the historical. I do think that Quietus suffers in comparison to Connie Willis’s Doomsday Book, which similarly combines science fiction with a historical fiction portrayal of the Black Death but with stronger pacing and an emotional center. Oh, well.
In conclusion, Quietus has a couple of interesting concepts but with hum-drum execution. I’m not planning on reading any sequels.
I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
Review originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
April 23, 2018
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review.
Although I didn't finish the book, I gave it a high rating, which is unusual for me. Here's why:
The book is about a multiverse, part of which is ruled by supposedly benevolent AIs. However, a threat from outside this multiverse has the AIs send humans to research other worlds to see how calamaties have been handled (or not handled, as the case may be).
The researchers that we follow have been tasked to observe the Black Death years in fourteenth century Europe- one of the grimmest times in European history, and that's saying a lot.
What I liked about the book was the feel of the way the researchers were a part and yet apart from the time in which they had been placed. The author has a gift for description and for making a very detailed and immersive setting. The perspective of the observers, removed from the religious and cultural milieu of the time, gave me the feeling of observing history myself.
The POV of the 14th century monk whose abbey is hit by plague wasn't as interesting to me, unfortunately. I must not relate well to 14th century men who believe that privation of the flesh is the way to salvation. When the story shifted to this POV, I lost interest.
And the book is loooong. After about 100 pages into the book, storylines hadn't converged and I wasn't interested in several of them. I had an idea about what might be going on with the godlike AI manipulation in the background. I had one character I liked and several I didn't. Although there were some very admirable things about the book, I petered out and skimmed the end instead of reading it properly. And this is really not a book you can skim- it's dense and you'll miss something if you don't read carefully. Maybe at another time I'd have persevered, but right now my brain isn't functioning at peak capacity and I needed something that was less laborious.
Although I didn't finish the book, I gave it a high rating, which is unusual for me. Here's why:
The book is about a multiverse, part of which is ruled by supposedly benevolent AIs. However, a threat from outside this multiverse has the AIs send humans to research other worlds to see how calamaties have been handled (or not handled, as the case may be).
The researchers that we follow have been tasked to observe the Black Death years in fourteenth century Europe- one of the grimmest times in European history, and that's saying a lot.
What I liked about the book was the feel of the way the researchers were a part and yet apart from the time in which they had been placed. The author has a gift for description and for making a very detailed and immersive setting. The perspective of the observers, removed from the religious and cultural milieu of the time, gave me the feeling of observing history myself.
The POV of the 14th century monk whose abbey is hit by plague wasn't as interesting to me, unfortunately. I must not relate well to 14th century men who believe that privation of the flesh is the way to salvation. When the story shifted to this POV, I lost interest.
And the book is loooong. After about 100 pages into the book, storylines hadn't converged and I wasn't interested in several of them. I had an idea about what might be going on with the godlike AI manipulation in the background. I had one character I liked and several I didn't. Although there were some very admirable things about the book, I petered out and skimmed the end instead of reading it properly. And this is really not a book you can skim- it's dense and you'll miss something if you don't read carefully. Maybe at another time I'd have persevered, but right now my brain isn't functioning at peak capacity and I needed something that was less laborious.
March 10, 2018
Spoilers Ahead!
I really wanted to like this book. Actually half way through the book I thought it was one of the best science fiction/alternate history books I had read in a long time. Then bang! It fell of the cliff. The characters were well drawn, the author made you care about them. The scenes were well drawn, you actually felt like you were there. The problem is the conflict was meh....I just could not get into whether on AI was more evil than the other and what it meant for the universe. There were so many places this plot could have gone from the halfway point of the book, where it ended up was a hot mess in my opinion. I wish the author had made it a two book or trilogy set. I really think there was something here that could have been exploited.
I really wanted to like this book. Actually half way through the book I thought it was one of the best science fiction/alternate history books I had read in a long time. Then bang! It fell of the cliff. The characters were well drawn, the author made you care about them. The scenes were well drawn, you actually felt like you were there. The problem is the conflict was meh....I just could not get into whether on AI was more evil than the other and what it meant for the universe. There were so many places this plot could have gone from the halfway point of the book, where it ended up was a hot mess in my opinion. I wish the author had made it a two book or trilogy set. I really think there was something here that could have been exploited.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2018
This book started out really promising and had such a fascinating premise. I loved the idea of a combination historical fiction/sci fi novel. It was slow and dense in parts but initially I was interested enough in the characters and conflict to keep moving through that. I was also successful at holding my nose during the subtle jabs at religion (though I am no Catholic and have massive problems with Catholic doctrine). Then the book lost me around Chapter 30. It became way too esoteric; maybe I haven't read enough on multiple universe theory, or maybe I just can't suspend my disbelief at the probability of multiple universes, but after that came into play and Niccoluccio had his weird experience, I couldn't follow the plot anymore. Habidah's relationship with Niccoluccio, which was the most interesting dynamic for me, completely stalled in its development (I didn't need it to go in a romantic direction and that might've been artificial anyway, but I needed to feel like she had more emotion towards him than she ever displayed considering her actions towards him. She seemed so wooden to me). I stopped caring about the big conspiracy. So by Chapter 38, I attempted to skim the last few chapters to see how it ended or if I could reclaim some interest and I just couldn't. It's such a shame. It started so well. It looks like another book is planned, but I think I'm giving up on this series.
March 6, 2018
It is the time when the Black Death swept across Europe, and the population, decimated by its effects and unable to understand the science of how it spread, thought the world was coming to an end.
Into this tumultuous time comes Habidah and her team of scientists, closely observing the population in an effort to find a solution to the onierophage, a similar plague affecting the population of her own world made up of a vast network of political alliances of ruling races.
Although I was aware from the start that Habidah was someone not native to Niccolucio's world, I experienced all the sights, filth and smells of this historic world through her. Niccolucio's viewpoint only cemented this effect, leaving me with the impression that were the author to write only historical novels I would be an avid fan. But that Palmgren managed to effortlessly shift from fantastical technology and a sense of space opera to an authentic sense of time of the fourteenth century Plague and then bring them together, really immersed me in the story.
Out of all the people Tristan Palmgren could have chosen from the Middle Ages to be yanked to safety by someone from a mind-blowing technologically advanced race, Niccolucio, is just perfect. His self-doubt and humility, but at the same time open-mindedness and unbiased approach to the world, makes him a wonderful foil for Habidah's constant moral questioning.
The plot is complex, with no end of scheming and wondering where alliances truly lie between the servants of the ruling alliances and the vast alliances themselves. This was certainly the part of the book where you had to pay attention because of the complexity of the associations and interactions.
Throughout it all are the constants of Habidah and Niccolucio in their developing and very special relationship in the face of Habidah wondering who she can trust.
Palmgren demonstrates remarkable poise for a debut novelist with regards to the depth of world building and character development in a cleverly conceived plot, making him a writer to watch in the future.
Quietus was courtesy of Angry Robot via NetGalley.
Into this tumultuous time comes Habidah and her team of scientists, closely observing the population in an effort to find a solution to the onierophage, a similar plague affecting the population of her own world made up of a vast network of political alliances of ruling races.
Although I was aware from the start that Habidah was someone not native to Niccolucio's world, I experienced all the sights, filth and smells of this historic world through her. Niccolucio's viewpoint only cemented this effect, leaving me with the impression that were the author to write only historical novels I would be an avid fan. But that Palmgren managed to effortlessly shift from fantastical technology and a sense of space opera to an authentic sense of time of the fourteenth century Plague and then bring them together, really immersed me in the story.
Out of all the people Tristan Palmgren could have chosen from the Middle Ages to be yanked to safety by someone from a mind-blowing technologically advanced race, Niccolucio, is just perfect. His self-doubt and humility, but at the same time open-mindedness and unbiased approach to the world, makes him a wonderful foil for Habidah's constant moral questioning.
The plot is complex, with no end of scheming and wondering where alliances truly lie between the servants of the ruling alliances and the vast alliances themselves. This was certainly the part of the book where you had to pay attention because of the complexity of the associations and interactions.
Throughout it all are the constants of Habidah and Niccolucio in their developing and very special relationship in the face of Habidah wondering who she can trust.
Palmgren demonstrates remarkable poise for a debut novelist with regards to the depth of world building and character development in a cleverly conceived plot, making him a writer to watch in the future.
Quietus was courtesy of Angry Robot via NetGalley.
February 4, 2018
*Free copy for an honest review.
This book does an interesting thing. It manages a tight balance between exposition, philosophy and story that keeps this book interesting. With as long as this book is and with as little action as there is, there was the risk of being boring, but Palmgren does a great job of keeping all the elements in line so that I was still engaged in the reading. I never drifted off or loss interest because all the elements at play were kept balanced. Palmgren also keeps the mystery of the powers at play just out of reach enough that I had to keep reading because I couldn't guess and I was as curious as the characters.
It was genuinely interesting to read the juxtaposition of the advanced, interplanar society next to the medieval, scientifically illiterate world. To see the similarities between how the amalgamates are treated and how God is thought of. To read about the varying reactions to an unstoppable, unpredictable disease. The attitude that Habidah's team has towards the "backward" people of Nicculoccio's world and the reverence Nicculoccio has towards Habidah's world makes for an interesting dynamic and conversation.
Then there are the thought experiments/meditations. Does the amalgamates refusal to cure the Black Plague equal the force that causes the plague in Habidah's world? Are they equally evil or is one worse than the other? Does the knowledge that nothing you do matters liberate you or trap you? How do you keep moving forward when everything seems pointless or trivial?
As much as I love books with high action and low exposition, every now and then it's good to stretch my brain with a book like this. A book with more philosophy and story than action, but still well balanced and interesting. If you're a fan of historical fiction looking to branch into Sci-Fi or looking for heavier read in general, I recommend this book. It's got plenty of power play drama, religious in-fighting and some actual fighting. It's also got new worlds to discover and governments to destroy.
This book does an interesting thing. It manages a tight balance between exposition, philosophy and story that keeps this book interesting. With as long as this book is and with as little action as there is, there was the risk of being boring, but Palmgren does a great job of keeping all the elements in line so that I was still engaged in the reading. I never drifted off or loss interest because all the elements at play were kept balanced. Palmgren also keeps the mystery of the powers at play just out of reach enough that I had to keep reading because I couldn't guess and I was as curious as the characters.
It was genuinely interesting to read the juxtaposition of the advanced, interplanar society next to the medieval, scientifically illiterate world. To see the similarities between how the amalgamates are treated and how God is thought of. To read about the varying reactions to an unstoppable, unpredictable disease. The attitude that Habidah's team has towards the "backward" people of Nicculoccio's world and the reverence Nicculoccio has towards Habidah's world makes for an interesting dynamic and conversation.
Then there are the thought experiments/meditations. Does the amalgamates refusal to cure the Black Plague equal the force that causes the plague in Habidah's world? Are they equally evil or is one worse than the other? Does the knowledge that nothing you do matters liberate you or trap you? How do you keep moving forward when everything seems pointless or trivial?
As much as I love books with high action and low exposition, every now and then it's good to stretch my brain with a book like this. A book with more philosophy and story than action, but still well balanced and interesting. If you're a fan of historical fiction looking to branch into Sci-Fi or looking for heavier read in general, I recommend this book. It's got plenty of power play drama, religious in-fighting and some actual fighting. It's also got new worlds to discover and governments to destroy.
September 21, 2019
This was an odd one, lads.
Theoretically, this is about a dimension-hopping team of anthropologists come to study Middle Ages Europe during the Black Plague. That part was great. I love the Black Plague, and this went further than most plague explorations, actually moving beyond the macabre fate of those stricken to touch on societal shifts caused by so much suffering and death. I wish it had done more, but I might be nearing the point where I just need to read nonfiction.
However, this book is ALSO about a nearly all-powerful empire-ruling group of AIs locked in some kind of biological warfare with a mysterious inter-dimensional godlike being. I really liked how the AIs were named after committees, since they were actually "amalgamates." (It's great. I wish I had thought to name an AI Ways and Means.) But that's about it.
This part had giant starships, quasi-spiritual visions, and really was a lot like Interstellar in that it didn't hardly explain anything. Niccoluccio was subsumed by the mind of the interplanar god, and Habidah is now trapped on a plague-ridden Earth with a megalomaniacal AI and her squad, all of whom hate her guts. The end.
All together, I'm not sure how to take this. Mix it up with all the tortured philosophizing in the middle, Niccoluccio's confused fall from faith, all the bits about the polyamorous orgies he had as a 14-year-old, and I'm kind of put off despite how much I enjoyed the first part of the book. Supposedly Niccoluccio found a new, non-personal divine in the higher technology that Habidah showed him, but then he found a new PERSONAL power in the strange being that consumed him, but he said he didn't worship it, and now he's basically dead.
Where is there left to go from here, honestly?
Theoretically, this is about a dimension-hopping team of anthropologists come to study Middle Ages Europe during the Black Plague. That part was great. I love the Black Plague, and this went further than most plague explorations, actually moving beyond the macabre fate of those stricken to touch on societal shifts caused by so much suffering and death. I wish it had done more, but I might be nearing the point where I just need to read nonfiction.
However, this book is ALSO about a nearly all-powerful empire-ruling group of AIs locked in some kind of biological warfare with a mysterious inter-dimensional godlike being. I really liked how the AIs were named after committees, since they were actually "amalgamates." (It's great. I wish I had thought to name an AI Ways and Means.) But that's about it.
This part had giant starships, quasi-spiritual visions, and really was a lot like Interstellar in that it didn't hardly explain anything. Niccoluccio was subsumed by the mind of the interplanar god, and Habidah is now trapped on a plague-ridden Earth with a megalomaniacal AI and her squad, all of whom hate her guts. The end.
All together, I'm not sure how to take this. Mix it up with all the tortured philosophizing in the middle, Niccoluccio's confused fall from faith, all the bits about the polyamorous orgies he had as a 14-year-old, and I'm kind of put off despite how much I enjoyed the first part of the book. Supposedly Niccoluccio found a new, non-personal divine in the higher technology that Habidah showed him, but then he found a new PERSONAL power in the strange being that consumed him, but he said he didn't worship it, and now he's basically dead.
Where is there left to go from here, honestly?
July 17, 2019
I've read a few medieval first contact novels, and its often fun to see how the "indistinguishable from magic" idea can soon be normalised by personalities and people. That was that I though Quietus would be, a bunch of extra-planal (we are talking parallel universes though in Universes with significant alienness potentially) anthropologists come to see Black Death Europe to see if they can have any hints on how to psychologically deal with their own plague. That seemed relatively weak sauce for a plot, and I was right, the book flips through two significant plot overhauls before we get to the ending. The first plot flip is perfectly timed to move us from discovery of the aliens and our human protagonist, to a greater world threatening plot. The second one relies on a conceptual shift which sort of destroys a character, and potentially all tension, and leaving the story in potentially a head scratching mixture of ultimate and no stakes at all. It resolves, and it stands alone (though a sequel is being written), and was satisfying. Along the way the predominantly female cast get through a significant amount of research ethics, and Machiavellian courtly politics, not to mention bubos bursting and even a bit of pew-pew and hand to hand combat. I still can't decide if its big idea at its heart can work dramatically or not, but it is sticking with me.
April 28, 2019
I really wanted to like this more than I did. I loved the premise. But I feel like the cover copy sells this as a different book than it is. I did enjoy the first half of the book, with the anthropologists in Italy, and Niccolucio's story in the monastery. But then it went awry.
I was confused by things that were happening because they were contradictory to what the story said was happening. And that's part of the whole woo woo aspect. At one point the book got seriously woo woo and I almost abandoned it. I feel like in many ways it kept losing focus on what kind of story it was trying to be. And the pacing was uneven. I almost abandoned it about 50 pages from the end because I was losing patience and started not to care.
One thing I found distracting was how many copyedit errors there were. Another pass would have been great. And I usually find Angry Robot is better than that so I'm a little surprised. I did like the ending but I also felt it took to long to get to that point and then when it happened it happened really fast.
I think this could have been a much better book with tighter all around edits.
I was confused by things that were happening because they were contradictory to what the story said was happening. And that's part of the whole woo woo aspect. At one point the book got seriously woo woo and I almost abandoned it. I feel like in many ways it kept losing focus on what kind of story it was trying to be. And the pacing was uneven. I almost abandoned it about 50 pages from the end because I was losing patience and started not to care.
One thing I found distracting was how many copyedit errors there were. Another pass would have been great. And I usually find Angry Robot is better than that so I'm a little surprised. I did like the ending but I also felt it took to long to get to that point and then when it happened it happened really fast.
I think this could have been a much better book with tighter all around edits.
November 7, 2018
Very different Science Fiction story. The multiverse theory lives here, which makes my brain hurt to try to understand it, so I don't try. The story is still good. During the Middle Ages time of the Black Death, a group of humans from another 'plane' are sent to Earth to study the plague. They are studying it in hopes to get a handle on the plague they themselves are dealing with throughout "The Unity", which consists of multiple 'planes' run by 'amalgamates' which are AI machines. But there are plots within plots going on here, and an entity that lives 'between the planes' that see them all as a threat to its existence. One of the main characters is a monk from Earth who is spared the plague and other situations that would lead to his death by one of the visitors who takes pity on him. He becomes an unwitting pawn of the entity trying to keep the powers of the amalgamates under control.
There are more characters, not especially deeply characterized, but it's really not necessary to the story line.
There are more characters, not especially deeply characterized, but it's really not necessary to the story line.
Read
February 25, 2022DNF 54%
I really tried and I've enjoyed some sections, the Niccolucio parts were my favorites. However the thing with the "thousands of millions multiverses" (not properly explained) and the amalgamates motivations (even with the later revelations) never sounded credible to me. When I don't buy the core of the story everything else feels flat, not making much sense. The poor but nice Niccolucio wasn't enough for me to keep investing more time into this book.
I really tried and I've enjoyed some sections, the Niccolucio parts were my favorites. However the thing with the "thousands of millions multiverses" (not properly explained) and the amalgamates motivations (even with the later revelations) never sounded credible to me. When I don't buy the core of the story everything else feels flat, not making much sense. The poor but nice Niccolucio wasn't enough for me to keep investing more time into this book.
April 23, 2018
Kinda unsure how there can be a unity book 2...
February 19, 2018
This review is based on an ARC given to me for free by the publisher, Angry Robot Books. This does not in any way affect my review. The novel is slated for release on March 6, 2018.
Full review here: https://wp.me/p21txV-Fl
... I think this story is, at its core, a call to action. I think it is quite clear that the world is not in a good place right now, that change is desperately needed if humanity is to continue surviving and living with itself for the rest of its existence. But as long as people continue standing on the sidelines, as long as people do nothing, then change will never happen. There is no such thing as an “apolitical” choice, because even choosing to do nothing, for whatever reason, is a political act. And if there is one, single thing that is truly hindering change for the better in this world, it is that: the choice to do nothing. Choosing to take action is difficult, and will very certainly be fraught with pain and hardship, but it is better than closing one’s eyes and choosing to pretend that all is right with the world.
Full review here: https://wp.me/p21txV-Fl
November 7, 2018
Begining as an interesting anthropological mission from a different dimention to Black Death Europe, ends on a very different level, with the fate of the multiverse at stake.
Doomsday Book with competent agents and allusion to the gods that plague humanity.
Doomsday Book with competent agents and allusion to the gods that plague humanity.
August 30, 2018
Some SF writers are turning from writing about one universe to considering the possibility of the multiverse and there being numerous earths. The first books I read using this as a plot device was the Long Earth series (which I must get back to). That postulated our earth controlling a number of others when inter universe transport became possible. Tristan Palmgren's take on the possibility is very different. Some of the worlds of the multiverse have been bonded together in the Unity, presided over by a beneficent race called the Amalgamates. A plague has broken out in the Unity called the onierophage and a team have been sent back to Earth in the 14th century at the time of the great plague that swept across Europe. The aim is to try and find out why this pestilence happened and to see if lessons could be learned. At the same time an Italian monk is dealing with the outbreak as best he can until he remains the only one of the monastery still alive. At this stage he becomes involved with the alien group. I have a number of issues with the book. The details of the oneirophage and why it is so deadly are never spelt out. The word is a portmanteau word, oneiro meaning pertaining to dreams and phage 'a thing that devours'. So the plague is 'something that devours dreams'. So. What is the effect on those affected. What is so deadly about it. Travel between the various worlds or planes of the multiverse is controlled by the amalgamates who use 'plane ships'. What is never made clear is whether these have time travel capabilities. How did the team arrive on 14th century Earth. Was it just serendipity that 'our' Earth just happened to be at the 14th century at the time the plaue hit the Unity? The reasons for the denouement are not fully explained either. To save spoilers I won't say more about that. I see this is described as vol. 1 in a series. Maybe the next book(s) will explain some of these issues.
May 1, 2018
Well, this is definitely a book I'm having trouble figuring out my feelings about. Possibly because I found the entity revealed to be behind the scenes simultaneously offputting in its goals and perspectives, and in how central it became to the plot once I'd settled into a set of different assumptions about what the main conflict was. I did very much enjoy the setting(s) and overall concept, and Niccolucio and Meloku especially made for engaging POV chapters (Meloku! I was seriously rooting for her, I've got to admit) - and I suspect the interplane entity & associated conflict will feel less jarring to me in subsequent books when I'm expecting that as a primary plot element? But otherwise, my main complaints were mostly that the amount of time passing between chapters often felt unclear and was thus disorienting; and that aside from Meloku's POV sections, the Unity and the oneirophage themselves felt too emotionally remote compared to the historical Earth setting.
July 7, 2018
Not great, but readable. I'd recommend The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis instead.
Overall, the writing was too dense and expository. The characters...a little wooden. The world-building was interesting, but only that.
Would I read a sequel? Most likely not.
Overall, the writing was too dense and expository. The characters...a little wooden. The world-building was interesting, but only that.
Would I read a sequel? Most likely not.
August 12, 2018
The plot shifts pretty significantly about halfway through and I rapidly started to lose interest at that point. Gave up entirely around 75% of the way in.
December 28, 2019
Review of Tristan Palmgren's Quietus: Frustrating and Not Recommended.
Quietus has a fairly convoluted set-up, in support of an even more convoluted execution, so bear with me on this: Dr. Habidah Shen leads a team of transplanar anthropologists, from the parallel-universe spanning civilization known as The Unity, on an expedition to 14th century Europe to study how the natives (that's us) react and adapt to one of the worst ongoing disasters in human history, specifically, the Black Plague. Most of the book alternates between the viewpoints of Habidah (or less frequently another member of her team) or a native monk of the Sacre Cuore monastery named Niccoluccio.
(If it's not clear from that description, I'll emphasize that Habidah and her team are humans, not aliens in disguise.)
This, as you might expect from the description, is a grim, grim book, because Palmgren does not spare the reader from descriptions of the horror that is plague-stricken Europe, either from the viewpoint of the anthropologists or the locals.
This book actually put me in mind of two (actually three) others.
One is Days of Cain by JR Dunn: Gaspar James is a time travelling agent of our hyper-evolved post-human descendants at the far end of history, tasked with stopping the renegade time travel agent Alma Lewin as (after she tried and failed to kill Hitler) she tries to avert or somehow soften the Holocaust.
The others are Emissaries from the Dead and The Third Claw of God, by Adam-Troy Castro: Andrea Cort, the emotionally-shattered and self-reconstructed survivor of an infamous (fictitious, future) atrocity works for the human-run Diplomatic Corps but becomes caught in the dealings of the hyper-technological AISource.
Here, the Unity is run by the hyper-advanced Amalgamate artificial intelligences and their post-human agents. That makes it part of the same theme as the other two: Humans, witness to scenes of terrible suffering on massive scales, unable to do anything about it (here, the Unity anthropologists are explicitly forbidden from curing the plague, and lack the resources or training to do it), against a background where the ultra-advanced prime movers are sufficiently god-like as to be God-like. The questions of Why, Damn It, Why?! start to have a particular focus.
This one doesn't work for me. I mean, aside from the book repeatedly forcing my head into buckets of lye and gall to make its point. On @Pam K's four point escapist scale, this is about a negative 6 (Days of Cain, negative 10; Andrea Cort novels, negative 2) but I'm tolerant of that and I had a strong inkling of what I was getting in to.
No, the problem is that for the first two thirds of the book, Palmgren puts his considerable talents in service to a slow, almost dirge-like meditation on morality and authority in times of existential crisis-- when do you obey authority, when do you rebel, what do you/can you do, when you as an individual or a society are in a true existential crisis-- and then takes a hard turn into straight up weird for the last act.
This is when, unlike other books of this particularly grim style, we got a good solid look into what was actually happening at the level of the shadowy Amalgamates and... it didn't make a god damned bit of sense. There are a lot of high concept transhuman ideas getting slung around at lightning speed, mixed together with a lot of musing on the philosophical ramifications of infinite parallel plans and much of it (especially the latter) was dope-smoking sophomore gibberish. Having it come from the metaphorical mouths of god-like aliens really destroyed everything this book was trying to achieve. You can't convince me your meditations on the grand questions is meaningful, when the revealed reasons for the whole plot are shown to be babbling idiocy. It just poisons the whole work.
So, even if this book had been better executed, I wouldn't recommend it, per se, because of the unrelenting darkness. But I wouldn't anti-recommend it. Add in the gibberish, though, and I'll actively warn people away.
Quietus has a fairly convoluted set-up, in support of an even more convoluted execution, so bear with me on this: Dr. Habidah Shen leads a team of transplanar anthropologists, from the parallel-universe spanning civilization known as The Unity, on an expedition to 14th century Europe to study how the natives (that's us) react and adapt to one of the worst ongoing disasters in human history, specifically, the Black Plague. Most of the book alternates between the viewpoints of Habidah (or less frequently another member of her team) or a native monk of the Sacre Cuore monastery named Niccoluccio.
(If it's not clear from that description, I'll emphasize that Habidah and her team are humans, not aliens in disguise.)
This, as you might expect from the description, is a grim, grim book, because Palmgren does not spare the reader from descriptions of the horror that is plague-stricken Europe, either from the viewpoint of the anthropologists or the locals.
This book actually put me in mind of two (actually three) others.
One is Days of Cain by JR Dunn: Gaspar James is a time travelling agent of our hyper-evolved post-human descendants at the far end of history, tasked with stopping the renegade time travel agent Alma Lewin as (after she tried and failed to kill Hitler) she tries to avert or somehow soften the Holocaust.
The others are Emissaries from the Dead and The Third Claw of God, by Adam-Troy Castro: Andrea Cort, the emotionally-shattered and self-reconstructed survivor of an infamous (fictitious, future) atrocity works for the human-run Diplomatic Corps but becomes caught in the dealings of the hyper-technological AISource.
Here, the Unity is run by the hyper-advanced Amalgamate artificial intelligences and their post-human agents. That makes it part of the same theme as the other two: Humans, witness to scenes of terrible suffering on massive scales, unable to do anything about it (here, the Unity anthropologists are explicitly forbidden from curing the plague, and lack the resources or training to do it), against a background where the ultra-advanced prime movers are sufficiently god-like as to be God-like. The questions of Why, Damn It, Why?! start to have a particular focus.
This one doesn't work for me. I mean, aside from the book repeatedly forcing my head into buckets of lye and gall to make its point. On @Pam K's four point escapist scale, this is about a negative 6 (Days of Cain, negative 10; Andrea Cort novels, negative 2) but I'm tolerant of that and I had a strong inkling of what I was getting in to.
No, the problem is that for the first two thirds of the book, Palmgren puts his considerable talents in service to a slow, almost dirge-like meditation on morality and authority in times of existential crisis-- when do you obey authority, when do you rebel, what do you/can you do, when you as an individual or a society are in a true existential crisis-- and then takes a hard turn into straight up weird for the last act.
This is when, unlike other books of this particularly grim style, we got a good solid look into what was actually happening at the level of the shadowy Amalgamates and... it didn't make a god damned bit of sense. There are a lot of high concept transhuman ideas getting slung around at lightning speed, mixed together with a lot of musing on the philosophical ramifications of infinite parallel plans and much of it (especially the latter) was dope-smoking sophomore gibberish. Having it come from the metaphorical mouths of god-like aliens really destroyed everything this book was trying to achieve. You can't convince me your meditations on the grand questions is meaningful, when the revealed reasons for the whole plot are shown to be babbling idiocy. It just poisons the whole work.
So, even if this book had been better executed, I wouldn't recommend it, per se, because of the unrelenting darkness. But I wouldn't anti-recommend it. Add in the gibberish, though, and I'll actively warn people away.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2021
People from another, far more advanced timeline are visiting, during the height of the Black Plague. Not to help, although they easily could, but to study how populations cope with plagues in general, because they're facing another, different type. One of the researchers, frustrated at not being allowed to do anything to help these people, saves one monk from death, and both of them are drawin itno a plot that reveals there may be even more nefarious plans for this world.
I'll admit to a little hesitancy going into this book as often books set in some kind of historical era don't work well for me. But enough about the concept interested me that I was willing to try it on a whim, and, largely, I think I'm glad I did. The story wound up being more interesting than I initially gave it credit for and what problems I had with the book were wholly unconnected to the time period it was set. And it's a hefty sized book with most of it set in medieval Europe, so that's saying something, the author's got a knack of telling stories in such time periods that work for me, I guess.
I did have a few issues with it though. First, I never really bought into the "we're studying this world and how it deals with a plague so we can learn how to deal with our own" premise because the plagues described are completely different and aside from vague things like 'wow a lot of people really do turn to religion' the author never really sold how that kind of data might help a trans-dimensional society that their own varied histories wouldn't. Like even on a surface level. I'd almost have been more happy if they just said "we like studying different worlds without interfering although seeing this world and how they're dealing with a big plague is hitting too close to home since we are as well" as I could accept that premise much more easily.
Secondly, and I'll try to dance around spoilers, but there's some revelations of another party at play and... it has some ideas I certainly enjoyed seeing somebody play with but I never felt like obvious (to me) questions were addressed. Maybe in the sequel, but for now it is a flaw. And, for that matter, towards the end I felt my interest in the story flagging a bit, the way the plot when it started to feel like the characters and their struggles didn't really matter and certain plot threads never felt like they got any satisfactory conclusion.
But I liked what I got enough to, eventually, pick up the sequel, and perhaps give a look at other stuff the author might write.
I'd put it at probably 3-3.5 stars.
I'll admit to a little hesitancy going into this book as often books set in some kind of historical era don't work well for me. But enough about the concept interested me that I was willing to try it on a whim, and, largely, I think I'm glad I did. The story wound up being more interesting than I initially gave it credit for and what problems I had with the book were wholly unconnected to the time period it was set. And it's a hefty sized book with most of it set in medieval Europe, so that's saying something, the author's got a knack of telling stories in such time periods that work for me, I guess.
I did have a few issues with it though. First, I never really bought into the "we're studying this world and how it deals with a plague so we can learn how to deal with our own" premise because the plagues described are completely different and aside from vague things like 'wow a lot of people really do turn to religion' the author never really sold how that kind of data might help a trans-dimensional society that their own varied histories wouldn't. Like even on a surface level. I'd almost have been more happy if they just said "we like studying different worlds without interfering although seeing this world and how they're dealing with a big plague is hitting too close to home since we are as well" as I could accept that premise much more easily.
Secondly, and I'll try to dance around spoilers, but there's some revelations of another party at play and... it has some ideas I certainly enjoyed seeing somebody play with but I never felt like obvious (to me) questions were addressed. Maybe in the sequel, but for now it is a flaw. And, for that matter, towards the end I felt my interest in the story flagging a bit, the way the plot when it started to feel like the characters and their struggles didn't really matter and certain plot threads never felt like they got any satisfactory conclusion.
But I liked what I got enough to, eventually, pick up the sequel, and perhaps give a look at other stuff the author might write.
I'd put it at probably 3-3.5 stars.
September 24, 2019
This review originally published in < ahref="http://www.lookingforagoodbook.com&qu... For a Good Book. Rated 3.5 of 5
Niccolucio is a devout monk of the Florentine Carthusian order. When the plague known as the Black Death claims the lives of not only most of the villagers near his order, but also all of his brothers. Despite being spared for the time being, Niccolucio can't help but have doubts surrounding his piety.
Niccolucio is saved from near death by Habidah, an anthropologist from another universe that is suffering from the plague. She is overwhelmed with grief for all the suffering on the worlds. But in breaking the rules of observer neutrality Habidah finds herself and Niccolucio in a galaxy-spanning conspiracy.
In so many ways this book is really two different books. The first portion sets up the severity of the Black Death and the struggle to find something to believe in when in the face of devastation and despair. It is an engrossing beginning that really draws the reader in. Habidah's arrival and the early mystery surrounding who she is also draws the reader into the story quite well. In this early going I really expected that I had found another five star book.
But all of this early work is set-up - background information on the characters and the worlds. The plot of the book comes after Niccolucio and Habidah get together and the plot actually slows the story down and makes this character study less interesting.
A big part of this is simply that author Tristan Palmgren did such a good job with the early portion of the novel that I didn't want the story to change. I was enjoying the book and then got a big story shift that I wasn't prepared for and so I was taken out of my reading comfort. Going in to the next book in the series (because of course there will be a next volume because no one writes just a stand-alone book any more) I'll have a better understanding of what I'm getting in to (unless Palmgren gives us another complete story shift), which I suspect will make the progress a little easier.
Looking for a good book? Quietus, by Tristan Palmgren is a well-written historical/alternate history fantasy, but be prepared for a big story shift.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Niccolucio is a devout monk of the Florentine Carthusian order. When the plague known as the Black Death claims the lives of not only most of the villagers near his order, but also all of his brothers. Despite being spared for the time being, Niccolucio can't help but have doubts surrounding his piety.
Niccolucio is saved from near death by Habidah, an anthropologist from another universe that is suffering from the plague. She is overwhelmed with grief for all the suffering on the worlds. But in breaking the rules of observer neutrality Habidah finds herself and Niccolucio in a galaxy-spanning conspiracy.
In so many ways this book is really two different books. The first portion sets up the severity of the Black Death and the struggle to find something to believe in when in the face of devastation and despair. It is an engrossing beginning that really draws the reader in. Habidah's arrival and the early mystery surrounding who she is also draws the reader into the story quite well. In this early going I really expected that I had found another five star book.
But all of this early work is set-up - background information on the characters and the worlds. The plot of the book comes after Niccolucio and Habidah get together and the plot actually slows the story down and makes this character study less interesting.
A big part of this is simply that author Tristan Palmgren did such a good job with the early portion of the novel that I didn't want the story to change. I was enjoying the book and then got a big story shift that I wasn't prepared for and so I was taken out of my reading comfort. Going in to the next book in the series (because of course there will be a next volume because no one writes just a stand-alone book any more) I'll have a better understanding of what I'm getting in to (unless Palmgren gives us another complete story shift), which I suspect will make the progress a little easier.
Looking for a good book? Quietus, by Tristan Palmgren is a well-written historical/alternate history fantasy, but be prepared for a big story shift.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
June 18, 2022
The Black Death is horribly fascinating to me. 14th Century Europe - what must people have thought…”divine punishment”, I guess. End of days. That’s in this book. Also - aliens lurking on Earth, who, for their own tragic reasons, need to rediscover how humanity copes with deadly, sweeping plague.
I wish some of the big concepts had been more fully fleshed out - multiplanar existence, the Unity, even what the aliens really hope to gain from monitoring all the human suffering - but the book had me hooked with an early phrase along the lines of “the Unity’s government could perhaps best be described as an espiocracy”. Or was it “espionocracy”?. Either way, I thought “okay, that means spies!”. And I love spy fiction.
But then again, after that tease it doesn’t really become an SF/Espionage hybrid. What it did do, very successfully, was make me care with main character and monk, Niccoluccio. I cared about whether he held on to his religion, because whatever I think of religion in 2022, it’s not like science was going to step in and save him…so when religion is all you got, for hope and sense, I get it. Regardless, Niccoluccio’s world gets disintegrated and flipped up and down in several different ways - the Black Plague, painful inner changes to his own psyche, and let’s not forget the advanced aliens. By the end, Niccoluccio is not the man he was, let’s leave it at that.
I loved the look at 14th Century Europe, for sure - and if there’s one thing in common with a good spy novel, we do change locations. A remote monastery, Avignon, Venice, uhh…the space between the Planes, that wasn’t totally known to exist. Reality beyond…alright, let’s not spoil anything.
Even in the face of the wide scope, this book got me thinking a lot about things like faith, intervention or the withholding of it, empathy and obligation or the lack of it, and the fact that whether there be divine beings or not, or even powerful aliens (with their own problems and fractures), at least humans are learners who can choose to contemplate death and accept that we might be wrong about it…
Thanks Matt, for a wonderful SF suggestion. It’s not a 5 star read for me, but it’s a strong, engrossing 4 star trip to various inner and outer places of fascination. And for now, that’s the multiverse.
I wish some of the big concepts had been more fully fleshed out - multiplanar existence, the Unity, even what the aliens really hope to gain from monitoring all the human suffering - but the book had me hooked with an early phrase along the lines of “the Unity’s government could perhaps best be described as an espiocracy”. Or was it “espionocracy”?. Either way, I thought “okay, that means spies!”. And I love spy fiction.
But then again, after that tease it doesn’t really become an SF/Espionage hybrid. What it did do, very successfully, was make me care with main character and monk, Niccoluccio. I cared about whether he held on to his religion, because whatever I think of religion in 2022, it’s not like science was going to step in and save him…so when religion is all you got, for hope and sense, I get it. Regardless, Niccoluccio’s world gets disintegrated and flipped up and down in several different ways - the Black Plague, painful inner changes to his own psyche, and let’s not forget the advanced aliens. By the end, Niccoluccio is not the man he was, let’s leave it at that.
I loved the look at 14th Century Europe, for sure - and if there’s one thing in common with a good spy novel, we do change locations. A remote monastery, Avignon, Venice, uhh…the space between the Planes, that wasn’t totally known to exist. Reality beyond…alright, let’s not spoil anything.
Even in the face of the wide scope, this book got me thinking a lot about things like faith, intervention or the withholding of it, empathy and obligation or the lack of it, and the fact that whether there be divine beings or not, or even powerful aliens (with their own problems and fractures), at least humans are learners who can choose to contemplate death and accept that we might be wrong about it…
Thanks Matt, for a wonderful SF suggestion. It’s not a 5 star read for me, but it’s a strong, engrossing 4 star trip to various inner and outer places of fascination. And for now, that’s the multiverse.
October 28, 2018
"Quietus" is an impressive debut, no question, as Tristan Palmgren just keeps diving deeper into his insertion of more advanced anthropological observers into the arrival of the bubonic plague in Europe. A familiar trope -- should those who know more interfere? -- slowly becomes more and more complex, and expectations shift from start to end.
That said, I'd probably give "Quietus" a 3.5 because Palmgren can't quite live up to the setup in his conclusion, there's a logical hole in his premise, and there's a serious metaphysical issue as well. The first of that trio is not uncommon, and he doesn't fall short by much, but the second is more troubling. Palmgren uses the multiverse theory as his jumping-off point, so the observers are from another "plane," which is a parallel world in an infinite multiverse. The problem is that the theory would say that our entire universe is part of the plane, yet he limits the interaction on this and other planes to just a single planet -- as if there are no other planets of interest to the AI powers in this or other galaxies in our unimaginably huge universe.
And of course, once you start positing infinities in any aspect, you run into lots and lots of philosophical issues. A simple one is this: If there are infinite Earths just like the one in which you are reading this review, in one of them, dragons emerge from your floor and eat you alive before you can finish this sentence. That, after all, is what infinity implies.
Still, however, "Quietus" is a good read, and also marks the emergence of a promising writer who should only get better -- and there's always room for more talent.
That said, I'd probably give "Quietus" a 3.5 because Palmgren can't quite live up to the setup in his conclusion, there's a logical hole in his premise, and there's a serious metaphysical issue as well. The first of that trio is not uncommon, and he doesn't fall short by much, but the second is more troubling. Palmgren uses the multiverse theory as his jumping-off point, so the observers are from another "plane," which is a parallel world in an infinite multiverse. The problem is that the theory would say that our entire universe is part of the plane, yet he limits the interaction on this and other planes to just a single planet -- as if there are no other planets of interest to the AI powers in this or other galaxies in our unimaginably huge universe.
And of course, once you start positing infinities in any aspect, you run into lots and lots of philosophical issues. A simple one is this: If there are infinite Earths just like the one in which you are reading this review, in one of them, dragons emerge from your floor and eat you alive before you can finish this sentence. That, after all, is what infinity implies.
Still, however, "Quietus" is a good read, and also marks the emergence of a promising writer who should only get better -- and there's always room for more talent.
July 29, 2025
I have no idea what to say for this review lol. I sped through most of the book and enjoyed everything despite the ending... I think?? The writing is really easy to read, but it's not bland or reminiscent of YA. I didn't even have to think that hard about the sci-fi stuff or mystery plotline because Palmgren kinda hands it too you--and I was too lazy to actually try to figure it out.
Anyways I'm really glad Habida and Niccolucio stayed platonic besties. Super surprised at the bisexual and polysexual representation from a book set in a historical setting, but I'm not complaining. I thought it was interesting how Nic's relationship with the Church evolved over the course of the book. Also the whole interdimensional travel into infinite planes through planted memories is crazyyyy. Nic got so enlightened lmfao. I kinda miss the old him but his enlightened version was cool too. I also liked Meloku's character and I honestly think it was good for her to lose her AI caretaker. She was really pathetic lol.
There were more lot of interesting concepts that I could've ranted about when I was reading this, but this review is too late for that I think. Let's just appreciate how Palmgren simultaneously tackled sociological problems as well as scientific ones in this little book. Unfortunately, I have no idea where I can find the next book without resorting to Amazon, so I don't think I'll be continuing this series.
Anyways I'm really glad Habida and Niccolucio stayed platonic besties. Super surprised at the bisexual and polysexual representation from a book set in a historical setting, but I'm not complaining. I thought it was interesting how Nic's relationship with the Church evolved over the course of the book. Also the whole interdimensional travel into infinite planes through planted memories is crazyyyy. Nic got so enlightened lmfao. I kinda miss the old him but his enlightened version was cool too. I also liked Meloku's character and I honestly think it was good for her to lose her AI caretaker. She was really pathetic lol.
There were more lot of interesting concepts that I could've ranted about when I was reading this, but this review is too late for that I think. Let's just appreciate how Palmgren simultaneously tackled sociological problems as well as scientific ones in this little book. Unfortunately, I have no idea where I can find the next book without resorting to Amazon, so I don't think I'll be continuing this series.
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