Runo Knows...The Clan Corporate
So back a while ago I mentioned that I was getting a bit disenfranchised with this latest installment in Charles Stross' Merchant Princes series.
It starts off slow. It's the third book in the series, with a fourth coming out later this fall. So there's a lot of back story in there, and even more setup for future stories.
So it drags along. Miriam is basically held hostage, away from New London (Earth 3) and trapped in Earth 2 thanks to the events that Matthias set in motion in the previous book. She's angry at everyone, petulant, almost to the point of annoyance. Yes, we know she'll stick her nose where it doesn't belong, and she doesn't like the world she's been cast into, she thinks it should be better (aka perfect). But she keeps doing so even when everyone knows (and you'd think she would know) it's stupid, does it clumsily, and gets herself into more trouble.
Basically the deadline is looming - she needs to start popping out kids or she's likely to have a death warrant on her. It's all due to the genetic nature of the gift of world-walking.
Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend Mike is getting pulled into the conspiracy via another side.
As the book progresses, it moves somewhat slowly, and then suddenly at the end accelerates like crazy, setting up a cliff-hanger for the book and throwing all the big plans into commotion.
Which makes the payoff worth the wait.
It also gets a bit more political - some discussions about what the US government is willing to do post-9/11. It doesn't feel forced, and it doesn't feel black and white - but it adds some more modern relevancy into the situation.
So it's a good continuation. Will I get the next one? Yeah, probably. In hardcover? I dunno. I loathe hardcovers for the most part, for reasons I'll go into later (preferably when I have a more ergonomic setting for typing it out).
It starts off slow. It's the third book in the series, with a fourth coming out later this fall. So there's a lot of back story in there, and even more setup for future stories.
So it drags along. Miriam is basically held hostage, away from New London (Earth 3) and trapped in Earth 2 thanks to the events that Matthias set in motion in the previous book. She's angry at everyone, petulant, almost to the point of annoyance. Yes, we know she'll stick her nose where it doesn't belong, and she doesn't like the world she's been cast into, she thinks it should be better (aka perfect). But she keeps doing so even when everyone knows (and you'd think she would know) it's stupid, does it clumsily, and gets herself into more trouble.
Basically the deadline is looming - she needs to start popping out kids or she's likely to have a death warrant on her. It's all due to the genetic nature of the gift of world-walking.
Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend Mike is getting pulled into the conspiracy via another side.
As the book progresses, it moves somewhat slowly, and then suddenly at the end accelerates like crazy, setting up a cliff-hanger for the book and throwing all the big plans into commotion.
Which makes the payoff worth the wait.
It also gets a bit more political - some discussions about what the US government is willing to do post-9/11. It doesn't feel forced, and it doesn't feel black and white - but it adds some more modern relevancy into the situation.
So it's a good continuation. Will I get the next one? Yeah, probably. In hardcover? I dunno. I loathe hardcovers for the most part, for reasons I'll go into later (preferably when I have a more ergonomic setting for typing it out).