This is a good sequel but not as good as the first novel. Check my previous post. Again we follow Breq, the protagonist of the first story, now on a mission to keep a section of Radch space safe from its own ruler.
The writing is excellent, addictive. The plot focuses very much on a specific situation outside (and on) a planet. The character of Breq is further developed as she becomes a fleet captain exercising her power on a colonised planet.
Unlike the first book, most of the story in this novel takes place in space, either travelling or on a Space station. However it didn't feel like a space opera to me. I think it was because the story did not involve (or very little) any descriptions of spaceship technology, but was more concerned with interactions inside the spacecraft and space station.
As with the first book, I liked the idea of Intelligent Spacecrafts as well as AIs embodied in (dead) human bodies. The writer created a powerful narrative with these concepts exploring the political, economic and social impact on a human civilisation on a galactic scale. Themes such as gender, identity, slavery, hierarchy, colonisation and others. However there were some gaps I kept wanting to be filled. For example the story never explains AI from the scientific and technological points of view. The main character, a spaceship AI, 3 thousand year old, has lived a long life, but we never know if it has been upgraded, or improved. Actually technology doesn't seem to have changed so much in that time. New spaceships do not differ much from the old ones. How is that possible? I kept asking myself, more questions, How a civilisation so advanced that can Insert/Upload a Human or Artificial Consciousness on a Human Brain, be so decadent in other aspects? Why do Humans not enhance their intelligence? What about Uploading human consciousness on machines? Hehe, cough, cough, perhaps I'm asking the author to write a different book...
No comments:
Post a Comment