A. Murtagh's Blog - Posts Tagged "sci-fi"
Book of the Week (imho): Sentinels
Hello, and welcome all to Book of the Week, where every week I’ll try to bring you the best fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction and other out-there books that you mightn’t see on the bestsellers lists (yet, at least), along with extras like author interviews. Find the main blog at book-of-the-week.blogspot.com .
This week’s book is the quirky sci-fi Sentinels by Linn Schwab, the first novel in what will be a series. The next instalment is due out in autumn 2013; stay tuned.
The plot:
Sentinels revolves around the century-old war between the human colonists of the planet Valhalla and their enemies from…Earth. Girls on Valhalla (there are no males) are institutionalised from ‘birth’ and raised to defend their home, relying on strong comradeship with their fellow fighters to see them through. At the start of the book, a young soldier (sentinel) called Virginia finds herself bereft of her squadron and thrust into the spotlight, in her first battle flying solo, while a little girl named Robin begins her journey through the machine of Valhalla…
What it reminded me of:
The space parts and battles reminded me of the Zion scenes in the Matrix. Mixed with Star Wars. A lot of it really just had its own vibe, and it did remind me more of movies and TV shows than books I’ve read.
What makes it stand out:
A lot of things, really. The opening battle scene had me hooked with its great writing, and the view of the friendly-yet-mechanical institutions on Valhalla was enthralling and oddly…homely. But probably the best aspect for me was the lack of clichés. There are times when you see things from an enemy’s point of view, as well as the fact that the enemy is Earth, and the Sentinels themselves are fairly ruthless in battle. Schwab even manages an original take on the whole ‘no men’ thing - it’s not feminist or anti-feminist, just sad. The book shows groups of people being awful to each other, even as individuals are mostly trying to do the right thing. Complex and realistic, but a world away from being one of those ‘people are shit’ books.
Good quote:
“Virginia often wondered about the girl she’d replaced. Several questions in particular kept swirling through her mind: What was she like? Was she a good pilot? Was she killed, or did she receive a promotion? She guessed that the girl had probably been killed because no one had come forward to tell her about it.”
Happy holidays and New Year everyone! Next post on Wednesday 2nd.
This week’s book is the quirky sci-fi Sentinels by Linn Schwab, the first novel in what will be a series. The next instalment is due out in autumn 2013; stay tuned.
The plot:
Sentinels revolves around the century-old war between the human colonists of the planet Valhalla and their enemies from…Earth. Girls on Valhalla (there are no males) are institutionalised from ‘birth’ and raised to defend their home, relying on strong comradeship with their fellow fighters to see them through. At the start of the book, a young soldier (sentinel) called Virginia finds herself bereft of her squadron and thrust into the spotlight, in her first battle flying solo, while a little girl named Robin begins her journey through the machine of Valhalla…
What it reminded me of:
The space parts and battles reminded me of the Zion scenes in the Matrix. Mixed with Star Wars. A lot of it really just had its own vibe, and it did remind me more of movies and TV shows than books I’ve read.
What makes it stand out:
A lot of things, really. The opening battle scene had me hooked with its great writing, and the view of the friendly-yet-mechanical institutions on Valhalla was enthralling and oddly…homely. But probably the best aspect for me was the lack of clichés. There are times when you see things from an enemy’s point of view, as well as the fact that the enemy is Earth, and the Sentinels themselves are fairly ruthless in battle. Schwab even manages an original take on the whole ‘no men’ thing - it’s not feminist or anti-feminist, just sad. The book shows groups of people being awful to each other, even as individuals are mostly trying to do the right thing. Complex and realistic, but a world away from being one of those ‘people are shit’ books.
Good quote:
“Virginia often wondered about the girl she’d replaced. Several questions in particular kept swirling through her mind: What was she like? Was she a good pilot? Was she killed, or did she receive a promotion? She guessed that the girl had probably been killed because no one had come forward to tell her about it.”
Happy holidays and New Year everyone! Next post on Wednesday 2nd.
