What do you think?
Rate this book
Heaven's Shadow #2
Heaven's War
When it first appeared, the astronomers named the asteroid Keanu.
A Near Earth Object, from a distant constellation, it was headed directly toward our sun.
But when we went to meet it, it turned out to be far more than a huge rock hurtling through space...
The two teams of astronauts sent to explore Keanu discovered it is, in fact, a spacecraft, a giant ship with an alien crew. A ship that had headed to Earth with a mission and a message: Help Us. A brave new frontier beckons. But we are about to learn that it comes with a price...
Without warning, the aliens transport small groups of humans from the competing scientific communities of Houston, Texas and Bangalore, India to the vast interior habitats of Keanu. Their first challenge is to survive. Their second; to discover why The Architects—the unknown, unseen aliens controlling the asteroid—brought them there. And soon a third emerges: they must find a way to take control of Keanu.
Because the NEO is moving again—away from Earth. The Architects are headed home...
A Near Earth Object, from a distant constellation, it was headed directly toward our sun.
But when we went to meet it, it turned out to be far more than a huge rock hurtling through space...
The two teams of astronauts sent to explore Keanu discovered it is, in fact, a spacecraft, a giant ship with an alien crew. A ship that had headed to Earth with a mission and a message: Help Us. A brave new frontier beckons. But we are about to learn that it comes with a price...
Without warning, the aliens transport small groups of humans from the competing scientific communities of Houston, Texas and Bangalore, India to the vast interior habitats of Keanu. Their first challenge is to survive. Their second; to discover why The Architects—the unknown, unseen aliens controlling the asteroid—brought them there. And soon a third emerges: they must find a way to take control of Keanu.
Because the NEO is moving again—away from Earth. The Architects are headed home...
448 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2012
25 people are currently reading
420 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
March 9, 2013
Warning: the sequel to heaven's Shadow begins almost immediately where the original volume ended so spectacularly, with the so-called alien 'vesicles' transporting a random assortment of people to the Keanu NEO.
Initially, I thought this lack of a proper beginning meant an inevitably weaker middle volume. However, once you get past the problematic beginning, and our intrepid sorties begin to explore the mysterious interior of Keanu, the authors carefully ratchet up the suspense and intrigue.
As with the first volume, the real joy of this is the meticulous world-building and attention to the scientific and socio-political impact of First Contact. Some people will find this boring; I think many diehard SF fans will be in, er, seventh heaven at this clever trilogy, which is shaping up to be one of the more important SF trilogies of recent times.
Hugely enjoyable, exciting to read and fun to try and work out where the authors are going with this. The ending to Heaven's War seems quieter than Heaven's Shadow, but in many respects the implications are much, much bigger. It will be fascinating to see how all this is concluded in Heaven's Fall, out in July, I think.
And an aside: some reviews have commented on the lack of characterisation. I think the characters are perfectly serviceable to the story, and there is sufficient variety and backgrounds to make for interesting interactions (there is even a science fiction writer, a hack who is a bit of a prick, and a source of much humour). The alien creatures are well thought out and truly alien. And there is even a dog and cute moppet of a child ... who turns into a vicious murderer. What is there not to like?
Initially, I thought this lack of a proper beginning meant an inevitably weaker middle volume. However, once you get past the problematic beginning, and our intrepid sorties begin to explore the mysterious interior of Keanu, the authors carefully ratchet up the suspense and intrigue.
As with the first volume, the real joy of this is the meticulous world-building and attention to the scientific and socio-political impact of First Contact. Some people will find this boring; I think many diehard SF fans will be in, er, seventh heaven at this clever trilogy, which is shaping up to be one of the more important SF trilogies of recent times.
Hugely enjoyable, exciting to read and fun to try and work out where the authors are going with this. The ending to Heaven's War seems quieter than Heaven's Shadow, but in many respects the implications are much, much bigger. It will be fascinating to see how all this is concluded in Heaven's Fall, out in July, I think.
And an aside: some reviews have commented on the lack of characterisation. I think the characters are perfectly serviceable to the story, and there is sufficient variety and backgrounds to make for interesting interactions (there is even a science fiction writer, a hack who is a bit of a prick, and a source of much humour). The alien creatures are well thought out and truly alien. And there is even a dog and cute moppet of a child ... who turns into a vicious murderer. What is there not to like?
November 3, 2012
Maybe I read into the ending of the first book a bit too much, but to me it implied a much larger scope for the second book. Humanity being enlisted in a thousands year old intergalactic war. I definitely did not expect the story to be a few days in the life of people exploring a breaking down alien space ship, but that is what I got.
I was also really disappointed by the pacing and ultimately the ending. The story creeps forward at a snail's pace, introducing threat after threat, then the final chapter jumps forwards twenty years and basically solves most of the plot threads by way of a two page info dump. In my opinion, the events that take place during this twenty year jump would have been much more interesting than anything that happens in the few days that most of the story takes place in.
The story that is setup for the third book could be interesting, except that it will most likely suffer from the same small scope that stifled these first two books.
I was also really disappointed by the pacing and ultimately the ending. The story creeps forward at a snail's pace, introducing threat after threat, then the final chapter jumps forwards twenty years and basically solves most of the plot threads by way of a two page info dump. In my opinion, the events that take place during this twenty year jump would have been much more interesting than anything that happens in the few days that most of the story takes place in.
The story that is setup for the third book could be interesting, except that it will most likely suffer from the same small scope that stifled these first two books.
June 29, 2020
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3405907.html
It turns out to be the second book in a series where I have not read the first, and the action is so tightly connected to the previous volume that I could not make head nor tail of it, and gave up after only 16 pages. For what it's worth, the characters seemed to me to be behaving very oddly, but I was not interested enough to keep reading and find out why.
It turns out to be the second book in a series where I have not read the first, and the action is so tightly connected to the previous volume that I could not make head nor tail of it, and gave up after only 16 pages. For what it's worth, the characters seemed to me to be behaving very oddly, but I was not interested enough to keep reading and find out why.
December 5, 2012
Read my review at Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys. Can't wait for the movies! :)
Heaven's War review
Heaven's War review
March 16, 2022
Arrival Day - Brandon
I really tried with this series, but I'm at my limit.
It was just a tired slog again. The first time felt a little more fun because it at least had the veneer of a NASA mission, but this time that was gone. What was left was a "survival" story where, about halfway in, our "survivors" have access to a machine that can make basically whatever the story requires.
They manage to get a political system in place on day 1. Is it interesting? No. Is it needed? Also no.
They encounter a variety of alien species that have weird interconnected relationships. Is it interesting? Maybe, it's hard to tell because getting a straight answer is pretty rare. Is it fun? Who cares because I barely understand the situation well enough to know how I feel about it.
By the time the answers did come, anything would have been a let down, and it was more or less a let down.
I can't bring myself to go to book 3.
My advice with this entire series is to find someone who has read it all and just have a 10 minute conversation.
It's Lost, In Space. And it's Lost In Space.
I really tried with this series, but I'm at my limit.
It was just a tired slog again. The first time felt a little more fun because it at least had the veneer of a NASA mission, but this time that was gone. What was left was a "survival" story where, about halfway in, our "survivors" have access to a machine that can make basically whatever the story requires.
They manage to get a political system in place on day 1. Is it interesting? No. Is it needed? Also no.
They encounter a variety of alien species that have weird interconnected relationships. Is it interesting? Maybe, it's hard to tell because getting a straight answer is pretty rare. Is it fun? Who cares because I barely understand the situation well enough to know how I feel about it.
By the time the answers did come, anything would have been a let down, and it was more or less a let down.
I can't bring myself to go to book 3.
My advice with this entire series is to find someone who has read it all and just have a 10 minute conversation.
It's Lost, In Space. And it's Lost In Space.
July 7, 2020
I found this book to be sublimely boring, full of factual mistakes, astoundingly stereotypical and most of all extremely sexist.
If this book had been written in the fifties I might have understood, but as that is not the case, it just makes me feel like throwing up. There are hardly any women and none are depicted in an even slightly interesting way. They are described as helpless, stupid, fearful, annoying, geeky, etc.
The men of course are brave, dependable, heroic, true martyrs, etc.
It's as if those men who wrote this book have never interacted with women in real life and only know them form books (and those probably written in the fifties).
Most science fiction authors have the decency to imagine a future world where women are more than stereotypes.
My heart weeps for anyone who thinks this a wonderful book.
If this book had been written in the fifties I might have understood, but as that is not the case, it just makes me feel like throwing up. There are hardly any women and none are depicted in an even slightly interesting way. They are described as helpless, stupid, fearful, annoying, geeky, etc.
The men of course are brave, dependable, heroic, true martyrs, etc.
It's as if those men who wrote this book have never interacted with women in real life and only know them form books (and those probably written in the fifties).
Most science fiction authors have the decency to imagine a future world where women are more than stereotypes.
My heart weeps for anyone who thinks this a wonderful book.
December 14, 2018
What happened on the Near Earth Object Keanu--which turned out to be an alien spaceship rather than an asteroid--after it scooped up 187 humans from Houston and Bangalore and ran off with them. There's meeting the builders of the ship and a couple of random alien races collected by them, and meeting the enemy of the builders, the guys the builders have been looking for help in fighting. It's a good story. I even managed to mostly keep everyone straight despite the audio-bookness of it. Although the narrator's Australian and Cajun accents were terrible. He did Chinese and Indian very well. I finished one project and mostly finished another. If I didn't have to crochet an edging, I'd be completely done with two. Oh well. Good read.
April 8, 2022
Starts slow with too many background stories and not enough plot, too much human stuff and not enough scifi initially and then it becomes a bunch of wandering around.
The biggest mystery is why were humans forcibly transported to an alien-controlled asteroid? Plus, everybody is trying to figure out how to survive, how to use the tech, and how to escape. Sometimes people are killed; then they come back as Revenants and say things such as, "I haven't eaten since I got killed."
A theme is expressed by this thought of a survivor:
"No wonder we keep having problems with an alien environment and its inhabitants--we can barely understand people form a different continent!"
Who is the real enemy?
The biggest mystery is why were humans forcibly transported to an alien-controlled asteroid? Plus, everybody is trying to figure out how to survive, how to use the tech, and how to escape. Sometimes people are killed; then they come back as Revenants and say things such as, "I haven't eaten since I got killed."
A theme is expressed by this thought of a survivor:
"No wonder we keep having problems with an alien environment and its inhabitants--we can barely understand people form a different continent!"
Who is the real enemy?
June 25, 2018
Meh. The first book was kind of interesting. This one basically became a series of wild goose chases all over the NEO to accomplish the equivalent of the typical "reboot and hope that fixes the problem". It was a bit a struggle to slog through this one. As my library doesn't carry the third book, I'll be ending this trilogy here.
October 5, 2018
I hate giving bad reviews but... This was painful. Other reviewers say it much more elegantly. But a day from the pov of more than one person needs to have some different things happen to each person to justify doing so. This used introducing their back-stories as the justification. (snore) I hear it gets better at around page 250... (shakes head) I didn't have the patience for that.
January 9, 2018
Second in the series. My attention is flagging, but I'll take a crack at the third after a short break.
March 11, 2021
I really should have read the first one. I was a bit confused
August 31, 2023
The first book is ok…this one just seemed to grind on.
I really can’t even express how strange this one is, and not in a good way.
I really can’t even express how strange this one is, and not in a good way.
May 4, 2013
Bam!! An amazing sequel to Heaven's Shadow, and the action, suspense, mystery, and wonder continue full force!
Picking up where the events of the last book left off--and filling in some backstory for the new characters as well as describing the last moments on Earth for many of the characters we already met in the first installment--Heaven's War takes off from there, as the people from Houston and Bangalore are transported to Near Earth Object Keanu, where NASA astronaut Zack Stewart and Revenant Camilla are waiting for them...as well as some others.
I think it is cool how some of the people usually relegated to the sidelines in stories like this--the employees of mission control, the scientists, the assistants, the family members of the heroes--are ones who are front and center in this adventure, when astronauts Tea, Lucas, Taj, and Natalya, are on their way back to Earth to wait on the sidelines (presumably). And the newcomers to Keanu, the Houston Bangalores (or HBs for short) find themselves in an extremely strange environment, in a "habitat" within the giant asteroid/spaceship that is Keanu, a habitat that is supposed to provide for them. But as they soon discover, all of the high-tech, advanced machines aren't quite working right. (That was an interesting concept--usually we expect millenia-old alien civilizations to have ultra-high technology akin to "magic" that functions flawlessly. Well this technology is pretty amacing--and exciting!--but it certainly isn't flawless.
I like Zack as one of the main protagonists. He's not too macho or cocky...pretty much the polar opposite of Dale Scott. But Zack is a person I'd like, and would want to follow, if I was one of the HBs on Keanu. Rachel and Pav were also great characters...enough traits to make them very believable teenagers, yet not in an annoying or stereotypical way. And I liked what they did with Xavier...taking someone with a disreputable past and really making him someone you'd want on your side, someone you could trust.
These guys (David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt) really know how to keep plot threads tied together. They made references to things in the first book--in the first half of the first book, even--and tied them in so perfectly that it felt like they had the entire thing planned out to a T even on page 1 of the first book. That's pretty cool, and not often done so flawlessly. This was really a pleasure to read.
Lots of plot twists and surprises keep the story interesting as the HBs explore their new world, bit by bit, some groups getting separated from others before joining back up in unexpected circumstances...and I found myself wishing that they had had more time to explore each of the places they visited. Really cool stuff, excellent writing, and I cannot wait for the next installment. These books are some of my new favorites, and I will pretty much buy anything David S. Goyer chooses to write, in novel form, from now on, because I know it is going to be top quality.
Picking up where the events of the last book left off--and filling in some backstory for the new characters as well as describing the last moments on Earth for many of the characters we already met in the first installment--Heaven's War takes off from there, as the people from Houston and Bangalore are transported to Near Earth Object Keanu, where NASA astronaut Zack Stewart and Revenant Camilla are waiting for them...as well as some others.
I think it is cool how some of the people usually relegated to the sidelines in stories like this--the employees of mission control, the scientists, the assistants, the family members of the heroes--are ones who are front and center in this adventure, when astronauts Tea, Lucas, Taj, and Natalya, are on their way back to Earth to wait on the sidelines (presumably). And the newcomers to Keanu, the Houston Bangalores (or HBs for short) find themselves in an extremely strange environment, in a "habitat" within the giant asteroid/spaceship that is Keanu, a habitat that is supposed to provide for them. But as they soon discover, all of the high-tech, advanced machines aren't quite working right. (That was an interesting concept--usually we expect millenia-old alien civilizations to have ultra-high technology akin to "magic" that functions flawlessly. Well this technology is pretty amacing--and exciting!--but it certainly isn't flawless.
I like Zack as one of the main protagonists. He's not too macho or cocky...pretty much the polar opposite of Dale Scott. But Zack is a person I'd like, and would want to follow, if I was one of the HBs on Keanu. Rachel and Pav were also great characters...enough traits to make them very believable teenagers, yet not in an annoying or stereotypical way. And I liked what they did with Xavier...taking someone with a disreputable past and really making him someone you'd want on your side, someone you could trust.
These guys (David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt) really know how to keep plot threads tied together. They made references to things in the first book--in the first half of the first book, even--and tied them in so perfectly that it felt like they had the entire thing planned out to a T even on page 1 of the first book. That's pretty cool, and not often done so flawlessly. This was really a pleasure to read.
Lots of plot twists and surprises keep the story interesting as the HBs explore their new world, bit by bit, some groups getting separated from others before joining back up in unexpected circumstances...and I found myself wishing that they had had more time to explore each of the places they visited. Really cool stuff, excellent writing, and I cannot wait for the next installment. These books are some of my new favorites, and I will pretty much buy anything David S. Goyer chooses to write, in novel form, from now on, because I know it is going to be top quality.
July 23, 2012
After two simultaneous but separate missions to an unidentified object in Earth’s orbit go horribly wrong Zack Stuart is the only astronaut staying behind in its interior. Four of his colleagues and rivals are on their way back to earth, the rest have died on the object affectionately named Keanu.
Meanwhile on earth 187 random people have been picked up from the rival space stations in Houston and Bangalore by big flying orbs and are on their way to Keanu. Amongst those abducted are Zack’s 14 year old daughter Rachel, Gabriel Jones the father of the now deceased astronaut who caused a disaster on Keanu and Pavak Radhakrishnan, the son of the commander of the Bangalore space ship who is safely on his way back to earth.
It is now very clear that Keanu is not an asteroid or planet but in fact a space-ship, one that had a good reason to travel to earth, one that wants to recruit humans into its war against a force that could destroy the universe and one that is starting to fail.
The humans on Keanu will have to adjust to their new living arrangements, learn how to survive on a space-ship that appears to want to accommodate them but still holds many dangers, marvels and nightmares. But most of all, they have to figure out a way to make it back to earth in order to protect their home from disaster.
Before I say anything else about this book let me state that if at all possible you should not read this book unless you have read its prequel: Heaven’s Shadow. The story in this book starts at the exact moment the first book ended, and although there are some references to what happened in the first book, you need more background information than can be found there if you want to truly enjoy Heaven’s War.
And this truly is a story to enjoy. It is action packed, filled with suspense and with just about enough pure science-fictional fact.
Because the perspective in the story switches between the main characters the reader is introduced to the strange habitats on Keanu on several different levels ranging from teenage girl to fully qualified scientist. It also means that the book is filled with cliff-hangers. Most chapters, and individual narratives, end on a pivotal moment forcing the reader to keep on reading. But since the chapters you need to read before you arrive at the resolution of your cliff-hanger all end on similar highs there is always this urge to keep on reading.
Another advantage of the alternating narrator set-up is that the reader gets an insight into characters and their motivations without the need for descriptions. The actions, thoughts and emotions as described by the characters give each of them their own, unique personality.
The space-ship, Keanu, is a marvel consisting of several habitats, all completely geared towards their individual and very diverse inhabitants. As small groups of humans explore various parts of Keanu, the reader gets an insight into the set up of the space-ship as well as the different life-forms it accommodates. Having said that, I did feel that a little more information about the non-human occupants and their role in the struggle against the common enemy would have been helpful. In fact, that lack of information in favour of action would be my one, minor, reservation about this book.
Overall though, this was a gripping space adventure and a true page-turner. This is also very much a story in the middle of a beginning and (as far as I know) the end; while the book starts where the first book ended, it also finishes at such a moment that the reader is left with no idea what exactly is going on or might be about to happen next. It will be a long wait for the third book and an answer to the questions this story has left the reader with.
Meanwhile on earth 187 random people have been picked up from the rival space stations in Houston and Bangalore by big flying orbs and are on their way to Keanu. Amongst those abducted are Zack’s 14 year old daughter Rachel, Gabriel Jones the father of the now deceased astronaut who caused a disaster on Keanu and Pavak Radhakrishnan, the son of the commander of the Bangalore space ship who is safely on his way back to earth.
It is now very clear that Keanu is not an asteroid or planet but in fact a space-ship, one that had a good reason to travel to earth, one that wants to recruit humans into its war against a force that could destroy the universe and one that is starting to fail.
The humans on Keanu will have to adjust to their new living arrangements, learn how to survive on a space-ship that appears to want to accommodate them but still holds many dangers, marvels and nightmares. But most of all, they have to figure out a way to make it back to earth in order to protect their home from disaster.
Before I say anything else about this book let me state that if at all possible you should not read this book unless you have read its prequel: Heaven’s Shadow. The story in this book starts at the exact moment the first book ended, and although there are some references to what happened in the first book, you need more background information than can be found there if you want to truly enjoy Heaven’s War.
And this truly is a story to enjoy. It is action packed, filled with suspense and with just about enough pure science-fictional fact.
Because the perspective in the story switches between the main characters the reader is introduced to the strange habitats on Keanu on several different levels ranging from teenage girl to fully qualified scientist. It also means that the book is filled with cliff-hangers. Most chapters, and individual narratives, end on a pivotal moment forcing the reader to keep on reading. But since the chapters you need to read before you arrive at the resolution of your cliff-hanger all end on similar highs there is always this urge to keep on reading.
Another advantage of the alternating narrator set-up is that the reader gets an insight into characters and their motivations without the need for descriptions. The actions, thoughts and emotions as described by the characters give each of them their own, unique personality.
The space-ship, Keanu, is a marvel consisting of several habitats, all completely geared towards their individual and very diverse inhabitants. As small groups of humans explore various parts of Keanu, the reader gets an insight into the set up of the space-ship as well as the different life-forms it accommodates. Having said that, I did feel that a little more information about the non-human occupants and their role in the struggle against the common enemy would have been helpful. In fact, that lack of information in favour of action would be my one, minor, reservation about this book.
Overall though, this was a gripping space adventure and a true page-turner. This is also very much a story in the middle of a beginning and (as far as I know) the end; while the book starts where the first book ended, it also finishes at such a moment that the reader is left with no idea what exactly is going on or might be about to happen next. It will be a long wait for the third book and an answer to the questions this story has left the reader with.
November 17, 2012
As the 2nd book in the series, Heaven's War was fairly likable but not nearly as much as the first book. The first book, Heaven's Shadow, had a lot of suspense and mystery that left me constantly wondering, "my goodness, what's gonna happen next". Heaven's War just didn't have that (at least not through very much of it). The wonderment was gone.
Sometimes, I felt the backstory on each character was a little much. At times I was worried I would have to read about all 187 of the humans that were abducted aboard the alien starship.
Also, the authors as well as the characters in the book kept referring to a small Brazilian girl as "the Portuguese girl." I'm sorry but this really bugged me. She's not Portuguese, she speaks Portuguese - she's Brazilian. I've noticed slight inattention to details like this every now and then (in both books actually).
This book was very reminiscent of Arthur C. Clarke's writings about aliens and visiting foreign planets and other heavenly bodies... except this had a lot of f-bombs and some crude parts. Personally, I could have done without a lot of that.
And finally, one small plot hole: the Architects abducted 187 humans to help in the battle against the Reivers but the Reivers were all but contained until someone in the human group decided to release the little buggers. So why abduct a bunch of humans? The Architects had it settled in the first place. Why?
I'm not too sure I will bother with the next book. This one was just too mediocre and made little sense to me.
Sometimes, I felt the backstory on each character was a little much. At times I was worried I would have to read about all 187 of the humans that were abducted aboard the alien starship.
Also, the authors as well as the characters in the book kept referring to a small Brazilian girl as "the Portuguese girl." I'm sorry but this really bugged me. She's not Portuguese, she speaks Portuguese - she's Brazilian. I've noticed slight inattention to details like this every now and then (in both books actually).
This book was very reminiscent of Arthur C. Clarke's writings about aliens and visiting foreign planets and other heavenly bodies... except this had a lot of f-bombs and some crude parts. Personally, I could have done without a lot of that.
And finally, one small plot hole: the Architects abducted 187 humans to help in the battle against the Reivers but the Reivers were all but contained until someone in the human group decided to release the little buggers. So why abduct a bunch of humans? The Architects had it settled in the first place. Why?
I'm not too sure I will bother with the next book. This one was just too mediocre and made little sense to me.
February 1, 2014
I did my homework this time, and know this series does not end with the third book, so it does not really surprise me that this, the second book, feels like a filler, whose main purpose is to get us to the next book, in which supposedly we'll find the answers to most of our previous questions but no doubt also find out that the danger we're facing is MUCH bigger than we previously assumed.
There's nothing wrong with the writing as such, I'm just a bit disappointed that it is so similar to the previously mentioned F. Pohl Eschaton series, which ended disastrously. There is also the fact that there are so many casual biblical references without much substance, almost as if the writer is trying to artificially inflate the importance of everything that happens, which at times annoyed me.
I can't say that this is a really good book/series so far, but it is also not bad if you can overlook some sillyness. I will read the third book, and just hope there will be a lot more story progression, even though I already know it will not answer my questions.
Ah well, such is the life of a current-day sci-fi reader.
70/100
There's nothing wrong with the writing as such, I'm just a bit disappointed that it is so similar to the previously mentioned F. Pohl Eschaton series, which ended disastrously. There is also the fact that there are so many casual biblical references without much substance, almost as if the writer is trying to artificially inflate the importance of everything that happens, which at times annoyed me.
I can't say that this is a really good book/series so far, but it is also not bad if you can overlook some sillyness. I will read the third book, and just hope there will be a lot more story progression, even though I already know it will not answer my questions.
Ah well, such is the life of a current-day sci-fi reader.
70/100
July 8, 2014
Having read a couple of negative reviews for this book, I was prepared to not like it, and just plow through so I could get to the final book in the trilogy. What I found was a book that while not perfect, was more interesting to me than the first book in the series, 'Heaven's Shadow'.
I feel that I need to address the title of this book. It was my mistaken expectation that this book would describe human participation in an interstellar conflict. That does happen in a very abstract way, but the battlefield is not the one most readers will be expecting.
The pace of events is quite brisk, and to keep the reader abreast of events, the point of view shifts frequently among a large cast of characters. Along the way, the characters discover a wide variety of alien technologies. One in particular bears a VERY strong resemblance to something seen in a popular SF TV series, but I'm going to resist the temptation to name it, as that would spoil a good part of this book.
If you've read 'Heaven's Shadow' and enjoyed it at all, go ahead and continue with 'Heaven's War'.
I feel that I need to address the title of this book. It was my mistaken expectation that this book would describe human participation in an interstellar conflict. That does happen in a very abstract way, but the battlefield is not the one most readers will be expecting.
The pace of events is quite brisk, and to keep the reader abreast of events, the point of view shifts frequently among a large cast of characters. Along the way, the characters discover a wide variety of alien technologies. One in particular bears a VERY strong resemblance to something seen in a popular SF TV series, but I'm going to resist the temptation to name it, as that would spoil a good part of this book.
If you've read 'Heaven's Shadow' and enjoyed it at all, go ahead and continue with 'Heaven's War'.
December 25, 2014
Heaven's War is book 2 of the Heaven's Shadow series by David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt. It is good although not as good as the first book in the series.
The Story: The alien spaceship Keanu (named after the actor) has kidnapped a number of people from the United States and India. Their job is to learn how to live in their habitat while the ship makes its way out of the solar system... and something terrible is on the loose in the space ship.
Any problems with the story? It drags on quite a bit about getting used to the habitat and exploring and stuff. I found it interesting in the way that "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke interested me. If you liked that classic then you'd probably like this. Otherwise... not. It's about process.
It gets pretty exciting toward the end and of course... well... never mind. I don't want to give away the ending though it becomes fairly obvious as one comes up to it and the ending is a cliffhanger which I hate. Luckily book three is already out... "Heaven's Fall"
The Story: The alien spaceship Keanu (named after the actor) has kidnapped a number of people from the United States and India. Their job is to learn how to live in their habitat while the ship makes its way out of the solar system... and something terrible is on the loose in the space ship.
Any problems with the story? It drags on quite a bit about getting used to the habitat and exploring and stuff. I found it interesting in the way that "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke interested me. If you liked that classic then you'd probably like this. Otherwise... not. It's about process.
It gets pretty exciting toward the end and of course... well... never mind. I don't want to give away the ending though it becomes fairly obvious as one comes up to it and the ending is a cliffhanger which I hate. Luckily book three is already out... "Heaven's Fall"
July 20, 2013
So - I've now read both Heaven's Shadow (#1) and Heaven's War (#2) and am awaiting Heaven's Fall (#3/Final)...recently ordered from Amazon.com. I liked this book as much as the first one - the story picked up seamlessly from the first installment (Shadow) and I'm assuming "Fall" will do the same when I begin that. War was as well written as the first one - great storyline, characters you can understand and root for and a pace that keeps you interested but gives you an understanding of the emotions throughout. Somehow, the writing give me a real sense of being there...in the story...the grit, danger, elation, fear, environment, etc...I can easily see myself in the story which I guess is a good sign that the writing is excellent. The science seems realistic to me. The plotline certainly not outside the realm of possibility. BOTTOM LINE - I liked it a lot. I'm anxiously awaiting Fall and seeing how this story ends.
October 29, 2015
http://www.themaineedge.com/buzz/choo...
When dealing with a trilogy, the middle book is almost always the trickiest. Book one is your introduction to the people and places of this new literary world. Book three is your grand finale, the payoff of your epic tale. But book two? Book two is tough. The priority has to be advancing the overarching story, but at the same time, you can’t ask the reader to be content with hundreds of pages of plot development; the book needs to tell its own tale while still contributing to the whole. It’s far from easy.
This is the best kind of hard science fiction; the kind that creates a world that feels plausible. This is a universe where cause and effect still applies. The blending of science-fiction and suspense is absolutely superb. This book is definitely its own story while still fitting into the big picture. It’s the sort of work that can hold its own among the genre’s greats; the Clarkes and the Nivens and the Heinleins.
When dealing with a trilogy, the middle book is almost always the trickiest. Book one is your introduction to the people and places of this new literary world. Book three is your grand finale, the payoff of your epic tale. But book two? Book two is tough. The priority has to be advancing the overarching story, but at the same time, you can’t ask the reader to be content with hundreds of pages of plot development; the book needs to tell its own tale while still contributing to the whole. It’s far from easy.
This is the best kind of hard science fiction; the kind that creates a world that feels plausible. This is a universe where cause and effect still applies. The blending of science-fiction and suspense is absolutely superb. This book is definitely its own story while still fitting into the big picture. It’s the sort of work that can hold its own among the genre’s greats; the Clarkes and the Nivens and the Heinleins.
July 15, 2015
Though better edited than the fist in the series it still has multiple issues that need to be addressed.
Throughout the book the 3rd person POV struggles to stay within the lines, and narration keeps slipping into other POV characters to explain things that could be told through either dialogue or discovery. It takes the reader out of the story as they find themselves in another explanation.
Also the writers, though well intentioned, slip in little info dumps that do not advance the story line but take the reader out of the story to wonder why such information is given. This causes the rating of the story to fall in my opinion.
If the writers wrote the book in an omnipotent POV to start with the issues would disappear, but they did not.
When a reader understands what they have done the reading can still be enjoyable. But the book is published by a major publisher and these issues should have been addressed in the edits prior to publication.
Throughout the book the 3rd person POV struggles to stay within the lines, and narration keeps slipping into other POV characters to explain things that could be told through either dialogue or discovery. It takes the reader out of the story as they find themselves in another explanation.
Also the writers, though well intentioned, slip in little info dumps that do not advance the story line but take the reader out of the story to wonder why such information is given. This causes the rating of the story to fall in my opinion.
If the writers wrote the book in an omnipotent POV to start with the issues would disappear, but they did not.
When a reader understands what they have done the reading can still be enjoyable. But the book is published by a major publisher and these issues should have been addressed in the edits prior to publication.
May 1, 2015
*urgs* This one has been disappointing.
The first ~200 pages are bascially the same events/day from different POVs with huge info dumps about these POV characters. I generally like having background on my characters but not in this way. :/
Also, some things that already bothered me in the first book (repeated information/re-telling of the same things and stupid decisions (especially the stupid decisions)) have been in this part too and happened even more often.
After the huge character background info dump the story picks up and some things have been interesting but the "certain something" has been missing. It always felt that the story/character development could be better and more interesting but, sadly, it just didn't happen.
I'm really not sure if I'm going to read the next part. On one hand, I want to know what happened to Earth but on the other hand? *urgs*
The first ~200 pages are bascially the same events/day from different POVs with huge info dumps about these POV characters. I generally like having background on my characters but not in this way. :/
Also, some things that already bothered me in the first book (repeated information/re-telling of the same things and stupid decisions (especially the stupid decisions)) have been in this part too and happened even more often.
After the huge character background info dump the story picks up and some things have been interesting but the "certain something" has been missing. It always felt that the story/character development could be better and more interesting but, sadly, it just didn't happen.
I'm really not sure if I'm going to read the next part. On one hand, I want to know what happened to Earth but on the other hand? *urgs*
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2013
Just finished. Didn't know it was a trilogy!!! I'm glad there's another book to look forward to, hopefully it's already out NOW, and hopefully it ties up all the questions! Or at least the majority of questions about the aliens and the enemy and the humans on Keanu and what happened on Earth!? Great cliffhanger at the end of this book!
I only gave it 4 stars though because this book was a little tiring with all the running around and not getting answers and crisis after crisis coming up. The story moved forward very slowly, too slowly at some points, but the story was still interesting enough to stick with. I'm going to look for book 3 right now.
I only gave it 4 stars though because this book was a little tiring with all the running around and not getting answers and crisis after crisis coming up. The story moved forward very slowly, too slowly at some points, but the story was still interesting enough to stick with. I'm going to look for book 3 right now.
December 23, 2015
Why is it that we only really meet interesting Revenants and aliens halfway through the book? Why is it that the big scary bad guys only appear in the last third? We spend so much time meeting characters that don't really do a whole lot, creating people with obvious personality conflicts and grudges only to not have them have any impact whatsoever on the actual story. These two authors are screenwriters: their main writing outlets forces them to maximize economy due to time limitiations. It would have been nice had they applied it to this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2012
This book was slightly slower than the first. It had the benefit of a great lead in, but struggled in the beginning because we, the reader as well as the characters didn't know what was going on. I think as it began to take shape, it improved very much, but it was probably a little too long in the development. Still, I am enjoying this strilogy and look forward to the 3rd book due out in July of 2013.
October 24, 2013
I enjoyed the 2nd volume more than the 1st. The plot is interesting, even if you can recognize the same aliens (at least the concept) in some other works. The characters are fun, there's enough plot twists to keep you guessing, and the descriptions of the environment are interesting. The idea of where humanity fits in the range of intelligent beings is kind of fun as well. I've started the 3rd volume, and if it holds up to this level, I'll be sad to finish the trilogy.
January 8, 2013
Second book in the series that started with Heaven's Shadow. This one is a little bit slower to start off with than the first book. It took a totally different direction than I was expecting after reading the Heaven's Shadow. Suprising, in a pleasant way. I'm eager to read the third book which finishes off the series.
September 30, 2013
After really enjoying Heaven's Shadow, I felt they completely dropped the ball on the second book in the trilogy. The last third is a mess, with at least two deus ex machina solutions. It seemed like the authors got behind and had to wrap things up very quickly!
Not sure I need to read the third book.
Not sure I need to read the third book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews