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Jenny Casey #3
Worldwired
As long as there’s an Earth to defend, Jenny Casey has a job. But she may outlast the world she was custom-built to save. . . .
Give Canada’s Master Warrant Officer Jenny Casey an inch and she’ll take a galaxy. That’s just the kind of person a world on the brink of destruction needs. The year is 2063, and Earth has been brutalized. An asteroid flung at Toronto by the PanChinese government has killed tens of millions and left the equivalent of a nuclear explosion in its wake. Humanity must find another option. . . .
Perched above the devastation in the starship Montreal, Jenny is still in the thick of the fray. Plugged into the worldwire, connected to a brilliant AI, her mind can be everywhere and anywhere at once. But it’s focused on the mysterious alien beings right outside her ship. Are they there to help—or destroy? With Earth a breeding ground for treason and betrayal as governments struggle to assign blame, Jenny holds the fate of humankind in her artificially reconstructed hand. . . .
Give Canada’s Master Warrant Officer Jenny Casey an inch and she’ll take a galaxy. That’s just the kind of person a world on the brink of destruction needs. The year is 2063, and Earth has been brutalized. An asteroid flung at Toronto by the PanChinese government has killed tens of millions and left the equivalent of a nuclear explosion in its wake. Humanity must find another option. . . .
Perched above the devastation in the starship Montreal, Jenny is still in the thick of the fray. Plugged into the worldwire, connected to a brilliant AI, her mind can be everywhere and anywhere at once. But it’s focused on the mysterious alien beings right outside her ship. Are they there to help—or destroy? With Earth a breeding ground for treason and betrayal as governments struggle to assign blame, Jenny holds the fate of humankind in her artificially reconstructed hand. . . .
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2005
58 people are currently reading
526 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Bear
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
February 18, 2015
So we come full circle, back around the book in this series I read first, which closes it off again. A neat little loop. I am glad to have gone through them all in order now, although I remember enjoying this very much the first time I read it, even without the context.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
July 23, 2017
That was bloody brilliant
I don't know why I haven't heard more people rant about this series. It's a brilliant first contact story, as well as an interesting story about AI, mega corps and nanotech. Lots so serious thinly parts as well as great action and lots of tension.
I don't know why I haven't heard more people rant about this series. It's a brilliant first contact story, as well as an interesting story about AI, mega corps and nanotech. Lots so serious thinly parts as well as great action and lots of tension.
September 13, 2018
This book took me a long time to read because I checked it out, didn't finish in time, and then came back months later. I think this was a detriment to the book or actually my feelings about the book. I really wasn't enjoying it when I came back to finish it. I hate the love triangle even though everyone gets along. And Richard was getting a lot irritating. Not my favorite of the series.
October 5, 2019
Excellent! I am sorry to come to the end of this series, and will have to read more by Elizabeth Bear.
In this book, Jenny Casey is in top form--such a contrast from the beginning of the first book, when she's holed up in her workshop in a gritty underculture, falling apart physically and emotionally. Her indwelling nanobots are taking good care of her. Now she has to testify before the UN about the events surrounding the destruction of Toronto. Meanwhile, her menage a trois (I just wanted to use the term!) has settled in comfortably, even though they are still devastated by the loss of Gabe's older daughter.
Most of the characters were at least introduced in the previous books, but some of them get more play in this one. Fred Valens continues his (partial) redemption from being the bad guy in the first book. Constance Riel, the Canadian prime minister, gets a lot of play, as do the teenagers: Gabe's younger daughter Genie, Fred's granddaughter Patty, and the young Chinese pilot Min-xue.
The UN hearing and background political manipulations are interesting. But the best thing about the book is the actual contact (finally!) with the two alien spaceships and their inhabitants (though it's unclear whether the beings and the ships are separate entities). These two different species may be some of the best aliens ever. The contact is slow and uncertain, but it's delightful, if scary. Also the AI, Richard Feynman with his associated subentities, has some struggles due to some bad guys, and he comes out far stronger in the end. A satisfying read!
In this book, Jenny Casey is in top form--such a contrast from the beginning of the first book, when she's holed up in her workshop in a gritty underculture, falling apart physically and emotionally. Her indwelling nanobots are taking good care of her. Now she has to testify before the UN about the events surrounding the destruction of Toronto. Meanwhile, her menage a trois (I just wanted to use the term!) has settled in comfortably, even though they are still devastated by the loss of Gabe's older daughter.
Most of the characters were at least introduced in the previous books, but some of them get more play in this one. Fred Valens continues his (partial) redemption from being the bad guy in the first book. Constance Riel, the Canadian prime minister, gets a lot of play, as do the teenagers: Gabe's younger daughter Genie, Fred's granddaughter Patty, and the young Chinese pilot Min-xue.
The UN hearing and background political manipulations are interesting. But the best thing about the book is the actual contact (finally!) with the two alien spaceships and their inhabitants (though it's unclear whether the beings and the ships are separate entities). These two different species may be some of the best aliens ever. The contact is slow and uncertain, but it's delightful, if scary. Also the AI, Richard Feynman with his associated subentities, has some struggles due to some bad guys, and he comes out far stronger in the end. A satisfying read!
February 5, 2023
Blarg! I am fatally annoyed that this book had actual aliens and did almost nothing with them for the entirety of the book. I was very excited for a first contact story, and to go deeper into Jenny's relationships (any of of them), but instead what I got was a sort of political thriller that mostly focused on new or minor characters from the other books in the trilogy. There's still some very interesting ideas in here - particularly about various forms of AI - but overall: ho hum.
Let's see if I can remember the story, which honestly I started skimming toward the end: it's nine months down the line from the end of the last book, and everyone is still recovering from the bombing of Toronto, which killed nearly everyone in the vicinity and threw the planet into (more of a) global climate emergency. Jenny and her crew - Gabe, his surviving daughter Genie, and Elspeth - are up on the Calgary, staring two alien ships in the face, which they refer to as "the birdcage" and "the ship tree." There are some new scientists coming aboard to try and learn how to talk to these aliens - Jeremy and Leslie - one of whom (Leslie) has (I believe) Aboriginal background.
Meanwhile, the Richard Feynman AI has created a "worldwire" which allows "him" to monitor and try and repair the Earth. Not everyone is A-OK with this; in fact, the Chinese see it as a sort of biological attack. Constance Riel of Canadian government and General Valens (Canadian military) are on Earth trying to diplomatically address this; it becomes a big thing that the UN must address, and Jenny gets pulled into it all, having to testify. I guess the main questions are: will they be able to communicate with the aliens; are the aliens there to help; and will they answer those first two questions before human political squabbles turn into outright war.
By FAR the narrative spends the most time on the third of these. It wasn't really what I wanted to read. And Bear still has the habit of writing AROUND the most interesting action, trusting that you will fill in the blanks. It allows her to move through a metric ton of plot quickly, but what if we want to see some of those moments? Thus I felt quite emotionally removed from everything that was happening.
There's an action-y climax, but for me it was too little, too late. This third and final book in the trilogy does wrap up the questions of this book and the series, but for me it leaned too far into debating ideas and politics at the expense of authentic character moments. And it kinda bored me.
Let's see if I can remember the story, which honestly I started skimming toward the end: it's nine months down the line from the end of the last book, and everyone is still recovering from the bombing of Toronto, which killed nearly everyone in the vicinity and threw the planet into (more of a) global climate emergency. Jenny and her crew - Gabe, his surviving daughter Genie, and Elspeth - are up on the Calgary, staring two alien ships in the face, which they refer to as "the birdcage" and "the ship tree." There are some new scientists coming aboard to try and learn how to talk to these aliens - Jeremy and Leslie - one of whom (Leslie) has (I believe) Aboriginal background.
Meanwhile, the Richard Feynman AI has created a "worldwire" which allows "him" to monitor and try and repair the Earth. Not everyone is A-OK with this; in fact, the Chinese see it as a sort of biological attack. Constance Riel of Canadian government and General Valens (Canadian military) are on Earth trying to diplomatically address this; it becomes a big thing that the UN must address, and Jenny gets pulled into it all, having to testify. I guess the main questions are: will they be able to communicate with the aliens; are the aliens there to help; and will they answer those first two questions before human political squabbles turn into outright war.
By FAR the narrative spends the most time on the third of these. It wasn't really what I wanted to read. And Bear still has the habit of writing AROUND the most interesting action, trusting that you will fill in the blanks. It allows her to move through a metric ton of plot quickly, but what if we want to see some of those moments? Thus I felt quite emotionally removed from everything that was happening.
There's an action-y climax, but for me it was too little, too late. This third and final book in the trilogy does wrap up the questions of this book and the series, but for me it leaned too far into debating ideas and politics at the expense of authentic character moments. And it kinda bored me.
February 10, 2022
While awaiting the author’s third White Space book, I figured I’d go back and read her debut trilogy. I’ve sniffed around the Jenny Casey series more than once, but been put off by the covers and blurbs that seemed to imply military sf adventure with a glossy cyberpunk heroine (maybe cyber-new-wave with those candy colours?). This is so much more.
The first book is slightly wobbly but very good; the second is far more assured and broadens in scope. By the end of this third volume, it’s nothing less than full-on wide-eyed space opera, anchored by a fabulous cast of complex nuanced characters.
There’s less breezy snark here than, say, John Scalzi’s Emperox trilogy or Martha Wells’ Murderbot books. I find Elizabeth Bear’s work more ruminative and more subtly shaded than those two series, while perhaps less demanding than Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch trilogy or Yoon Ha Lee’s Machineries of Empire. I admit I’d rank the Leckie first out of this batch, but after that it would depend on what you’re looking for. Bear’s Jenny Casey saga compares favourably with the top tier of twenty-first century space opera. When completed, I expect the White Space series will also.
The first book is slightly wobbly but very good; the second is far more assured and broadens in scope. By the end of this third volume, it’s nothing less than full-on wide-eyed space opera, anchored by a fabulous cast of complex nuanced characters.
There’s less breezy snark here than, say, John Scalzi’s Emperox trilogy or Martha Wells’ Murderbot books. I find Elizabeth Bear’s work more ruminative and more subtly shaded than those two series, while perhaps less demanding than Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch trilogy or Yoon Ha Lee’s Machineries of Empire. I admit I’d rank the Leckie first out of this batch, but after that it would depend on what you’re looking for. Bear’s Jenny Casey saga compares favourably with the top tier of twenty-first century space opera. When completed, I expect the White Space series will also.
February 2, 2015
This was the last of the Jenny Casey series and I enjoyed it! I was glad that none of the primary characters died in this one, after we lost so many of the good guys in the first two books of the series.
Jenny Casey is once again a Master Sargeant in the Canadian/Commonwealth military service and pilot of the Montreal - a starship powered by technology gleaned from two starships left near Mars by two different alien species. When Book II ended, we were on the brink of war between China and Canada, after the Chinese were responsible for taking out a large portion of Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States, causing the Canadians to seed injured humnans with the alien technology.
There's a lot going on in this book - political intrigue, attempting to communicate with the aliens, and extremely capable artificial intelligent entities.
This is not a standalone book. The series is a good one and all the books are fast paced and read quickly.
Jenny Casey is once again a Master Sargeant in the Canadian/Commonwealth military service and pilot of the Montreal - a starship powered by technology gleaned from two starships left near Mars by two different alien species. When Book II ended, we were on the brink of war between China and Canada, after the Chinese were responsible for taking out a large portion of Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States, causing the Canadians to seed injured humnans with the alien technology.
There's a lot going on in this book - political intrigue, attempting to communicate with the aliens, and extremely capable artificial intelligent entities.
This is not a standalone book. The series is a good one and all the books are fast paced and read quickly.
December 22, 2020
Reasonably good.
March 8, 2020
I wish I'd read this trilogy all in one go. Since I read them all at least a year apart, I think I missed the full effect.
This is a solid near future we-need-to-leave-earth-because-of-natural-disaster entry. Plus, there's some cool stuff about AI, humans in space, what happens when humans are enhanced with technology, and alien contact. Also, because of the nature of natural disaster, Canada and China are the two world powers, so that's kind of fun too. There's a broad cast of characters, the villains are pretty good, and we've got found family and lots of different ways about caring about people.
If you like this genre, the above probably lets you know whether you like this or not. I'd recommend picking this up, and reading all the books together.
This is a solid near future we-need-to-leave-earth-because-of-natural-disaster entry. Plus, there's some cool stuff about AI, humans in space, what happens when humans are enhanced with technology, and alien contact. Also, because of the nature of natural disaster, Canada and China are the two world powers, so that's kind of fun too. There's a broad cast of characters, the villains are pretty good, and we've got found family and lots of different ways about caring about people.
If you like this genre, the above probably lets you know whether you like this or not. I'd recommend picking this up, and reading all the books together.
January 29, 2012
The world is reeling from the arrival of the Benefactors, the aliens whose nano-devices are reconstructing the world's ecology as well as fueling the AIs that are running its starships and counseling the Canadian government. This book is too widespread for me to say anything more--Jenny and her prime minister have to come before the UN to testify as to China's involvement in the attack that destroyed Toronto, left millions dead in Canada and the U.S., and landed a big chunk of iron-rich rock in Lake Ontario, the AI Richard and some very smart scientists are trying to find a way to talk to Benefactors who can't even talk to each other, and the young pilots Patty, Genie, and Min-Hue must deal with grief, loyalties, and adult responsibilities. It's one helluva rollercoaster ride with no safety promised for anyone (see the previous book) and a tremendous way to wrap up the trilogy.
My only criticism is that it's a bit confusing and hard to keep track of so many players and plot lines. ::sigh:: Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to read the trilogy again. This one is definitely a keeper!
My only criticism is that it's a bit confusing and hard to keep track of so many players and plot lines. ::sigh:: Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to read the trilogy again. This one is definitely a keeper!
June 2, 2019
I really liked this whole series, and the lead character especially. I went back to the beginning of Bear's oeuvre, as I had stumbled upon "Karen Memory" at the library, then happily read the sequel. After reading "Ancestral Night", I thought I'd better look into this unbelievably good writer. She populates her very credible worlds with very "real" characters, and tells great stories. What more can you ask of an author? I'll definitely continue with her work, having added her to my top writers list.
August 9, 2011
Corporate treason, international espionage and contact with space-faring races unfurls before readers as they watch from the perspectives of some of the most well-written characters in fiction. Personalities, motivations and philosophical discussions are rendered in brilliant detail by Bear's hand as she brings her début trilogy to a thrilling, satisfying close.
January 23, 2018
A real pleasure
Third book actually got better. Very few series that that can be said about. Especially the ones that start as strongly as this one did.
Finally, someone who has some clues about plausible aliens. Very few of those around the hallways of science fiction. Way too much work.
Third book actually got better. Very few series that that can be said about. Especially the ones that start as strongly as this one did.
Finally, someone who has some clues about plausible aliens. Very few of those around the hallways of science fiction. Way too much work.
January 27, 2018
This too shall pass
In less than 50 years technology could bring us to the brink of destruction and beyond to a beautiful and scary new world. A world where we can communicate with other species and, finally, even begin to break down the differences that divide us. Not without a lot of sacrifice.
In less than 50 years technology could bring us to the brink of destruction and beyond to a beautiful and scary new world. A world where we can communicate with other species and, finally, even begin to break down the differences that divide us. Not without a lot of sacrifice.
July 28, 2018
I LOVED this story. The humanity of it, even for the AI
I’m hooked. Got this story in a group, and have already bought the others in the trilogy. For this story, however, what I enjoyed was the creativity of aliens and the positive take on Artificial Intelligence—with side trips to potential downsides.
I’m hooked. Got this story in a group, and have already bought the others in the trilogy. For this story, however, what I enjoyed was the creativity of aliens and the positive take on Artificial Intelligence—with side trips to potential downsides.
July 21, 2010
Riveting, cutting-edge SF with interesting characters & relationships. I came into this novel without reading the two prior in the trilogy, but was able to come up to speed quickly. Bear weaves exposition for the uninitiated seamlessly into action.
October 11, 2016
I have book depression now. I can't belive this world is over! How can I move on when my brain is still with Jenny?
The only answer I guess is to go see what else Elizabeth Bear has written.
Delicious series! Thank you!
The only answer I guess is to go see what else Elizabeth Bear has written.
Delicious series! Thank you!
January 12, 2018
Original - Literate - Disturbing - Inspiring
What a relief from wooden, plodding procedurals. Alternates vertiginously between first and third person. Told almost entirely through excruciatingly detailed character interaction. Suspend hasty judgement. Let it grow on you.
What a relief from wooden, plodding procedurals. Alternates vertiginously between first and third person. Told almost entirely through excruciatingly detailed character interaction. Suspend hasty judgement. Let it grow on you.
May 7, 2008
Good wrap-up to the series, I liked how the aliens seemed actually alien, not just humanoids with bumpy foreheads. :)
June 30, 2009
Good ending to the trilogy - she wrapped the story up appropriately. Neat aliens ideas.
September 22, 2018
A nice tying up of the trilogy. I'm going to miss following Jenny and Richard.
February 22, 2019
A fitting ending for the trilogy, that nicely wraps up loose ends. If you enjoyed the first two, this will not disappoint. 3.5 stars
May 15, 2019
Excellent conclusion to the series. Tied up most plot lines but left me wanting more. Need to keep an eye out for more of her stuff.
November 14, 2025
After realizing that only going two months between Jenny Casey books 1 and 2 threw me for a loop, I decided to finish the trilogy while the second book was still really fresh on my mind, and I think it helped a bit. My score for this one is kind of a score for the series in total, with is about a 3.75 out of 5 on Goodreads.
To me, that's kind of a disappointment after I enjoyed the first book - "Hammered" - SO much. And I would argue that no one who read that book could have possibly predicted how the series ended...which I think is its biggest problem. A lot of the ideas I really enjoyed about the first book - drug dealing, assassins, an older protagonist with special powers but also limitations - meant absolutely nothing by the third book. Jenny Casey gets one more AWESOME action sequence near the end of "Worldwired." It felt like a callback to all the things I loved about the first book. But her character not only got neutered (they figure out how to recover her, so now she has no downsides as a character) BUT there are a LOT of characters to keep track of. It doesn't help that two significant characters are "Jenny" and "Genie" but even after killing off a few key characters in the second book, I still felt utterly lost by the third.
It doesn't help that the AI - which I loved in the first book - becomes so ubiquitous and speaks with EVERY character IN THEIR MIND that it's nearly impossible to keep track of what's happening where and when. And this book devolves into almost a legal thriller. And I get it, in sci-fi and fantasy, people want politicking and they want it done well, but it really, REALLY dragged this final entry down.
This series is full of five star ideas, but a lot of it is achieved by three star storytelling. Knowing this was Elizabeth Bear's debut, I would love to maybe try and read one of her other series because I think writing improves over time and it's very clear she's capable of weaving together a lot of interesting ideas. However, the series ended up being a bit of a letdown after the strong promise of the first book. Still, it was something different and enjoyable.
To me, that's kind of a disappointment after I enjoyed the first book - "Hammered" - SO much. And I would argue that no one who read that book could have possibly predicted how the series ended...which I think is its biggest problem. A lot of the ideas I really enjoyed about the first book - drug dealing, assassins, an older protagonist with special powers but also limitations - meant absolutely nothing by the third book. Jenny Casey gets one more AWESOME action sequence near the end of "Worldwired." It felt like a callback to all the things I loved about the first book. But her character not only got neutered (they figure out how to recover her, so now she has no downsides as a character) BUT there are a LOT of characters to keep track of. It doesn't help that two significant characters are "Jenny" and "Genie" but even after killing off a few key characters in the second book, I still felt utterly lost by the third.
It doesn't help that the AI - which I loved in the first book - becomes so ubiquitous and speaks with EVERY character IN THEIR MIND that it's nearly impossible to keep track of what's happening where and when. And this book devolves into almost a legal thriller. And I get it, in sci-fi and fantasy, people want politicking and they want it done well, but it really, REALLY dragged this final entry down.
This series is full of five star ideas, but a lot of it is achieved by three star storytelling. Knowing this was Elizabeth Bear's debut, I would love to maybe try and read one of her other series because I think writing improves over time and it's very clear she's capable of weaving together a lot of interesting ideas. However, the series ended up being a bit of a letdown after the strong promise of the first book. Still, it was something different and enjoyable.
December 27, 2023
Third volume of trilogy. Jenny Casey, cyborged with a right arm after an accident has settled into a quiet semi-retirement and hopes to be on the Canadian starship Montreal when it leaves for the first habitable exoplanet found. Her trip is rudely sidetracked by a directed meteorite attack on Vancouver by elements of the PanChinese government, desperate to reach the planet first, and in the aftermath an enquiry is to be held by the U.N. to determine blame and reparations. To complicate matters the Canadian government has allowed alien nanites, from the alien Benefactor spaceships, to infect the human population, which heal injuries and other damage from the impact. A countersuit for this has been laid by the PanChinese. A small group of scientists has managed to board one of the alien craft, the birdcage, but one explorer has been kept by the occupants. Although practically everybody can access the worldwire, through nanites, the alien AI seems inscrutable. At the U.N. hearing, a panicked Chinese general instigates an attempted coup and assassinations designed to shift blame, and war seems imminent, when the entire worldwire goes down in what looks like a DoS attack. Elizabeth Bear has concluded her exciting trilogy with a wonderful tale of political deception, AI hanky-panky, and grittily realistic and relatable characters. Well worth your time.
June 4, 2025
It took me a long time to get through this one, partially because I couldn't stand the audiobook narrator anymore, so I had to find the print book somewhere, and partially because I'm just not in the headspace for Big Sci-Fi right now. This wasn't very escapist; it was pretty intense and covered a lot of ground. Big Sci-Fi Themes in the trilogy include: cyberpunk, nanotech, first contact, climate disaster, post-apocalypse, human enhancement, interstellar travel, artificial intelligence, and the singularity. The story seems very of its time—I happened to be around people who wrote about nanotechnology ("grey goo") and the singularity all the time, but I had kind of forgotten about it. I thought most other people had forgotten about it too, until recently, when I learned there's still a somewhat influential cult that thinks about the singularity all the time in deeply unhealthy ways that sometimes lead to murder. But that's a different story for a different time! Anyway, this trilogy kind of pulled me back into that world and that time, when I really didn't want to be back there. I think the story is good and the ideas are interesting, but it was the wrong time for me to be reading it.
October 2, 2022
The wonder of discovery at first contact with alien life and the despair of dystopia from the mess human life become entangled in the plot and the lives of each character. We’ve lost people, but we’ve gained others. They join the existing cast in meeting the challenges that face them with their wits, their courage, and always their sense of humor. Leading the gang is Jenny Casey. Whether she’s hip deep in political intrigue, saving a suffering Earth, or taking risks with alien ships in space, all the while coping with her own trauma, she doesn’t do it alone. There’s a friendly artifical intelligence at hand and he’s wired to the world, something which brings all sorts of complications to everyone in that world, including him.
Relationships got a lot more complex with everyone dealing with the scars of the aptly-titled previous book, Scardown, yet they do get to fly on the wings of hope, a metaphor that comes close to being literal. Flawed, yet likeable; the scientists, the soliders, the policiticans, the Artificial Intelligences, and the children get a satisfying conclusion in this rich, multi-layered trilogy.
Relationships got a lot more complex with everyone dealing with the scars of the aptly-titled previous book, Scardown, yet they do get to fly on the wings of hope, a metaphor that comes close to being literal. Flawed, yet likeable; the scientists, the soliders, the policiticans, the Artificial Intelligences, and the children get a satisfying conclusion in this rich, multi-layered trilogy.
December 3, 2021
I read the first two books in this trilogy years ago so that probably affected my reaction to the conclusion presented here. I remembered the main character and some of what happened in the first two books, but mostly this all felt new to me.
Generally speaking this is a first contact book mixed with nano technology use and some world politics added here and there. I liked the imagery of the alien race and how they interacted with the humans in the book. It made sense to me and was probably the highlight of the book.
Other sections of the book just dragged, and I just lost interest. None of the characters really spoke to me and the politics annoyed me. It truly became a struggle to get to the end, but maybe I was expecting something else.
I have enjoyed other books by Elizabeth Bear so I will give her a pass on this book.
Generally speaking this is a first contact book mixed with nano technology use and some world politics added here and there. I liked the imagery of the alien race and how they interacted with the humans in the book. It made sense to me and was probably the highlight of the book.
Other sections of the book just dragged, and I just lost interest. None of the characters really spoke to me and the politics annoyed me. It truly became a struggle to get to the end, but maybe I was expecting something else.
I have enjoyed other books by Elizabeth Bear so I will give her a pass on this book.
April 26, 2025
If the first book was about building character, and the second about flushing out the true crisis, this one was about the practical knots. By that I mean there is a stronger emphasis on science and politics but not without touches of the emotional and action highlights of the past two. Even as something that might be seen as quieter I was just as, if not more, invested as it was presenting the final side of the dice that had been tossed.
The new characters introduced are positive and key additions rather than a waste of space. I may have liked a little more emotional processing from a few characters but I understand why the focus in that area went to others. Sacrifice and duty are never far. So much so that I nearly gasped thinking about a punch it winds up to take near the climax of action.
Overall an incredibly satisfying journey.
The new characters introduced are positive and key additions rather than a waste of space. I may have liked a little more emotional processing from a few characters but I understand why the focus in that area went to others. Sacrifice and duty are never far. So much so that I nearly gasped thinking about a punch it winds up to take near the climax of action.
Overall an incredibly satisfying journey.
December 29, 2024
An interesting ending to the jenny casey series. it ended up going in a direction i didn’t really see coming. i wish more was answered about the benefactors but i also liked the mystery of them. The chinese AI coming out of nowhere threw me off to because i expected the benefactors to turn on them. it was a very heartfelt ending tho with jenny coming back full circle with the eagle feather. jenny casey is badass and her story was a very interesting read. from all the losses she went through but still moved forward despite nothing ever going her way. I also like that for once the Ai wasn’t necessarily evil lol
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