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The Book of the Colossus #2
Ragged Claws
Max and Abby are trapped in the city of Interosseous where the inhabitants navigate through the treacherous streets using the giant faces in the sky. If humanity is to survive Max must contact the Machine Men who live in the Heart and Mind of the Colossus. But the way onward is a deadly maze inhabited by lost creatures transformed by the darkness at the end of time. As Max tries to find a safe path through the Body of God he stumbles across a pair of fugitives, and finds himself caught in a web of betrayal and conspiracy that ultimately threatens to destroy the last remnants of mankind.
Ragged Claws is the astonishing sequel to Thumb and the second volume of The Book of the Colossus, a gripping fast-paced science fantasy series of incredible imagination.
Ragged Claws is the astonishing sequel to Thumb and the second volume of The Book of the Colossus, a gripping fast-paced science fantasy series of incredible imagination.
- GenresScience Fiction
442 pages, Paperback
First published March 14, 2014
171 people want to read
About the author
John Guy Collick
9 books14 followersJohn Guy Collick was born in Yorkshire, England. When he was 10 years old his grandfather gave him a copy of A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and from then on he was hooked on science fiction and fantasy. He worked for Scotland Yard before moving to Japan for ten years to lecture in literature and philosophy, teaching courses on Science Fiction and Futurology. Ragged Claws is his second novel. As well as writing SF he is the author of a book on Shakespeare, essays on literature and several screenplays.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 17, 2014
The world John Collick has created is not one the reader can ever get to know. It is as limitless as the imagination of its author. There are none of the familiar physical features of our world, not even of our fantasy worlds. Take a medieval vision of Hell, give it the Spielberg treatment, remove all the laws of physics you ever learnt at school, people it with the monsters you used to draw when you were ten, and you’re ready to dive in. Take the cover illustration. That isn’t a fanciful image produced by a cover artist who hasn’t got a clue what the book is about—that weird white thing is one of the central characters, and a very accurate portrait it is too. I’m not even going to begin to describe the story; suffice it to say it’s like nothing on earth.
I must admit that I hesitated slightly at the opening scenes of this latest episode in Max and Abby explore the end of time. How many fantasy novels have I read that begin with the hero leaping out of the window of an inn in a low-life quarter of a scruffy town to rescue a damsel in distress? How often does the hero end up with a long-term girlfriend or eternally grateful prince/priest/mage in tow after saving her/him from ruffians? However, I should not have doubted: Ragged Claws is anything but predictable. After only a few paragraphs we part company with the trope, and Max and Abby are plunged into the next absolutely mind-boggling leg of their journey in the company of two enigmatic characters who grow more and more unsettling as the story progresses.
This is a wonderful book, a massive canvas of purple and blood red skies, oceans of liquid metal, decomposing cities full of fear and squalor inside the body of God (yup, that’s right), nightmarish beings, and exquisite beauty. It isn’t for the squeamish either. Be prepared to be splattered with blood, red and white, and fountains of tripes and engine oil. One of my favourite images is of a beach on the edge of a sea of some molten metal, composed of minute cogwheels from the millions of dead machines and war engines lying at the bottom of the ocean. It is a vividly visual book, deep blues and purples shot through with the artificial lights of a dying universe, filled with crumbling skyscrapers miles and miles high built from rusting girders or filthy green glass, and the furtive, almost invisible remnants of humanity.
Every good story has a quest, and Max and Abby’s is not to defeat evil and bring back the good old status quo. It is no less than to ensure that the construction of God is completed so that he (it?) can carry humanity through the god door and into the next universe before this one flickers and dies.
This is a very strange and beautiful book, and I can’t recommend it highly enough to readers who appreciate the world of fantasy comics, early sci-fi films, or simply being carried along on rusty tracks faster than the fastest fighter jet and tossed into a universe of immense empty darkness, and savage metal claws.
February 9, 2015
I ended up reading "Ragged Claws" because I won a giveaway on goodreads. "Ragged Claws" is the second volume in the series "The Book of the Colossus", the first volume is called "Thumb". I strongly recommend that you don't read "Ragged Claws" before reading "Thumb". If you do so, there are a lot of things you won't understand and besides, "Thumb" is an excellent book and is worth reading it. Here You can see my review of "Thumb".
Before reading "Thumb" I didn't have any expectations about the series, first of all because science fiction mixed with fantasy is not the kind of reading I usually choose, but "Thumb" became one of the books that I enjoyed the most. The general idea of the series is very interesting and it was the first thing that caught me. In a universe in which all the stars have become extinct and the planets are gone, mankind has no other choice but to build a God, so that God can guide them towards a new universe full of energy and life.
When I approached "Ragged Claws" I was afraid it may suffer of what most of the second parts do. It is that the introduction to the universe where the series takes place and the main idea in which the whole story revolves around, was made in the first volume. In "Ragged Claws" that background is known from the beginning and is difficult that the book causes the same impact in the reader as "Thumb". Especially on those readers who have high expectations. However after I read the introduction of "Ragged Claws", I realized that the book was probably going to be as good as its predecessor at least.
I noticed that Collick didn't rest on the good ideas that were introduced on the preceding book. On the contrary "Ragged Claws" boasts a myriad of new ones. As I said before about "Thumb", "Ragged Claws" is an accumulation of many good ideas the author had, gathered all together in one book. I think that someone could use any of them to write a single book.
"Ragged Claws" resumes the story, a short time in the future after the end of "Thumb". It advances a little slow at the beginning, describing the events that happened to Max and Abby since they entered the body of God and the activities they were involved in. The main characters remain the same, Max and Abby, who continue on their trip, looking for the Machine Men to see if they can fix the corrupted mind of God, from the remnants of Bassandis, the dead giant, that lays deep within Max's mind. Step by step, new characters get on the scene and the journey takes its course. Some of the new characters are very enigmatic and make a major contribution to the story. Their quest takes them across different cities scattered all over the body of God. It is clear that Collick took some time to elaborate them, the architecture they have, the way their inhabitants live and the strange behaviour they have developed through time. Every city has its peculiarities, which are the result of the milestones they have suffered since the beginning of the great task. About the story itself, very often it takes a twist that makes the reader reconsider all the facts. Small stories develop besides the main plot, most of them having direct impact on the end of the book and a few are just colourfull stories that give the reader something to think about.
I think that "Ragged Claws" is one step ahead of "Thumb" regarding the characters. The sensation that I had is that Collick took special care about them, the thoughts that the characters have, their expectations about the future, how they see life and what are their feelings. I found very interesting the development of the history behind most of them. And I also think that the relationships between characters play a much important role than they did in "Thumb". I particularly enjoyed this topic during the reading.
Another thing of "Ragged Claws" that I liked a lot was the intensity that many of the scenes had. There were some hot scenes and a few violent ones that shocked me a little bit. Also in many passages of the book, the story became very touching, though I think the strongest scene of the series regarding to this matter occurs in "Thumb" and is when Bassandis finally gets free, before the battle that takes place in Metacarpi.
Regarding the end of the book, all I can say without spoiling anything out, is that none of the different endings I thought possible, happened. The story turned to an unexpected direction. Some loose ends were tied up and as I expected the background story of the series remained open, giving place to the next volume of it. I must say that some of the events that happened at the end surprised me a little bit and I'm not sure about how the story will continue from now on.
While "Thumb" is always going to be special because it was the first book of the series, I think that I liked "Ragged Claws" a bit more, despite the high expectations I had before reading it.
"Ragged Claws" as well as "Thumb", made me think about how we, the mankind, behaves towards ourselves and other living creatures, and whether we deserve a second chance to be saved. "Ragged Claws" in particular, made me think about how much influence the environment where a person lives can have on the way he/she behaves. And it made me wonder also, if it is ok to choose not to save a specific group of people because of the atrocities they have committed. The conclusion that I reached is that mankind should be judged considering all the individuals, and if a second chance is given, it should be to all of us.
I rated this book with five stars, I consider that the series in general is five stars so far and I strongly recommend it. I am very grateful for being chosen as a winner in the "Ragged Claws" giveaway, because otherwise I never would have come to read this series. After having read the first two books, I must say that I enjoyed them as much as other books from renowned authors like The Robot Series by Isaac Asimov or Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card to name a few, having in mind that they belong to different genres.
Before reading "Thumb" I didn't have any expectations about the series, first of all because science fiction mixed with fantasy is not the kind of reading I usually choose, but "Thumb" became one of the books that I enjoyed the most. The general idea of the series is very interesting and it was the first thing that caught me. In a universe in which all the stars have become extinct and the planets are gone, mankind has no other choice but to build a God, so that God can guide them towards a new universe full of energy and life.
When I approached "Ragged Claws" I was afraid it may suffer of what most of the second parts do. It is that the introduction to the universe where the series takes place and the main idea in which the whole story revolves around, was made in the first volume. In "Ragged Claws" that background is known from the beginning and is difficult that the book causes the same impact in the reader as "Thumb". Especially on those readers who have high expectations. However after I read the introduction of "Ragged Claws", I realized that the book was probably going to be as good as its predecessor at least.
I noticed that Collick didn't rest on the good ideas that were introduced on the preceding book. On the contrary "Ragged Claws" boasts a myriad of new ones. As I said before about "Thumb", "Ragged Claws" is an accumulation of many good ideas the author had, gathered all together in one book. I think that someone could use any of them to write a single book.
"Ragged Claws" resumes the story, a short time in the future after the end of "Thumb". It advances a little slow at the beginning, describing the events that happened to Max and Abby since they entered the body of God and the activities they were involved in. The main characters remain the same, Max and Abby, who continue on their trip, looking for the Machine Men to see if they can fix the corrupted mind of God, from the remnants of Bassandis, the dead giant, that lays deep within Max's mind. Step by step, new characters get on the scene and the journey takes its course. Some of the new characters are very enigmatic and make a major contribution to the story. Their quest takes them across different cities scattered all over the body of God. It is clear that Collick took some time to elaborate them, the architecture they have, the way their inhabitants live and the strange behaviour they have developed through time. Every city has its peculiarities, which are the result of the milestones they have suffered since the beginning of the great task. About the story itself, very often it takes a twist that makes the reader reconsider all the facts. Small stories develop besides the main plot, most of them having direct impact on the end of the book and a few are just colourfull stories that give the reader something to think about.
I think that "Ragged Claws" is one step ahead of "Thumb" regarding the characters. The sensation that I had is that Collick took special care about them, the thoughts that the characters have, their expectations about the future, how they see life and what are their feelings. I found very interesting the development of the history behind most of them. And I also think that the relationships between characters play a much important role than they did in "Thumb". I particularly enjoyed this topic during the reading.
Another thing of "Ragged Claws" that I liked a lot was the intensity that many of the scenes had. There were some hot scenes and a few violent ones that shocked me a little bit. Also in many passages of the book, the story became very touching, though I think the strongest scene of the series regarding to this matter occurs in "Thumb" and is when Bassandis finally gets free, before the battle that takes place in Metacarpi.
Regarding the end of the book, all I can say without spoiling anything out, is that none of the different endings I thought possible, happened. The story turned to an unexpected direction. Some loose ends were tied up and as I expected the background story of the series remained open, giving place to the next volume of it. I must say that some of the events that happened at the end surprised me a little bit and I'm not sure about how the story will continue from now on.
While "Thumb" is always going to be special because it was the first book of the series, I think that I liked "Ragged Claws" a bit more, despite the high expectations I had before reading it.
"Ragged Claws" as well as "Thumb", made me think about how we, the mankind, behaves towards ourselves and other living creatures, and whether we deserve a second chance to be saved. "Ragged Claws" in particular, made me think about how much influence the environment where a person lives can have on the way he/she behaves. And it made me wonder also, if it is ok to choose not to save a specific group of people because of the atrocities they have committed. The conclusion that I reached is that mankind should be judged considering all the individuals, and if a second chance is given, it should be to all of us.
I rated this book with five stars, I consider that the series in general is five stars so far and I strongly recommend it. I am very grateful for being chosen as a winner in the "Ragged Claws" giveaway, because otherwise I never would have come to read this series. After having read the first two books, I must say that I enjoyed them as much as other books from renowned authors like The Robot Series by Isaac Asimov or Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card to name a few, having in mind that they belong to different genres.
May 16, 2017
Great book
April 28, 2014
(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).
(This review may contain spoilers).
This was a fairly unique idea for a book, I felt. I struggled a bit to get into the book at the start, but as the story progressed, I found it easier to understand than I'd expected.
At times, I did find it a bit difficult to picture the exact setting of the world the characters inhabited. It was completely alien to this world and I kept picturing a giant corpse lying down, which was kind of a strange mental image.
The Philosophers were kind of interesting beings which I had very little trouble picturing in my mind. I found Pell to be quite a strange character who I felt sorry for at times, but at turns really disturbed me.
There was an awful lot going on in this book, I felt. Sometimes, the characters' actions made my head spin, particularly one specific character. I was never quite sure what to make of him.
I liked Max and Abby and how their relationship came across. I was kind of rooting for them through most of the book, even though I liked how Max formed a relationship with one of the Philosophers.
This book was quite a bit darker than I was expecting. It was really well-written, but very disturbing in parts. It did manage to surprise me in some places and even if I had trouble picturing the surroundings in my head, I could see a lot of the events involving the characters happening in my mind.
Although this book was the second in a series, I didn't find it hard to understand what was going on. It was an entertaining read and I think I'd be interested in reading the other books in this series - at some point in the future.
(This review may contain spoilers).
This was a fairly unique idea for a book, I felt. I struggled a bit to get into the book at the start, but as the story progressed, I found it easier to understand than I'd expected.
At times, I did find it a bit difficult to picture the exact setting of the world the characters inhabited. It was completely alien to this world and I kept picturing a giant corpse lying down, which was kind of a strange mental image.
The Philosophers were kind of interesting beings which I had very little trouble picturing in my mind. I found Pell to be quite a strange character who I felt sorry for at times, but at turns really disturbed me.
There was an awful lot going on in this book, I felt. Sometimes, the characters' actions made my head spin, particularly one specific character. I was never quite sure what to make of him.
I liked Max and Abby and how their relationship came across. I was kind of rooting for them through most of the book, even though I liked how Max formed a relationship with one of the Philosophers.
This book was quite a bit darker than I was expecting. It was really well-written, but very disturbing in parts. It did manage to surprise me in some places and even if I had trouble picturing the surroundings in my head, I could see a lot of the events involving the characters happening in my mind.
Although this book was the second in a series, I didn't find it hard to understand what was going on. It was an entertaining read and I think I'd be interested in reading the other books in this series - at some point in the future.
March 26, 2014
Some science fiction is pristine; perfect worlds, phasers that stun, ultra clean, nice crisp uniforms for all. Ragged Claws is not this type of science fiction. It is visceral in every sense if the word and for that I am very grateful.
Like the previous novel in the series, Thumb, Ragged Claws is a page turner, a roller coaster of action, strange worlds and stranger characters that inhabit a gigantic man made god at the end of the universe.
"It is not mere water. The moisture from the city gathers at the lowest point in the ceiling, which just happens to be the Weeping Face"..... He gestured around him at the downpour thundering off the eaves and rolling along the centre of the streets in grubby torrents. " it's the tears, sweat and breath of everyone in this city, a storm of sobs and sighs. Quite disgusting when you think about it"
if you are intrigued by these lines you will love the book.
Like the previous novel in the series, Thumb, Ragged Claws is a page turner, a roller coaster of action, strange worlds and stranger characters that inhabit a gigantic man made god at the end of the universe.
"It is not mere water. The moisture from the city gathers at the lowest point in the ceiling, which just happens to be the Weeping Face"..... He gestured around him at the downpour thundering off the eaves and rolling along the centre of the streets in grubby torrents. " it's the tears, sweat and breath of everyone in this city, a storm of sobs and sighs. Quite disgusting when you think about it"
if you are intrigued by these lines you will love the book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews