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Smallworld #2
Littlestar: A Science Fiction Comedy of Interstellar War and Virtual Gods
Praise for Smallworld by Dominic Green:
"A showcase for Green's bone-dry satire and deadpan humour ... Green's agile imagination constantly wrong-foots the reader. A delight."
-Peter Ingham, The Telegraph
"The work of a talented writer having lots of very smart fun"
-- S F Winser, Booksquawk.com
Littlestar hugely expands on the universe established in Smallworld, with a stellar story arc that follows troopers Beguiled-of-the-Serpent and Only-Begotten as they become embroiled in the second star-spanning war against the Made.
Man, a bigoted species brooking no other intelligent life but him- and herself, is spread across a thousand worlds, ruled with a designer-gloved fist by Leader Ottilia Vos. The Made, intelligences both biological and technological, were engineered by human beings, then betrayed and hunted down by them. Now they are back, and this time, it's the Made who have the numbers.
Some have no choice in being caught up in events - troopers Beguiled-of-the-Serpent and Only-Begotten, who took Leader Vos's shilling in order to avoid murder charges. Some don't think twice about choices - the tramp trader *Prodigal Son*, unhesitatingly ferrying war refugees back to Earth, mankind's only remaining stronghold. Some people's choices have to be thought through very well indeed - the outlawed dictator Button Humpage, wondering whether to assist the species that betrayed him.
Humanity has some surprising allies, many of whom it formerly counted as its fiercest enemies. The biggest question, however, is - what is Littlestar? How did Button Humpage come to control it? And is it the secret weapon that can win the war?
"A showcase for Green's bone-dry satire and deadpan humour ... Green's agile imagination constantly wrong-foots the reader. A delight."
-Peter Ingham, The Telegraph
"The work of a talented writer having lots of very smart fun"
-- S F Winser, Booksquawk.com
Littlestar hugely expands on the universe established in Smallworld, with a stellar story arc that follows troopers Beguiled-of-the-Serpent and Only-Begotten as they become embroiled in the second star-spanning war against the Made.
Man, a bigoted species brooking no other intelligent life but him- and herself, is spread across a thousand worlds, ruled with a designer-gloved fist by Leader Ottilia Vos. The Made, intelligences both biological and technological, were engineered by human beings, then betrayed and hunted down by them. Now they are back, and this time, it's the Made who have the numbers.
Some have no choice in being caught up in events - troopers Beguiled-of-the-Serpent and Only-Begotten, who took Leader Vos's shilling in order to avoid murder charges. Some don't think twice about choices - the tramp trader *Prodigal Son*, unhesitatingly ferrying war refugees back to Earth, mankind's only remaining stronghold. Some people's choices have to be thought through very well indeed - the outlawed dictator Button Humpage, wondering whether to assist the species that betrayed him.
Humanity has some surprising allies, many of whom it formerly counted as its fiercest enemies. The biggest question, however, is - what is Littlestar? How did Button Humpage come to control it? And is it the secret weapon that can win the war?
- GenresScience FictionHumor
ebook
First published September 14, 2011
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36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 30, 2014
TEDIUM WARS....!
It was a fun read but was so convoluted it had to be processed as episodes loosely keyed into a central story about a hillbilly family with a terraformed planetoid.
HOLY EMPIRE, Batman, it strikes back again and again and again forever and ever, Amen...
It was a fun read but was so convoluted it had to be processed as episodes loosely keyed into a central story about a hillbilly family with a terraformed planetoid.
HOLY EMPIRE, Batman, it strikes back again and again and again forever and ever, Amen...
August 26, 2018
This book is so clever with an irreverent sense of humor and an imaginative story. But it is so very difficult to track the characters and the plot! It’s bouncing all over the place with almost no help tracking who, where, and when. I suggest you at least make character notes as you read.
February 19, 2016
I like this book a lot, especially in the middle. I'm not sure the author really knows how to end stories though, since despite this being intended as one coherent book (albeit with several concurrent stories), it still starts meandering at the end and ends in a really hamfisted teaser for a next book.
Spoiler Alert
Also, the mcguffin wasn't all that interesting. Everyone is chasing after it or chasing after other people chasing after it... it turns out to be a weapon that turns matter into 'strange matter', which I guess is futuristic dark matter, and it spreads so that if you touch it you turn into strange matter too. Turns out the first mcguffin was just the key to the second mcguffin that actually shot this stuff out. Sorry Ollie, Arthur C Clarke did it way better with his MD device.
Spoiler Alert
Also, the mcguffin wasn't all that interesting. Everyone is chasing after it or chasing after other people chasing after it... it turns out to be a weapon that turns matter into 'strange matter', which I guess is futuristic dark matter, and it spreads so that if you touch it you turn into strange matter too. Turns out the first mcguffin was just the key to the second mcguffin that actually shot this stuff out. Sorry Ollie, Arthur C Clarke did it way better with his MD device.
May 27, 2012
Everything that Smallworld did, Littlestar does on a grander scale. This includes the wonderfully absurd satirical humor, surprising characters, and crazy scifi stunts. On the other hand, the plot is harder to follow, characters are harder to track, and I get the constant nagging feeling that the whole thing is going by too fast. Historical, religious and cultural allusions are everywhere; enough irreverence to offend all readers but with an even-handed treatment that makes it easy to forgive.
Overall though, a delightful read that I'm recommending to everyone who will listen.
Overall though, a delightful read that I'm recommending to everyone who will listen.
July 14, 2015
Excellent , satirical , farcical , original, and funny. Actually forked out money for this next in series from free download of "smallworld", which I virtually never do these days due to impecunious state. I didn't regret it and am now on my third book by this author ("Saucerers and gondoliers").
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews