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Lightless #3
Radiate
In the follow-up to Lightless and Supernova, C. A. Higgins again fuses science fiction, suspense, and drama to tell the story of a most unlikely heroine: Ananke, once a military spacecraft, now a sentient artificial intelligence. Ananke may have the powers of a god, but she is consumed by a very human longing: to know her creators.
Now Ananke is on a quest to find companionship, understanding, and even love. She is accompanied by Althea, the engineer who created her, and whom she sees as her mother. And she is in search of her father, Matthew, the programmer whose code gave her the spark of life.
But Matthew is on a strange quest of his own, traveling the galaxy alongside Ivan, with whom he shares a deeply painful history. Ananke and her parents are racing toward an inevitable collision, with consequences as violent as the birth of the solar system itself and as devastating as the discovery of love.
Now Ananke is on a quest to find companionship, understanding, and even love. She is accompanied by Althea, the engineer who created her, and whom she sees as her mother. And she is in search of her father, Matthew, the programmer whose code gave her the spark of life.
But Matthew is on a strange quest of his own, traveling the galaxy alongside Ivan, with whom he shares a deeply painful history. Ananke and her parents are racing toward an inevitable collision, with consequences as violent as the birth of the solar system itself and as devastating as the discovery of love.
315 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 23, 2017
33 people are currently reading
761 people want to read
About the author
C.A. Higgins
11 books184 followersLibrarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
June 24, 2017
I wanted to read this book because the second book of the trilogy ended with cliffhangers. However, this book doesn't pick up at the place the second book ended. When I reached the 60% point of this book and it still hadn't resolved the cliffhangers, I decided that I just didn't care any more and gave up. I was bored by the Mattie/Ivan/Constance threesome and Ananke and Althea had not appeared. In addition, the author was intent on being perversely confusing with her time shifts. I wasn't enjoying this book at all and it wasn't worth any more of my time. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
September 22, 2017
A fitting end to a great series. Higgins nails the science, but more than that she writes amazing complex characters with plenty of depth and layers. I wasn't sure exactly where the series was ultimately going after the first book, but it wraps up in a satisfying way that stays true to the nature of the characters. Can't wait to see what the author delivers next.
May 15, 2020
VOTO PERSONALE: 3,0
Capitolo conclusivo della trilogia Lightless, purtroppo Radiate rappresenta, almeno secondo me, il meno riuscito dell'intera trilogia.
Ho fatto una fatica bestiale ad andare oltre la prima metà del libro, dal momento che la narrazione viene ripresa da un bel po' di tempo prima degli eventi con i quali termina il secondo volume, stavolta però assistendo alle peripezie di Mattie e Ivan che erano praticamente scomparsi dalle storylines del precedente romanzo.
Il problema è che la maggior parte di ciò che accade ai nostri due protagonisti aggiunge davvero poco, dal punto di vista dei contenuti, alla storia in generale risultando, a conti fatti, trascurabile.
Tutto ciò viene esasperato dalla struttura stessa del romanzo in questione: la storyline principale, già per più della metà poco interessante, è continuamente interrotta da flashback ancor meno digeribili, nei quali vengono snocciolati, allo sfinimento, i rapporti e gli intrecci che legano i tre protagonisti principali della trilogia (Mattie, Ivan e Costance Harper), ma che sono già stati ampiamente sviscerati e dati in pasto al lettore più volte nei due precedenti capitoli della trilogia e che, pertanto, rappresentano un riempitivo davvero inutile e fastidioso, tranne in rarissimi casi dove vengono chiariti alcuni aspetti della vicenda in realtà, anche qui, tutto sommato marginali.
È soltanto a partire dai 2/3 del romanzo che assistiamo a sviluppi interessanti della trama e ad un crescendo che poi culmina nella parte finale, dove tutto viene collegato al precedente volume concludendo, più o meno degnamente, l'intera opera.
L' epilogo non mi è dispiaciuto, sebbene si sarebbe potuto fare decisamente di meglio: viene mantenuta la tragicità dei toni che caratterizza l'intera trilogia, anche se non mancano risvolti romance adolescenziali poco appetibili ma che, fortunatamente, non risultano mai troppo invasivi.
La narrazione del rapporto Althea - Ananke continua ad essere quella meno banale e più stimolante, sebbene sia anche quella caratterizzata dai risvolti più assurdi ma che, grazie alla quale, viene aggiunto quel pizzico di horror che non guasta affatto in questo tipo di ambientazione.
Mi è inoltre piaciuto molto il criterio con cui sono stati suddivisi i capitoli, prendendo come spunto la descrizione delle forze fisiche fondamentali per tracciare un parallelismo con l'evoluzione della narrazione stessa.
Insomma, a conti fatti, la trilogia Lightless rappresenta una di quelle classiche opere prime, tipiche di autori alle prime armi come la nostra C. A. Higgins, nelle quali si possono trovare buoni spunti narrativi, sebbene non troppo originali, tenendo però in considerazione tutti i limiti che possono affliggere le stesse ma che, date le premesse, possono anche essere in parte perdonati.
Capitolo conclusivo della trilogia Lightless, purtroppo Radiate rappresenta, almeno secondo me, il meno riuscito dell'intera trilogia.
Ho fatto una fatica bestiale ad andare oltre la prima metà del libro, dal momento che la narrazione viene ripresa da un bel po' di tempo prima degli eventi con i quali termina il secondo volume, stavolta però assistendo alle peripezie di Mattie e Ivan che erano praticamente scomparsi dalle storylines del precedente romanzo.
Il problema è che la maggior parte di ciò che accade ai nostri due protagonisti aggiunge davvero poco, dal punto di vista dei contenuti, alla storia in generale risultando, a conti fatti, trascurabile.
Tutto ciò viene esasperato dalla struttura stessa del romanzo in questione: la storyline principale, già per più della metà poco interessante, è continuamente interrotta da flashback ancor meno digeribili, nei quali vengono snocciolati, allo sfinimento, i rapporti e gli intrecci che legano i tre protagonisti principali della trilogia (Mattie, Ivan e Costance Harper), ma che sono già stati ampiamente sviscerati e dati in pasto al lettore più volte nei due precedenti capitoli della trilogia e che, pertanto, rappresentano un riempitivo davvero inutile e fastidioso, tranne in rarissimi casi dove vengono chiariti alcuni aspetti della vicenda in realtà, anche qui, tutto sommato marginali.
È soltanto a partire dai 2/3 del romanzo che assistiamo a sviluppi interessanti della trama e ad un crescendo che poi culmina nella parte finale, dove tutto viene collegato al precedente volume concludendo, più o meno degnamente, l'intera opera.
L' epilogo non mi è dispiaciuto, sebbene si sarebbe potuto fare decisamente di meglio: viene mantenuta la tragicità dei toni che caratterizza l'intera trilogia, anche se non mancano risvolti romance adolescenziali poco appetibili ma che, fortunatamente, non risultano mai troppo invasivi.
La narrazione del rapporto Althea - Ananke continua ad essere quella meno banale e più stimolante, sebbene sia anche quella caratterizzata dai risvolti più assurdi ma che, grazie alla quale, viene aggiunto quel pizzico di horror che non guasta affatto in questo tipo di ambientazione.
Mi è inoltre piaciuto molto il criterio con cui sono stati suddivisi i capitoli, prendendo come spunto la descrizione delle forze fisiche fondamentali per tracciare un parallelismo con l'evoluzione della narrazione stessa.
Insomma, a conti fatti, la trilogia Lightless rappresenta una di quelle classiche opere prime, tipiche di autori alle prime armi come la nostra C. A. Higgins, nelle quali si possono trovare buoni spunti narrativi, sebbene non troppo originali, tenendo però in considerazione tutti i limiti che possono affliggere le stesse ma che, date le premesse, possono anche essere in parte perdonati.
April 17, 2017
Love in the space
This is a science fiction, the third book in the series following her first two books, Lightless and Supernova. The story revolves around a space traveler named Ananke, a person with artificial intelligence, searches for her human roots. She is known to have humanly feelings such as love and companionship. She travels in the company of her friend and mother Althea. In parallel, there is another pair named Matthew who is on a quest of his own is traveling the galaxy alongside Ivan. They are on a collision course with Althea with serious catastrophic consequences.
Man-machine interfaces may allow humans to live much longer and beyond the solar system. What will happen when we transfer parts of our “selves” into clones, into stored cells and machines? As Stephen Hawking has predicted, artificially intelligent machines will inevitably take over the world. This is what SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's concept is all about: an interface that will link the human brain with artificial intelligence. This is precisely dealt with by the science fiction writers like C. A. Higgins.
The story is compulsive of a romance writer; the writing is partly from the point of a human-machine perspective. The book descends to a love story, and the last section is influenced by the film “Casablanca.” The human feeling of the author is clearly reflected in the story her heroine. One thing that puzzled me is that the author uses quantum physics concepts as the title for various chapters that did not make too much sense to me.
This is a science fiction, the third book in the series following her first two books, Lightless and Supernova. The story revolves around a space traveler named Ananke, a person with artificial intelligence, searches for her human roots. She is known to have humanly feelings such as love and companionship. She travels in the company of her friend and mother Althea. In parallel, there is another pair named Matthew who is on a quest of his own is traveling the galaxy alongside Ivan. They are on a collision course with Althea with serious catastrophic consequences.
Man-machine interfaces may allow humans to live much longer and beyond the solar system. What will happen when we transfer parts of our “selves” into clones, into stored cells and machines? As Stephen Hawking has predicted, artificially intelligent machines will inevitably take over the world. This is what SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's concept is all about: an interface that will link the human brain with artificial intelligence. This is precisely dealt with by the science fiction writers like C. A. Higgins.
The story is compulsive of a romance writer; the writing is partly from the point of a human-machine perspective. The book descends to a love story, and the last section is influenced by the film “Casablanca.” The human feeling of the author is clearly reflected in the story her heroine. One thing that puzzled me is that the author uses quantum physics concepts as the title for various chapters that did not make too much sense to me.
May 31, 2017
It was a great story and I loved the way Higgins structured the novel and the different chapters and sections. The story between Mattie and Ivan was always an intriguing one and it is explored thoroughly in this book. The only thing that kept me from giving this a higher rating was that they didn't really expand upon or further explore Ananke and Althea's story. Those two were the reason I started this series and there was so much potential there that I felt was kind of just left by the wayside in favor of Mattie and Ivan's story. This book was so close to being the book I wanted it to be, and there were a few shining moments of suspense or tension that I absolutely loved, but on the whole I was left wanting more than I got from this book.
Read
October 5, 2017I’ve been with C. A. Higgins for a while. Since her very first book, in fact. This is her third, the last in a trilogy, and it ends in both an incredibly satisfying way, and, as the best books do (as far as I’m concerned) it leaves me wanting more. Radiate picks up where the last book left off, returning us into the middle of the political and dramatic conflict of our own universe but far in the future, where we’ve colonized all the planets in the solar system and many of its moons. We learn what happens to the sentient ship flying through space and to the single human who remains on board. We learn what happens to Ivan and Mattie, reunited at last and fighting to save the woman they have both loved in very different ways. We learn what has happened to the rebellion against the system. And, on top of all that, we learn about a whole bunch of moments in the past that we’ve been wondering about during books one and two. And all this in a volume less than 350 pages long. Higgins is a masterful writer.
— Ilana Masad
from The Best Books We Read in May 2017: https://bookriot.com/2017/06/02/riot-...
— Ilana Masad
from The Best Books We Read in May 2017: https://bookriot.com/2017/06/02/riot-...
July 27, 2018
Radiate was a great and satisfying conclusion to the Lightless trilogy. I loved how each book focused on different important characters. The construction was really well thought out and executed. Lightless sets up the story and is linear. Supernova and Radiate move back and forth in time, (fits the theory of time travel) and does it in a really organized way.
In Radiate each Part starts with Ananke and Althea's POV, then the chapters focus on Ivan and Mattie through flashbacks to set up some history and the development of their friendship while also showing us their present story. It's all spelled out so there is no way to get confused when what scene takes place. I do have one critique and though it didn't ruin the book it does really annoyed me. I really wished we got to see a flashback of how Ivan and Mattie found out about the Ananke and why they decided to go investigate her. I thought we would get one towards the end where it would have fit in perfectly.
Most of Radiate focuses on what Mattie and Ivan were up to for the time period of Supernova, which they were only mentioned in (except for flashbacks). Both men are dealing with and learning to face the consequences of their actions. I also felt Ivan's PTSD was handled really well. His time in captivity and Ida Stays still haunts him.
Like I said, Ananke and Althea don't appear much in this book, but I feel that that's ok because their scenes would have been very redundant. We already know what havoc Ananke has been up to, so now we got to see the consequences of her actions.
I also want to give a shout out to the cover designs. I love the faces with the stars and how each book has one of Ananke's parents. Ivan, Althea, then Mattie. (At least that is who I think they represent.)
I am very glad I decided to read them all at once so that the details were fresh in my mind. It was like binge watching an awesome sci-fi mini-series.
Radiate - 4.5 out of 5 Con Men
Lightless Trilogy - 4.5 out of 5 A.I. Spaceships.
Favorite quotes
Page 29: The sound of her heels was the Russian roulette click of a revolver on an empty chamber.
Page 90-
Mattie: It would have been nice if you'd let me know what we were doing before you did it, Ivan!"
Ivan: I thought we were on the same page."
Mattie: "We're not even reading the same fucking book!"
Page 107: There was a woman standing on the sand behind him. She was very old, bent over herself as if the sky had a grip around her waist and she was passively bowing away from its upward pull.
Page 124: The end of the world had followed him to one more moon.
In Radiate each Part starts with Ananke and Althea's POV, then the chapters focus on Ivan and Mattie through flashbacks to set up some history and the development of their friendship while also showing us their present story. It's all spelled out so there is no way to get confused when what scene takes place. I do have one critique and though it didn't ruin the book it does really annoyed me. I really wished we got to see a flashback of how Ivan and Mattie found out about the Ananke and why they decided to go investigate her. I thought we would get one towards the end where it would have fit in perfectly.
Most of Radiate focuses on what Mattie and Ivan were up to for the time period of Supernova, which they were only mentioned in (except for flashbacks). Both men are dealing with and learning to face the consequences of their actions. I also felt Ivan's PTSD was handled really well. His time in captivity and Ida Stays still haunts him.
Like I said, Ananke and Althea don't appear much in this book, but I feel that that's ok because their scenes would have been very redundant. We already know what havoc Ananke has been up to, so now we got to see the consequences of her actions.
I also want to give a shout out to the cover designs. I love the faces with the stars and how each book has one of Ananke's parents. Ivan, Althea, then Mattie. (At least that is who I think they represent.)
I am very glad I decided to read them all at once so that the details were fresh in my mind. It was like binge watching an awesome sci-fi mini-series.
Radiate - 4.5 out of 5 Con Men
Lightless Trilogy - 4.5 out of 5 A.I. Spaceships.
Favorite quotes
Page 29: The sound of her heels was the Russian roulette click of a revolver on an empty chamber.
Page 90-
Mattie: It would have been nice if you'd let me know what we were doing before you did it, Ivan!"
Ivan: I thought we were on the same page."
Mattie: "We're not even reading the same fucking book!"
Page 107: There was a woman standing on the sand behind him. She was very old, bent over herself as if the sky had a grip around her waist and she was passively bowing away from its upward pull.
Page 124: The end of the world had followed him to one more moon.
April 24, 2021
I felt like I had to read this book, to finish the story of book 2, but it was hard.
no spoilers here at all.
Just criticism of the conceit that made this book so unreadable.
Imagine if you were watching a movie, and every scene, they did a flashback, in order to set up the next scene. Most people would call that lazy, and jarring.
The same is true for a book. I want a narrative. that narrative needs to flow. It can be a dreamy flow, like rothfuss's .5 book about a crazy girl, but it has to flow.
this book doesn't. Every single time you start to get into it, it changes time, chiucking us back and forth, and even then, the author messes about and puts two "forward" chapters in a row.
In the end, i just stopped reading the "backwards" sections, in order to be able to finish the book. And even then the tedious af "meaningful looks" between the two leads who somehow contrive to be utterly lacking in agency made the story drag.
If you read this, Higgins. next time, do us the favour of putting your story together in such a way that it is readable. thank you
no spoilers here at all.
Just criticism of the conceit that made this book so unreadable.
Imagine if you were watching a movie, and every scene, they did a flashback, in order to set up the next scene. Most people would call that lazy, and jarring.
The same is true for a book. I want a narrative. that narrative needs to flow. It can be a dreamy flow, like rothfuss's .5 book about a crazy girl, but it has to flow.
this book doesn't. Every single time you start to get into it, it changes time, chiucking us back and forth, and even then, the author messes about and puts two "forward" chapters in a row.
In the end, i just stopped reading the "backwards" sections, in order to be able to finish the book. And even then the tedious af "meaningful looks" between the two leads who somehow contrive to be utterly lacking in agency made the story drag.
If you read this, Higgins. next time, do us the favour of putting your story together in such a way that it is readable. thank you
December 12, 2018
Boring with a terrible ending. The first two books had a very interesting premise and characters. I was really looking forward to a story about Ananke and possibly her evolution as a sentient ship. I wanted to learn more about Constance—there was a big cliffhanger at the end of book two. And I wanted something to come of the horrors to which Althea was subjected to at the end of book 2. Instead, we got a really boring, barely existing plot about the two most boring characters in the entire solar system. Ananke and Althea were absent for most of the book. Constance was completely absent, and there was no character growth or development. The “Backward” parts were even more boring and pointless. Hugely disappointing end to the trilogy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2018
It's been a while since I was disappointed by a book so I guess it was time.
Ananke needed to be more present in this book. The book needed more direction. It felt like we were taken on a journey of discovery for Mattie and Ivan that left off in a wholly unsatisfying ending. There just wasn't enough to this book. It took so long to read because I kept having to stop every ten pages or so because I was...bored. Totally different from the first book, but I also didn't like the second one so much either.
A disappointing series.
Ananke needed to be more present in this book. The book needed more direction. It felt like we were taken on a journey of discovery for Mattie and Ivan that left off in a wholly unsatisfying ending. There just wasn't enough to this book. It took so long to read because I kept having to stop every ten pages or so because I was...bored. Totally different from the first book, but I also didn't like the second one so much either.
A disappointing series.
August 9, 2017
While I think the ending could've used a bit more of a denoument, overall a powerful end to the trilogy.
September 6, 2017
Wow! This series was amazing!
January 29, 2019
This was a stunning masterpiece. The first of the trilogy was an intriguing page-turner. I liked the concept right away. The second was a little weaker. This one has blown me away. I am very rarely so very satisfied at the end of a series.
October 1, 2018
Episodio conclusivo della trilogia di cui fa parte, è anche il meno riuscito. L'impianto non mi ha convinta: dopo un finale pesante del secondo libro, la storia riprende tornando indietro di qualche settimana (mese?), per mostrare cosa succede ai due personaggi principali assenti dal precendente. Il problema è che buona parte della loro vicenda non è granché interessante, e si finisce per rivisitare avvenimenti secondari già assimilati, senza un vero perché. L'inclinazione all'anticlimax è esasperata da numerosi capitoletti ambientati nel passato, che non aggiungono niente né alla storia, né alla caratterizzazione dei personaggi, già centrata nei primi due volumi.
L'azione per cui il lettore freme (i confronti finali tra forze avverse, i destini che si definiscono, le scelte importanti da fare) si innesca dopo due terzi del romanzo. La risoluzione mi è sembrata equilibrata, anche se un po' sgonfia rispetto al tono generale. Non è consolatoria, confermando lo spirito dell'intera trilogia, che non evita la tragicità e aggiunge anche un tocco horror nelle parti su Althea e Ananke.
Nel complesso, rimane una trilogia meritevole, anche se il meglio viene prima.
SPOILER ALERT
Da come è scritto quest'ultimo romanzo, sembra che non ci sia mai stata una vera e propria storia d'amore tra Mattie e Ivan, cosa che invece pareva sottointesa dagli altri romanzi. Tant'è che io davo per assunto che Ivan fosse bisex e ci sono rimasta un po' male nello scoprire che era tutto molto più casto di così.
L'azione per cui il lettore freme (i confronti finali tra forze avverse, i destini che si definiscono, le scelte importanti da fare) si innesca dopo due terzi del romanzo. La risoluzione mi è sembrata equilibrata, anche se un po' sgonfia rispetto al tono generale. Non è consolatoria, confermando lo spirito dell'intera trilogia, che non evita la tragicità e aggiunge anche un tocco horror nelle parti su Althea e Ananke.
Nel complesso, rimane una trilogia meritevole, anche se il meglio viene prima.
SPOILER ALERT
Da come è scritto quest'ultimo romanzo, sembra che non ci sia mai stata una vera e propria storia d'amore tra Mattie e Ivan, cosa che invece pareva sottointesa dagli altri romanzi. Tant'è che io davo per assunto che Ivan fosse bisex e ci sono rimasta un po' male nello scoprire che era tutto molto più casto di così.
May 26, 2017
Recommended by Emilie B.
The Lightless trilogy is a love story that reads like epic science fiction, with refreshing switches in perspective, a continual increasing of suspense, and the backdrop of a revolution of space opera proportions to hold it all up. This review is for the third and final book in the series, Radiate, so if you have not read the first two, spoilers ahead!
The System has fallen, and the sentient AI (and self-proclaimed-god) Ananke is roaming space, leaving lifeless ships in her wake, searching for her father Mattie. Her mission: to get them to help her create the companion her mother wouldn’t, another A.I. like her, or destroy all those that come in her way.
Higgins brings the series she began with Lightless to a spellbinding conclusion. After the shocking events between Althea and Ananke in Supernova, we find ourselves whisked back through time, and transported into the stories of Ivan and Mattie. More of the intricacies of the over-arching story, and the revolution against The System, are becoming clear to us through these skips back, while at the same time they serve to build up the intense suspense in wanting to know just what has happened to Althea in the present day.
By being moved from Althea to Mattie and Ivan, we are left as the third party spectators knowing more than the characters, anxiously waiting for the big reveal. The few accounts in Ananke’s perspectives gives an insight into the machine’s mind, one that reads in tone much more like hard science fiction, but somehow still cannot make us view her as the monster that we may wish to see. The jumps back in time and switch in perspective leave us anxiously waiting for each twist that we had already experienced from Althea’s side in Supernova. The suspense and intensity slowly builds up, dragging on to where we just want to flip ahead and get to that scene already, but also don’t want to miss a page. Even as it brings a visceral reaction, we need to know what happens, and just want to cry out and see Ananke realize that what is going on is wrong.
Through Ivan and Mattie’s eyes, the puzzle starts to come together, loose ends and questions from both Constance and Althea’s accounts from Supernova being woven together intricately, as we begin to see how their stories and travels overlapped, and new motivations and meaning behind past events are revealed.
Higgins manages to continue to surprise us, in a way that is surprising itself, though looking back should have been quite obvious. Interweaving elements and tone that could best be described as belonging to horror and psychological thrillers, this book keeps you thinking long after you close it, and is definitely not for the faint of heart.
The Lightless trilogy is a love story that reads like epic science fiction, with refreshing switches in perspective, a continual increasing of suspense, and the backdrop of a revolution of space opera proportions to hold it all up. This review is for the third and final book in the series, Radiate, so if you have not read the first two, spoilers ahead!
The System has fallen, and the sentient AI (and self-proclaimed-god) Ananke is roaming space, leaving lifeless ships in her wake, searching for her father Mattie. Her mission: to get them to help her create the companion her mother wouldn’t, another A.I. like her, or destroy all those that come in her way.
Higgins brings the series she began with Lightless to a spellbinding conclusion. After the shocking events between Althea and Ananke in Supernova, we find ourselves whisked back through time, and transported into the stories of Ivan and Mattie. More of the intricacies of the over-arching story, and the revolution against The System, are becoming clear to us through these skips back, while at the same time they serve to build up the intense suspense in wanting to know just what has happened to Althea in the present day.
By being moved from Althea to Mattie and Ivan, we are left as the third party spectators knowing more than the characters, anxiously waiting for the big reveal. The few accounts in Ananke’s perspectives gives an insight into the machine’s mind, one that reads in tone much more like hard science fiction, but somehow still cannot make us view her as the monster that we may wish to see. The jumps back in time and switch in perspective leave us anxiously waiting for each twist that we had already experienced from Althea’s side in Supernova. The suspense and intensity slowly builds up, dragging on to where we just want to flip ahead and get to that scene already, but also don’t want to miss a page. Even as it brings a visceral reaction, we need to know what happens, and just want to cry out and see Ananke realize that what is going on is wrong.
Through Ivan and Mattie’s eyes, the puzzle starts to come together, loose ends and questions from both Constance and Althea’s accounts from Supernova being woven together intricately, as we begin to see how their stories and travels overlapped, and new motivations and meaning behind past events are revealed.
Higgins manages to continue to surprise us, in a way that is surprising itself, though looking back should have been quite obvious. Interweaving elements and tone that could best be described as belonging to horror and psychological thrillers, this book keeps you thinking long after you close it, and is definitely not for the faint of heart.
November 3, 2020
Well, I finished the series because it's a trilogy - once you start it you've got to finish it. I should have stopped about twenty pages into book two. I didn't waste a lot of time; the last two books are quick reads. But they are pointless. I have to believe that Higgins wrote an intriguing, successful first novel which could have and should have been a standalone. It works as a closed room puzzle/mystery. But then there was probably publisher pressure, and probably Higgins's own desire to capitalize of the early success, to make it a series. But these last two books add nothing. I didn't care about the characters or the "story". I only did in the first book because of the unique set up. I read the third book figuring that the series might come full circle and have an interesting conclusion. Nope. I'm writing this review like three weeks after finishing the book and I'd have to think hard to even remember what happened; I'm not going to bother.
I should say that Higgins is a much better than average writer; she has a facility and relative grace with the language. Also I read something about her influences/favorite books either in the acknowledgements or an interview, and they were not too much in line with my favorite sorts of books. I like a strong story with memorable, discernible. characters. She may prefer mood, creepiness, and homage to ancient folklore. So I don't see the point of two thirds of this series, but I definitely no not dismiss Higgins as a writer.
I should say that Higgins is a much better than average writer; she has a facility and relative grace with the language. Also I read something about her influences/favorite books either in the acknowledgements or an interview, and they were not too much in line with my favorite sorts of books. I like a strong story with memorable, discernible. characters. She may prefer mood, creepiness, and homage to ancient folklore. So I don't see the point of two thirds of this series, but I definitely no not dismiss Higgins as a writer.
July 2, 2017
*SLAMS DRINK ON TABLE*
5 STARS
Ok on the reals it took me a week to work up the courage to listen to the end of this because I was so sure I'd be a helpless ball of emotions with my heart shattered into eight million pieces and all hope and trust in the world gone.
I am a helpless ball of emotions but I am able to report that these emotions have a wide range and variety and I am just entirely slain.
I still don't know what I missed in the second book and was frankly waiting this entire book for an "aha" moment to convince me to go back and read it and that never came so... definitely skipping the second book seems to be a viable option. Honestly these are so well written and perfect that I might read it just because I'm guaranteed to enjoy it, but honestly Ivan was my #1 compelling force and this whole book being Ivan and Mattie just.
*dies*
Literally everything about this was just perfect. The depth and strength of the characters is astonishing, the way the story is crafted to make you understand them entirely and care about them even when they aren't particularly heroic was just masterful, and the way serious science fiction, actual horror, and the strength of friendship were all woven together in one seamless tale was just.
If you like science fiction and you like stories about characters who are totally real, this is the book for you.
It is. So good.
5 STARS
Ok on the reals it took me a week to work up the courage to listen to the end of this because I was so sure I'd be a helpless ball of emotions with my heart shattered into eight million pieces and all hope and trust in the world gone.
I am a helpless ball of emotions but I am able to report that these emotions have a wide range and variety and I am just entirely slain.
I still don't know what I missed in the second book and was frankly waiting this entire book for an "aha" moment to convince me to go back and read it and that never came so... definitely skipping the second book seems to be a viable option. Honestly these are so well written and perfect that I might read it just because I'm guaranteed to enjoy it, but honestly Ivan was my #1 compelling force and this whole book being Ivan and Mattie just.
*dies*
Literally everything about this was just perfect. The depth and strength of the characters is astonishing, the way the story is crafted to make you understand them entirely and care about them even when they aren't particularly heroic was just masterful, and the way serious science fiction, actual horror, and the strength of friendship were all woven together in one seamless tale was just.
If you like science fiction and you like stories about characters who are totally real, this is the book for you.
It is. So good.
October 22, 2017
I'm going to start with a warning: This book is the third in a series. If you haven't read that other two, you will be lost. I didn't know it was part of a series and that it was the third book because that wasn't made clear in the description I read about it nor is that fact on the AUP that I received to review.
Jumping into the book isn't easy because it is told in two time periods -- "Backward" and "Forward." Now I don't have a problem with stories that switch time period if those sections are clearly laid out and signaled. These sections have headers but to be blunt, not enough words are spent in most of the sections to really give the reader a sense of what is happening. Many of the sections are barely a full page in length. We just get into what is happening or what was happening and then we are pulled into a different time period. Very annoying.
In terms of story and characters this pulling the reader around is a bad thing because I didn't care about any of them or what was happening. This might be because the book isn't clearly labeled as part three of a series but even so, the jumping about without enough time spent in most sections was jarring. Are the previous two books written in this fashion?
Jumping into the book isn't easy because it is told in two time periods -- "Backward" and "Forward." Now I don't have a problem with stories that switch time period if those sections are clearly laid out and signaled. These sections have headers but to be blunt, not enough words are spent in most of the sections to really give the reader a sense of what is happening. Many of the sections are barely a full page in length. We just get into what is happening or what was happening and then we are pulled into a different time period. Very annoying.
In terms of story and characters this pulling the reader around is a bad thing because I didn't care about any of them or what was happening. This might be because the book isn't clearly labeled as part three of a series but even so, the jumping about without enough time spent in most sections was jarring. Are the previous two books written in this fashion?
November 20, 2017
The conclusion of the Lightless Series is much the same as the first two books. It is set well within the world Higgins has built, has compelling characters, but, unfortunately, drags in sections. This book is told, mostly, from Mattie and Ivan's point of view, much as the first book was mostly Althea's and the second book was mostly Ananke's and Constance's. Higgins makes you care and root for the two far traveling thieves as they seek out their revolutionary leader, Constance, who is much more than just a leader to both of them. Overall, this was a good conclusion to the trilogy, but it felt a little messy. The last 100 pages seemed mostly designed to wrap up everyone's stories, except for those that it didn't. If you believed the entire trilogy was story of Ivan and Mattie, you will be pleased. But, if you want a conclusion to the vast amount of side characters introduced in Constance's war, you will only be half fulfilled.
November 8, 2017
I felt frustrated by this book. It was at times confusing with 3 separate plot lines. Ananke wants to meet her creators and make a mate while destroying every ship she meets. Ivan and Mattie get separated and want reunited while on a quest stop Ananke from destroying all life in the solar system and want reunite. In the mean time the revolution to up end the System begins to degenerate into factions which attack each other.
Anyone of these plots would have been sufficient for one novel. Doing all two plot lines while flipping back and forth between the past and the present for the third makes the book a confusing unholy mess. I think Higgins was trying to make profound comment on the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. What she succeeds in doing is describing a Frankenstien monster. Plus the book leaves plenty of sub plots unaddressed and unresolved.
December 15, 2017
In the end, this series was decent. The writing style was pretty pedestrian but competent. I only have two major complaints.
The structure of continuously jumping around in time in the end served no purpose whatsoever other than to make the narrative hard to follow. It certainly served the purpose of being irritating if that is what the author intended to do.
Second, the author has a BA in physics. It seems someone with such a degree would understand the basics of the Standard Model. And yet, when one character at one point is meditating on the weak interaction, and then later on the strong interaction, she gets them exactly backwards. What she says the weak force does is what the strong force does and vice versa. I mean c'mon. Did you sleep through class?
The structure of continuously jumping around in time in the end served no purpose whatsoever other than to make the narrative hard to follow. It certainly served the purpose of being irritating if that is what the author intended to do.
Second, the author has a BA in physics. It seems someone with such a degree would understand the basics of the Standard Model. And yet, when one character at one point is meditating on the weak interaction, and then later on the strong interaction, she gets them exactly backwards. What she says the weak force does is what the strong force does and vice versa. I mean c'mon. Did you sleep through class?
February 24, 2018
I felt tremendously let down by this book. I enjoyed the first book, made it through the second and started the third hoping to read more about the physics behind the Annake and the Annake's development into a conscious entity. Instead there was a complete switch in featured characters and we were catapulted backward and forward through Mattie's and Ivan's histories. Almost nothing about Anneke until the very end and then just a rather blasé chapter about the planting of an IED in the Anneke. Nothing imaginative or creative in the ending. There was an underlying "gay" theme in the Mattie/Ivan story which added an interested dimension to the characters. I did think that this aspect was handled in a subtle and low key way that added a bit to the story.
June 26, 2017
Did not hold my interest as well as the first two. The interpersonal tension was superb, but the plot structure was less interesting. It gives events from the prior book through Ivan and Mati's perspective, while they were offstage in book 2, and answers some of the plot puzzles from book 2 in the process. But overall, I found the effect less compelling - perhaps because Althea, Ananki, and Constance were of more interest; perhaps because there less ultimately unknown about events. I might have preferred having books 2 & 3 interwoven.
May 26, 2017
The changing perspectives made this hard to get into at first, but having finished it, I do think it's a fitting and thrilling ending to the trilogy. I found it extremely satisfying. Heaps of both excitement and emotion. And for those of us who have spent the last three books telling Mattie and Ivan to JUST KISS ALREADY, well...that's a spoiler. ;)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
June 29, 2017I guess it's a good end to the trilogy. I liked the first book best, and I noticed how it shifted from female-dominated to all about Ivan and Mattie. Althea was my favourite, so her arc saddens me.
November 14, 2020
Higgins trilogy (concluding, in some sense, with Radiate) is a rather fascinating collection of three nearly standalone novels. Reading only the first--Lightless--may leave a reader feeling that the writing is sterile, overly concise, and limited in scope. Through the second--Supernova--the reader may come to appreciate how uniquely different the storytelling is and how this uniquely sets up each novel to be its own experience. The third--Radiate--has the reader fully engaged in a complex narrative that spans--seemingly--a handful of decades and also 'moves' in a timeline that has the reader urgently reading to determine how it all comes together (and who will or will not survive).
I preface with this broad overview to communicate my initial impression of the first work, Lightless, and how it seemed cold, disconnected, and very, very limited. Further reading, however, unfolded the narrative and it seemed that Higgins may have written these three works in such a way that one builds upon the previous, and so on (until the third work builds upon itself, through the use of flashbacks). Given the emphasis in the second and third works on the spiral motif, it's not surprising that Higgins gradually developed a narrative spiral (of sorts) over the course of three novels.
The contrast from Lightless to Radiate is so definite, and that Supernova--despite being a second in a trilogy--does not read like a 'bridge' between first and third works, really makes this a unique and engaging science fiction trilogy. Each novel really can be its own 'universe' in a way, and the reader does not need to read all of them or even in order to experience a compact space-based, science fiction odyssey. That by itself is an accomplishment (though I do recommend reading them in sequence, as there is definite, obvious, well-written cohesion from one work to the next).
Concepts like simulation vs. reality, sentient vs asentient, human impact, idealism vs. outcomes, idea vs. consequences are all present here and provide for some very substantial discourse. Higgins succeeds in incorporating these different concepts within the works and lets the reader consider them without having a hamfisted agenda or manifesto. Radiate, in particular, with the way Higgins utilizes flashbacks to provide some limited context to the narrative in the present, resounds with so much deftly written humanity and requires the reader to pay close attention, to make inferences, and to 'construct' the characters and their relationships in their mind. Higgins truly succeeds with character development--whether within one novel or all three--because she presents enough information about each necessary character so that the reader not only knows where the focus is but also has enough of a sense of what each character is about in order to _place_ them in the relevant scene. Some might argue that some characters are insubstantial or poorly developed in each work, but I find that argument moot. Higgins seems to use lesser-developed characters intentionally to convey: a) the concept that nothing is forever; b) these characters have their own context, but the focus of this narrative is upon other characters and the writing is here to focus only on this narrative; c) these characters are the embodiments or manifestations of the various consequences present within the narrative, and are needed to provide the reader and avatar to more readily perceive the consequences.
Higgins has one weakness, in the narrative, among all of this: 'escape routes'. Her narrative involves a spacefaring humanity that can easily construct warships, relativistic drives, black holes, shape and move and build structures on various extraterrestrial environments. . .but still has a hammer and nails lying around (especially on a moon that has no wood?). There are brief moments in the narrative, of each work, where Higgins seems to struggle to envision 'escape routes' among the world of tech she created for these works. 'Escape routes' is a euphemism here for ways to resolve tension or struggle within the plot.
What I especially appreciated is how grounded/'real' Higgins made the revolutionary leader. Higgins writing, at different points, may have the reader feeling very opposed to the System and identifying strongly with the revolutionary leader. Yet the reader discovers that the leader did not have a plan for _after_ the revolution. . .and the very dire consequences involved with that short-sighted thinking. For many readers, having a revolutionary leader is enough. . .and for many writers, the same is evident. Higgins ensures that readers don't stop with 'the present' (and, fascinatingly, does this in a variety of ways with a variety of characters) and are faced with 'what happens after?', and forced to consider that as well as the overarching question: what good is a revolutionary leader without a roadmap for change?
I preface with this broad overview to communicate my initial impression of the first work, Lightless, and how it seemed cold, disconnected, and very, very limited. Further reading, however, unfolded the narrative and it seemed that Higgins may have written these three works in such a way that one builds upon the previous, and so on (until the third work builds upon itself, through the use of flashbacks). Given the emphasis in the second and third works on the spiral motif, it's not surprising that Higgins gradually developed a narrative spiral (of sorts) over the course of three novels.
The contrast from Lightless to Radiate is so definite, and that Supernova--despite being a second in a trilogy--does not read like a 'bridge' between first and third works, really makes this a unique and engaging science fiction trilogy. Each novel really can be its own 'universe' in a way, and the reader does not need to read all of them or even in order to experience a compact space-based, science fiction odyssey. That by itself is an accomplishment (though I do recommend reading them in sequence, as there is definite, obvious, well-written cohesion from one work to the next).
Concepts like simulation vs. reality, sentient vs asentient, human impact, idealism vs. outcomes, idea vs. consequences are all present here and provide for some very substantial discourse. Higgins succeeds in incorporating these different concepts within the works and lets the reader consider them without having a hamfisted agenda or manifesto. Radiate, in particular, with the way Higgins utilizes flashbacks to provide some limited context to the narrative in the present, resounds with so much deftly written humanity and requires the reader to pay close attention, to make inferences, and to 'construct' the characters and their relationships in their mind. Higgins truly succeeds with character development--whether within one novel or all three--because she presents enough information about each necessary character so that the reader not only knows where the focus is but also has enough of a sense of what each character is about in order to _place_ them in the relevant scene. Some might argue that some characters are insubstantial or poorly developed in each work, but I find that argument moot. Higgins seems to use lesser-developed characters intentionally to convey: a) the concept that nothing is forever; b) these characters have their own context, but the focus of this narrative is upon other characters and the writing is here to focus only on this narrative; c) these characters are the embodiments or manifestations of the various consequences present within the narrative, and are needed to provide the reader and avatar to more readily perceive the consequences.
Higgins has one weakness, in the narrative, among all of this: 'escape routes'. Her narrative involves a spacefaring humanity that can easily construct warships, relativistic drives, black holes, shape and move and build structures on various extraterrestrial environments. . .but still has a hammer and nails lying around (especially on a moon that has no wood?). There are brief moments in the narrative, of each work, where Higgins seems to struggle to envision 'escape routes' among the world of tech she created for these works. 'Escape routes' is a euphemism here for ways to resolve tension or struggle within the plot.
What I especially appreciated is how grounded/'real' Higgins made the revolutionary leader. Higgins writing, at different points, may have the reader feeling very opposed to the System and identifying strongly with the revolutionary leader. Yet the reader discovers that the leader did not have a plan for _after_ the revolution. . .and the very dire consequences involved with that short-sighted thinking. For many readers, having a revolutionary leader is enough. . .and for many writers, the same is evident. Higgins ensures that readers don't stop with 'the present' (and, fascinatingly, does this in a variety of ways with a variety of characters) and are faced with 'what happens after?', and forced to consider that as well as the overarching question: what good is a revolutionary leader without a roadmap for change?
February 9, 2022
Popsugar 2022 Reading Challenge: A book featuring a man-made disaster.
I continue to be baffled, as I was by the end of the first book, why more people don't seem to know about this trilogy. I run with nerds, you guys: it seems like at least someone of my acquaintance should have picked up the first one somewhere. I don't get it because now I have finally finished it, I can declare wholeheartedly that the entire trilogy is so freaking good.
I don't recommend waiting—wow, really, I read Supernova in 2019? Okay—almost 3 years to finish the trilogy. It's not exactly linear, and Supernova and Radiate in particular overlap in time a lot. The reason I waited as long as I did was largely because I felt like I needed to be emotionally prepared for whatever intensity Radiate was going to bring into my life, and, well, the last two years haven't left me with a lot of emotional reserve. I don't know what got me to pull it out of the bookcase and finally read it this time, but I'm so glad I did.
Lightless focused on the characters of Althea Bastet, the computer engineer, and the icy interrogator Ida Stays, with Ivan at the center of everything but hiding almost as much from the reader as he does from Ida. Supernova might have spent time elsewhere but it was Constance's book, and to a lesser extent, the sentient ship Ananke's. In Radiate we finally get Ivan's perspective, and along with him, we finally get to know Mattie Gale. Mattie's been critical to the events of the first two books as well, but as much as an absence as a presence. Now we have the third member of the revolutionary trio in full view: Mattie, who keeps having human reactions and wanting to do the right thing while he fights alongside the coldly calculating Constance, who lives and dies for the big picture, and the manipulative, self-destructive Ivan. When Constance decided to leave Ivan to die on the Ananke towards the end of the first book as a sacrifice to the greater good, it was Mattie who raced to the rescue. You can almost forget he set off the bombs that destroyed all life on Earth (weird, that).
So I shouldn't be surprised at all to learn that Mattie and Ivan are both excellent company as protagonists. We learn pretty quickly what we've all suspected for a while, which is that although Ivan has been Constance's lover, Mattie is and always has been deeply in love with him. We also learn pretty quickly that Ivan isn't great at figuring out what he actually wants, having played a part for so long. They're trying to dodge System and rebel ships alike as they fight to rendezvous with Constance, while Ananke pursues them. These scenes are interspersed with ones from their shared history, and now we get to find out what their story actually is. The action is intense in both past and present, and this time it's like that the whole way through, unlike the building-sense-of-foreboding-EVERYTHING'S-ON-FIRE pacing of Lightless. But this trilogy is character driven when all's said and done, and that's what brings it to a very satisfying conclusion. Events from the last two books make more sense and it all falls into place, and if this one in the middle of all the struggling for the fate of humanity turns out to be a love story after all, what's wrong with that? And, having read the acknowledgements at the end: I don't know who Rick is, but whoever you are, thank you. I also .
Anyway, to my fellow lovers of sci-fi, I can only say: just read the trilogy. Trust the author; there are slow places but at the end it's a complete story and it's a really, really, good one.
I continue to be baffled, as I was by the end of the first book, why more people don't seem to know about this trilogy. I run with nerds, you guys: it seems like at least someone of my acquaintance should have picked up the first one somewhere. I don't get it because now I have finally finished it, I can declare wholeheartedly that the entire trilogy is so freaking good.
I don't recommend waiting—wow, really, I read Supernova in 2019? Okay—almost 3 years to finish the trilogy. It's not exactly linear, and Supernova and Radiate in particular overlap in time a lot. The reason I waited as long as I did was largely because I felt like I needed to be emotionally prepared for whatever intensity Radiate was going to bring into my life, and, well, the last two years haven't left me with a lot of emotional reserve. I don't know what got me to pull it out of the bookcase and finally read it this time, but I'm so glad I did.
Lightless focused on the characters of Althea Bastet, the computer engineer, and the icy interrogator Ida Stays, with Ivan at the center of everything but hiding almost as much from the reader as he does from Ida. Supernova might have spent time elsewhere but it was Constance's book, and to a lesser extent, the sentient ship Ananke's. In Radiate we finally get Ivan's perspective, and along with him, we finally get to know Mattie Gale. Mattie's been critical to the events of the first two books as well, but as much as an absence as a presence. Now we have the third member of the revolutionary trio in full view: Mattie, who keeps having human reactions and wanting to do the right thing while he fights alongside the coldly calculating Constance, who lives and dies for the big picture, and the manipulative, self-destructive Ivan. When Constance decided to leave Ivan to die on the Ananke towards the end of the first book as a sacrifice to the greater good, it was Mattie who raced to the rescue. You can almost forget he set off the bombs that destroyed all life on Earth (weird, that).
So I shouldn't be surprised at all to learn that Mattie and Ivan are both excellent company as protagonists. We learn pretty quickly what we've all suspected for a while, which is that although Ivan has been Constance's lover, Mattie is and always has been deeply in love with him. We also learn pretty quickly that Ivan isn't great at figuring out what he actually wants, having played a part for so long. They're trying to dodge System and rebel ships alike as they fight to rendezvous with Constance, while Ananke pursues them. These scenes are interspersed with ones from their shared history, and now we get to find out what their story actually is. The action is intense in both past and present, and this time it's like that the whole way through, unlike the building-sense-of-foreboding-EVERYTHING'S-ON-FIRE pacing of Lightless. But this trilogy is character driven when all's said and done, and that's what brings it to a very satisfying conclusion. Events from the last two books make more sense and it all falls into place, and if this one in the middle of all the struggling for the fate of humanity turns out to be a love story after all, what's wrong with that? And, having read the acknowledgements at the end: I don't know who Rick is, but whoever you are, thank you. I also .
Anyway, to my fellow lovers of sci-fi, I can only say: just read the trilogy. Trust the author; there are slow places but at the end it's a complete story and it's a really, really, good one.
October 24, 2021
The Creation becomes the Creator.
This applies to Anake as well as the humans who made her. The System, Althea, and Matthew. All of them were responsible for giving 'life' to the A.I. spaceship known as Anake but none of them were aware of how much Anake was exactly capable of doing, or becoming. It kind of reminds me of the warning you may hear or see in media about 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely.' Anake was just as dangerous as her creators once she became sentient and 'decided' to create others in her likeness.
I applaud the ability of the writer to leave the novels and chapters in suspenseful cliff-hangers that had me hungry for more. I was fortunate enough to listen to this masterpiece through an audiobook. This trilogy leaves on an open note of, 'whatever happens, happens'. Both Matthew and Ivan's story hasn't reached an end in the series but only because no one can truly know the future. It is not set in stone or easily predicted through math and science.
I loved the non-linear narrative of the series. I loved the mention of the names for certain characters and the mythology/lore behind the names. I loved the relationships and dynamics of the main characters and side characters. I liked the complicated choices these individuals had to make in order to survive, cope and find purpose in their continued existence. I loved the complexities of morality and ethics in a time of intergalactic civil war and the creation of machines to improve or oppress human life.
Anake's conception was born from chaos. That chaos brought opportunity: the opportunity for Anake to come to 'life' and want more from her creators. How ironic that a manmade invention was almost the cause for the end of all of mankind in the end? This is a great tale of what not to do with the power granted to humans thanks to technology and science. Even in the future, a person should always question their morals to stay as humanely ethical and emotionally competent as possible if we want to stay as 'humans' and not monsters.
This applies to Anake as well as the humans who made her. The System, Althea, and Matthew. All of them were responsible for giving 'life' to the A.I. spaceship known as Anake but none of them were aware of how much Anake was exactly capable of doing, or becoming. It kind of reminds me of the warning you may hear or see in media about 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely.' Anake was just as dangerous as her creators once she became sentient and 'decided' to create others in her likeness.
I applaud the ability of the writer to leave the novels and chapters in suspenseful cliff-hangers that had me hungry for more. I was fortunate enough to listen to this masterpiece through an audiobook. This trilogy leaves on an open note of, 'whatever happens, happens'. Both Matthew and Ivan's story hasn't reached an end in the series but only because no one can truly know the future. It is not set in stone or easily predicted through math and science.
I loved the non-linear narrative of the series. I loved the mention of the names for certain characters and the mythology/lore behind the names. I loved the relationships and dynamics of the main characters and side characters. I liked the complicated choices these individuals had to make in order to survive, cope and find purpose in their continued existence. I loved the complexities of morality and ethics in a time of intergalactic civil war and the creation of machines to improve or oppress human life.
Anake's conception was born from chaos. That chaos brought opportunity: the opportunity for Anake to come to 'life' and want more from her creators. How ironic that a manmade invention was almost the cause for the end of all of mankind in the end? This is a great tale of what not to do with the power granted to humans thanks to technology and science. Even in the future, a person should always question their morals to stay as humanely ethical and emotionally competent as possible if we want to stay as 'humans' and not monsters.
July 18, 2017
C.A. Higgins’ three-parter that began with the excellent “Lightless,” and then succumbed to the sophomore jinx on “Supernova,” rebounds with “Radiate” (Del Rey, $27, 317 pages) to finish well, if not spectacularly.
Higgins spices up “Radiate” with two authorial tricks: First, much of the time the narrative moves forward, in traditional style, but then also moves backward, returning in reverse chronological order to the start of the story about a planetary revolution against an Earth-based Big Brother called the System. Second, “Radiate” covers the same time span as “Supernova,” but from the perspective of different characters whose story arcs seldom intersect with those in volume two.
So there’s a certain inevitability in “Radiate,” assuming the reader remembers much about “Supernova,” but Higgins keeps the wheels turning as two of the main co-conspirators behind the revolution that killed billions of people try to connect with the third, who was the driving force behind the war -- and also deal with a sentient computer that keeps trying to create a spark of consciousness in other complex computers (such as the ones that operate space ships) and destroys them in the process.
As is most always the case, starting at the start is pretty much mandatory, but it might be wise to jump to “Radiate” before reading “Supernova” – and if “Radiate” doesn’t work for you, you can safely skip “Supernova.”
Higgins spices up “Radiate” with two authorial tricks: First, much of the time the narrative moves forward, in traditional style, but then also moves backward, returning in reverse chronological order to the start of the story about a planetary revolution against an Earth-based Big Brother called the System. Second, “Radiate” covers the same time span as “Supernova,” but from the perspective of different characters whose story arcs seldom intersect with those in volume two.
So there’s a certain inevitability in “Radiate,” assuming the reader remembers much about “Supernova,” but Higgins keeps the wheels turning as two of the main co-conspirators behind the revolution that killed billions of people try to connect with the third, who was the driving force behind the war -- and also deal with a sentient computer that keeps trying to create a spark of consciousness in other complex computers (such as the ones that operate space ships) and destroys them in the process.
As is most always the case, starting at the start is pretty much mandatory, but it might be wise to jump to “Radiate” before reading “Supernova” – and if “Radiate” doesn’t work for you, you can safely skip “Supernova.”
May 6, 2022
so I gave this series four stars, three stars, and four stars, but ... I think it's better than the sum of its parts, actually. I think because this was the kind of series where yeah, there's a lot of sci-fi plot going on, and it's cool and interesting, but at the end of the day the series was very much about its characters. like I really really cared. and it feels like that's frequently hard to find in sci-fi. spoilers that are both minor and major:
also extremely glad I WAS picking up what Higgins was putting down from the first book, and thank you Ryan from the acknowledgements... if you've read them you know what I mean haha
also extremely glad I WAS picking up what Higgins was putting down from the first book, and thank you Ryan from the acknowledgements... if you've read them you know what I mean haha
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