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Digitesque #4
The Broken Third
Out between stars and planets that left Earth behind many centuries ago, Ada Liu discovers a thriving but strangely archaic interstellar civilization - a Union of ancient colonies that have survived a war of apocalyptic proportions. Expecting to uncover the roots of Earth's downfall, she instead finds this society built by strange humans and familiar aliens is threatening, bewildering, and not at all what she had hoped.
Her abandonment of Isavel Valdéz haunts her as she travels further and further, but with an array of hunters breathing down her neck and no way to return, Ada needs to gather what little help she can and find refuge between the cold vacuum of space and the unfamiliar soils of new worlds.
She has one unsettling advantage: for better or worse, Ada is a strange daughter of a stranger Earth, and is perhaps the second most dangerous thing this Union has ever faced.
Her abandonment of Isavel Valdéz haunts her as she travels further and further, but with an array of hunters breathing down her neck and no way to return, Ada needs to gather what little help she can and find refuge between the cold vacuum of space and the unfamiliar soils of new worlds.
She has one unsettling advantage: for better or worse, Ada is a strange daughter of a stranger Earth, and is perhaps the second most dangerous thing this Union has ever faced.
454 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 16, 2018
About the author
Guerric Haché
8 books38 followersGuerric would really rather not be on an Amazon-owned platform. They would highly recommend you check out alternatives like BookWyrm, Storygraph, or Open Library.
For-profit, publicly-traded corporations should not be in charge of mediating trade or communication between creators and audiences, or between producers and consumers. When they do, the result is pure parasitism.
For-profit, publicly-traded corporations should not be in charge of mediating trade or communication between creators and audiences, or between producers and consumers. When they do, the result is pure parasitism.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 3, 2019
"Our strange touch is too hot for the stars to endure without catching fire."
This 4th installment of the series belongs entirely to Ada Liu. In the wake of the dramatic events at Campus and her decision, she finds herself in an entirely new and difficult situation. Driven far from Earth by the need of knowledge, what she finds is not what she bargained for.
These books are just... so much fun. The overarching story always keeps me on the edge of my seat, curious to uncover the next puzzle piece. Overall, in my eyes The Broken Third was a big improvement over the previous one in terms of the story. I really enjoyed it overall, with some ups and downs, but then the ending kind of blew me away (it's the reason why my actual rating of 4,5 became a 5 on GR). The ending was was epic, tense, eye-opening. Tbh, it gave me strong Battlestar Galactica vibes (and that's a very good thing).
I still love Ada Liu so much. I do have my problems with her being overpowered - the stakes are not actually as high as they seem because there's simply no obstacle she cannot overcome (luckily, there's some exceptions to the rule and that's why I really liked the ending so much, there was a feeling of danger). But overall, I love her. She's a big Mess. She's volatile and dangerous, all the more because she doesn't realise the full extent and consequences of her power in that new place. Or doesn't care. Often both. She lashes out when she feels threatened and the rest of the world be damned.
But my absolute favourite moments were those in which she struggled - with herself, with her inadequacy, with the consequences of her choices. Several of those scenes appeared in this book and they were glorious. The moments when she was confronted with what she truly did when she left Isavel behind were truly A+ writing, every single one of them.
The supporting cast deserves a mention here as well because I found myself enjoying their group dynamic, much more than any group dynamic before in the series. I also liked how Ada was around them - trying to care, trying to be more considerate. She needed someone to call her out on multiple occasions, and it was there.
So now, I guess the most important question is: "What in the name of all the gods had the ancients done?"
June 10, 2021
"Our most sacred tradition on Earth is warning your guests how f------ spicy the food is."
"What - what, you just grab random mushrooms in the woods and eat them?"
"Turou I'm a criminal, not a savage. I don't shove random forest growths into my mouth." (Two of Ada's new friends Turou and Baoji suffer from culture shock when they see Ada eating random shrooms she found growing on a tree)
"Captain Hesk, I believe? Your ship seems to be suffering from erratic behavior and a black magic infestation. How can your government assist you?"
Book 4 has a lot of really funny sentences scattered here and there, but these don't spoil the plot and serve as a nice enticing reason why people should read this book series.
I am halfway into book 5 so I can't say for certain how much plot overlap happens between books 4 and 5 yet (so far I would say extremely little). The author has decided to perform a Game of Thrones sort of deal where two books of a long series are separated by the viewpoints of two main characters while the plot advances concurrently. Technically if Digitesque books 4 and 5 had more plot overlap, a diehard fan could cut chapters up and a reader that is sorely missing the nice contrast between Ada's manic speed and Isavel's relatively slower pace could perfectly enjoy the story by switching between both books. I won't know for sure how feasible this could be until I finish the 5th book but I would believe it is perfectly doable.
As such, is this book bad or good? Definitely good and cluttered with world building that will frustrate the reader as much as it annoyed Ada. We get hints in book 1 from Ada's spaceship Cherry that a jump gate called the Tannhauser is still functional orbiting Jupiter but Ada has a change of heart and decides to first resolve the ghost infestation problem on Earth instead of visiting the long-lost colonies of which her ship has scant data because Union ships have seldom visited the Sol system for at least 500 years.
When Ada gets the chance to interact with real humans, she makes the difficult decision to leave Isavel behind to accompany them to the Union, learn about their society and improve the derelict Earth.
While amazed by how physically different she is from Union humans (apparently Earthlings are insanely tall, heavy, physically super strong, impervious to infectious disease and poisoning, don't need to sleep every night and die looking middle age with similar lifespans as normal humans). If Ada was capable of breaking someone's skull with a modest shove, imagine a really buffed up Earthling like Isavel. Isavel could potentially break someone's neck with her pinky finger. Union humans are pretty much unchanged from our time and as this book evolves, we begin to learn about the hidden secrets of Earthlings and how the technophage might have been almost a blessing in disguise.
Ada is horrified to discover the 12 Union planets are insanely overpopulated. Worse, she is flustered by toilets, showers (seems like Earthlings suffer from a bad case of BO and nobody bothered to tell them), public nakedness, bikes, stasis pizza boxes, Union humans don’t have gifts, doorbells and has to learn how to control her volatile temper in a society where people do unpleasant jobs for money (a concept she doesn't understand at all) and a hostile military that very quickly ruins her grand welcome as Earth's first technophage immune diplomat of sorts. She also discovers Union humans speak a different variant of the Ancient's English but she quickly learns the language. Perhaps a little too quickly for everyone's comfort.
If there is one thing that many readers will struggle with this otherwise very well-written book, it's the insane speed it goes as Ada spends at least 60% of the story trying to run away from the military and anti-evolution terrorists. We get wonderful moments meeting her new Union friends: Turou (a ming vase, extinct plant and anything ancient Chinese cultural fan), Elsa (her bodyguard who conveniently looks a lot like Isavel which causes a few funny scenes) and a Mirran cat alien that loves pizza named Baoji. The book also takes place in two of the Union planets: the frozen world Freyja and the tiny chinese-esque moon Chang’e and those scenes were really cool. We get to learn a few things about the Hispanic inspired planet Tlaloc and a brief mention of Vesta as well. I found it to be a shame Ada didn’t get to stick around long enough to learn some Mandarin because it would have been a funny source of deja-vu from all of the times she had trouble using the Chengdu ship in book 3 and finally learned what dratted things the ship was trying to tell her.
Ada's intolerance when she discovers Chang’e cherry trees aren't blooming in the summer and complete disregard to practically extinct ginkgo trees are one of the very few moments the book gets to relax. So yes, this book while showing a lot of really nice world building and the explanation behind the rather lackluster technology of the Union in comparison to the derelict wonders of Earth's ruins is sadly overshadowed by the insane amount of nonstop action in this book. The weird thing is that for all the hyperactivity you get in this book, the (really awesome) ending is actually a breath of fresh air slower speed.
In a way, if it is possible to fully separate scenes of books 4 and 5 without affecting the plot, I think readers should give that a try to avoid feeling so overwhelmed with the pacing in this book. I am certain book 6 where everything comes together is going to be epic.
"What - what, you just grab random mushrooms in the woods and eat them?"
"Turou I'm a criminal, not a savage. I don't shove random forest growths into my mouth." (Two of Ada's new friends Turou and Baoji suffer from culture shock when they see Ada eating random shrooms she found growing on a tree)
"Captain Hesk, I believe? Your ship seems to be suffering from erratic behavior and a black magic infestation. How can your government assist you?"
Book 4 has a lot of really funny sentences scattered here and there, but these don't spoil the plot and serve as a nice enticing reason why people should read this book series.
I am halfway into book 5 so I can't say for certain how much plot overlap happens between books 4 and 5 yet (so far I would say extremely little). The author has decided to perform a Game of Thrones sort of deal where two books of a long series are separated by the viewpoints of two main characters while the plot advances concurrently. Technically if Digitesque books 4 and 5 had more plot overlap, a diehard fan could cut chapters up and a reader that is sorely missing the nice contrast between Ada's manic speed and Isavel's relatively slower pace could perfectly enjoy the story by switching between both books. I won't know for sure how feasible this could be until I finish the 5th book but I would believe it is perfectly doable.
As such, is this book bad or good? Definitely good and cluttered with world building that will frustrate the reader as much as it annoyed Ada. We get hints in book 1 from Ada's spaceship Cherry that a jump gate called the Tannhauser is still functional orbiting Jupiter but Ada has a change of heart and decides to first resolve the ghost infestation problem on Earth instead of visiting the long-lost colonies of which her ship has scant data because Union ships have seldom visited the Sol system for at least 500 years.
When Ada gets the chance to interact with real humans, she makes the difficult decision to leave Isavel behind to accompany them to the Union, learn about their society and improve the derelict Earth.
While amazed by how physically different she is from Union humans (apparently Earthlings are insanely tall, heavy, physically super strong, impervious to infectious disease and poisoning, don't need to sleep every night and die looking middle age with similar lifespans as normal humans). If Ada was capable of breaking someone's skull with a modest shove, imagine a really buffed up Earthling like Isavel. Isavel could potentially break someone's neck with her pinky finger. Union humans are pretty much unchanged from our time and as this book evolves, we begin to learn about the hidden secrets of Earthlings and how the technophage might have been almost a blessing in disguise.
Ada is horrified to discover the 12 Union planets are insanely overpopulated. Worse, she is flustered by toilets, showers (seems like Earthlings suffer from a bad case of BO and nobody bothered to tell them), public nakedness, bikes, stasis pizza boxes, Union humans don’t have gifts, doorbells and has to learn how to control her volatile temper in a society where people do unpleasant jobs for money (a concept she doesn't understand at all) and a hostile military that very quickly ruins her grand welcome as Earth's first technophage immune diplomat of sorts. She also discovers Union humans speak a different variant of the Ancient's English but she quickly learns the language. Perhaps a little too quickly for everyone's comfort.
If there is one thing that many readers will struggle with this otherwise very well-written book, it's the insane speed it goes as Ada spends at least 60% of the story trying to run away from the military and anti-evolution terrorists. We get wonderful moments meeting her new Union friends: Turou (a ming vase, extinct plant and anything ancient Chinese cultural fan), Elsa (her bodyguard who conveniently looks a lot like Isavel which causes a few funny scenes) and a Mirran cat alien that loves pizza named Baoji. The book also takes place in two of the Union planets: the frozen world Freyja and the tiny chinese-esque moon Chang’e and those scenes were really cool. We get to learn a few things about the Hispanic inspired planet Tlaloc and a brief mention of Vesta as well. I found it to be a shame Ada didn’t get to stick around long enough to learn some Mandarin because it would have been a funny source of deja-vu from all of the times she had trouble using the Chengdu ship in book 3 and finally learned what dratted things the ship was trying to tell her.
Ada's intolerance when she discovers Chang’e cherry trees aren't blooming in the summer and complete disregard to practically extinct ginkgo trees are one of the very few moments the book gets to relax. So yes, this book while showing a lot of really nice world building and the explanation behind the rather lackluster technology of the Union in comparison to the derelict wonders of Earth's ruins is sadly overshadowed by the insane amount of nonstop action in this book. The weird thing is that for all the hyperactivity you get in this book, the (really awesome) ending is actually a breath of fresh air slower speed.
In a way, if it is possible to fully separate scenes of books 4 and 5 without affecting the plot, I think readers should give that a try to avoid feeling so overwhelmed with the pacing in this book. I am certain book 6 where everything comes together is going to be epic.
Read
February 22, 2018As the author, I won't star review this!
But writing it has been both fun and challenging in whole new ways for this series. In a lot of ways this is a fish-out-of-water story, though given that we're dealing with Ada Liu, it might be more accurate to describe this as shark-out-of-water. This makes for a lot of fun situations, and some gags that I hope are just cheesy enough.
This book is also where the series starts to deploy its end-game, both in terms of plot and in terms of the supernatural elements that will be brought to bear on the finale. And it's the book in the series that will lean most heavily on space opera as a genre, and I do love me some space opera. All of this - the familiar magic, the weird new magic, the starships and space battles, the silly jokes and gags - are fun things to play with as a writer.
But it's been a challenge to find the balance between Ada's utter lack of concern for most things that don't personally affect her, and her need to engage with this new world and grow as a result of the things she experiences. Having people from an utterly different culture to call her out on her issues has been helpful to me and to her, but even as she grows she will always remain Ada, dangerous and difficult to work with.
It's also been an even greater challenge to use her alien perspective to portray a world that is both very much more like our own and different in a few critical ways that Ada herself doesn't notice at all. There's a lot of worldbuilding going on here - maybe too much, I worry - and that process is complicated by the fact that Ada is essentially, as one new character says, a wrecking ball.
The last big challenge here - or rather, not here - was Isavel. I wrote this book and its Isavel-centric sequel (which runs chronologically parallel to this) at the same time, but re-reading this alone I do miss having her around.
But don't worry. Isavel is very busy, doing some rather unbelievable things.
But writing it has been both fun and challenging in whole new ways for this series. In a lot of ways this is a fish-out-of-water story, though given that we're dealing with Ada Liu, it might be more accurate to describe this as shark-out-of-water. This makes for a lot of fun situations, and some gags that I hope are just cheesy enough.
This book is also where the series starts to deploy its end-game, both in terms of plot and in terms of the supernatural elements that will be brought to bear on the finale. And it's the book in the series that will lean most heavily on space opera as a genre, and I do love me some space opera. All of this - the familiar magic, the weird new magic, the starships and space battles, the silly jokes and gags - are fun things to play with as a writer.
But it's been a challenge to find the balance between Ada's utter lack of concern for most things that don't personally affect her, and her need to engage with this new world and grow as a result of the things she experiences. Having people from an utterly different culture to call her out on her issues has been helpful to me and to her, but even as she grows she will always remain Ada, dangerous and difficult to work with.
It's also been an even greater challenge to use her alien perspective to portray a world that is both very much more like our own and different in a few critical ways that Ada herself doesn't notice at all. There's a lot of worldbuilding going on here - maybe too much, I worry - and that process is complicated by the fact that Ada is essentially, as one new character says, a wrecking ball.
The last big challenge here - or rather, not here - was Isavel. I wrote this book and its Isavel-centric sequel (which runs chronologically parallel to this) at the same time, but re-reading this alone I do miss having her around.
But don't worry. Isavel is very busy, doing some rather unbelievable things.
November 18, 2019
I wanted to like this book more but there were two glaring problems for me:
1) I am not the biggest fan of Ada because she never thinks things through and can be quite grating as a character. She was too overpowered in my opinion. Yes, I know there is a reason for it and it's explained in the novel but it created deus ex machina moments left and right. Problem? Have Ada strong arm her way through with attacks nothing and nobody can stop!
2) The worldbuilding. Earth in the first two books felt fully fleshed out, familiar, yet was radically new and different. Now that the series is full on sci-fi however, each jump to a new location felt wanting. There simply was little to care about because the location and characters were two dimensional and flat.
Will I keep reading? Yes. I think the series is headed back to Earth and Ada probably won't be the only main character in the next installment.
1) I am not the biggest fan of Ada because she never thinks things through and can be quite grating as a character. She was too overpowered in my opinion. Yes, I know there is a reason for it and it's explained in the novel but it created deus ex machina moments left and right. Problem? Have Ada strong arm her way through with attacks nothing and nobody can stop!
2) The worldbuilding. Earth in the first two books felt fully fleshed out, familiar, yet was radically new and different. Now that the series is full on sci-fi however, each jump to a new location felt wanting. There simply was little to care about because the location and characters were two dimensional and flat.
Will I keep reading? Yes. I think the series is headed back to Earth and Ada probably won't be the only main character in the next installment.
November 11, 2023
I really liked it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews