Creation Machine

The Spin Trilogy #1

by Andrew Bannister

Creation Machine is a fast-paced, whip-smart science fiction debut from Andrew Bannister introducing the stunning galaxy called the Spin.

In the vast, artificial galaxy called the Spin, a rebellion has been crushed.

Viklun Hass is eliminating all remnants of the opposition. Starting with his daughter.

But Fleare Hass has had time to plan her next move from exile to the very frontiers of a new war.

For hundreds of millions of years, the planets and stars of the Spin have been the only testament to the god-like engineers that created them. Now, beneath the surface of a ruined planet, one of their machines has been found.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Audiobook, Space

329 pages, Paperback

First published May 19, 2016

About the author

Born in 1965, Andrew Bannister grew up in Cornwall. He studied Geology at Imperial College and went to work in the North Sea before becoming an Environmental Consultant. For the day job, he specialises in green transport and corporate sustainability, but he has always written - initially for student newspapers and fanzines before moving on, encouraged by creative writing courses, to fiction. He's always been a reader and has loved science fiction since childhood. From the classics of the 50s and 60s to the present day, he's wanted it all: space, stars, astonishment and adventure - and now he's discovered that writing it is even better. Andrew lives in Leicestershire.

Reviews

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I read the synopsis for this I thought I was getting into some mega-scale sense-of-wonder Science Fiction a la Stephen Baxter (the Spin is an artificial galaxy, and the creation machine is, well, a machine that played no small part in its creation - no, it's not a spoiler, it says so right on the cover, under the title).

Now, in hindsight, it's partly my own fault that I didn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to, but I can't take all the blame: Creation Machine has received some good reviews, both here on Goodreads and elsewhere on the world wide web, so I did have some fairly high expectations going into this.
Stephen Baxter it ain't, that much is certain, now granted some readers might find that a good thing (different strokes for different folks and all that), but aside from that, I found the story somewhat disjointed and plodding, not to mention the fact that it changes tack about two thirds in and sods off into a direction that appeared to be somewhat superfluous (in my own humble opinion, especially since it leaves a lot of what had been going on up to that point wallowing in the mud).

OK, so now I have that off my chest. I've mentioned it before and I will reiterate it here, I dislike giving negative reviews and I am most certainly not the last word when it comes to what people should enjoy reading (or not). Creation Machine does actually have a few points in its favour, it does have the Spin for one (which is obviously quite interesting and has lots of potential for wacky world building), but I didn't feel the sense of awe that something as immense and mind-boggling as this should inspire. Not sure if the author struggled to convey that or whether I was just in the wrong space mentally.

On the other hand, it's probably only fair to mention that the focus here is on the adventures and back stories of the (main) characters, and there isn't really a lot of scientific exposition. So, Space Opera and not Hard Science Fiction. The character I ended up liking most was basically a cloud of nano-tech.

I'm hovering somewhere between 2 to 2.5 stars. Although I will read the sequel as well (Iron Gods) because I purchased the two together. And hey, who knows, maybe I will change my rating?

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

review on reread Nov 2019 - while the sort-of-sequel Iron Gods has been out for a while now, I kind of forgot about it until recently when I started browsing it, but before starting seriously on it, I felt I needed a full reread of Creation machine which is the introduction to the Spin Universe and which I remembered vaguely only; looking at the review I wrote originally, I have to say that it still matches my feelings today - very inventive and with narrative power, though the IM Banks references felts even stronger this time, shorter than I would have liked and having an incompleteness feeling that left the book just a little bit below my top 25 as it ultimately lacked the wow factor as pretty much all the stuff in the book I liked has still read Banksian, with the main villains reading even more over the top and unrealistic.
Overall still a recommended book, but one that could have been so much better with say another hundred pages and more fleshing out of the characters and the universe



(original review 2016)
read a few pages so far and I really like it - strong vibes from Against a Dark Background which is by far my favorite non-Culture novel of IMB - if it keeps like that, it should be a top 10 novel of the year

finished the novel and it was excellent though a little short of mind-blowing for two reasons:

- it is really short as space opera goes (~300 pages) and it is a complete book with a definite ending as the Spin Trilogy moves 10k years in the future in the next installment, so this is it with these characters, story-line etc

- the bad guys are really over the top caricatures to a large extent - there is some subtlety towards the end, but main bad guy Alameche (a sort of Beria in space but considerably more brutal as his death count is in billions being in sf and all) becomes a bit of a bore soon enough, though again things turn somewhat more interesting with him later on

however, the good points - narrative power so the novel cannot be put down and I essentially finished it in one setting after reading the first few pages several days ago, lots of cool stuff (tech, names, back story)), inventiveness etc - overwhelm the negatives above and I thoroughly enjoyed it though for a space opera debut with great potential i still rate last year's Promise of the Child by T. Toner better

still highly recommended and I am definitely in for the next book in the trilogy (Iron Gods or so)

after reading the novel (or before but I think one gets much more after) the interview with the author from sffworld is excellent and illuminating

http://www.sffworld.com/2016/05/inter...

[ReadAlongWithSue ★⋆. ࿐࿔catching up · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always very happy to receive books through my letterbox.
PenguinRandomHouse sent this one courtesy of Poppy. Transworld publishers.

It's definitely not my genre. In for a penny in for a pound, I thought, OK I'll read this as they have sent it.

I started to read the first couple of chapters and went on through to the end. I never review a book unless I've read it throughout. That's my personal rule.

So I am rating this fairly on genre, quality, believability and from a reading perspective NOT judgement in " this isn't my cup of tea" it wasn't. But based on the role slot this book holds genre wise it's a really good read.

It does read like an opera, but spacey ( is that a word!) I understood it completely and enjoyed it, but I certainly wouldn't want to read the following books due to it not being my taste.

It's like enjoying a cake, it's edible, it's pleasing but....it's not your favourite. I hope that makes sense.

For those that love this type of read, it's very good ( I'm a novice in this field) but it took my interest.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creation Machine reads like an amalgam of the best space opera: Iain Banks expansive world building (comparisons to him in the cover blurbs are spot on), Alastair Reynolds for the spacey bits, even the simulated worlds of Hannu Rajaniemi. Fast paced, fun. A great debut with only a few misses. The villains--The Fortunate--are rather cartoony; Alameche in particular too evil to feel real. Some unnecessary, and distractingly crude, sex references. And I'm not sure I fully understand the ending. Even so, loved it! As reader Livui notes strong vibes of Iain Banks Against a Dark Background. Highly recommended for fans of space opera. And interview with Bannister can be found here.

[Elana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to love space opera. I don’t anymore, and novels like this are the reason. It involves artificial galaxies, simulated personalities, a lot of palace intrigue of an unpleasant kind, a man who has become a cloud of nano-particles, a woman who is pissed off with her corporate father, a rebellion...did I miss something? I must have. Despite being mercifully short, this novel contains so many sci-fi tropes that it is practically a Reader’s Digest of the genre. What it isn’t, is a coherent narrative with characters we care about. Any of its many themes could have blossomed into an interesting story if the author just paused for a moment to develop its narrative arc and give some depth to the characters. And will people millions of years into the future really talk like participants in a reality TV show?

[Little Timmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure if it was the reader or the writing but i found this book to be very wandering and jumping back and forth in a confusing manner. Did not enjoy it. Not recommended

[Tyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Andrew Bannister's Creation Machine is a debut space opera first-in-a-trilogy.

Some great ideas and passages of the novel, very (Iain) Banksian in feel (which many others have commented), but I wasn't greatly impressed overall. The flow of the story was very disjointed; I found it hard to follow at times, and the sudden swearing between characters and at attempts at humour through rude acronyms just felt out of place. None of the characters really did it for me either.

Not bad for a debut but not sure if I'll try the next in the series. 2.5/5

[Cameron Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story starts by jumping between a couple of characters, Fleur and Alameche. Fleur is an ex-military modified individual that hates her corporate leader father. Alameche is the 2IC to an Overlord and is quite into genocide and making people feel rather unpleasant. One story arc gave a soft sci-fi action adventure feel, while the other gave us political intrigue.

Fleur's story jumps back and forth quite a bit. It's hard to know where the now is, especially early on, and it reads like a series of short stories to introduce her and her mates. The way it jumped around (and to Alameche), I did find it difficult to get interested in the character. Once I did find myself caring about her, it felt like she took a back seat in the narrative to follow Alameche and an AI.

The AI was bizarre. It was kind of good, and kind of bad. Like I said, I finally felt invested in the characters, then the story shifted to follow the AI more. This ties in with (I think) the title, Creation Machine. Basically, humanity have created such good simulations that those within think they are real. Turning these off had become considered genocide, so the tech had become illegal (as has Fleur's upgrades and a bunch of other cool stuff).

At a key point in the story, Fleur had been infected with a virus that affected her upgrades. This seemed like a one-way trip to her end, due to the legalities of what she was. Fortunately, Muz gave the cure-code to the AI, which then gave it to Fleur at the end.

Alameche's story was basically about uncovering an artifact, being a right jerk, and trying to become the new leader of the Fortunate. He also becomes chummy with a bizarre floating robot thing with an interest in the artifact.

In the end, Muz teams up with the AI and another entity to destroy the artifact and allow the AI to get revenge on his peolpe's (as in before his mind was turned into an AI) genociders.

The book plays on some cool ideas, but it took me a while to get through.

[Maarten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creation Machine starts of strong, echoing some of the best parts of Dune and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Unfortunately, it proves unable to keep this up for the entire duration of the book. The plot gets progressively more fuzzy and confused, the chronology (unintentionally) gets really unclear at times, and the writing becomes harder to follow. A book with some great potential that doesn't quite fail on execution, but certainly doesn't manage to be executed well. I won't be continuing the series.

[Clay Kallam · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems like there's a pretty good idea at the base of the first novel of The Spin Trilogy (I would have opted for Spin Cycle) but Andrew Bannister inability to really explain what's going on with any consistency robs "Creation Machine" of much of its impact.

And though Bannister may not intend it that way, to the reader there's a lot of deus ex machina going on, as things happen without a prior setup or preparation. For example, a human being that has become an AI (why is he apparently the only one?) can do pretty much anything, except when the plot requires him not to be able to.

Also, the villain of the book was so villainous, so callously cruel (going way out of his way to create pain and suffering) that it was almost laughable.

Still, "Creation Machine" gets three stars because the book picked up momentum as it went on -- and who knows? I may even go on to book two of the Spin Cycle ... er, The Spin Trilogy.

[Artjom Hatsaturjants · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, just mediocre.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Spin is an artificially created system of several stars and hundreds of livable planets all within a short distance. The creators are long gone, but some of their tools are left behind, including a machine that an evil government has uncovered. Meanwhile, a former revolutionary is busted out of prison by her old teammate, now a cloud of sentient nanomachines.

I bought the entire trilogy of this on a whim because it was sold as a bundle and it seemed like the kind of high-tech space opera universe I enjoy. And indeed, as I started it, I was already positively comparing it to some of my favorites. Unfortunately, it couldn't sustain that, but there's enough that I do like I'll happily continue on.

Let's start with the comparisons. I got some serious Banks vibes from this book (and apparently, I'm not alone, after finishing I looked briefly over other reviews and many said the same things). In fact I could almost headcanon that the book takes place in the same universe, albeit far from the Culture itself, just because some of the technological feats are comparable and because there's a certain remove from humanity-as-we-know-it (such that I'm not sure if any of the characters are meant to be humans or just aliens who are more or less indistinguishable in any way that matters). But this is by no means a utopian society like the Culture, it's a world with corporate and private interests dominating and occasionally helping out utterly genocidal regimes for their own interests. So like modern times, only in space.

It's actually the genocidal regimes that remind me of Banks most. Because for all that he had the Utopian protagonists, he also seemed to revel in creating really despicably bad people and states, seeming to revel almost voyeuristicly in complex and creative torture or execution methods, or ways of exploiting people. And this book does similarly, with one of the two alternating plots following a really awful person and his just-as-if-not-more awful friends. To the point that you could almost call them cartoonishly evil. Of course, without the Utopian counterpoint, it does leave an even worse of a taste in the mouth in this book than it ever did with Banks, and I can totally see it being too much for some people, particularly since some of the evil acts depicted (not in exhaustive graphic detail but still enough to potentially trigger) are sexual abuses. For me, it's not enough to actively turn me off but nor is it particularly enjoyable to read... I'd have preferred these sections shorter and more time with the other main characters.

For me though the biggest problem is that the plot just sort of falls off a cliff. I was actually quite enjoying one of the main plots, but towards the end of the book I was thinking, "okay, this must be a story that continues through the whole trilogy because it feels like the main character has barely gotten started on doing anything related to the overarching story." Except that apparently each book in the trilogy is stand-alone and the main character, at roughly the point I was thinking that, simply... stops doing anything related to the plot. She just get to a certain point and wander off and one of her supporting characters goes on to finish things with two people who weren't even in the rest of the book. She doesn't even really get a clue of what's going on, nor do we, as readers, get a satisfying idea of why the other character is involved in the finale he just shows up because... he does. And as for the other main plot, revolving around the villains, gets a wrap-up where at least it feels like a conclusion to their story, but it's sudden and not particularly satisfying. This is another thing that, if Banks actually was an influence on the author, might have been taken from there, because I've often said that Banks often wrote stories that should not have worked, narratively speaking, where most of the conflict gets resolved off screen and suddenly and so on. But with him it worked, and here, it didn't. On a plot level I feel like there was no point to following any of the characters I did because they didn't really impact the story except in the smallest way that could easily have been anybody else, and we never really saw them resolve their personal issues, or anything it was just killing time. Maybe the story just got away from the writer.

All that said, though... there's enough that I do like here that I want to keep reading. Before the characters became irrelevant, I liked some of the character work, and even though the plot fell into trash, I still really like the setting and general SF aesthetic and sensibility. I don't think it's badly written on the whole, just badly plotted (and even then towards the end). I can forgive that, I think. Now the fact that each book in the trilogy is more like a standalone novel is a good thing because I can dive into the next book with the setting I like and hope that the plot works out better than this time.

But, in terms of rating... it falls somewhere between 2 and 3, I think I'll barely round up to three.

[Sheyri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nur deshalb nicht abgebrochen, weil ich den zweiten Teil als günstiges Mängelexemplar bekommen habe. Hat mich aber nicht davon abgehalten, das letzte Drittel nur querzulesen bzw. nur den Dialog.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creation Machine is a Space Opera that is a thrilling debut novel for its author.

Fleare Haas is a ‘rich kid gone wrong’ whose previous exploits have led her into isolation and solitary imprisonment in a monastery on Odel’s Moon.

Through backstory we read of Fleare’s past: her relationship with her estranged father, Viklun, (who happens to be the leader of the Hegemony and one of the richest people in the galaxy), her friends and lovers, her enlistment in Society Otherwise, the army created in opposition to the Hegemony (and her father). We discover that she becomes part of a military programme to become enhanced and then the obliteration of Soc O and the declaring illegal of enhanced people like Fleare.

But most of all we read of Fleare’s present – her escape from her imprisonment, and her fugitive run from Odel’s Moon to Thale and the Catastrophe Curve, which leads to her meeting up with her ex-comrades (Kelk, Muz and Jez) and enemies.

To broaden the picture a little, at the same time we also get a wider view of the artificial galaxy known as The Spin through Alameche, a character whose role as viceroy to the Emperor – sorry, the Patriarch – in the empire of The Fortunate, is one best suited to his rather extreme tastes. He is the sort of character who makes Darth Vader seem like a novice, the sort of person who will kill people for fun, with no reason other than to kill them. There’s clearly something afoot and the ambitious Alameche is given charge to make sure that the Patriarch knows what’s going on. This involves schemes and counter-schemes amongst the social hierarchy, and ultimately the mysterious and pretty unknown creators of The Spin, the artificial galaxy where all this happens. For one of their ancient machines has been found – and it is coming back to life…



It’s been a long time since I read a novel in nearly one sitting, and even longer since it was a debut. I started reading this one on its arrival and couldn’t put it down, finishing the book in a weekend. Andrew’s book delivers in spades everything I’m looking for in a Space Opera – imaginative settings, strange aliens, an arsenal of unusual weapons, and, most of all, characters I like and who I want to know what happens to them. This is a book that is fast-paced and stylish, but not one where its literary merits outweigh its sheer enthusiasm and sense of enjoyment.

It reminded me of the first Peter F. Hamilton I read in its sense of epic-ness, or the first Iain (M.) Banks I read in its intelligent plotting and its sense of humour. I particularly liked the fact that I recognised lots of old-school touches – the huge alien devices (BDO’s), the various alien species, the different environments the characters travel through – but this is undoubtedly something new – 21st century Space Opera, with knowing nods and winks to the past and a few contemporary expletives thrown in for good measure.

Whilst the book has a tight focus, it does have the feel of being part of a bigger picture. There’s strange flora and fauna (including a very memorable and deliberately unpleasant type of mega-eel), and journeys from rainforest to desert, from iceworlds to lava fields which give you a feel of the multitude of potential locations within the Spin.

I was a bit put off initially by the title, which gave me the impression that the novel was going to be yet another philosophical debate on gods and AI. But I was very, very wrong. In the end it’s more like Jack McDevitt’s Engines of God, where the BIG alien objects do not outweigh the quality of the characterisation. The characters made me think of Dan Simmons’s Endymion, as they became people I cared for as I read. Fleare became as memorable to me as Anaea did in Simmons’ Endymion novels, and her relationship with Muz is a joy (though not always easy).

The latter part of the book leads to things going all Neuromancer, and whilst there is an ending, like Endymion it is clear that there’s more to tell in the next book.

In short, I can’t recommend this one highly enough. There’s the odd slight misstep – it loses a point from me for a badly made and ill-timed dildo joke in the first few pages – but otherwise it does everything I expect, and admirably. In short, Creation Machine is the best Space Opera I’ve read in ages.

A surprisingly good debut – this one should be a monster.

[Pep · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate trilogies. Well, except for Asimov's original Foundation trilogy, but I read that when I didn't know any better, and anyway, as it turned out it became a septology, or something like that.

When I originally picked up Iron Gods in the library, on spec, I didn't realise it was the second of three, but having finished that exceptional book (see my separate review) I checked in the library catalogue and found that Andrew Bannister's first novel was available.

I had to trek to an out-of-town sub-library to get it, where the librarian did not seem particularly interested in arranging SF in alphabetical order of author's name; not being able to find it in either the obvious or the less-obvious place, I asked her to check and, commenting that it had not been borrowed for four months, she went back to her photocopying, or whatever customer unservice task she was prioritising over helping an enthusiastic reader. I was surprised, as most permanent MK library staff are professional, but I continued to search, finding a couple of other interesting volumes along the way, before discovering Creation Machine, spine turned inwards, right at the end of the General Fiction shelves. Go figure about farmer's wives with part-time jobs.

And I have devoured it in less than twenty-four hours, my enjoyment of it only tempered a little by a retrospective recognition of a throwaway spoiler in the second book.

So, wanting to share my "discovery" of a successor to Iain M Banks (yes, Mr Bannister could be that good!) I popped over to Goodreads, only to discover that it was part of a "trilogy" the last portion of which (Stone Clock) had already been published a year ago, and although MK libraries did not have a copy, it was available via the SELMS network. I look forward to putting something up on Goodreads about that one, too.

Why did I enjoy Creation Machine so much? Because I love the author's casual but complex style and his convincingly aberrant characterisation (especially the AIs, just like IMB) although I again found unnecessarily jarring a few semi-gratuitous obscenities, presumably inserted to prevent the works being categorised as YA, which seems to be the ambition of quite a few other previously adult-orientated writers, perhaps at the behest of their agents who have wanted to extend their demographic reach. However, John Jarrold is this guy's agent - and presumably sub-editor, which might explain some of the Banksian echoes - and he is a grown -up.

As a postscript, I should say that the concept of "trilogy" is inaccurate; The Spin is a shared Universe, in the same way as Cordwainer Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind or indeed, Banks' Culture, provides an environment in which to stage episodes of space opera.

So I can happily persist with my bigotry and condemn trilogies as marketing exercises to persuade readers to part with cash for obesely-inflated pot-boilers.

[yangsta · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a major disappointment! I was really psyched up by the Guardian sci fi book review about this epic space opera. But NO! It's about a rich spoilt girl turned "rebel" cos CEO Daddy wanted to move on from mummy's death and have a new wife. Enough of the selfishness and get over your sulkiness! She has no skill, no personality, and gets muscle aches and stuff. Nothing interesting about her other than being an annoying brat! Then a coup that took the ENTIRE book to not happen until the last 10 pages or so! All the characters are pretty much one-dimensional, yep, a sulky heiress that gets carried along the plot, rather than creating any, and she is the main character solely because... she's got a rich Daddy and she does't like him, and don't worry, she'll keep reminding you and everyone she talks to!! And she still calls her hateful rich father "Daddy" in the book after all that. What kind of grown woman who hates her father still.... Anyways, and a hitler style wiz kid turned cruel viceroy and his equally useless boss... Jumping story-lines, back and forth, here and there. Don't care. Where's the rest of the artificial galaxy? It's a galaxy for fk sake, surely there's gotta be something better to tell. And they still have cab drivers in this galaxy?! Errrrrgh..... If you have intelligent autonomous space ships, and cloud/shape-changing existence mode, you can have driverless flying cars. Then maybe that whiny heiress can finally make herself useful by giving some cool birds eye view description of the place!

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

NOTE: There is no direct spoiler in this review but if you have a really strict definition of what a spoiler is you may want to skip this review until after the book.

I should have known I was in for a rough time when there are flashbacks within flashbacks near the beginning of the book. Note to authors, just say no to flashbacks within flashbacks. Just stop it.

The biggest disappointing and confusing thing is when you finish the book and realize the main protagonist is simply not needed in the story. Seriously, she could have easily been left out of the story, she has no role in the climax and doesn’t have any direct effect on any events in the book. She is simply unneeded.

In addition to the flashbacks within flashbacks near the middle of the book you start getting the story told from within an AI simulation. These two things make some parts of the book really hard to follow.

Throw in a dues ex machina ending that renders all the events in the book meaningless and you have a giant waste of time. It seems like there are a whole bunch of disjointed ideas that never coalesced together into a story.

The totally unnecessary main protagonist still has me confused a few days after finishing the book. I simply don’t understand why she was a character at all!

[Rory Bergin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but the influence of Iain M. Banks is a bit too obvious for me, with less of the fun and more of the cruelty.
The pacing of the novel is good until the end when the denouement happens far too abruptly and you are left feeling cheated that it wasn’t entirely clear what happened and not nearly enough was made of it. Having assembled all the components of a decent sized space war by the end of the story, there was no war!
There is a law in fiction that if a gun appears in a story it has to be fired before the end. We got lots of guns, but not enough firing.

[Jean Nicholson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up on this one. it was just too over the top and seemed to be fantasy with a bit of SciFi. it was all over the place and I felt it was a waste of time reading further. Might appeal to the younger generation though.

[Liam Marsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK.
Definitely starts out better than it finishes though. The first half of the book is quite good, unfortunately a bit of a let down from then on.
I will be reading the other books in the trilogy, as I quite like the setting.

[Odo · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5.0

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of Creation Machine through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Creation Machine is a fast-paced and chaotic space opera of epic proportions. It’s quirky and full of personality, and was pretty much everything I had hoped it would be. It’s the first novel in a new series called The Spin Trilogy, which is an appropriate title when you think about it.
The series covers the aftermath of a civil war that took over dozens of planets and systems. The people are still reeling from the impact of it all, still hurting from the loss and even failure in some cases. Some are still resisting, while others have given up.



Creation Machine was a fun and unpredictable read. The characters were so full of personality and quirks that it was impossible to guess what they were going to do next. The series itself truly is a space opera, but it’s brought to epic proportions thanks to the healthy dose of chaos thrown into the mix.
I had a lot of fun reading this novel. I really enjoyed the characters, even if it did take me a little bit of time to get used to them. Fleare is not your typical rich girl. Or rather, she could be, if you throw the ‘rebellious daughter’ description into the mix. But she takes it several steps farther – actively joining her father’s opposition in the war. That one fact alone is enough to show how determined she is, and just how strongly she feels about her father’s morals (or lack thereof).
The plot is a little chaotic at times. Both in the good sense, and in the confusing sense. That would probably be my one major complaint of the novel. There are dramatic time shifts all over the place, and it takes a little getting used to in order to really figure out what is happening. Once I got into the swing of things I was fine.
Though I have to say that I also kind of love the shifts in time. Most of it was split between two points in time; before everything happened, and after. The before was obviously leading up to whatever Fleare did to get herself arrested, and the after followed her escape and ensuing escapades.
I will say that I do think this novel/series would be best suited to those that love space operas. I think it falls strongly enough into that niche genre where it may be considered odd or off-putting to anyone not actively looking for something like it.
I’m looking forward to the next two novels in this series. While this novel was focused mostly on the points I mentioned above, I did get a sense of strong worldbuilding going on in the background. I’m really hoping we can see more of the world that Andrew Bannister created (no pun intended) in the next couple of books.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Tallianna Vanamee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Irgendwie verwirrend

Vor hundert Millionen Jahren wurde die Spin-Galaxie erschaffen, eine gigantische Ansammlung aus bizarren Planeten und Sternen. Sie ist das letzte Zeugnis der gottgleichen Erbauer des Universums – doch ein furchterregender Krieg hat die Welten des Spin fast vollständig zerstört. Drei Jahre nachdem er die Rebellion niedergeschlagen hat, festigt Viklun Haas, Oberbefehlshaber der Hegemonie, seine Herrschaft, indem er alle Überbleibsel der Opposition vernichtet. Und er beginnt mit seiner Tochter ... Doch Fleare Haas hat sich lange auf diesen Moment vorbereitet. Es gelingt ihr, aus ihrem Gefängnis im Exil zu fliehen und ihre alten Verbündeten um sich zu versammeln. Gemeinsam müssen sie durch die faszinierende Welt des Spin reisen – zu den letzten umkämpften Planeten und an die Frontlinie des Krieges. Und als auf einem längst vergessenen Planeten ein uraltes Artefakt entdeckt wird, ändert sich alles, für Viklun Haas ebenso wie für die Freiheitskämpfer: denn das Artefakt ist eine Maschine der Schöpfer des Universums … (Klappentext)

Mit diesem Buch bin ich irgendwie nicht warm geworden. Aber so gar nicht. Es hat sich so schön angelesen, sich dann aber in Rückblenden in Rückblenden in Rückblenden verloren … Und nun bin ich komplett verwirrt. Auf über 400 Seiten habe ich versucht zu verstehen, was der Spin ist (eine Illustration wäre sehr hilfreich gewesen), was die zahlreichen technischen Geräte und Gefährte nun sein können (sie erhalten keine Beschreibung, nur einen neuen Namen) und die Hälfte der Zeit war mir nicht klar, warum die beiden Protagonisten tun, was sie taten. Am Ende war mir nicht klar, was eigentlich passiert war und warum die allmächtige Hegemonie auf einmal zerstört war.
Auch die Kapitel, die in dieser simulierten Welt spielten, haben meinen Kopf nur rauchen lassen. Ich möchte anfügen, dass ich durchaus technisch versiert bin und schon viel Erfahrung im Science-Fiction-Genre habe. Aber dieses Buch glich von der Anstrengung her, es zu lesen, eher einem meiner Fachbücher über die mittelägyptische Grammatik. Ja, die habe ich besser verstanden.
Also was ist da jetzt eigentlich passiert und was war die mysteriöse Maschine?
Jetzt habe ich noch kein Wort über die Charaktere verloren. Recht spät kriegt man doch raus, was ihre Motivation ist. Aber dabei bleiben sie für mich oberflächlich, ein wenig wie Statisten, um dieses seltsame Universum zu füllen und weniger, um ihre Geschichte zu erzählen

Der Klappentext klingt deutlich spannender, als der Inhalt des Buches, wenn er auch meiner Meinung nach diesen etwas falsch wiedergibt. Obwohl es als Trilogie angelegt wurde, fühle ich kein Verlangen, mir den nächsten Band zu Gemüte zu führen und werde diese Serie somit nicht beenden.

[Ghost Whistler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmn (and SPOILERS possibly?).

At first I expected an austere if efficient space opera, perhaps with a little eccentricity.

I read the first chapter and though, ok, not bad.

The next was a flashback that was a bit off putting. Here the tone of the book became clear: it is eccentric, unapologetically soft sci fi (which is good). But also a bit facile - mainly in the character interactions.

Then I started to get into it. An austere space opera it is not. In fact it is a very British book (which is fine for me because I'm British!), it's just the tone doesn't present itself from the blurb or art at all.

In many ways it reminds me, within the limits of my experience of the following authors, of Ian Banks and Philip Palmer. Whether that is a good or bad thing is up to you. In the case of Palmer I found his books unsatisfactory but the writing excellent. I haven't got terribly far with Ian Banks for some reason. But that's no reflection on his work.

So the story: rebellious heiress escapes from prison while nasty space aristocrat discovers a powerful artifact. All set in an artificial galaxy of improbable quality. The environments change quite spectacularly, however the story did lose me toward the end.

To be honest I think the book is the right length (300-450 pages is my sweet spot), but the pacing was odd. It resolves and I'm not entirely sure how. There is an obvious betrayal and then...the bad guys get their comeuppance with no real action from the rebellious heiress.

I feel like I missed something. Perhaps that was my fault. I sometimes struggle to pay attention due to having rubbish eye sight.

The writing style is breezy, efficient. It is witty and dutiful, but not overbearing. I do think that the book could have done with a broader tone. This problem is reflected in the characters' dialogue. The main characters quip a bit too much, and it feels almost a touch self referential as if the author is trying to convince you that the story has a particular tone. The bad guy is somewhat over the top. In fact that is a quality of the entire setting - which is fine, but tiring.

I'm undecided if I want to continue. A little distance from the book will help make up my mind.

[Jobeda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn’t live up to its promise

This was a fun way to spend a few days. Great world building and I’d have loved to know more but the characters took their world for granted whereas I’d have loved to get deeper into that. I’ve given it quite a high score only because I did enjoy the read while I was in that universe but technically it’s not a great story. The two protagonists we follow don’t have any connection apart from something a bit spurious at the end. But they worked as separate stories. I loved the antihero character and I rarely take a liking to ‘villains‘ but this guy was written well, he was very compelling and I couldn’t wait to get back to his timeline. But his ending was a bit too predictable and abrupt and ruined his storyline for me. The other protagonist is meant to be the hero, a traditional archetypal sort. I don’t mind this, archetypes have worked well for centuries and so long as there’s something original in the mix, I could overlook some of the stereotypes in this character. Her little band of misfits are cool too, but the author is for some reason too into her uniqueness and talents that the supporting cast are a bit neglected. Again would have liked to know more about them. All this is forgivable except that her ending was just sort of nonexistent....like her story, the main hero’s storyline just sort of fizzled out. She didn’t do anything! And then when I looked back through the whole book I realised that actually she hardly does anything at all and didn’t live up to the uniqueness and talent we’d been promised. Her companions ‘do’ loads of things including rescuing her several times and she’s along for the ride. The author created a decent character and then put her in a passive role. She has very little agency and initiative so why is she the hero? I guess 4 stars is a bit high for such a critical review but despite everything I enjoyed most of the book and stole as much time as I could from my day and night to read, I love when that happens. But a weak ending and an author letting his characters down means I won’t be going back to the spin universe. Shame.

[Paul Trembling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comparisons with Ian M Banks 'Culture' series are inevitable. 'Creation Machine' has the same huge vision of time and space, encompassing vast time spans and huge interstellar vistas. It also has the same wide range of brilliantly imagined and vividly described cultures, technologies and ecologies as its backdrop.

However, this is not a slavish imitation of Banks. Bannister's 'Spin Worlds' are a unique and distinctive creation, a fascinating concept which is also, as it turns out, integral to the plot.

Said plot is a complex one, and sprawls over the immense background, taking full advantage of the inherent possibilities of such a big picture. (Again, reminiscent of Banks). It involves multiple characters, many of them unpleasant but all of them fascinating and well developed and if I sometimes found it hard to keep track of everything that was going on (it's probably not best to read this in short snippets - give yourself time to read large chunks of it at a sitting, that's my advice) the entire reading experience was far too absorbing to backtrack, and the wordflow was too smooth to encourage that anyway.

The conclusion was both climatic and satisfying. There were a few loose ends that I would have liked tied up, but that's my personal preference: unresolved issues may be more true to life, but I like things neatly cut and dried! Apart from that any criticism would be nit-picking: this is an excellent piece of SF, full of colour and life and big ideas. I'm certainly hoping to read the next book in the series ASAP.

[Attika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this is a bittersweet call...

I really liked the book; it recalled some of the best features of Ian Banks' Culture novels.

The characterizations could be somewhat deeper, more developed. The transition between disparate locations could be more fluid. The reveals could be more heart- or hurt-laden. Hopefully the author will continue to mature and address these matters in later works.

The science involved was fine, but is not for the faint of heart, be warned.

What really gives me pause -- and prevents me from totally recommending this book without reservations -- is that in paying homage to Banks (which author Andrew Bannister readily acknowledges), he also... how to put it... plagiarizes/lifts whole cloth/copies a number of Banks/Culture situations/themes/images . Most obvious/glaring:

Muz, a post-human nano-entity, at one point takes the form of a dildo to accompany heroine Fleare -- that's straight from Ian Banks' Matter (though it's an AI who effects this rather than a post-human);

at one point an AI decides that it wishes to kill itself -- that's found in Banks' Look to Windward;

and when the AI destroys itself it takes out all opposing forces with a catastrophic explosion -- well, that was the exact same denouement as found in Matter.

Still, I really enjoyed the read. I'm positive I'll read more of the author. I'm just hoping that his future works won't poach so much Culture narrative.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/creation-machine-by-andrew-bannister/

Way back in 1989-90, as the world changed forever, I shared a house in Cambridge with a guy called Andrew. Years passed and we fell out of touch, and then it suddenly turned out that he was writing science fiction as a side gig from his environmental consultancy job, and we net for the first time in a quarter of a century at Eastercon in 2016. It is a small world sometimes.

This was his debut book, and I’m sorry to say that I’ve only now got around to reading it. It is jolly good. There are two and a half interlinked plots: one follows the memorable villain, the other the spunky heroine, with flashbacks to explain the history of her relationship with her AI guardian. Both villain and heroine are chasing abandoned ancient tech of mindblowing capability (the eponymous Creation Machine). It’s mostly space opera but leaps into cyberpunk at the end. I found it compellingly written, and I shall get the sequels in the trilogy – though I’m glad to say that this first volume is self-contained.

[Jorgon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oooh, now this was fun. Bigger-than-life villains, complicated and fucked-up heroes, epic ancient technologies, wild invention, alll writ large on a technicolour widescreen, and propelling itself forward with a gnarly and irresistible energy.

In fact, the whole thing has a distinct Banksian flavour and atmmosphere--and this is meant in an entirely good way, since that flavour has been sadly missing from science fiction for several years.

Its not just a pastiche either; Bannister's voice is his own despite it being his first novel, but the classic Banksian tropes are here--with one major difference: the background society is not a Culture-like utopia but a semi-dystopian universe being taken over by horrid neo-liberal capitalists.

So there's that.

It is not perfect, by any means: there is somewhat of an imbalance with an introduction of an entirely new POV halfway through the book, and the ending feels a bit rushed--but it is a great debut nonetheless, and I am already getting into the second novel of the series.

[Mark Pidduck · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reason I have never seriously attempted writing a book is because I know it would end up something like this. I know it's Bannister's genuine attempt to contribute to the genre, so I don't want to be mean here, but it reads how an AI might put together a pastiche of Banks and Baxter. It has the raw animalistic side to humanity that Banks often included, which I found was redeemed by the exposition of his big ideas, as well as the off-the-wall ideas of Baxter that I find are warranted by the powerful world-building he is capable of.
Creation Machine does have the germ of an interesting idea, but reads too much like a homage to the writers and works Bannister evidently admires. I hope Bannister perseveres, but I feel the publication of this story as it is was lazy, and Bannister needs some better guidance than that offered by the local writers' club.