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Sentients of Orion #4
Transformation Space
The dazzling conclusion to Marianne de Pierres' critically acclaimed space opera sequence.
Mira Fedor and her friends stand in the eye of the hurricane. Everything is in flux and nothing is as it appears to be. Mira's pregnancy seems to be proceeding at an inhuman pace and the sedate acceptance of this state of affairs by her biozoon, Insigna, is as much an irritation as it is comfort. It seems clear that the extropists' procedures have had an unforeseen effect - but will her child be more than human? Or less?Meanwhile, the galaxy-wide conspiracy that has plagued the Orion League for so long is blown wide open. The conspirators stand unmasked, but is there time to prevent their carefully laid plans coming to fruition? And even if there is, how many of the Orion Worlds will pay the price for their leaders’ blindness?The pieces are all in play; all that remains is for each side to commit to its end game. But there’s one question nobody has thought to ask: will god play by the rules . . .?
Mira Fedor and her friends stand in the eye of the hurricane. Everything is in flux and nothing is as it appears to be. Mira's pregnancy seems to be proceeding at an inhuman pace and the sedate acceptance of this state of affairs by her biozoon, Insigna, is as much an irritation as it is comfort. It seems clear that the extropists' procedures have had an unforeseen effect - but will her child be more than human? Or less?Meanwhile, the galaxy-wide conspiracy that has plagued the Orion League for so long is blown wide open. The conspirators stand unmasked, but is there time to prevent their carefully laid plans coming to fruition? And even if there is, how many of the Orion Worlds will pay the price for their leaders’ blindness?The pieces are all in play; all that remains is for each side to commit to its end game. But there’s one question nobody has thought to ask: will god play by the rules . . .?
432 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2010
7 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
Marianne de Pierres
37 books488 followersMarianne de Pierres is the award winning author of the acclaimed Parrish Plessis, Sentients of Orion and Peacemaker science fiction series.
Marianne is an active supporter of genre fiction and has mentored many writers. She lives in Brisbane, Australia. Her Night Creatures series, Burn Bright, Angel Arias and Shine Light has been very popular among young adult fiction readers.
Marianne is also the Davitt award-winning author of the Tara Sharp humourous crime series under the pseudonym Marianne Delacourt.
Visit her websites at:
www.mariannedepierres.com
www.mariannedepierresbooksforchildren...
www.burnbright.com.au
www.glitterrose.wordpress.com
www.sentientsoforion.com
www.colonelthorn.home.blog
Marianne is an active supporter of genre fiction and has mentored many writers. She lives in Brisbane, Australia. Her Night Creatures series, Burn Bright, Angel Arias and Shine Light has been very popular among young adult fiction readers.
Marianne is also the Davitt award-winning author of the Tara Sharp humourous crime series under the pseudonym Marianne Delacourt.
Visit her websites at:
www.mariannedepierres.com
www.mariannedepierresbooksforchildren...
www.burnbright.com.au
www.glitterrose.wordpress.com
www.sentientsoforion.com
www.colonelthorn.home.blog
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 2, 2011
*some spoilers for the preceding books*
I have been waiting for this book for a long time, not least because I had thought it was a trilogy, rather than a quadrilogy. Here, we finally get a conclusion to the intricate plots that de Pierres has been developing and tangling over the series: Mira Fedor and her pregnancy, Trin and his semi-willing followers on Araldis, Tekton and his bizarre free-mind/logic-mind… and my favourite, Jo-Jo Rasterovich, the deep-space miner irrevocably changed by his encounter with the entity, Sole, who – it becomes increasingly clear – has something to do with everything that’s going on.
In terms of plot, there is little that is absolutely new in Transformation Space. It’s a book of climaxes, of revelations, of explanations and conclusions. That’s how it should be, and it certainly doesn’t mean that it’s boring. As with the preceding three books, de Pierres writes a relentless action story, with few breathing spaces for the characters or the reader. This is unsurprising, given that Mirror Space concluded with the revelation that a Post-Species fleet was moving into Orion space, and the suggestion that this was somehow connected to the invasion of the planet Araldis.
The use of multiple strands of narrative, used to such great effect in the previous books, is continued here; and even when the narrative swings over to Trin and his followers, forced to hide away and spend all their energy hiding and foraging, it’s not exactly relaxing, as tempers run high and eventually boil over. Other strands are more event-based. A new strand is introduced, that of Balbao, in charge of the installation commissioned to examine Sole; things go radically wrong, leading to them eventually teaming up with Lasper Farr. (Anyone familiar with the preceding books will know that such a match is bound to end badly, or at least chaotically.) Even Mira gets a fairly action-oriented story, as she gives birth and then must decide what she and the biozoon Insignia are going to do about the Post-Species fleet and Mira’s own planet. While occasionally in the other books it was sometimes disorienting to switch rapidly between characters and places, I was fairly comfortable with it by this stage. Plus, there was more convergence than ever, with various characters finally coming together or with storylines coming to a natural conclusion.
The characters are a fascinating aspect of this series for me. Half the time I can’t figure out whether I care about many, or indeed any, of them. I have never found Mira particularly engaging as a character; although sympathetic, I was frequently annoyed at what I saw as a lack of gumption. I was pleased that this book finally saw her exercising more agency, and holding her own against various other forceful personalities. This development makes sense, too, over the story; coming from a restrictive world like Araldis, a feisty female character would have been unbelievable. As she is away from that environment for longer, and is exposed to different attitudes and forced to look after herself, she responds and grows appropriately. As for the other characters: I have never felt much sympathy for Trin, the spoilt little rich kid forced to become a leader, and that didn’t change. Tekton, the arrogant tyro drawn away from studying Sole, continued to be repulsive yet oddly charming (a description I’m quite sure he’d be immensely flattered by), and I really enjoyed that he was even more active, rather than largely reactive, this time. The same cannot be said, I think, for Thales, who continued basically to be the hapless scholar; although he is involved in important events, he rarely seemed to be directly involved with them. Rather, he was more like flotsam on the tide, being pushed around and only occasionally interacting. This actually makes him quite an interesting character, I think, given how rarely such a character is male – and an educated male at that. There are other characters, of course, but it would be boring to go through all of them; they are marvellously varied, with few stereotypes and frequent surprises. I just don’t find many of them actually likeable. This makes it quite odd, I guess, that I really enjoyed this book and the entire series. It’s a tribute to the skilful writing, and the utterly intriguing plot.
The Sentients of Orion is a complex, highly textured and riveting space opera. It’s set across an entire galaxy populated by ‘humanesques’ and other, more alien beings; the action veers from intense family drama to planet-wrecking destruction. It considers genetic engineering, religion, politics, personal responsibility and the different forms love can take. It’s both character and plot-driven, and the conclusion totally astounded me. This is a series that has changed my way of thinking about space opera, and the characters that populate it.
I have been waiting for this book for a long time, not least because I had thought it was a trilogy, rather than a quadrilogy. Here, we finally get a conclusion to the intricate plots that de Pierres has been developing and tangling over the series: Mira Fedor and her pregnancy, Trin and his semi-willing followers on Araldis, Tekton and his bizarre free-mind/logic-mind… and my favourite, Jo-Jo Rasterovich, the deep-space miner irrevocably changed by his encounter with the entity, Sole, who – it becomes increasingly clear – has something to do with everything that’s going on.
In terms of plot, there is little that is absolutely new in Transformation Space. It’s a book of climaxes, of revelations, of explanations and conclusions. That’s how it should be, and it certainly doesn’t mean that it’s boring. As with the preceding three books, de Pierres writes a relentless action story, with few breathing spaces for the characters or the reader. This is unsurprising, given that Mirror Space concluded with the revelation that a Post-Species fleet was moving into Orion space, and the suggestion that this was somehow connected to the invasion of the planet Araldis.
The use of multiple strands of narrative, used to such great effect in the previous books, is continued here; and even when the narrative swings over to Trin and his followers, forced to hide away and spend all their energy hiding and foraging, it’s not exactly relaxing, as tempers run high and eventually boil over. Other strands are more event-based. A new strand is introduced, that of Balbao, in charge of the installation commissioned to examine Sole; things go radically wrong, leading to them eventually teaming up with Lasper Farr. (Anyone familiar with the preceding books will know that such a match is bound to end badly, or at least chaotically.) Even Mira gets a fairly action-oriented story, as she gives birth and then must decide what she and the biozoon Insignia are going to do about the Post-Species fleet and Mira’s own planet. While occasionally in the other books it was sometimes disorienting to switch rapidly between characters and places, I was fairly comfortable with it by this stage. Plus, there was more convergence than ever, with various characters finally coming together or with storylines coming to a natural conclusion.
The characters are a fascinating aspect of this series for me. Half the time I can’t figure out whether I care about many, or indeed any, of them. I have never found Mira particularly engaging as a character; although sympathetic, I was frequently annoyed at what I saw as a lack of gumption. I was pleased that this book finally saw her exercising more agency, and holding her own against various other forceful personalities. This development makes sense, too, over the story; coming from a restrictive world like Araldis, a feisty female character would have been unbelievable. As she is away from that environment for longer, and is exposed to different attitudes and forced to look after herself, she responds and grows appropriately. As for the other characters: I have never felt much sympathy for Trin, the spoilt little rich kid forced to become a leader, and that didn’t change. Tekton, the arrogant tyro drawn away from studying Sole, continued to be repulsive yet oddly charming (a description I’m quite sure he’d be immensely flattered by), and I really enjoyed that he was even more active, rather than largely reactive, this time. The same cannot be said, I think, for Thales, who continued basically to be the hapless scholar; although he is involved in important events, he rarely seemed to be directly involved with them. Rather, he was more like flotsam on the tide, being pushed around and only occasionally interacting. This actually makes him quite an interesting character, I think, given how rarely such a character is male – and an educated male at that. There are other characters, of course, but it would be boring to go through all of them; they are marvellously varied, with few stereotypes and frequent surprises. I just don’t find many of them actually likeable. This makes it quite odd, I guess, that I really enjoyed this book and the entire series. It’s a tribute to the skilful writing, and the utterly intriguing plot.
The Sentients of Orion is a complex, highly textured and riveting space opera. It’s set across an entire galaxy populated by ‘humanesques’ and other, more alien beings; the action veers from intense family drama to planet-wrecking destruction. It considers genetic engineering, religion, politics, personal responsibility and the different forms love can take. It’s both character and plot-driven, and the conclusion totally astounded me. This is a series that has changed my way of thinking about space opera, and the characters that populate it.
August 17, 2011
I finally managed to find time in between the books I keep ordering from the library to sit down and read a book I actually own!! Transformation Space is the 4th (and final) in a series based around a planet that gets invaded by a species that is extermination proof, and first contact with Sole - a god. Over the course of the 4 books we have watched the story point from several people who are all key to the events that are happening, and have a place to play in the final outcome of the universe as it is in the beginning of the book.
I enjoyed this book the most out of all of them, the third could have been as enjoyable if I could remember the first two at the time, however, it was only recently that I read Mirror Space, so this time could remember the story and didn't find myself struggling to catch up.
Transformation Space switches between the view point of about 7 people, each in a different situation, and being affected by the same events in the universe. Their stories are intertwined, and, as with all Marianne de Pierres books, very cleverly written with a galaxy load of imagination, making the series unique.
In particular I loved the story of Mira, the girl who has struggled across the galaxy in order to find help for her planet, and the birth of her very special child. She is not the only strong female character in the line - up, there is also Djes, left on the plane Araldis helping the principe to lead his people through their loss of everything, Rast Randall the mercenary, who has to learn to trust someone to help her out of a bad situation, and all the women in the Swestr, or woman's lobby, a movement that appears to be universe-wide. The myriad of characters were all interesting and it has been fun to watch them mature and learn so much through the events of the series.
I enjoyed this book the most out of all of them, the third could have been as enjoyable if I could remember the first two at the time, however, it was only recently that I read Mirror Space, so this time could remember the story and didn't find myself struggling to catch up.
Transformation Space switches between the view point of about 7 people, each in a different situation, and being affected by the same events in the universe. Their stories are intertwined, and, as with all Marianne de Pierres books, very cleverly written with a galaxy load of imagination, making the series unique.
In particular I loved the story of Mira, the girl who has struggled across the galaxy in order to find help for her planet, and the birth of her very special child. She is not the only strong female character in the line - up, there is also Djes, left on the plane Araldis helping the principe to lead his people through their loss of everything, Rast Randall the mercenary, who has to learn to trust someone to help her out of a bad situation, and all the women in the Swestr, or woman's lobby, a movement that appears to be universe-wide. The myriad of characters were all interesting and it has been fun to watch them mature and learn so much through the events of the series.
July 23, 2014
Finally finished the series with a complete reread of volumes 2-3 and a full reread of volume 4 while I looked through volume 1 for reference
(see review of Chaos Space for more detail http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...)
For now just a few points with a full review in a few weeks:
- fast and furious solving most of the thread lines though the ending is pretty abrupt in a way; this said, the series has a great ending in the main Sole thread though I wish a little more detail about what happens next would have been provided
- lots of action, drama and even a few surprises
The series is best read as one big volume especially the core books 2-4, with book 1 as an introduction that sets up things
Overall excellent fast space opera, hopefully the upcoming US release will raise its profile
(see review of Chaos Space for more detail http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...)
For now just a few points with a full review in a few weeks:
- fast and furious solving most of the thread lines though the ending is pretty abrupt in a way; this said, the series has a great ending in the main Sole thread though I wish a little more detail about what happens next would have been provided
- lots of action, drama and even a few surprises
The series is best read as one big volume especially the core books 2-4, with book 1 as an introduction that sets up things
Overall excellent fast space opera, hopefully the upcoming US release will raise its profile
March 18, 2013
This story over four novels is wonderful. I couldn't put any of them down, and kept reading until the end of the series. Left me hungry for more from this world and these strong characters.
October 3, 2018
3.5 stars. For the first time in this whole series, the 4th book finally had me emotionally attached to the characters. I think Transformation Space was the best out of the four, but all in all, a disappointing series. Although some aspects were really good and I think the whole idea was really clever. I just believe it could have been executed better.
December 14, 2012
The Sentients of Orion is a series involving a found god-like entity, a planet, an explorer, the first woman in history to have the gene that allows her to pilot and speak with biozoons, biozoons (a race of space-faring beings who can alter themselves to become starships with amazing abilities), extros (they inhabit or possess people, animals, objects, etc) and Saaqr (a huge buglike thing that kills indescriminately in search for fluids) and a conspiracy. There's more...much more.
Transformation Space is the final in the series. Danger is on its way to Araldis, many planets have been destroyed and Mira Fedor is on her way back to Araldis with her Biozoon and her weird pregnancy. Her biozoon seems to be doing things to her without her permission - sedating, making decisions, etc, but Mira can't seem to stop it. JoJo is also on his way to Araldis. And the survivors that Trin has been leading are barely surviving, but they're doing their best. However, trouble is brewing.
There's a lot more story and many subplots from the previous novels that all come together here. There. On Araldis. It's great, the final chapters. The whole book was great, the whole series, really.
Marianne de Pierres has this ability of running multiple characters, personalities (hey - not all writers can have multiple characters with different personalities), plotlines and situations into a novel. Her narration is great. Her dialogue is great. The situations and how the characters react is interesting. The final great conspiracy is revealed and it's nothing that any of the characters expected.
I'm hoping to eventually read more SciFi from de Pierres. It's obvious that she really knows what she's doing, but she writes in such a way that if you aren't super knowledgeable about space travel, theories, etc, you don't feel like you're missing out on understanding. This final novel was the icing on the series. I ordered these books from overseas, but I'm seeing that they are going to be released in the U.S. soon - both as e-books and print, with brand new covers.
Transformation Space is the final in the series. Danger is on its way to Araldis, many planets have been destroyed and Mira Fedor is on her way back to Araldis with her Biozoon and her weird pregnancy. Her biozoon seems to be doing things to her without her permission - sedating, making decisions, etc, but Mira can't seem to stop it. JoJo is also on his way to Araldis. And the survivors that Trin has been leading are barely surviving, but they're doing their best. However, trouble is brewing.
There's a lot more story and many subplots from the previous novels that all come together here. There. On Araldis. It's great, the final chapters. The whole book was great, the whole series, really.
Marianne de Pierres has this ability of running multiple characters, personalities (hey - not all writers can have multiple characters with different personalities), plotlines and situations into a novel. Her narration is great. Her dialogue is great. The situations and how the characters react is interesting. The final great conspiracy is revealed and it's nothing that any of the characters expected.
I'm hoping to eventually read more SciFi from de Pierres. It's obvious that she really knows what she's doing, but she writes in such a way that if you aren't super knowledgeable about space travel, theories, etc, you don't feel like you're missing out on understanding. This final novel was the icing on the series. I ordered these books from overseas, but I'm seeing that they are going to be released in the U.S. soon - both as e-books and print, with brand new covers.
May 21, 2013
A great space science fiction book that's easy going on the technology. The way it is written, splitting progress of the various characters / parties into sections, so you get an update of what they're up to in parallel to the other characters, works well. I read this before the other 3 books! As part of a cheap bundle purchase in 'the works'. But would be happen to go back and see how pieces of the puzzle got there.
June 2, 2011
An excellent conclusion to the Sentients of Orion tale.
Everything falls into place although maybe not as you would have guessed. The enigma of the Sole entity is solved at last and Mira Fedor, Tekton, Jo Jo Rasterovich, friends and enemies all complete their journey through this complex space opera.
Everything falls into place although maybe not as you would have guessed. The enigma of the Sole entity is solved at last and Mira Fedor, Tekton, Jo Jo Rasterovich, friends and enemies all complete their journey through this complex space opera.
September 7, 2011
It's so frustrating that the best books never end the way you'd want them to. I guess that's what makes them good.
May 26, 2013
Good story and fun sci fi, though it got a bit too metaphysical at times for me.
May 28, 2013
A fantastic read with memorable characters. I couldn't put this series down.
January 19, 2015
Transformation Space moved at a good clip and my answers were questioned. I admit I was annoyed at the ending, but it was a satisfying conclusion.
January 6, 2017
Didn't like the ending as much as I expected, but would read this author again.
September 25, 2011
This series started with great potential but fizzled out in the last two books.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews