Scientists were baffled when the Kaveney probe, sent to investigate a new planet in the Kuiper belt, turned up nothing. The math checked out. There waScientists were baffled when the Kaveney probe, sent to investigate a new planet in the Kuiper belt, turned up nothing. The math checked out. There was definitely something out there yanking gravity’s chain, and the prime candidate was one of those elusive far-out planets, yet the probe’s instruments showed nothing, nada, zilch. A project years in the making for nothing more than a little comet dust and a cosmic whiff of disappointment. But then the probe began to send back pictures all on its own, and what they revealed was even more baffling than all that nothingness. They appeared to show some kind of alien artefact. Further testing was inconclusive—the results were maddeningly odd and confusing, but the dye had been cast. Human curiosity is insatiable, so there was little doubt someone would assemble a team to go and check things out first-hand. The only question was could we get our collective shit together long enough to make it a coordinated, multinational effort?
Gary Rendell was one of the lucky few chosen for the mission. But then Gary had always been lucky in life. Lucky to be born in this new Age of Discovery; lucky to be able to pursue his dreams; lucky to be part of the advanced mission team that breached the artefact; lucky to have his name etched in the history books for achieving first contact; lucky to survive the disaster that ambushed his team; lucky to stumble across the Mother Machine (spoiler alert!); lucky to be lost and alone and starving, wandering the nightmarish halls of a crypt, where terrifying monsters lurk in the dark and the laws of physics went on vacation. Lucky. So very lucky.
Heh, books like this are what keep me returning to the science fiction section of my library time and time again. I thought that Gary’s snarky first-person account was an excellent, highly immersive, escapist adventure. With chapters that alternated between the discovery of the artefact and subsequent mission to his hilariously horrifying misadventures through the Crypt—we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto! The story was short enough to be read in a single sitting but I forced myself to set it aside a few times to prolong the experience. I especially savored that delicious twist which brought to mind the old adage: be careful what you wish for because you just might get it!
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This novella was a welcome addition to my Goldilocks Zone shelf, so thank you NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review....more
Wow! That was one terrific little Halloween story. I must say, I've read a several of the tor shorts, and this is was easily one of my favorites. SuchWow! That was one terrific little Halloween story. I must say, I've read a several of the tor shorts, and this is was easily one of my favorites. Such a delightfully twisted tale that perfectly encapsulated all of the mixed emotions that go with childhood pet ownership.
Sorry, I don't have time to say any more, but do yourself a favor and check it out when you've got a few minutes to spare. You won't regret it.
"All Mathilde wanted for her birthday was a pony. Instead, she got a demon. Sometimes growing up means learning that what you think you want is not always what you need."
I'm sorry but I cannot, in good conscience, give this anything less than 5 stars. Even though there were a few parts that aggravated me--mostly in booI'm sorry but I cannot, in good conscience, give this anything less than 5 stars. Even though there were a few parts that aggravated me--mostly in book 3--the good far exceeded the bad. It took me nearly three weeks to read this 1153 page monster, and amazingly I was never bored with it. Such an epic tale, biblical in scope, with some truly remarkable character development. I'll be remembering this one for a long, long time to come....more
Now this, this is the adventure I’ve been looking for! I couldn’t help but notice several reviewers comparing this to a Jack London tale, and it’s harNow this, this is the adventure I’ve been looking for! I couldn’t help but notice several reviewers comparing this to a Jack London tale, and it’s hard for me not to follow suit. As a kid, I was a big fan of Mr. London. I especially loved his Alaskan adventures, which opened my eyes to a place so remote and far removed from my everyday life experiences that it made my head spin. I longed to set a course into that uncharted wilderness. Those books filled me with a wanderlust which still consumes me today. Someday I may hit the road and never look back. This book, however, isn’t one for the kiddies. This is a would-be Jack London at full tilt. This is a no holds barred, savage tale of man vs. nature, man vs. beast, and ultimately man vs. man.
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Our story is set in the nineteenth century, at the tail end of whaling’s heyday. “We killed them all . . . It was tremendous while it lasted, and magnificently profitable too. We had twenty-five fucking good years. But the world turns, and . . . Besides, no one even wants the whale oil anymore—it’s all petroleum now, all coal gas, you know that.”
We follow a disgraced army surgeon court-martialed and on the lam. He's on the lookout for a way out of the country, so it’s no surprise that he’d jump at a position on a whaling vessel helmed by an infamous captain with a sketchy past. Plus, he figures it’ll be kind of holiday. His employer implied as much anyway. “Implied that the surgeon’s job on a whaler was a legal nicety, a requirement to be met, but in practice there was bugger all to do . . . God knows that is what he needs after the madness of India: the filthy heat, the barbarity, the stench. Whatever the Greenland whaling is like, he thinks, it will surely not be anything like that.” <--Famous last words.
Little does he realize that the captain has a hidden agenda, or that one of the crew members is an unrepentant psychopath, with a complete lack of conscience. Sorry buddy, but I don’t think you’re in for a relaxing holiday!
Look, I know that subject of whaling may be entirely off-putting to a lot of you out there, so let me assure you that there’s much more to the story than that. Truthfully, whaling plays only a minor role. I would say the same for those gruesome animal encounters. I won’t lie to you and suggest that they’re not horrific, because a few of them are. But, I will say that I didn’t feel like McGuire embellished those scenes simply to up the gore factor. They seem completely accurate to the era in which this story occurs.
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The period accurate language and attention to fine detail gave the novel a real sense of time and place. The author clearly put in the research, and it shows.
This story, for me, helped to alleviate some of that bitter disappointed I experience last Christmas, while watching both DiCaprio’s and Tarantino’s failed attempt at portraying an epic winter adventure. This razor-sharp narrative easily flenses both of those bloated carcasses.
Those of you who know me, know that I’m fairly stingy with my five star ratings. In fact, of the forty some odd books that I've read this year (and believe you me I've read some doozies), I can count on one hand the number of five star ratings I’ve issued. So I think it’s safe to say that this one, in my opinion, was pert-near perfect.
A daring adventure of alpha males (sorry, but there’s nary a woman in sight) struggling against Mother Nature and each other, with a villain so evil that he’s sure to resonate in the reader's mind long after setting this one aside. A tale which, at times, could be oh so brutal, yet strikingly beautiful, or, as my friend Shayne would say, it was, in a word, “BRUTIFUL™.”
All right, y’all better enjoy this because it’s not likely to happen again any time soon.
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The reason I come to you today with hat in hand is thaAll right, y’all better enjoy this because it’s not likely to happen again any time soon.
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The reason I come to you today with hat in hand is that I nearly DNFed this gem of a story. The thing is, I’m familiar enough with most of these sci-fi themes that I immediately spotted the big twist at the beginning of this tale. I could pinpoint a quote from chapter one where my early hypothesis crystallized into a solid theory. And as those next few chapters failed to mount much of an attack on said hypothesis, I became more and more disgusted with this so-called “atomic physicist” for failing to apply the scientific method to his current situation. Thankfully though, his synapses soon began to fire, and my fears of another Fold repeat were put to bed, as the story jumped from 0-60 at the drop of a hat cat! #idiotsuseidioms
Now, because it’s nearly impossible to review this without spoiling all the fun, how’s about we play a little twenty questions instead?
What if you woke one day to discover your entire world turned upside down, your family stolen away? What would you be willing to do to set things right? What if they were better off without you? Would you ever be able to let them go? Are you truly happy with the life you’ve made for yourself? What if you could go back in time and change things? Would you make all those same choices again? What if every decision you made created a ripple in the universe? What if everything that can happen will happen? What if it’s your observation of the cat that ultimately kills it? What if you learned to stop worrying and love the bomb? Want some whiskey in your water? Sugar in your tea? What’s all these crazy questions they askin’ me?
So there I was patting myself on the back for cracking the early mystery, just grooving along to the story, settling in. When seemingly out of the blue that son of a bitch, Crouch, crept right up and sucker punched me! I mean, DAMN, I totally should have seen that coming. All the signpost were clearly marked, the rules succulently laid out. But somewhere along the way, I got too swept up in the tale to pay close attention to all those little breadcrumbs because that final twist just knocked me flat. I got such a kick out of thinking through all the scenarios—along with the inevitable police work to follow. Just the thought of someone like Columbo or Monk working the case, attempting to puzzle out all that madness, was enough to leave me giddy.
Look, I doubt that I can issue a bigger endorsement than the following: It’s been over a year and more than fifty books since I’ve last handed out all the stars. There’ve been a few close calls, such as The Thicket and The Wind Through the Keyhole and a couple of short stories that I really loved, but this book, in my humble opinion, was a notch above the rest.
Bottom line: This tender little morsel of “speculative science fiction covered in philosophy sauce”* really hit the spot.
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----------------------------------------------- * I may have paraphrased someone there. Thanks, Karen!...more
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