This is science fiction about adults, for adults. Everything about it is solid: the prose, the world-building, the characters. Both the central mystery and the central romance are well-paced and resolve satisfactorily. In short, it's damn good.
The prose is of the sort that gets out of the reader's way, putting the story front and center. It's written in tight third person perspective, alternating fairly regularly between Mace and Nemily. The pacing is sure, doling out information about the characters, the world, and the mystery as needed and not before. There is a rough moment early on when the story jumps forward in time several years; I wish the part before the jump had been set aside in a prologue or a Part I to give that jump more visceral impact. But that's just a quibble.
The world-building is quite compelling. It's barely 100 years into our future, when the solar system is in the process of being settled but humans have yet to make it any further out. In that 100 years there has clearly been quite a bit of political upheaval, and figuring out the details of that history is at times a more intriguing mystery than the one Mace is investigating. There are a couple of infodumps when all action comes to a screeching halt, but for the most part Tiedemann manages to show a messy, precarious balance of power that is fascinating in its own right and increasingly relevant to the main plot.
But the thing that makes this book refreshingly adult fare is the characters. There's sex too, it's true, and more of it than I was expecting; but the far more groundbreaking elements are the ways in which Mace and Nemily are not your standard noir detective and ingenue. Much though he might want to be, Mace is not a loner: he is surrounded by people who care for him. Not a fellowship determined to aid him in his quest, but friends, of varying degrees, both people he'd trust his life to and people he wouldn't, but who want to celebrate his birthday with him anyway. And though Nemily looks at first like the typical cold, desperate woman with a secret, she just gets stranger and stranger, a convincingly alien future human. And over their entire relationship hangs the spectre of Mace's dead wife, who is not some gilded idol but instead a complex and achingly real woman whose death I felt more the further into the story I got.
If this book has a weakness it is the central mystery; part of the reason I found the world more intriguing than the plot was that I had figured out much of the mystery well in advance of the characters. The villains were also a shade too hissable for my liking. But overall this is a strong entry in the science fiction mystery canon, and one with a far better romantic subplot than most (actually, two romantic subplots, one forward and one backward). I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
The prose is of the sort that gets out of the reader's way, putting the story front and center. It's written in tight third person perspective, alternating fairly regularly between Mace and Nemily. The pacing is sure, doling out information about the characters, the world, and the mystery as needed and not before. There is a rough moment early on when the story jumps forward in time several years; I wish the part before the jump had been set aside in a prologue or a Part I to give that jump more visceral impact. But that's just a quibble.
The world-building is quite compelling. It's barely 100 years into our future, when the solar system is in the process of being settled but humans have yet to make it any further out. In that 100 years there has clearly been quite a bit of political upheaval, and figuring out the details of that history is at times a more intriguing mystery than the one Mace is investigating. There are a couple of infodumps when all action comes to a screeching halt, but for the most part Tiedemann manages to show a messy, precarious balance of power that is fascinating in its own right and increasingly relevant to the main plot.
But the thing that makes this book refreshingly adult fare is the characters. There's sex too, it's true, and more of it than I was expecting; but the far more groundbreaking elements are the ways in which Mace and Nemily are not your standard noir detective and ingenue. Much though he might want to be, Mace is not a loner: he is surrounded by people who care for him. Not a fellowship determined to aid him in his quest, but friends, of varying degrees, both people he'd trust his life to and people he wouldn't, but who want to celebrate his birthday with him anyway. And though Nemily looks at first like the typical cold, desperate woman with a secret, she just gets stranger and stranger, a convincingly alien future human. And over their entire relationship hangs the spectre of Mace's dead wife, who is not some gilded idol but instead a complex and achingly real woman whose death I felt more the further into the story I got.
If this book has a weakness it is the central mystery; part of the reason I found the world more intriguing than the plot was that I had figured out much of the mystery well in advance of the characters. The villains were also a shade too hissable for my liking. But overall this is a strong entry in the science fiction mystery canon, and one with a far better romantic subplot than most (actually, two romantic subplots, one forward and one backward). I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
Its an interesting little book - a spy novel in space. And by that, I don't mean James Bond. The technology and action don't take center stage, but the intrigue and tension do.
The main characters are Mace Prestfield and Nemily Dollard. Mace is a security operative whose wife died under suspicious circumstances on Mars at a project their corporate employer was working on. Since then, he's sued the company for information, ruled against, retired and paid pretty well to not press further for answers.
Nemily is a cybernetically modified human - the implants in her brain would be considered augmentation for the abilities they give her, like not drooling or soiling herself. She's a recent immigrant to Aea (the orbital habitat that they both live on) and meets Mace at a party. They both hit it off, and the ball starts rolling...
The characters are fairly well drawn - Mace strikes me as realistic and you can care for Nemily. The supporting cast is pretty good too - from Cambel Guerra who was involved in the accident to others.
However, the setting needs work. Earth turning its back on all of space because the orbital and planetary colonies declared indpendence? I'm not so sure. Besides, how do you maintain a communications blockade over the entire planetary surface?
Add in that they do have molecular scale manufacturing and you have to wonder, how the trade in Earth authentic artifacts persists (get one - make an exact copy, or be beamed the specs, make a copy, etc.).
Anyway, Tiedemann is a decent writer and Remains is a good book. It could have been better, but its still pretty good.
The main characters are Mace Prestfield and Nemily Dollard. Mace is a security operative whose wife died under suspicious circumstances on Mars at a project their corporate employer was working on. Since then, he's sued the company for information, ruled against, retired and paid pretty well to not press further for answers.
Nemily is a cybernetically modified human - the implants in her brain would be considered augmentation for the abilities they give her, like not drooling or soiling herself. She's a recent immigrant to Aea (the orbital habitat that they both live on) and meets Mace at a party. They both hit it off, and the ball starts rolling...
The characters are fairly well drawn - Mace strikes me as realistic and you can care for Nemily. The supporting cast is pretty good too - from Cambel Guerra who was involved in the accident to others.
However, the setting needs work. Earth turning its back on all of space because the orbital and planetary colonies declared indpendence? I'm not so sure. Besides, how do you maintain a communications blockade over the entire planetary surface?
Add in that they do have molecular scale manufacturing and you have to wonder, how the trade in Earth authentic artifacts persists (get one - make an exact copy, or be beamed the specs, make a copy, etc.).
Anyway, Tiedemann is a decent writer and Remains is a good book. It could have been better, but its still pretty good.
