Helpful Score: 2
I was introduced to this author with Ship of Fools, which for me a Sci-Fi / horror both, thrown together with strong characters, a look into religion and the idea of god in a dark and hostile place "Space". After I read Ship of Fools, I picked up this book looking to see if the author could continue delivering a good reading book maybe a bit less scary with the same intensity in the plot.
The author delivers a good story with a background in artifacts (I love books about artifacts) and being in a hostile environment on a backwoods planet. But his lack of attention to filling in detail in "Ship of Fools" where it helped to add to the sense of mystery and abandonment and lets the readers imagination run a bit. Here with this story it just falls flat leaving you to feel shortchanged. Russo inserts intriguing ideas here and there in the novel trying to keep the readers interest, but he doesn't follow through in bringing them to the forefront. Mostly in dealing with discovering alien artifacts in and alien city mostly are left very vague.
The story for me never actually kicked in, it just got started and ran at the same monotone speed never giving the reader a spike in interest or climax and no low points, just one speed.
I enjoyed several ideas in the book and felt it could have been better maybe longer and several areas could use some in depth background so the reader might enjoy delving into the story and ideals presented. This book of the two i read isn't bad but could use some work and falls 2nd out of two. I'll give it 2 1/2 stars (but its boarderline and could easily have been a 2 star book). Another one of those books that s an ok read but if you miss it you probably won't miss much.
The author delivers a good story with a background in artifacts (I love books about artifacts) and being in a hostile environment on a backwoods planet. But his lack of attention to filling in detail in "Ship of Fools" where it helped to add to the sense of mystery and abandonment and lets the readers imagination run a bit. Here with this story it just falls flat leaving you to feel shortchanged. Russo inserts intriguing ideas here and there in the novel trying to keep the readers interest, but he doesn't follow through in bringing them to the forefront. Mostly in dealing with discovering alien artifacts in and alien city mostly are left very vague.
The story for me never actually kicked in, it just got started and ran at the same monotone speed never giving the reader a spike in interest or climax and no low points, just one speed.
I enjoyed several ideas in the book and felt it could have been better maybe longer and several areas could use some in depth background so the reader might enjoy delving into the story and ideals presented. This book of the two i read isn't bad but could use some work and falls 2nd out of two. I'll give it 2 1/2 stars (but its boarderline and could easily have been a 2 star book). Another one of those books that s an ok read but if you miss it you probably won't miss much.
