Helpful Score: 1
I'm a fan of the Virga series and waited as long as I could stand it for the latest book in the series. Was it worth it? Yes. I'll say I liked the earlier portion more than the later portions, but I still liked it as a whole.
From the cover blurbs, etc., we know its about Leal Heronyma Maspeth (historian, dreamer, romantic) and that something mysterious is happening to outlying wheeltowns and shipping in the sunless nation of Abyss (deep in the winter zone of Virga). What's not made much of is that she's the daughter of scavengers, a profession made illegal by the ascendant Eternist party. And that's just the start of their social engineering since they're convinced that Virga is eternal and has been there forever and ever (never mind the evidence, accounts and histories about it - they can be ignored or destroyed). At the beginning of the novel a referendum on the nature of truth is taking place, and whether or not it can be voted on what is truth. Add in the playing of political games in the university where she works and Leal is up to her neck in what's going on.
The book also has some nice sense of wonder fixes, from the descriptions of Abyss and Sere (its capital), to the middens, the Winter Wraiths, the uses a sun generator can be put to, to the history of Virga and its construction. And oh yes, there is a diagram of Virga now. We also get some peeks beyond Virga - and that's about as far as I'll go on that.
I liked this book - I liked Leal for a number of reasons, self identification being one of them. I also liked the intersection of academic and national politics here, and its standing on its head of the old truism "Why are academic politics so vicious? Because the stakes are so small." The stakes are large and important. I enjoyed the world building and revisiting Hayden Griffin from Sun of Suns, as well as the reasons for sunlighting. Some very alien ... somethings.
As to what I didn't like, well, I could have done with more of Dean Porril's perspectives. I also would have liked to see more beyond Virga through Leal's eyes.
While several reviewers say Schroeder is bashing on crowd sourcing with the Eternists, I see it as more a shot at religion and modern media. But only Schroeder knows for sure. Also, others say the aliens I mention were better done by Peter Watts in Blindsight. I say, perhaps. As far as I can see the only commonality is lack of consciousness. Further entries in the series may tell us more, but I'm willing to let them stand on their own, for now.
From the cover blurbs, etc., we know its about Leal Heronyma Maspeth (historian, dreamer, romantic) and that something mysterious is happening to outlying wheeltowns and shipping in the sunless nation of Abyss (deep in the winter zone of Virga). What's not made much of is that she's the daughter of scavengers, a profession made illegal by the ascendant Eternist party. And that's just the start of their social engineering since they're convinced that Virga is eternal and has been there forever and ever (never mind the evidence, accounts and histories about it - they can be ignored or destroyed). At the beginning of the novel a referendum on the nature of truth is taking place, and whether or not it can be voted on what is truth. Add in the playing of political games in the university where she works and Leal is up to her neck in what's going on.
The book also has some nice sense of wonder fixes, from the descriptions of Abyss and Sere (its capital), to the middens, the Winter Wraiths, the uses a sun generator can be put to, to the history of Virga and its construction. And oh yes, there is a diagram of Virga now. We also get some peeks beyond Virga - and that's about as far as I'll go on that.
I liked this book - I liked Leal for a number of reasons, self identification being one of them. I also liked the intersection of academic and national politics here, and its standing on its head of the old truism "Why are academic politics so vicious? Because the stakes are so small." The stakes are large and important. I enjoyed the world building and revisiting Hayden Griffin from Sun of Suns, as well as the reasons for sunlighting. Some very alien ... somethings.
As to what I didn't like, well, I could have done with more of Dean Porril's perspectives. I also would have liked to see more beyond Virga through Leal's eyes.
While several reviewers say Schroeder is bashing on crowd sourcing with the Eternists, I see it as more a shot at religion and modern media. But only Schroeder knows for sure. Also, others say the aliens I mention were better done by Peter Watts in Blindsight. I say, perhaps. As far as I can see the only commonality is lack of consciousness. Further entries in the series may tell us more, but I'm willing to let them stand on their own, for now.
