Chris Walley

This wasn't a terrible book, but it was forgettable (there's a reason my review is months late). It certainly brought a different point of view to the table - instead of the characters being naive and helpless, they're strong and capable of a lot. They simply have formed their own worldview after centuries of living in peace and tranquility. There wasn't much a of a hook to this series, and nothing to keep me really on the edge of my seat; I mostly just wanted to see whether or not the characters would encounter evil. The characters are fairly well fleshed out, and the second book looks interesting.… (mehr)

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book. It's very slow to start off, though it does begin to pick up about halfway through. The juxtaposition of hard core science fiction and evangelical christianity is a little odd. The author does a good job of explaining why the society he's created is thus, but something about this new oh-so-earnest and godly brand of humanity just doesn't jive. Part of what makes us human is our distinctions and uniqueness. To imagine that all cultures and all religions have been subsumed by Christianity... One Universe Under God, as it were, is a mite disturbing.

Some of the weeping and moaning, the wringing of hands and gasping at concepts outside what is permissible for good little automatons of the Assembly to think or participate in just rubs me the wrong way. Seriously, a society that mostly shudders and quivers at the mere thought of "evil" and does everything possible to stall taking action, pretty much deserves what it gets. There is something to the adage 'god helps those who help themselves'. Putting faith and trust in the lord is all well and good, but let's not spend days agonizing over whether it's ok to make weapons to defend ourselves from the scary genetically engineered beasties in the woods.

On the whole, I've found this book irksome, but intriguing. Reads better in small doses. Long reading sessions generally make me want to smack common sense into the main characters.… (mehr)