Friday, February 20, 2009

Review: Gridlinked

Read this first novel by Neal Asher based on liking a short story in the Years Best Science Fiction 25th Annual Collection that was set in the Polity future he introduces here. All I can say is: good grief, this book was awful. The characterizations are poor and one dimensional. As an added bonus, the characters aren't particularly likeable. But they sparkle next to some of the most stilted, unnatural dialogue I've come across. At times it reads like this book was translated somewhat ineptly into English. The plot is heavy handed and contrived as well. I'm still not sure why the last 50 pages or so played out as they did and I don't care to go back and try to figure it out. This novel reads like a very poor man’s Richard K. Morgan Takeshi Kovacs story.

Rating 1.5 out of 5 for amateurish execution.

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