eBook, 406 pages
English language
Published Jan. 31, 2023 by Orbit.
Earth failed. In a desperate bid to escape, the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, Heorest Holt, carried its precious human cargo to a potential new paradise. Generations later, this fragile colony has managed to survive, eking out a hardy existence. Yet life is tough, and much technological knowledge has been lost.
Then strangers appear. They possess unparalleled knowledge and thrilling technology – and they've arrived from another world to help humanity’s colonies. But not all is as it seems, and the price of the strangers' help may be the colony itself.
Although not bad sci-fi its connection to the previous 2 books is rather loose. The third book takes an entirely different direction, some parts resembling westerns depicting the early pioneers of the time. The weakest of the three books, 3/5 for me.
Really enjoyed this. Wish Bookwyrm allowed for half stars - would be 4.5 here. So many interesting ideas, explored well. Always kept me guessing what was happening, and the story unwound at a (mostly) pleasing pace. A slow pace, mind - not one for action-science fiction fans; this is very thinky, philosophical stuff.
A couple of the chapters didn't quite work for me - more narrative background than story, they contributed to the overall understanding but I found them harder to get through than the rest - but Tchaikovsky really does explore some fascinating concepts here and I recommend this one for anyone into this slower style of science fiction.
