The Noise Revealed (The Noise Within 2) by Ian Whites (Solaris 2011)

Jul 072011

A Game of Aliens and Virtuality

Ian Whates‘ debuted with two novels last year, one fantasy and one science fiction. I only read The Noise Within not knowing it was the first in a series with the same name. The Noise Revealed continues the story of black ops specialist Jim Leyton as he clashes with alien and human conspiracies. And there are love interests in this one too.

Second books are tricky, since they seldom measure up to the thrill of discovery in the first book.

The setting is the United League of Allied Worlds (ULAW) which recently made first contact with the seemingly peaceful Byrzaen. Philip Kaufman, son of Malcom Kaufman (inventor of the FTL drive) was killed in the end of The Noise Within but he lives on in Virtuality as a personality construct along with his father. Virtuality is much more than the internet, it might even have something to do with the aliens. He and his father struggle to uncover what is going on. There are also some great scenes where he clashes with prevailing culture in Virtuality.

Jim Leyton, black ops operative and former ULAW agent is the second protagonist. He sets out to liberate Mya, fellow agent and the love of his life from a government facility. To his help he has the mysterious and formidable Kethi. She is one of the Habitats agents. But liberating Mya is only the first obstacle. We get more background and history of the Habitat here too.

Jim Leyton has to come to grips with life and combat without his intelligent gun’s assistance. This made for good character development but deduct from the scifi shininess. I am a gadget geek and like my toys. Bickering with machines is too good to miss.

Kyle the bored starship pilot gone pirate is also back as an alien engine mechanic with an entertaining side plot.

I like the world and the more extensive characterization. This is fast paced action novel where the characters now and then stops, stand around and explain. I have been told Ian Whates’ writing style is binary, either you love it or hate it. I love it.

One disappointment was that it was not so much about the AI ship as I expected. I love intelligent ships from Weber, McCaffrey, Asher and the like.

The Noice Revealed has plots well worth A Game of Thrones. It has conspiracies within conspiracies, love and betrayals, virtual worlds that connect to other universes, alien technology, mysterious organizations and interesting characters. The ending was surprising, explosive and somewhat conclusive.

But I am not sure this is the final Noise book, the aliens and many other plots have not been finished to satisfaction yet. Solaris reply to my question about a 3^rd book was “You know, there’s been some debate about that in the office. It’s kind of a maybe”. So there is hope.

Both The Noise Within and The Noise Revealed makes for great uncomplicated Summer reading.

Book Information

The Noise Revealed (The Noise Within 2) by Ian Whites (Solaris 2011) – Amazon US | UK

Can someone tell me why the kindle book more expensive than the paperback?

A time of flux, a time of change… While mankind is adjusting to its first ever encounter with an alien civilisation – the Byrzaens – black ops specialist Jim Leyton reluctantly allies himself with the mysterious habitat in order to rescue the woman he loves.

This brings him into direct conflict with his former employers: the United League of Allied Worlds government. Scientist and businessman Philip Kaufman is fast discovering there is more to the virtual world than he ever realised. Yet it soon becomes clear that all is not well within the realm of Virtuality. Truth is hidden beneath lies and there are games being played, deadly games with far reaching consequences.

Both men begin to suspect that the much heralded ‘First Contact’ is anything but first contact, and that a sinister con is being perpetrated with the whole of humankind as the victim. Now all they have to do is prove it.

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The Next Hidden Empire Book: Bringer of Light by Jaine Fenn (Cover & Blurb) [Books for 2011]

Books 2 Responses »

Oct 182010

I am taking a look at the releases for next year in preparation for my pick for 2011 to be published later. You will see more posts now and then up to when I publish the list.

It is no secret that Jaine Fenn is one of my favorite authors. I have her latest book Guardians of Paradise in fresh memory. Her publishing schedule is pretty regular with one book a year. She has a contract for a fourth and fifth book in the Hidden Empire series (it is sometimes called the Sidhe series). The book here is Bringer of Light and the 2012 book is Queen of Nowhere .

I got the cover to the left from Jaine and she told me it has been slightly tweaked (here), to make it obvious that there is a ship running away from the mayhem (Jarek’s ship – obviously).

Jaine writes wonderful books. Her world-building and characterization is lifelike, different and a joy to read. I see the protagonists in her novels grow and become more, much more than they were before. There is a great historical mystery at the bottom of this series, The Sidhe was defeated in a revolution and thought to be extinct but we learn very early in the series that that is not the case. Book three revealed more background and this one promise more on the elusive male Sidhe as well as bringing a planet population that has been lied to and kept in barbarism into the fold of galactic civilization.

Each novel in the Hidden Empire series is self-contained, though certain locations and characters re-occur, and the books come together to tell a larger story.

Read Blurb and release information below.

This book will most likely have a place on my picks for 2011.

Information

Title: Bringer of Light
Series: Hidden Empire/Sidhe book 4
Author: Jaine Fenn
Genre: Space Opera
Hardback: 356 pages
Publisher: Gollancz ( July 2011)

Order from: Amazon UK

Jarek Reen is trying to save a lost world. He discovered the primitive theocracy of Serenein by accident, and now he wants it to take its place in human-space. To do this he needs a shiftspace beacon – without it, there is no way to find the planet again. The beacons were made by the Sidhe, the race that originally gave humanity access to the stars – and dominated human-space for millennia, before a coalition of human rebels and Sidhe males brought the evil Sidhe females down. Most people think the Sidhe are long dead, but Jarek knows better: a renegade female Sidhe is one of his companions, and a male Sidhe gave her and her lover the special powers that made them Angels, very unusual trained assassins. Jarek’s only hope is to find Aleph, the hidden system where the last Sidhe males are rumoured to live. But even if he can persuade these eccentric, introspective beings to put aside their interminable internal squabbles, he still has to persuade Serenein that joining the rest of humankind is a good thing …for the price of progress is likely to be high. Can he stop it turning into tragedy?

Books Reviewed

The Hidden Empire Series (The Sidhe)
1. Principles of Angels (Gollancz 2008)
2. Consorts of Heaven (Gollancz 2009)
3. Guardians of Heaven (Gollancz 2010)

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Survival Kit by Frederik Pohl [Review]

Books No Responses »

Aug 092010

Title: Survival Kit
Author: Frederik Pohl
Genre: Collection of science fiction short stories
Paperback: 190 pages
Publisher: Panther 1979

Order from: Amazon US | UK

I am not into short stories much but this is a book I picked up in a used-bookstore in London last summer. It was a collection of short stories by Frederik Pohl and I had fond memories of the Heechee series so why not. Being a bit outside my comfort zone I read them one by one when I had time. The stories all have survival as a theme.

The Knights of Arthur (1958)

This story takes place in a post-apocalyptic New York and portraits some unlikely companions of Arthur the teletyping computer. The story is a bit jaded but not without merit.

Mars by Moonlight (1958)

This is quite a surprising story that doesn’t end where you think at all. In the future Mars is a penal colony where the inmates all have had their memories erased. This story feels very fifties and the ending makes you want to know how it goes then.

The Haunted Corpse (1957)

Haunted is fitting for this military science fiction about a general in charge of protecting an eccentric scientist with an invention that can kill humans by removing their soul. I liked this one even if it was chilling.

The Middle of Nowhere (1955)

Another Mars story, this one about a colony that faces technology superior to their own when the Martians attack and it becomes a story about survival. Alien mysteries and first contact in a very time typical way.

The Day of the Boomer Dukes (1956)

Naive time traveler wants to hook up with the Mafia for some fun and games. It doesn’t go as he planed when the Boomer Dukes get hold of his weaponry. An entertaining cookie, could I have another?

Survival Kit (1957)

The title story for this collection is about an alien time traveler who hires a local guide for a futuristic New York. It is set in some kind of post event future where some things are different. The guide is a small time con man who tries to con the amazing and versatile survival kit off his employer and he gets what he deserves in the end.

I Plinglot, Who You? (1959)

The last story in the collection is about first contact. Plingalot contacts all the nuclear powers and make them believe they are the selected ones where the aliens are going to land and that he is a trusted intelligence officer. It is fun to read such an early story about aliens set out to eliminate all competition.

My View

Not a bad collection if you want some fifties vibe. I enjoyed the stories even if some of them where a bit jaded. They all have that special kind of simplicity and naiveté that seems to originate in the fifties but they are not as good as his Heechee novels in my opinion. I always feel hungry for more with short stories, it is like eating fast food; it satisfies for the moment but leaves you craving for more in a few hours.

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Empire of Light (Shoal Sequence 3) by Gary Gibson

Books 2 Responses »

Jul 262010

Title: Empire of Light
Series: Shoal Sequence book 3
Author: Gary Gibson
Genre: Space Opera
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Tor UK July 2010

Order from: Tor UK | Amazon US | UK | sfbok

The nova war has begun to spread as the Emissaries wage a fierce and reckless campaign, encroaching on the area of space occupied by humanity and forcing the Shoal into a desperate retreat. While Dakota goes in search of the entity responsible for creating the Maker caches, Corso, left in charge of a fleet of human-piloted Magi ships, finds his authority crumbling in the face of assassination attempts and politically-motivated sabotage.

If any hope exists at all, it lies in an abandoned asteroid a thousand light-years beyond the Consortium’s borders, and with Ty Whitecloud, the only man alive with the skill to decipher the messages left behind by an ancient race of star travellers. Unfortunately Whitecloud is locked in a prison cell aboard a dying coreship adrift in space, awaiting execution for war crimes against Corso’s own people. But if humanity has any hope of survival, Corso is going to have to find some way to keep him alive – and that’s only if Dakota doesn’t kill him first …

Information

This book is dedicated to Emma and continues the story from Nova War.

World building

This is where we learn about the entity behind the Maker caches spread through the galaxy and maybe the known universe as traps for emerging interstellar civilizations. It reminds me a bit of Neal Asher’s Jain technology but different. We also learn about their counterpart the slower than light traveling race the Atn. But much remind hidden in mystery.

On the other hand human politics continue to disgust as the Peacekeeper fleet becomes more powerful.

The Author

Gary Gibson is a new acquaintance I have only read Stealing Light and Nova War before. According to Tor UK he is a graphic designer, previously magazine editor, in his home city of Glasgow. He has been writing since the age of fourteen. Gary has become one of my favorite authors with this series.

Plot

With both sides in the war having access to the Nova weapon it threatens life in the galaxy. Something has to be done and Dakota tracks down one of the entities behind the Maker caches and discovers a lead to a possible solution.

The quest bring former enemies together but the mistrust is strong as they put the pieces together for a reckless rush into enemy territory worthy of Star Wars to deal a decisive blow before it is too late.

Characterization

I like the way Gary explores the feelings after a war crime like the massacre the main characters where involved in here. Dakota seems a bit less accessible in this book and I find myself rooting more for Corso.

I also enjoyed reading about Ty Whitecloud’s struggles aboard that dying coreship.

My View

Empire of Light would be a good concluding book minus the epilogue that opens up for a sequel. I like the whole series, it feels fresh and original; it reads easy, I finished all three books in just a few days; it has a good escalation of the scope with each novel and the characters are accessible even if the human interest factor becomes less and less as the characters evolve. It should not be the last book in the Sheol Sequence according to the ‘cliffhanger’ epilogue. It is wide open for sequels.

Stealing Light (Shaol sequence 1) by Gary Gibson July 22, 2010
Nova War (Shaol Sequence 2) by Gary Gibson July 24, 2010

Other reviews

“Empire of Light” by Gary Gibson (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu) @fbc

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Nova War (Shoal sequence book 2) by Gary Gibson

Books 3 Responses »

Jul 242010

Title: Nova War
Series: Shoal Sequence book 2
Author: Gary Gibson
Genre: Space Opera
Paperback: 568 pages
Publisher: Tor UK

Order from: Amazon Tor UK | US | UK | B&N | sfbok

In Stealing Light, Dakota discovered the Shoal’s dark and dangerous secret, now she works towards stopping not only the spread of this knowledge, but also the onset of the Nova war. Found adrift near a Bandati colony world far away from Consortium space, Dakota and Corso find themselves prisoners of the Bandati. It becomes rapidly clear to them, that the humanity’s limited knowledge of the rest of the galaxy – filtered through the Shoal – is direly inaccurate. The Shoal have been fighting a frontier war with a rival species, the Emissaries, with their own FTL technology for over fifteen thousand years. Realising that the Shoal may be the Galaxy’s one chance at sustained peace, Dakota is forced to work with Trader to prevent the spread of deadly knowledge carried on board the Magi ships. But it seems that the Nova War is inevitable.

Information

This is a story about a war that seems inevitable and the bigger picture that starts to become visible.

The Author

Gary Gibson is a new acquaintance I have only read Stealing Light before. According to Tor UK he is a graphic designer, previously magazine editor, in his home city of Glasgow. He has been writing since the age of fourteen.

World building

I love getting to know new alien races like the Bandati that keeps them prisoner, the Magi we get to know through their ships but they are still mighty mysterious and then we have the Emissaries we mostly learn about through their actions.

We also learn more about the Shoal and the Long War they have with the Emissaries. They have really twisted punishments.

Plot

Dakota and Corso have to escape their prison and help the human worlds that are cut off from FTL now. While Trader schemes for a final solution of the Long War.

The plot is much more complex in the details but it holds together well with just a few implausible twists as is common in space opera.

I like the flashbacks to keep us in suspense and portion out the background when we need it.

Characterization

The more I learn of Dakota the better I like her. Reading about her being tortured and imprisoned felt very realistic. Both Corso and Dakota show weaknesses and behave like real humans.

My View

This is the middle book of a trilogy but it doesn’t suffer from that. It is really suspenseful and I read it in one go. I still miss a good love story but otherwise it is great. I continue to recommend the whole series it is one of the most enjoyable I read so far this year.