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I'm a novelist and have an interest in space science and physics. I've been a programmer for more than 40 years and I like reviewing new and up-and-coming authors. I have become a committed member of the OpenSimulator community.
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Stone Clock
The third outing in The Spin series from acclaimed author Andrew Bannister, Stone Clock, has a dark edge to it. Already an accomplished writer, Bannister has taken things up a notch.
His usual mélange of lucid and slightly demented imagination is in full force, and the array of modes of humour are all present and permeate the pages as if they’d been dipped in the stuff.
In the three main characters, Skarbo, Zeb and The Bird, we have the most likeable, complex and deep characters he’s created yet. Secondary and tertiary characters are well formed and suit their roles, and there are plenty of bit-part characters to amuse us and populate his diverse worlds.
Iron Gods
Another novel of The Spin, and following on from Creation Machine, Iron Gods continues in much the same vein. There are intriguing and plausible characters, a spaceship AI that has had its lobotomy reversed, strange worlds and even stranger economic forces.
It’s hard to describe the story without spoilers, but suffice to say it is a rip-roaring adventure, space-opera style. While it isn’t necessary to read Creation Machine – Iron Gods is a stand-alone novel – it certainly helps. There is also a hint, subtly buried in the story (and easily forgotten) this this and its earlier companion story are part of a larger whole.
Creation Machine
Andrew Bannister’s “Creation Machine” is the best novel I’ve read this year – and that’s saying something, I’ve read some of the best sci-fi novels from the last five years in the last ten months.
The breadth and depth of his imagination is incredible. He’s created an entire artificial galaxy, given it character and taken us on a tour that is as exciting as it is varied.
The characters are at once tangible and believable. They are people we can immediately invest in and care about – even the baddies. They inhabit a political landscape as varied as themselves, from corporate overlords and anarchic societies to feudalism at its most extreme.