Undertow
A Novel
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4.0 • 11 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A frontier world on the back end of nowhere is the sort of place people go to get lost. And some of those people have secrets worth hiding, secrets that can change the future–assuming there is one. . . .
André Deschênes is a hired assassin, but he wants to be so much more. If only he can find a teacher who will forgive his murderous past–and train him to manipulate odds and control probability. It’s called the art of conjuring, and it’s André’s only route to freedom. For the world he lives on is run by the ruthless Charter Trade Company, and his floating city, Novo Haven, is little more than a company town where humans and aliens alike either work for one tyrannical family–or are destroyed by it. But beneath Novo Haven’s murky waters, within its tangled bayous, reedy banks, and back alleys, revolution is stirring. And one more death may be all it takes to shift the balance. . . .
Customer Reviews
Go Boom
I'm starting to get used to Bear's style but I'm also seeing a formula to these books that I don't particularly care for.
It can be difficult to wade into one of the author's books because, like many TV dramas, the audience is left to its own devices to uncover the plot, the character relationships, and the setting; but in this case, with fewer visual clues. She also cuts between subplots without a break and doesn't use so much as a pronoun to indicate the speaker in a group setting. It takes a lot of concentration, and sometimes the rereading of an entire chapter to follow the plot.
The author's style is her own and I respect that. What makes me uncomfortable is the fact that the plots seem to have a predictable pattern : The main characters are roughed out and the surface relationships established. The theoretical science is put in place. The plot thickens, and Boom! Something wildly improbable and complicated happens unexpectedly. Then there is a quick justification and lots of confusion before everyone gets their just deserts...with a slight twist.
Of course a formulaic approach is not enough to condemn a book series. I thoroughly enjoy Arthur Conan Doyle. It seems to me that the author has either written or watched too many action movies. The fast paced, confusing, and sometimes overly violent and spectacular nature of the reading experience leaves me skipping page after page wanting to get to the end.
In terms of imagination, Elizabeth Bear is up there with Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert. I think it's the depth and the craft that is missing.