Tuesday, February 22, 2005

[SF] Cosmonaut Keep by Ken MacLeod

*** (out of 5)
The first half of the story cross-cuts between a far-distant planet settled by Russians and Scots and a cyberpunky Scotland in 2040. MacLeod spends a long time subtly developing relationships between the 2 settings

How’d they get from here to there? By halfway through, it seems obvious – and so does the conclusion of the story. Plus, I didn’t care about the main characters. So I wasn’t gripped but kept reading.

Then, strangely, I got emotionally involved. Now that all the cards were on the table, MacLeod began throwing in plot twists and raising interesting questions about immortality and the fate of major characters mentioned in the 2040 setting but not in the far-future.

So it ended up a satisfying read. Interesting politics, a story that alternates between involving and not and a set-up for a sequel that I won’t rush to find but will eventually check out.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

It's actually part one of a trilogy. The next two are Dark Light and Engine City. Not his best stuff, but pretty good.

If you haven't already, check out his first series: The Star Fraction, The Stone Canal, The Cassini Division and The Sky Road. They're great.