saturn reviews redux

[adelaidesean]

They're pouring in at the moment, and I remain chuffed:

SF Diplomat:
"Well-written, exciting and surprisingly smart despite being very accessible, it is genuinely difficult to find fault with Sean Williams’ Saturn Returns..."

A Storm of Words:
"a fast paced guns-a-blazing-mystery dealing with questions of identity PLUS a central character with partial amnesia...what more could you want?"

HorrorScope:
"You too will be electrified." *

One of these reviews compares Saturn to Roger Zelazny's Nine Princes in Amber, which I haven't read. Sounds like I'd better catch up fast.

* Thanks, Matthew. Wonderful to receive such kind words from a fellow Adelaidean.

Comments

[derekcfpegritz.livejournal.com]

I tend to agree with everything said in those reviews, as they sum up my general feelings about the book as well. However, I do have one complaint: Why is Render "human"? If EVER a character were just begging to be a machman, it would be him!

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

Yes yes! Render is the very image of a machman.

"I saw him whirr away
Into the night
Like a nightmare on wheels
Saying 'never again'."

If I can find anywhere to put that line, I will definitely use it!

[derekcfpegritz.livejournal.com]

Make certain to denote his distinctive horizontal-bar pupils as well!

Have you read the liner notes to the recent Beggars Banquet extended re-issue of Replicas, in which Numan details the basic story idea behind the album, the machmen, the Park, the 'Friends', and so foprth? Fascinating readings. I've been adapting it to an idea of my own in which the environmental-maintenance Almost Intelligence aboard a generation ship fleeing a Singularity Gone Bad gets infected with an anti-Human virus and begins to progressively murder the ship's degenerate, decadent inhabitants...who actually revel in the slaughter as something to overcome to the interminable boredom of their lives aboard a ship effectively going nowhere.

The entire thing is based around Replicas and features The Park, ZomZoms, a renegade "Friend" whose programming has been upgraded by a recursive sapience routine, a climactic battle between the Machmen and the Crazies living in the ship's decommissioned engine cores, and the Phillip-K-Dickian "government agency" known only as The Service. I'll be damned if I'm not going to finish writing what Numan had originally set out to do!

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

That is so cool my head is exploding. Will definitely look up those liner notes.

(I am enjoying our exchange of icons, too.)

Render's monologues in Saturn Returns have very much given away to chipped action one-liners in the sequel, and that has been a lot of fun. To have everyone in a room discussing the messy takedown of a galactic empire and Render contributing "Tomorrow we'll be civilised" is what taking on this project is all about.

[psycho-warbaby.livejournal.com]

Ohh I saw you book on the shelf for the very first time on the weekend at Angus and Robinson in North Adelaide! Very striking cover. Too bad it was to the side bookcase right at the bottom :(

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

Ah, the curse of having a W surname. :-)

But at least it's out here. That's good news!

Thanks for letting me know. Doesn't the cover look great in the flesh?

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

Started it a couple of days ago, then got sidetracked. Likely finish it tonight. :)

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

I hope you enjoy it. *crosses fingers*

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

Yeah.

When's the next one?

:-)

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

:-)

Cenotaxis (related novella) = November.
Earth Ascendant (book two) = March.

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

Not bad, how is the novella being published?

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

I'll post about this soon. It's coming out as a stand-alone book through MonkeyBrain. Here's a link:
http://www.monkeybrainbooks.com/Cenotaxis.html
I may do another linking story between books two and three, but that won't happen in a hurry, alas...

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks for the great review!

I will blog it soon.

[bluetyson.livejournal.com]

No problem. Never have done that much at Amazon until yesterday. It seems that you can't write anything about a book that is not for sale from them yet? - e.g. I was looking at Killswitch, for example - same for the end of your fantasy series, which I have read all of as of a while ago.