| |
|
So then, Origin. Enjoyable enough as a novel in its own right, yet deeply disappointing as a climax to a trilogy. For a time, and as with Space, the chopping and changing between narratives is annoying; just as you find yourself getting drawn into one character’s story, you’re abruptly yanked out of it and inserted into another. Then, as you start becoming engrossed in that one, it happens again. The pacing seems off for a great deal of the novel – the initial events are described with ridiculous haste and absolutely no time is spent on character exposition - although this becomes less of an issue with the introduction of Manekatopokanemahedo and Hugh McCann (the chunk of story dealing with the latter almost having the ambience of a Verne story).
Most frustrating, the promised resolution of the Fermi paradox is hugely underwhelming and pretty much given away on the very first page of the book. It’s a cheap cop-out and creates the impression that Baxter suddenly realised that he didn’t have an ending, an impression that’s reinforced by the speed with which he wraps the story up. After so much build up, spread over three novels, a few paragraphs given over to an explanation can’t fail to be inadequate. You’re expecting a big bang, but get given a slightly limp squelch.
As I say, enjoyable enough, but… bah.
The series' coda, Phase Space, is currently sitting on a shelf waiting to be read. Depressingly, on first glance it seems to be nothing more than a hastily cobbled together collection of short, unrelated stories. |
|
|
