Crystal Venom
(Fury of ACES #2)
by Steve Wheeler
space opera
copyright 2013
read in January 2016
rated 7/10: well worth reading
What great fun ! A romp through space, technology running rampant, super-smart characters ! Action, adventure, death-defying battles, dirty double-crossing baddies ! With loyal and likeable heroes.
Mind you, half the time I didn't really know what was happening. Why are they here ? Why is that good (or bad) ?! Who *are* all these people ? (Are they really "people" ?!) But it doesn't matter !
This is wham bang space opera. Great technology. Characters with enough depth that I hoped that they would win. (There is very little chance that they will *not* win :-) And death is just... rather inconvenient.
If a character dies, their last-saved mind can be reloaded into a new body. It's inconvenient because the new body will take a year or so to mature and be trained. And, as the hero reminds himself, it's a bit of a bother to put the old familiar scars and tattoos onto a shiny new body.
The book is a series of almost discrete adventures. Yes, there is a plot which loosely links the adventures. But who cares :-)
I love the technology -- including the ACES... AIs in various robotic bodies. Think of them as super-powerful and super-intelligent pets -- who are humanity's equals. With a minor sub-plot of support for AIs being as deserving of freedom as any non-artificial intelligence.
I like the characters. Weird and wonderful but loyal and likeable. Except for the villains -- who don't stand a chance of succeeding.
In true space opera style, the main hero is getting more and more god-like powers. Yet he is still human. (With lots of artificial enhancements !)
There is a general development across the book, a theme of plots at an even larger scale. I hope that that is leading somewhere good...
This book is well worth reading, for the sheer enjoyment. If the "bigger plot" leads somewhere interesting over another few books -- it will be even better.
Not great literature. Just a lot of great fun :-)
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