Our Lady of the Ice / Cassandra Rose Clarke

Our Lady of the Ice

by Cassandra Rose Clarke

steam punk SF

copyright 2015

read in February 2017

rated 7/10: well worth reading

A domed city in Antarctica.

​Isolated

 

​due to

 ice and snow for six months of each year. Cut off from

​ ​

the rest of the world for the rest of each year by restrictive and expensive "visa"

​restrictions

.

​ A closed society with "the good life" available to those who can afford it.

Within the dome is a reasonable life. A mix of good and bad. Politicians are corrupt and crime is rife but i

ndividuals can live a peaceful

​life. If they steer clear of the criminals.

​Then there is the science. The steam punk science... Steam-driven robots. Cogs and gears and mechanical coding. With mysterious wires that, once cut, completely destroy the robotic "life". Better yet, many robots have been upgraded directly from steam to atomic power. Brilliant :-) The science is scientific. Not realistic. I like it.

Then there is the central theme of this book... an interesting theme. A standard science fiction theme but with interesting twists. Mostly, there is no clear "good or bad" outcome. Oh, and I'm not writing a description of that theme... It took me many chapters to understand it. Why should I spoil the fun for you.

There is the one central theme. There are also several other matters of concern. The characters have depth. There are several issues to be resolved. But...

The book is all rather low key. The problems are real. The solutions are not easy. Yet the difficulties are not dragged out. There is a somewhat flat feeling to the book, especially the ending. That is both good and bad... The ending is satisfactory but incomplete. Not because there are deliberate cliff-hangers. More that certain issues cannot be resolved within one book. Yet there are no indications that this is book one of many...

Some issues are resolved. Others are simply left as, Here's a problem, be aware of it, it's not an important part of this book. It's... interesting.

​I enjoyed this book. I particularly like the steam punk. The main characters are a good mix​, I like them. I would like a stronger -- more wide-ranging -- ending. Yet I am happy with how it did end.

​Read it. Enjoy it. See what you think.

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btw: The best extra that I ever bought for my tablet is a keyboard. Much easier to use than the touch screen. Especially for my touch-in-sensitive fingers. And now my keyboard is breaking down... I have abandoned the tablet keyboard and returned to the standard PC-with-keyboard.

Technology is great. Cheap technology is only great till it breaks. It seems that my tablet keyboard is even cheaper than indicated by its the price. Oh well :-(

​

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"Before your dreams can come true, you have to have those dreams" … Dr Joyce Brothers