Engine City (book 3 of The Engines of Light) by Ken MacLeod

[Vertigo]

Apart from the ending, I found Engine City to be the best of the three books in the Engines of Light trilogy; the ending, though, was just dreadful; a nonsensical let down. In fact it seems to suggest a fourth book but, since we’re now twelve years on from Engine City, that would seem unlikely.

The bulk of the book was very good indeed. It moved along at a page turning pace with an interesting story that offered some intriguing ideas (his Multipliers were really rather fun if somewhat unlikely). One of my favourite ideas throughout these books has been his approach to interstellar travel. He doesn’t quite break the laws of physics but still manages a true space opera without a faster than light drive. Instead they have a light speed engine; not faster than light but just light speed. A quick check up on the theories of relativity reveals that, with such a drive, if you were making a one hundred light year journey that journey will appear to the crew to be instantaneous whilst to the outside world it will appear to take one hundred years. So these books have traders who will make what appears to them to be a short journey only to return to their origin where, depending on the length of that journey, possibly hundreds of years have passed. I liked this element of realism that is so often dodged in space operas and which MacLeod addresses by having complete extended family communities crewing these ships.

Another aspect I liked was that, for this book, MacLeod has reined in his politics a bit; not completely (I’m not sure MacLeod is capable of writing a completely non-political book!) but it’s not in the reader’s face nearly as much as the second volume in the trilogy – Dark Light. This made for an altogether more relaxed and enjoyable read.

But then he had to give us such a terrible ending. Without going into spoilers, it was just a rushed, untidy and unsatisfactory disappointment, and it didn’t need to be; there are many other possible good endings he could have used. Then he compounded that with an epilogue (okay so he called it a ‘coda’ but it was an epilogue) which served only to open up a complete new can of worms and then left that can hanging and unresolved, suggesting a fourth book which has never been written.

With a better ending this would have been 4 stars, as it is I can’t give it more than three (possibly 3.5) and that is a shame; I really wanted to give it more.

 

[Ursa major]

I looked to what I said -- these were not reviews -- about the series (on Christmas Day 2007). I did mention the poor endings of the second two books. My memory what it is, I can't recall the details. (This is probably a good thing.)

Anyhow, I did mention one thing:

I ought to mention one weak point in Engine City, a character called Gaius Gonatus. Part way through his story, his relationship with those around him changes, in a way that I found inexplicable. (I won't explain what happens as I don't want to spoil it for new those thinking of reading the books.)

Without suggesting you ought to give spoilers -- and besides, I can't recall the details of this either o) -- can I ask if you felt the same? (And if I missed something obvious, I'd like to know.)

 

[Vertigo]

I would agree with your write up, Ursa, except that, apart from the ending, I found Engines of Light the best of the three but there's not much between them. And yes I thought Gaius who starts as a slightly bumbling sort of spy character does quite radically change with no apparent justification for that change. He moves from a close sympathetic character to a distant and unsympathetic one.

I would also say that my impression of the whole trilogy was considerably better than that of any individual book. I just wish he'd ended it better.

The frustrating thing is that I somehow feel I could absolutely love a book written by Macleod but I just haven't found it yet. I do find his style of writing suits me. I'd be interested in any other recommendations of his. I've only read these three and Learning the World, and I'm thinking of the Star Fraction (first of another series) and Newton's Wake.