One of the problems I have when writing my thoughts on books is the common complaint that we only ever notice things when they go wrong, never when they go right. In the same way I generally notice and can easily identify all the things I hate in a book but I frequently fail to notice what it is that makes a book excellent. And maybe that’s the point, because when a book is excellent I just read it; I’m completely absorbed in the story and with no blunders to pull me out I simply don’t notice what has kept me in. The Infinity Engine is one such; Asher has excelled himself with this brilliant final book in his Transformation trilogy.
The hugely complex threads running through all three books are brought together into a satisfying conclusion with everything neatly and believably tied off. All the main characters are well developed each with their own consistent and individual voice. Motivations are solid, consequences both logical and addressed, narrative slick… in fact I find it hard to criticise any aspect of this book. Possibly I could criticise the final part of the moderately long epilogue for possibly borrowing a little from one of Asimov’s famous short stories, but it’s not really that close and any similarity may well be circumstantial, and even if not I’m more inclined to think of it as a little Asimov homage.
An excellent end to this trilogy which had more than made up for my criticisms of the second book. I understand Asher’s now planning a new Polity trilogy focused around Jain technology; I can’t wait!
The hugely complex threads running through all three books are brought together into a satisfying conclusion with everything neatly and believably tied off. All the main characters are well developed each with their own consistent and individual voice. Motivations are solid, consequences both logical and addressed, narrative slick… in fact I find it hard to criticise any aspect of this book. Possibly I could criticise the final part of the moderately long epilogue for possibly borrowing a little from one of Asimov’s famous short stories, but it’s not really that close and any similarity may well be circumstantial, and even if not I’m more inclined to think of it as a little Asimov homage.
An excellent end to this trilogy which had more than made up for my criticisms of the second book. I understand Asher’s now planning a new Polity trilogy focused around Jain technology; I can’t wait!
