Reviews: “Doctor Who meets James Bond”
I love this review from Maddie, one of Electric Monkey’s shortlisted reviewers. She really enjoyed the book and had a lot of thoughtful things to say about. It wasn’t the kind of book she would normally read, so it means a lot that she liked it so much. I’m particular grateful for the tagline she’s given me for any time anyone asks what the book is like (the full quote is actually “Doctor Who meets James Bond meets Famous Five”, which I like even more, although it’s a bit long for a title). Thanks very much!
Also, Speculating on SpecFic’s review is in, and it’s a corker. I’m really grateful to everyone for the thought they’ve put into their reviews. This one goes above and beyond. I’ve quoted the opening paragraph below, which is blinding in its praise, but don’t be put off by that. The review is critical as well as complimentary. I think it captures the book superbly.
Thanks so much to everyone who’s taking the time to share their thoughts and spread the word. I hope this book will be one that leaves you thinking and gives you something to talk about with friends who’ve read it, and even those that haven’t. A water-cooler book, if I can steal that metaphor from TV Land. What makes us us? What would we change? These are questions that have always bugged us. I suspect we’ll never solve them, even if we think we have.
(The cover, btw, is of one of the books that features in my PhD. Ever noticed how many d-mat stories use booths? Maybe I’ll write a post about it one day.)
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I like q.
I just posted my thoughts on this dear character as a comment to the excellent http://www.speconspecific.com/2013/11/08/jump-sean-williams/ site.
“I enjoyed this book a lot. As an additional comment I like what Sean Williams did with the character Q.
I think of the Q character in the Star Trek series and he was a formidable, arrogant and pompous sort of enemy. Smart but powerful and tyrannical and abusive. Portrayed as super smart and powerful but rather fascistic.
Sean is doing service to the Sci-Fi genre itself by creating a Q character with a “higher perspective” and access to data who is helpful and showing fragility and fear and uncertainty at times and even a bit of self identity crisis.
He placed a Q named character as an ally instead of a enemy perhaps analogous to an Old Testament “God of Vengeance”
All hail for a humanized Q character!”
Q, Johhny Tremain, Kahn…. supposedly knowledgeable genius’ gone bad from The Star Wars series. Captivating entertainment but I like your Q who is positioned to have access to all the data in the world but has insecurities and is helpful in her high potential position to the protagonist.
I like the shift from knowledge not being tyranny or terror to it being helpful and humane.
Thanks, Bruce. I’m glad you like Q. We’re thinking about putting her on the cover of book three, but that could be tricky since she doesn’t have a body. 🙂