Review: George is a good writer of a good book
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 11, 2013
This is the first book by a friend that I have finished and enjoyed. I have put down or panned 6 so far. But let me set the scale here. This is not the top of the line superpro award winning type of book. It is a good story well told. In a sense, having the competence to not push the book to ultra-exciting levels is wisdom. Having the gall to write a story that is good enough and nicely done is wonderful. The story flows well. The characters are done well. You will care for the main character. I like it better than the Grantville Second Chance Bird series.Now George is known for Libertarian politics. And the nice thing is that there really is not much of that here. Maybe none. Yes, the economics of a business under the interesting lack-of-much-government is presented, but not as a forum for any agenda.Of the now 6 books by friends that did not make it, one set was much like a legal brief, one ranted, one promised much at the beginning and did not ever address that tension point, and one was too close to an old D&D; campaign that I had run in. I forgot the sins of the other one. George simply did not make any errors, he just told a story.I would be interested in reading either a sequel or more stories from George. But put this against a top writer like Bujold or Pratchett or Flint or ... and I will finish them first. But up against top fanfic like Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality? Well I would read the latest HPMoR post first, because it would only be a chapter in an increasingly long story, and feel called to George's latest all the while I was reading it. I like drama, and this book is better than McCaffrey in that, but Drama was never her strong suit.