Review: Imaginative and Entertaining (Minor Spoilers)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 4, 2014
This is by far Nutall's most imaginative book. A what if scenario of galactic proportions. It starts off fast and speeds up from there. The characters are realistic and conflicted, they are given awesome powers but there are a few rough spots along the road. The characters have to grow and think ahead.I loved the look at how to start a new government and the realization by the characters of the precedents they are laying down. The descriptions and use of technology added a lot of depth to the plot as was the implications for off world technology on the current geopolitical situation. The development and use of the alien tech by the characters is descriptive and fascinating to read, I've always been a fan of space operas and this book puts us in the beginning of earth's entry into the space opera. Unlike other space operas where earth is the most powerful force in the universe or the story is about the descendants of humans fighting each other this story is about an earth that is little more than a backwater planet hopelessly behind everyone else. Such a different perspective.I thought the author handled the obvious comparison to Atlas Shrugged well and gave the characters enough insight to avoid the pitfalls of Ayn Rand's philosophy.The one less than stellar thing I would say, not enough to mark down a full star, is that this novel has by far the most internal monologues of any Nuttall book. This is very much a commentary on modern society delivered by homeschooled former marines who think the NRA isn't doing enough for 2nd Amendment rights. I found myself near the end glancing over some of these monologues.