Review: Interesting story world with some weaknesses on the emotional front
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 1, 2012
Real powers is an interesting ensemble-style story set in the near future ;Not to give any spoilers away, it's about a mysterious little secret "thing" that people want to reveal, realizing their isa conspiracy in the making that's way bigger than themselves.The different characters are interwoven into an entanglement where interesting characters all try to expand their power and influence.It's the first of a series or trilogy, so you don't get to understand all of the secret doings here.ProIncredible world building. I luv the fictional news sections that the author slips between the chapters.They are fake newscasts that talk about global issues and happenings, and give you a rich view into the near-future world.His future predictions are soo freaking cool and create a near future world that's absolutely believable and interesting.Cool characters with interesting background. Most of them are geeks with,and they're just fun to read.A writing style that flows. Very often I find authors using flowery words and complex sentence structures that hinder the reading flow.Not so here. Colin's writing flows elegantly in its beauty but is sophisticated at the same time. Grrreat combo !ContraIn my opinion, the story lacks a bit of conflict.Especially between characters - there is almost no tension or arguments - everything just adds to another - like oneharmonic symphony.I also find the dialog to be formal and not engaging. You find long-winded sentences that look good on "paper" butare too stilted and long for speech. I often find myself thinking "Real people don't talk like that", which is a shame, sincethey have interesting skills and backgrounds.All in all it's an interesting near-future story with some unique characters and world building, slightly hampered bya lack of conflict and stilted, non-emotional dialogue.Still, I'm interested in the second novel, curious to see where he takes things to.