Book Review - Artemis Awakening
Labels:
artemis awakening,
book review,
jane lindskold,
science fiction
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| Cover image courtesy of Barnes and Noble. |
Author: Jane Lindskold
Publisher: Tor
Publication Date: May 27, 2014
Version I Read: Mass Market Paperback
Rating: 5/5
By now, it should be no secret that I'm a big fan of Jane Lindskold's work, so when I heard she had a new series coming out, I nabbed a copy at the earliest opportunity. Needless to say from my five star rating, it's good.
Centuries ago, a powerful empire dominated the stars. With their advanced technology, they were able to accomplish seemingly the impossible, like creating an entire pleasure planet for their elite, complete with residents. When the empire and their technology were destroyed in a war, the planet, named Artemis, was lost and left to evolve on its own. Now, young archaeologist Griffin Dane has come to the planet, hoping to make the archaeological find of the century. Too bad his shuttle crashes...
There's not a lot to talk about, really. It's just a good all around book. No one thing in particular sticks out, but that's because every element is done nicely and it all blends together to create a good story that still leaves some questions unanswered and some plot threads open.
Major spoilers!
First off, this book, unlike some others, has been edited down to necessity, making it very tightly-plotted. The allows the action and the story to move along at a clipped pace and never drag.
The villain, the Old One Who Is Young, is not a new breed by any stretch of the imagination, but he is an effective one. When describing the horrors of the Old One's experiment/breeding program, Lindskold pulls no punches, making a great case for why this man is so unbelievably horrible he deserves to be called a villain. (Long story short, he's breeding human beings for reasons that make sense in context, and abduction, rape, and removing children from their parents is a regular occurrence). This also allows the narrative to scratch the surface of showing how Stockholm Syndrome can cause victims to victimize others, and why they shouldn't be held entirely accountable for it. He is also mentioned early enough that his importance is consistent throughout the novel, and his betrayal is effective in its surprise.
I also found the romance realistic, especially in regards to Adara and Julyan. It's a spot-on description of a young woman, caught up in the throes of first love, falling for a man whose dominant personality becomes problematic (understatement) in the future. The interactions between Griffin and Adara and Terrell and Adara (and Griffin and Terrell's friendship in spite of the "competition") turn them into real people (albeit from completely different origins) and the reader, as well as Adara, can see the good points of each. Both Griffin and Adara thinking they are not good enough for the other (for different reasons) was a nice touch. They also make a very good team. Adara herself is sufficiently badass and crafty (pretending to be stupid around the Old One so she may avoid his attentions while sneaking about on her own to investigate), joining the ranks of other similar Lindskold heroines. Her connection to the planet itself is intriguing and I'm interested to see where it will go as the story continues.
Research was clearly done on pumas in order to write Sand Shadow, and Artemis itself is an organic, fascinating world that, hopefully, will only continue to be built upon in subsequent novels. While it's been done before, the discovery of this lost world is just as mysterious and intriguing as any which came before.
Centuries ago, a powerful empire dominated the stars. With their advanced technology, they were able to accomplish seemingly the impossible, like creating an entire pleasure planet for their elite, complete with residents. When the empire and their technology were destroyed in a war, the planet, named Artemis, was lost and left to evolve on its own. Now, young archaeologist Griffin Dane has come to the planet, hoping to make the archaeological find of the century. Too bad his shuttle crashes...
There's not a lot to talk about, really. It's just a good all around book. No one thing in particular sticks out, but that's because every element is done nicely and it all blends together to create a good story that still leaves some questions unanswered and some plot threads open.
Major spoilers!
First off, this book, unlike some others, has been edited down to necessity, making it very tightly-plotted. The allows the action and the story to move along at a clipped pace and never drag.
The villain, the Old One Who Is Young, is not a new breed by any stretch of the imagination, but he is an effective one. When describing the horrors of the Old One's experiment/breeding program, Lindskold pulls no punches, making a great case for why this man is so unbelievably horrible he deserves to be called a villain. (Long story short, he's breeding human beings for reasons that make sense in context, and abduction, rape, and removing children from their parents is a regular occurrence). This also allows the narrative to scratch the surface of showing how Stockholm Syndrome can cause victims to victimize others, and why they shouldn't be held entirely accountable for it. He is also mentioned early enough that his importance is consistent throughout the novel, and his betrayal is effective in its surprise.
I also found the romance realistic, especially in regards to Adara and Julyan. It's a spot-on description of a young woman, caught up in the throes of first love, falling for a man whose dominant personality becomes problematic (understatement) in the future. The interactions between Griffin and Adara and Terrell and Adara (and Griffin and Terrell's friendship in spite of the "competition") turn them into real people (albeit from completely different origins) and the reader, as well as Adara, can see the good points of each. Both Griffin and Adara thinking they are not good enough for the other (for different reasons) was a nice touch. They also make a very good team. Adara herself is sufficiently badass and crafty (pretending to be stupid around the Old One so she may avoid his attentions while sneaking about on her own to investigate), joining the ranks of other similar Lindskold heroines. Her connection to the planet itself is intriguing and I'm interested to see where it will go as the story continues.
Research was clearly done on pumas in order to write Sand Shadow, and Artemis itself is an organic, fascinating world that, hopefully, will only continue to be built upon in subsequent novels. While it's been done before, the discovery of this lost world is just as mysterious and intriguing as any which came before.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
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