A Fury of Aces 1 - Burnt Ice product reviews

This is an outrageously good read that offers up some interesting possibilities. Although it took me a chapter or two to get a hold of who was who, favourites soon emerged and kept me reading right through. There is adventure, some rollicking fights, and some amorousness amongst the crew, but I really love the ACE's (and the AI's too, whose differences definitely help to show the ACE's personalities). I'm one of those sci-fi buffs who takes a shine to things from stories, but the ACE's... I think everyone would be throwing money at him for their own, I know I would! (ACE's are like little mechanical pets, but oh so much more!)

The idea of the Games Board, recording (and manipulating) events for distribution to the masses is truly terrifying, and probably a heavenly dream for the Rupert Murdochs of the world. They're revulsion-inspiring, always there to mess with things, and then cheerfully congratulate (and richly reward) the crew for their handling of the mess.

This was one of those books that I read and read, even when I was supposed to be doing other things. It was also the first real (ie paper) book I have read for ages. I'd forgotten the joys of turning an actual page, the smell of the newly opened paper, the bookmark (I have a favourite one that I hardly ever get to use anymore), but at one point I was dismayed that the page wouldn't brighten and I had to turn on an actual light!

Many years ago, when I was a part of a "Medievalist" group, I first encountered Steve Wheeler's craftsmanship when I was introduced to some of his steelwork. If someone had told me that a decade and a half later I would find myself seeking every opportunity to sit and read his debut sci-fi space opera novel, I would have wet my gambeson laughing. And yet... here we are...

Reading like a cross between a slightly toned-down version of Peter F Hamilton's "Fallen Dragon" and Robert A. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" with a touch of "The Abyss" movie thrown in for seasoning, this is a rollicking tale that has almost every ingredient for a hit story in my books - aliens, genetic engineering, advanced weaponry, nanotechnology, artificial intelligences, wargames, FTL flight via wormholes, intrigue, hidden past lives, plot twists that make a bowl of spaghetti look like it's on Dress Parade... un-flaming-beatable.

To take a little of the shine off and put a bit more perspective on though... this is clearly a debut novel for Steve. Though it has been meticulously researched and all the technology in it is within realistic grasp within the next 4 or 5 decades, there is something about the structure that just feels a little loose... but you know what, I love how it comes across! There's no sign of lofty, pretentious prose, no diamond-hard nuggets of techno-babble... it's a fluid story with a lot of potential, and it speaks to the Kiwi in us.

With this opening gambit, Steve has thrown down the challenge to himself to come up with a Part Two that rocks us even harder... I am dying to know the resolution of the thread that ends this book... some elusive hints and a bit of prediction based on reading a LOT of similar stories... and I have my suspicions as to where that thread is going to go... but I can't be 100% sure. That's pure gold.

One of the things you need to know about this book before you read it, is that NO-ONE, not one single character, is really what they appear to be... covert operatives, hidden pasts, resurrection via technology called "Soul Savers" that stores a copy of your entire mentality... it all leads to some seriously twisted personal interplay... You can't really say the characters are well developed with good depth - even though that feels right - because as the story unfolds, you find out that the characters you think are there, are really just masks, and the real character is still hidden. Brilliant!

Overall, Book Two - Crystal Venom - is already in the works and is about a year away from showing itself. I dearly wish I could get a draft copy of it to proofread for him NOW, this has me so gripped... but he's a busy man, and I shall just have to wait.