Zero Point (Owner Trilogy 2) - Book Review
Zero Point, by Neal Asher, is the middle book in the Owner Trilogy. I've recently reviewed The Departure , the first book, and I really liked it.
Zero Point begins just after the first book. A large part of the Committee delegates, enforcers and structures has been destroyed - by falling satellites, planes, and automated defenses. A delegate with a mildly comic name and serious mental problems - Serene Galahad - is going to take over, and do even more damage (some people complained about Asher's right-wing anti-socialism slant on the first book. Their heads probably exploded with his portrayal of an all powerful radical ecologist).
Argus is moving to Mars, but Saul gets in major trouble. Props for not doing a quick fix for Saul here, although I can't help but feel that the middle part of the book got slower because of it. It still probably made the whole book more interesting.
Argus and the Mars base are now in major trouble because of the spaceship referred to in the last pages of the first book - the Alexander was built in secret, carries powerful weapons and is going for them.
Of course, it ends in a major, satisfying battle, setting the stage for the last book in the series.
I really liked the use of an Alcubierre drive - an actual theoretical space drive concept from the 90s (this would be a spoiler, but I seriously doubt most people heard of it). All of the real problems are nicely solved in the novel, of course.
Overall, pretty good. I'd say overall the first novel was a bit better because of the novelty of the characters and tech, but the end on the second was much more of a page turner for me.
And now comes the long wait till August, when the third book is scheduled to be released. :-(
Recommended.
Zero Point begins just after the first book. A large part of the Committee delegates, enforcers and structures has been destroyed - by falling satellites, planes, and automated defenses. A delegate with a mildly comic name and serious mental problems - Serene Galahad - is going to take over, and do even more damage (some people complained about Asher's right-wing anti-socialism slant on the first book. Their heads probably exploded with his portrayal of an all powerful radical ecologist).
Argus is moving to Mars, but Saul gets in major trouble. Props for not doing a quick fix for Saul here, although I can't help but feel that the middle part of the book got slower because of it. It still probably made the whole book more interesting.
Argus and the Mars base are now in major trouble because of the spaceship referred to in the last pages of the first book - the Alexander was built in secret, carries powerful weapons and is going for them.
Of course, it ends in a major, satisfying battle, setting the stage for the last book in the series.
I really liked the use of an Alcubierre drive - an actual theoretical space drive concept from the 90s (this would be a spoiler, but I seriously doubt most people heard of it). All of the real problems are nicely solved in the novel, of course.
Overall, pretty good. I'd say overall the first novel was a bit better because of the novelty of the characters and tech, but the end on the second was much more of a page turner for me.
And now comes the long wait till August, when the third book is scheduled to be released. :-(
Recommended.
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