Caliban's War

Some of the “praise” on the back of this book mentions how it's a Hollywood blockbuster in book form. I'm sure that's appealing to a wide audience, but it's just not for someone like me.

The writing tactic that Corey uses most often is unrelenting escalation. Whenever one situation gets resolved, some news comes in, and the crew has to deal with a new crisis. This is probably why it can be considered a Hollywood blockbuster.

The tactic is utterly overused. By the end, I was so sick of this “disaster-after-disaster” style of narrative. I half-expected Venus to awaken as some big space monster and... I was disappointingly close.

Characters? Funny. Ending of the plot? Somewhat heartwarming. Everything else? So very lacking. Go see a Hollywood blockbuster if you want one.