Bitter Angels | ||||||||
C.L. Anderson | ||||||||
Bantam Spectra, 438 pages | ||||||||
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A review by Michael M Jones
What she discovers is far worse than she expected, with the powerful Blood Family holding entire worlds in an
implacable stranglehold, and the omnipresent Clerks monitoring every word and action for signs of rebellion or
independence, with slavery and smuggling operations operating under the surface and desperation driving good people
to do bad things. There's an undercurrent of paranoia and suspicion, and something is very, very wrong in the Erasmus
System. Will Terese be its savior, or just another victim?
She's not alone. Others are caught up in the complex set of betrayals and manipulation, including Captain Amerand
Jireu and Doctor Emiliya Varus, natives of the Erasmus System who are all too familiar with its darkest
aspects. Forced to go to extremes in order to survive and succeed, they become both pawns and queens in a
decades-old plot that's nearing fruition. With the fate of several worlds at stake, who will live, who will die,
and who will give in to temptation?
Bitter Angels is the latest offering from Sarah Zettel, though now writing as C.L. Anderson, and it marks
her first science fiction novel in eight years. It's a strong return, featuring a complex and intriguing
plotline and a varied cast of memorable characters, thrown into a dark and dangerous setting. It's apparent that
Anderson has a clear vision of her universe, so even though we only see bits and pieces in this book, we can
get a fairly good impression of the bigger picture. From technological advances to social developments to
economic theory, she has put a lot of work into a believable, somewhat disturbing future that's both utopian
and dystopian. The storyline sucked me in, and kept me reading as I tried to figure out what was true and
what wasn't, and just what sort of game was being played behind the scenes. It's by no means a comforting sort
of story; it's ambitious and thoughtful. While at times it's hard to remember who's doing what to whom, and
certain aspects of the ending don't really ring true to me, Bitter Angels is otherwise a rather enjoyable book.
I hope we'll get to see more in this universe, as I think there's a lot of potential in the groundwork laid here.
Michael M Jones enjoys an addiction to books, for which he's glad there is no cure. He lives with his very patient wife (who doesn't complain about books taking over the house... much), eight cats, and a large plaster penguin that once tasted blood and enjoyed it. A prophecy states that when Michael finishes reading everything on his list, he'll finally die. He aims to be immortal. |
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