Book review: Dark Light

By Ken McLeod. I've read other of his stuff - in particular, I've read Cosmonaut Keep, which is the volume one of which this is two. If you're inclined to read this stuff, start there.

Verdict: generally reasonably good without rising to any heights. The canny tinged-with-Scottish-socialism type political threads are reasonable and less wildly unrealistic than many another author's attempts. What's less realistic is the apparently implausible influence the various central characters have, apparently by virtue of being said characters.

The sex-vs-gender stuff - one of the central characters has female gender, despite being physically and sexually male - feels clumsy and heavy handed.

Past here, plot spoilers.

It is some time since I read CK but the general idea is that there is a "second sphere" populated by Earth type creatures I recall. I can't recall why the light-speed drive across 5 light years takes 200 years for a round trip, I missed something there. Never mind. In CK, if I recall correctly, dealing with the "gods" was reasonably deftly handled, disguising well what must be disguised: that we can have no idea what a "god" (aka super-intelligent being) would say. This time round it is less fortunate; the gods are rather less super-intelligent and more dumb-old-gods; and their "plans" are nothing more than tedious war and suppression of the young folk; I'd have liked a better answer than that.