Vector rating system:
* = Poor
** = Tolerable
*** = Average
**** = Good
***** = Excellent
________________________________________
Embedded
Author: Dan Abnett
Paperback: 432 pages
e-book/Kindle: (432 KB)
e-book/Kindle: (432 KB)
Price:
$7.99 Paperback
$4.79 e-book/Kindle
Published:
March 2011
March 2011
ISBN-10: 9780857660916
I wonder if there is a trend starting for writers of this sub-genre. This is the second book I've picked up involving a journalist covering a confict in our distant future. The approach Abnett took for this adventure is that a journalist is embedded electronically into the mind of a soldier, and with the aid of a sensory deprivation tank (jung tank) where he physically lies, he lives vicariously through the trooper as the soldier goes into battle.
Sound confusing? It's not. The first hundred pages are a little slow but the story picks-up into a quick read once the journalist (Lex Falk) is chipped into a soldier named Nestor Bloom. Abnett's description of politics, greed, and how human nature hasn't changed much over the centuries is well done, but character development is slow and I never really empathized too much with the protagonist or any of the supporting characters. They all lacked depth in personality and had no dimension to them.
Overall the plot seemed slapped together and I think this was reflected with the way the story ended: anti-climactic, rushed, and no closure as to what the two factions were really fighting over. Don't get me wrong, it's good escape reading, but don't look for anything more out of the tome.
Sound confusing? It's not. The first hundred pages are a little slow but the story picks-up into a quick read once the journalist (Lex Falk) is chipped into a soldier named Nestor Bloom. Abnett's description of politics, greed, and how human nature hasn't changed much over the centuries is well done, but character development is slow and I never really empathized too much with the protagonist or any of the supporting characters. They all lacked depth in personality and had no dimension to them.
Overall the plot seemed slapped together and I think this was reflected with the way the story ended: anti-climactic, rushed, and no closure as to what the two factions were really fighting over. Don't get me wrong, it's good escape reading, but don't look for anything more out of the tome.
Ratings for Embedded:
Recommended: ****
Overall: 4 stars / 5 stars
Plot: 4 stars / 5 stars
Character developement: 3-1/2 stars / 5 stars
Recommended: ****
Overall: 4 stars / 5 stars
Plot: 4 stars / 5 stars
Character developement: 3-1/2 stars / 5 stars
Book links:
Kindle
Paperback
