I must get hold of a copy of Death Ray Magazine. Here’s either part or all of a review in it of Hilldiggers:
“Asher has an axe to grind, but what a shiny, well-honed and beautifully weighted axe it is… He’s on top of his game with this one and his confidence entwines a fibrous thread throughout the plot. Multiple narratives occurring in different time frames, shifts between first-and third-person perspectives, a detailed and convincing description of planetary ecosystems…In lesser hands, a rambling wayward text could well result. What we have instead is a wonderfully rich and complex tale that happily flips between giving the mind something weighty to mull over and pleasing its baser, thrill-seeking desires… Asher’s skill is making it all seem wild, wonderful, politically provoking and fresh.”
Very nice.
I'm in the middle of reading Hilldiggers at the moment and loving it. From what I've read so far, that review does it complete and utter justice.
hey! Yesterday I found out I won the Hidiggers copy from Pat's Fantasy Hotlist! Now I'll get the chance to check it against the review 🙂
You might want to get SFX as well, they rather liked it too. Well natch!
Almost done and I have enjoyed it quite a bit — almost as much as Cowl or Polity Agent, which remain my favorites. (I apologize if having favorites implies that I don't like the rest; I do.)
I particularly like the first-person passages, which avoid the sort of … I want to say "cutesiness" or "preciousness," but "disingenuousness" is probably the most appropriate word … that often irritates me or creeps me out in first-person SF.
Seems to be going well. I've seen the SFX one – very nice. Interesting how Saxon Bullock refers to The Line of Polity as the best. Elsewhere I've seen is slated as being crap in comparison to Gridlinked. What's a girl to do?