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Xenowealth #3
Sly Mongoose
Welcome to Chilo, a planet with corrosive rain, crushing pressure, and deadly heat. Fortunately, fourteen-year-old Timas lives in one of the domed cities that float 100,000 feet above the surface, circling near the edge of a monstrous perpetual storm. Above the acidic clouds the temperature and pressure are normal. But to make a living, Timas (like many other young men) is lowered to the surface in an armored suit to scavenge what he can.
Timas' life is turned upside down when a strange man crash lands on the city. The newcomer is fleeing an alien intelligence intent on invading the planet and discovering the secret hidden deep inside the perpetual storma secret that could lead to interplanetary war.
As the invaded cities fall silent one by one, Chilos citizens must race against time to stop the enemy. And Timas will find out what kind of man he has become in the harsh conditions of Chilos surface.
Timas' life is turned upside down when a strange man crash lands on the city. The newcomer is fleeing an alien intelligence intent on invading the planet and discovering the secret hidden deep inside the perpetual storma secret that could lead to interplanetary war.
As the invaded cities fall silent one by one, Chilos citizens must race against time to stop the enemy. And Timas will find out what kind of man he has become in the harsh conditions of Chilos surface.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
3 people are currently reading
552 people want to read
About the author
Tobias S. Buckell
213 books458 followersBorn in the Caribbean, Tobias S. Buckell is a New York Times Bestselling author. His novels and over 50 short stories have been translated into 17 languages and he has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Prometheus and John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction Author. He currently lives in Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
September 10, 2010
4.5 to 5.0 stars. It is official...I am a fan of Tobias Buckell and he has become an author that I will begin purchasing his new books upon release (at least until I come across a bad one). This is the third novel set loosely in the universe of the "48 worlds" and it expands and adds to the mythos referred to in the preceding novels, Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin. I am really enjoying how Buckell is slowly expanding the scope of the novels and parceling out the back story of how his universe is set up. Each novel adds new pieces to the puzzle but leaves you knowing there is much more to learn.
Buckell's novels so far have been relatively short (300 to 400 pages) and so the pacing has been very fast and the storyline sharp and focused. Add the this the fact that Buckell's writing (already good in Crystal Rain continues to get even better and I am anxiously awai8ting his next book. HIGHLY RECOMMEDNED!!!
Buckell's novels so far have been relatively short (300 to 400 pages) and so the pacing has been very fast and the storyline sharp and focused. Add the this the fact that Buckell's writing (already good in Crystal Rain continues to get even better and I am anxiously awai8ting his next book. HIGHLY RECOMMEDNED!!!
January 14, 2009
Someone else has already pointed this out, but it bears repeating:
Zombies. In space.
Ok, so they're not old-school brain-eating zombies (don't want to mislead hard core horror fans), but they still wanna bite you & if you get bitten, you become one of them. Destroy the brain, they stop moving.
Zombies.
And they're in space.
Zombies. In space.
Ok, so they're not old-school brain-eating zombies (don't want to mislead hard core horror fans), but they still wanna bite you & if you get bitten, you become one of them. Destroy the brain, they stop moving.
Zombies.
And they're in space.
August 25, 2018
Rating
Review
*** This review originally appeared on Out of this World Reviews. ***
Tobias Buckell posted a request for advanced readers for his upcoming science fiction novel, Sly Mongoose, and, of course, I took him up on it.
This is my first go-around with Buckell’s work, though I’ve had one of his other novels, Crystal Rain, on my radar for a long time. Sly Mongoose is and isn’t a continuation of the story told in Ragamuffin. While there are clear references to the story that unfolded in that previous book, at no time did I feel as if I was missing something by not having read it first. Needless to say, as I found Sly Mongoose to be a very enjoyable read, I intend to go back and read Ragamuffin. Now, on to the review…
Sly Mongoose is a fast-paced, enjoyable read. The .rtf version I previewed came in at 208 pages, so expect about the same in the hard cover or paperback versions. The book is scheduled for release about August.
Buckell wastes no time throwing us into the story: Pepper, our titular character, is free-falling from orbit through Chilo’s atmosphere with only a heatshield protecting him from the 2,000 degree, friction-induced heat. Pepper is no ordinary person, though. He’s a Mongoose Man, a cyborg-like, elite soldier whose primary duty is the preservation of the human race (kicking ass is his other priority).
Therein lies one of the main complexities of Pepper’s character. He’s extremely resourceful, intelligent, and experienced, having lived hundreds of years thanks to his cyborg implants, but he’s also pragmatic to the extreme, and not above sacrificing innocents if that’s what it takes for him to live to fight another day. If those less equipped to save themselves must be sacrificed, so be it. This dilemma lies at the heart of many conflicts for Pepper; it should go without saying that it also plays a part in the unfolding of events in Sly Mongoose.
In contrast to Pepper’s seemingly unlimited resourcefulness is Timas, a teenage resident of the floating city of Yatapek (which Pepper is falling to in the opening scene) on Chilo. Like Pepper, Timas belongs to an elite group, though not a military one. Timas is a xocoyotzin, a person specially chosen to service a mining machine that prowls Chilo’s surface looking for raw materials. Yatapek is not a wealthy city, and much of their technology has become outdated and fallen into disrepair. The environmental suits the xocoyotzin must wear to survive conditions on the surface are only large enough for younger people to wear, so that as one gets older eventually one becomes too big for the suit. For Timas, serving his city is a privilege and an honor, and so he fights to prolong his ability to serve in that role by ritually expunging himself of any food he eats. It’s a terrible burden to place on one so young; we learn a lot about Timas’s character and courage in those scenes alone.
There is more.
Pepper crash lands in Yatapek, and we soon learn exactly why he was de-orbiting with only a heatshield between him and certain death. You see, he was trying to get away from something, and it’s not long before that something follows him down. Other cities are alerted to the threat. One such city sends an emissary, a girl roughly Timas’s age named Katerina, who possesses an eye that all of her people are able to see through. Both her and Timas have pre-conceived notions of the other, notions that change as they gradually bond with one another. There is adventure, and action, and harrowing encounters… Like I noted above, no spoilers, but let’s just say that Pepper, Timas, and Katerina find the entire world of Chilo at risk and are thrust into the role of saviors.
Buckell draws from his Caribbean upbringing, so imagining a mech-warrior-like soldier with dreadlocks or distinctly futuristic, island-like cultures is not far from reality. I found this injection of originality refreshing, though I have to admit to some reluctance to embrace it at first if only because it’s not what I’m used to. I went with it, though, and Buckell makes it work. The author’s style is fast-paced: chapters are generally short and he wastes nearly zero time pontificating or throwing “info dumps” at the reader. His characters are engaging as well. I perhaps liked Pepper the best, but Timas is the true underdog here given his situation. I genuinely wanted to see him both fulfill his duty and save himself at the same time.
The only character I did not become engaged with was Katerina, who has sacrificed much of her individuality to serve as a speaker for her collected people. Perhaps it is that aspect of her make-up which has stolen part of her humanity and therefore disengages the reader from her. In any case, I think her role was greatly overshadowed by Pepper and Timas to the point of irrelevance at times. But that in itself takes nothing from the enjoyment of the story.
As an aside, I also received an advanced copy of Seeds of Change and guess who just happens to have contributed a story to that compilation but Tobias Buckell himself? The story features Buckell’s principal character Pepper, so I’m eager to jump in. Meanwhile, though, check out Sly Mongoose. It’s worth your time.
Review
*** This review originally appeared on Out of this World Reviews. ***
Tobias Buckell posted a request for advanced readers for his upcoming science fiction novel, Sly Mongoose, and, of course, I took him up on it.
This is my first go-around with Buckell’s work, though I’ve had one of his other novels, Crystal Rain, on my radar for a long time. Sly Mongoose is and isn’t a continuation of the story told in Ragamuffin. While there are clear references to the story that unfolded in that previous book, at no time did I feel as if I was missing something by not having read it first. Needless to say, as I found Sly Mongoose to be a very enjoyable read, I intend to go back and read Ragamuffin. Now, on to the review…
Sly Mongoose is a fast-paced, enjoyable read. The .rtf version I previewed came in at 208 pages, so expect about the same in the hard cover or paperback versions. The book is scheduled for release about August.
Buckell wastes no time throwing us into the story: Pepper, our titular character, is free-falling from orbit through Chilo’s atmosphere with only a heatshield protecting him from the 2,000 degree, friction-induced heat. Pepper is no ordinary person, though. He’s a Mongoose Man, a cyborg-like, elite soldier whose primary duty is the preservation of the human race (kicking ass is his other priority).
Therein lies one of the main complexities of Pepper’s character. He’s extremely resourceful, intelligent, and experienced, having lived hundreds of years thanks to his cyborg implants, but he’s also pragmatic to the extreme, and not above sacrificing innocents if that’s what it takes for him to live to fight another day. If those less equipped to save themselves must be sacrificed, so be it. This dilemma lies at the heart of many conflicts for Pepper; it should go without saying that it also plays a part in the unfolding of events in Sly Mongoose.
In contrast to Pepper’s seemingly unlimited resourcefulness is Timas, a teenage resident of the floating city of Yatapek (which Pepper is falling to in the opening scene) on Chilo. Like Pepper, Timas belongs to an elite group, though not a military one. Timas is a xocoyotzin, a person specially chosen to service a mining machine that prowls Chilo’s surface looking for raw materials. Yatapek is not a wealthy city, and much of their technology has become outdated and fallen into disrepair. The environmental suits the xocoyotzin must wear to survive conditions on the surface are only large enough for younger people to wear, so that as one gets older eventually one becomes too big for the suit. For Timas, serving his city is a privilege and an honor, and so he fights to prolong his ability to serve in that role by ritually expunging himself of any food he eats. It’s a terrible burden to place on one so young; we learn a lot about Timas’s character and courage in those scenes alone.
There is more.
Pepper crash lands in Yatapek, and we soon learn exactly why he was de-orbiting with only a heatshield between him and certain death. You see, he was trying to get away from something, and it’s not long before that something follows him down. Other cities are alerted to the threat. One such city sends an emissary, a girl roughly Timas’s age named Katerina, who possesses an eye that all of her people are able to see through. Both her and Timas have pre-conceived notions of the other, notions that change as they gradually bond with one another. There is adventure, and action, and harrowing encounters… Like I noted above, no spoilers, but let’s just say that Pepper, Timas, and Katerina find the entire world of Chilo at risk and are thrust into the role of saviors.
Buckell draws from his Caribbean upbringing, so imagining a mech-warrior-like soldier with dreadlocks or distinctly futuristic, island-like cultures is not far from reality. I found this injection of originality refreshing, though I have to admit to some reluctance to embrace it at first if only because it’s not what I’m used to. I went with it, though, and Buckell makes it work. The author’s style is fast-paced: chapters are generally short and he wastes nearly zero time pontificating or throwing “info dumps” at the reader. His characters are engaging as well. I perhaps liked Pepper the best, but Timas is the true underdog here given his situation. I genuinely wanted to see him both fulfill his duty and save himself at the same time.
The only character I did not become engaged with was Katerina, who has sacrificed much of her individuality to serve as a speaker for her collected people. Perhaps it is that aspect of her make-up which has stolen part of her humanity and therefore disengages the reader from her. In any case, I think her role was greatly overshadowed by Pepper and Timas to the point of irrelevance at times. But that in itself takes nothing from the enjoyment of the story.
As an aside, I also received an advanced copy of Seeds of Change and guess who just happens to have contributed a story to that compilation but Tobias Buckell himself? The story features Buckell’s principal character Pepper, so I’m eager to jump in. Meanwhile, though, check out Sly Mongoose. It’s worth your time.
Want to read
January 14, 2009Zoooooombiiiiiieeeeeesssss iiiiiiiinnnnnn sppaaaaaaaaccccceeeee....
January 28, 2018
This is the third book in the Xenowealth series by Tobias S. Buckell. This book takes place many years after the events in Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin, the first two books in this series. In this one the descendants of South American peoples called the Azteca who had at one time lived on New Anegada and worshiped aliens as gods have moved to the hostile planet Chilo. There they try to make a new life living in cloud cities and mining the surface of the hostile world with remote mining machines. It is the very dangerous job of young Timas to go down to the surface when a mining machine is malfunctioning and repair it. Despite the dangers his life is not so bad until the day he sees an alien on the surface. Meanwhile Pepper from the previous books falls from the sky in a spacesuit and a home made heat shield to tell everyone their planet is about to be overrun by an infestation of zombies. The zombies are the product of an infection set upon the Xenowealth planets by the League planets in a bid to take them over. It will be up to Timas and Pepper to find a way to stop the zombie infestation and to find out what the hidden aliens are up to. This book is a great read in this series and I recommend it.
July 21, 2010
Buckell's writing is exuberant, his plot choices audacious. There is a fantastic energy to his books, as though anything might happen. Each book has been better than the last, without ever losing the adrenaline rush or interesting world-building with which Buckell first burst onto the scene.
For generations, a race of mind-controlling aliens calling themselves the Benevolent Satrapi enslaved the human race. Small bands fought back, and finally defeated their overlords in Ragamuffin. But the victory against the Satrapi did not mean an end to all pain--humans have once again splintered into a number of warring factions. The humans-only League of Human Affairs and the inclusive Ragamuffins have fought to a tense stand-still, while smaller cultures like the totally democractic Aelions (who decide everything--everything by popular vote) or the Aztec-descended Yatapek, carve out what little they can for themselves.
When the story begins, a man has just jumped out of a spaceship and is falling toward a planet. This is Pepper--one of the most notorious of the Ragamuffins' Mongoose Men. He's gruff, he's well-nigh immortal, and he's spent hundreds of years travelling the stars, fighting anything and everything that menaces humanity. And after he burns through the atmosphere and crash-lands on a city, he finds that his suspicions were correct. But this time, humans aren't the only prey--all sentient life is in danger.
This is a fantastic adventure, told with a brisk, tight energy. But there's far more to it than just space monsters: there's a lot in here about privilege, pragmatism, sacrifice, being part of a community...It reads like a cross between Watt's Blindsight and an X-men comic, with all the good points of both.
For generations, a race of mind-controlling aliens calling themselves the Benevolent Satrapi enslaved the human race. Small bands fought back, and finally defeated their overlords in Ragamuffin. But the victory against the Satrapi did not mean an end to all pain--humans have once again splintered into a number of warring factions. The humans-only League of Human Affairs and the inclusive Ragamuffins have fought to a tense stand-still, while smaller cultures like the totally democractic Aelions (who decide everything--everything by popular vote) or the Aztec-descended Yatapek, carve out what little they can for themselves.
When the story begins, a man has just jumped out of a spaceship and is falling toward a planet. This is Pepper--one of the most notorious of the Ragamuffins' Mongoose Men. He's gruff, he's well-nigh immortal, and he's spent hundreds of years travelling the stars, fighting anything and everything that menaces humanity. And after he burns through the atmosphere and crash-lands on a city, he finds that his suspicions were correct. But this time, humans aren't the only prey--all sentient life is in danger.
This is a fantastic adventure, told with a brisk, tight energy. But there's far more to it than just space monsters: there's a lot in here about privilege, pragmatism, sacrifice, being part of a community...It reads like a cross between Watt's Blindsight and an X-men comic, with all the good points of both.
May 31, 2024
Third in a series, this book tells a story that is related to the first two, but can also stand on its own as an exciting adventure. And yes there are zombies in space. Character development is superficial but is made up for by a rich imaginative world that includes floating cities, airships, steam punk flying automatons, Aztecs, dreadlocks, aliens. space ships and zombies.
November 29, 2012
I enjoyed the premise and setting, but the side adventures didn't always mesh well with bigger-picture plot. I also wish more had been done with the rich cities/poor cities class dynamics. Still, this was a fun, well-paced read, and I loved that the cultures we met were based on Mexican and Caribbean history.
July 23, 2012
Fun but empty-headed space opera.
February 20, 2016
Enjoyable read despite the fact that it contains space zombies.
December 13, 2019
Itotia turned and grabbed Pepper's shoulder. "What can you do?"
Kill the pipiltin. Destroy the envoy's airship. Instigate a coup. Kill everyone who kept annoying him.
Kill the pipiltin. Destroy the envoy's airship. Instigate a coup. Kill everyone who kept annoying him.
May 13, 2011
After an innovative and entertaining debut with “Crystal Rain”, author Tobias Buckell followed that up with an even better sophomore effort in “Ragamuffin”. Both novels are essentially stand-alone stories that share the same universe, the Forty-Eight worlds, and some of the same characters. Both also strongly hinted at great things to come from Buckell in the future. Well, the future is here my friend, as Buckell easily solidifies his claim as a hot new writer to watch. His absolutely incredible third novel “Sly Mongoose”, which once again takes place in the Forty-Eight worlds universe, takes the series not only to another stratosphere, but also earns a spot as one of the best books of the year.
Chocked full of übergeek goodness like pirates, zombies, and really big guns, “Sly Mongoose” is a sci-fi nerd’s Mecca. It’s like a George Romero zombie movie bred with a space opera, producing an incredibly unique and twisted lovechild. But the best thing about this hybrid baby is that it flat out rocks. Buckell shows a real skill of taking disparate and unique elements and masterfully weaving them into an entertaining story. The areas where Buckell has improved the most though are in his worldbuilding and character development. In “Crystal Rain”, his character development was much more basic, and felt emotionally shallow, while his worldbuilding left many of his more interesting story ideas criminally underexplored. The Forty-Eight worlds was a remarkable setting, and it deserved a more in-depth treatment and historical overview. This issue was clearly addressed by “Ragamuffin”, which gave a more detailed picture of the universe, as well as being a huge jump up in the quality of characterization. “Sly Mongoose” represents an even greater leap from “Ragamuffin” as Buckell finally pulls everything seamlessly together to deliver an incredibly rich and fulfilling story.
For those familiar with Buckell’s previous novels, the character of Pepper needs no introduction. For those not acquainted with the character, just imagine a multi-gun-toting bad-ass with dreadlocks whose cat-quick deadliness and ultra-violent nature is legendary. Since his introduction in “Crystal Rain”, Pepper has been Buckell’s best character; a mysterious anti-hero type who drops more bodies than words. To my great delight, Pepper enjoys an even greater spotlight in “Sly Mongoose” than in the previous novels. Here he’s less an auxiliary character and more of the main focus. And due to events early in the novel, his aura of invincibility is somewhat lessened.
As the novel begins, Pepper finds himself in an interesting situation. It seems he dove out of an orbiting spacecraft into the Chilo atmosphere right before the ship crashed into Chilo’s sun. While not showing a whole lot of good sense (but I guess it beats the alternative of crashing into the sun), he wasn’t left with much choice. A mysterious infection had transformed the crew and passengers of the ship he was traveling on into zombies. When the zombies, referenced in the novel eventually as the Swarm, weren’t nibbling on the uninfected and turning them into the living dead, they were loading into the ship’s escape shuttles and blasting off for Chilo in hopes of continuing the infection there. Left with no shuttles remaining and the ship plunging into Chilo’s sun, Pepper is forced to attempt an impromptu spacedive (and without a parachute to boot). So strapped to a small heat-shield, Pepper plummets his way through the Chilo atmosphere before crashing into the city of Yatapek.
Like all the cities on the planet Chilo (which has an environment similar to Venus), the domed Yatapek floats high up in the atmosphere and away from the crushing pressure and intense heat of the Chilo surface. Yatapek also borders an immense perpetual storm. Pepper more than proves his toughness by not only surviving the plunge from space but also the subsequent crash landing. However, he does sustain some significant injuries in the process which he is forced to deal with over the course of the novel. Having survived his incredible descent, Pepper attempts to warn the Yatapak elders of the potential danger to Chilo from the zombie invasion. He realizes the Swarm could overtake the planet in a matter of hours, and prepares them for this reality.
He finds help among the Yatapek residents from a young boy named Timas, who is a xocoyotzin. The xocoyotzin are a group of young boys who continuously risk their lives working on the surface of Chilo. The xocoyotzin are responsible for performing maintenance on a huge drill that provides Yatapek with raw materials essential to the city’s continued survival. Within Yatapek society, the xocoyotzin are treated with the utmost reverence, their dangerous work securing a privileged life for themselves and their families. Being xocoyotzin though doesn’t come without sacrifices. Timas must starve himself in order to maintain his slight figure so that he will continue to be able to fit into his spacesuit (Yatapek is too poor to afford new bulkier spacesuits). But it’s something that Timas saw one day on the surface of Chilo that has Pepper intrigued. Could what Timas saw provide the answer to the mystery surrounding the zombie invasion?
It’s the multitude of really interesting little details that make “Sly Mongoose” such a vastly enjoyable book. For example, the Chilo-based Aeolians employ a very interesting form of democracy. The Aeolians use a technologically-enhanced representative who broadcasts their experiences to the rest of the Aeolian populace. The Aeolians then vote in real-time on what action they wish the representative to take on their behalf. Or another example would be the overwhelming pressures faces by the xocoyotzin. These young boys must continuously face death in order to ensure prosperity for their family, and they must use whatever means possible in order to maintain their figures. These details are what ultimately provide the richness and innovativeness to the story that makes “Sly Mongoose” such a terrific pleasure to read.
The most significant aspect to the novel is that Buckell’s characterizations have vastly improved since “Crystal Rain” and “Ragamuffin”. His maturation as a writer can be seen in full force here, as his characters have never had this level of complexity before. I found myself caring deeply about Timas and his struggles. This was the first time I’d found myself so emotionally engaged with one of Buckell’s characters. While Pepper is a great larger-than-life character, he isn’t the type of character that one easily identifies or connects with. He is more superhuman than human. (C’mon, I mean he survives a fall through a planet’s atmosphere.) He is however more flawed and complex than he was in the previous novels. For the most part though, Pepper is appealing for his anti-hero persona. The area of new growth for Buckell is in his ability to create characters like Timas, and his mother (as well as the Aeolian avatar Katerina) that finally bring a sense of real humanity to his work.
Last Word:
At its heart, “Sly Mongoose” is an action-packed sci-fi extravaganza filled with remarkably cool battles that includes a final conflict between the Swarm and the residents of Yatapek that’s absolutely killer. A plethora of unexpected twists and turns in the tale will likely keep the reader on the very edge of their seat until the end. For those who have not read “Crystal Rain” or “Ragamuffin”, “Sly Mongoose” works beautifully as not only a wonderful stand-alone novel, but also as an entry point in the series. Honestly, I’d recommend starting here, and catching up with the other novels afterwards. Simply put, “Sly Mongoose” is one of the best reads of 2008. Buckell packs the novel so full of cool and innovative ideas and characters that it’s not just enjoyable, but absolutely unforgettable.
Chocked full of übergeek goodness like pirates, zombies, and really big guns, “Sly Mongoose” is a sci-fi nerd’s Mecca. It’s like a George Romero zombie movie bred with a space opera, producing an incredibly unique and twisted lovechild. But the best thing about this hybrid baby is that it flat out rocks. Buckell shows a real skill of taking disparate and unique elements and masterfully weaving them into an entertaining story. The areas where Buckell has improved the most though are in his worldbuilding and character development. In “Crystal Rain”, his character development was much more basic, and felt emotionally shallow, while his worldbuilding left many of his more interesting story ideas criminally underexplored. The Forty-Eight worlds was a remarkable setting, and it deserved a more in-depth treatment and historical overview. This issue was clearly addressed by “Ragamuffin”, which gave a more detailed picture of the universe, as well as being a huge jump up in the quality of characterization. “Sly Mongoose” represents an even greater leap from “Ragamuffin” as Buckell finally pulls everything seamlessly together to deliver an incredibly rich and fulfilling story.
For those familiar with Buckell’s previous novels, the character of Pepper needs no introduction. For those not acquainted with the character, just imagine a multi-gun-toting bad-ass with dreadlocks whose cat-quick deadliness and ultra-violent nature is legendary. Since his introduction in “Crystal Rain”, Pepper has been Buckell’s best character; a mysterious anti-hero type who drops more bodies than words. To my great delight, Pepper enjoys an even greater spotlight in “Sly Mongoose” than in the previous novels. Here he’s less an auxiliary character and more of the main focus. And due to events early in the novel, his aura of invincibility is somewhat lessened.
As the novel begins, Pepper finds himself in an interesting situation. It seems he dove out of an orbiting spacecraft into the Chilo atmosphere right before the ship crashed into Chilo’s sun. While not showing a whole lot of good sense (but I guess it beats the alternative of crashing into the sun), he wasn’t left with much choice. A mysterious infection had transformed the crew and passengers of the ship he was traveling on into zombies. When the zombies, referenced in the novel eventually as the Swarm, weren’t nibbling on the uninfected and turning them into the living dead, they were loading into the ship’s escape shuttles and blasting off for Chilo in hopes of continuing the infection there. Left with no shuttles remaining and the ship plunging into Chilo’s sun, Pepper is forced to attempt an impromptu spacedive (and without a parachute to boot). So strapped to a small heat-shield, Pepper plummets his way through the Chilo atmosphere before crashing into the city of Yatapek.
Like all the cities on the planet Chilo (which has an environment similar to Venus), the domed Yatapek floats high up in the atmosphere and away from the crushing pressure and intense heat of the Chilo surface. Yatapek also borders an immense perpetual storm. Pepper more than proves his toughness by not only surviving the plunge from space but also the subsequent crash landing. However, he does sustain some significant injuries in the process which he is forced to deal with over the course of the novel. Having survived his incredible descent, Pepper attempts to warn the Yatapak elders of the potential danger to Chilo from the zombie invasion. He realizes the Swarm could overtake the planet in a matter of hours, and prepares them for this reality.
He finds help among the Yatapek residents from a young boy named Timas, who is a xocoyotzin. The xocoyotzin are a group of young boys who continuously risk their lives working on the surface of Chilo. The xocoyotzin are responsible for performing maintenance on a huge drill that provides Yatapek with raw materials essential to the city’s continued survival. Within Yatapek society, the xocoyotzin are treated with the utmost reverence, their dangerous work securing a privileged life for themselves and their families. Being xocoyotzin though doesn’t come without sacrifices. Timas must starve himself in order to maintain his slight figure so that he will continue to be able to fit into his spacesuit (Yatapek is too poor to afford new bulkier spacesuits). But it’s something that Timas saw one day on the surface of Chilo that has Pepper intrigued. Could what Timas saw provide the answer to the mystery surrounding the zombie invasion?
It’s the multitude of really interesting little details that make “Sly Mongoose” such a vastly enjoyable book. For example, the Chilo-based Aeolians employ a very interesting form of democracy. The Aeolians use a technologically-enhanced representative who broadcasts their experiences to the rest of the Aeolian populace. The Aeolians then vote in real-time on what action they wish the representative to take on their behalf. Or another example would be the overwhelming pressures faces by the xocoyotzin. These young boys must continuously face death in order to ensure prosperity for their family, and they must use whatever means possible in order to maintain their figures. These details are what ultimately provide the richness and innovativeness to the story that makes “Sly Mongoose” such a terrific pleasure to read.
The most significant aspect to the novel is that Buckell’s characterizations have vastly improved since “Crystal Rain” and “Ragamuffin”. His maturation as a writer can be seen in full force here, as his characters have never had this level of complexity before. I found myself caring deeply about Timas and his struggles. This was the first time I’d found myself so emotionally engaged with one of Buckell’s characters. While Pepper is a great larger-than-life character, he isn’t the type of character that one easily identifies or connects with. He is more superhuman than human. (C’mon, I mean he survives a fall through a planet’s atmosphere.) He is however more flawed and complex than he was in the previous novels. For the most part though, Pepper is appealing for his anti-hero persona. The area of new growth for Buckell is in his ability to create characters like Timas, and his mother (as well as the Aeolian avatar Katerina) that finally bring a sense of real humanity to his work.
Last Word:
At its heart, “Sly Mongoose” is an action-packed sci-fi extravaganza filled with remarkably cool battles that includes a final conflict between the Swarm and the residents of Yatapek that’s absolutely killer. A plethora of unexpected twists and turns in the tale will likely keep the reader on the very edge of their seat until the end. For those who have not read “Crystal Rain” or “Ragamuffin”, “Sly Mongoose” works beautifully as not only a wonderful stand-alone novel, but also as an entry point in the series. Honestly, I’d recommend starting here, and catching up with the other novels afterwards. Simply put, “Sly Mongoose” is one of the best reads of 2008. Buckell packs the novel so full of cool and innovative ideas and characters that it’s not just enjoyable, but absolutely unforgettable.
June 30, 2024
My first book by Tobias, stumbled upon at my library.
Wow, a surprising, undiscovered--by me anyway--gem of space opera sci-fi. Tobias takes handfuls of familiar sci-fi tropes AND MAKES THEM FRESH AGAIN. Consider the main character, Pepper. His interior world, backstory and motivations are well-developed; and at other times, he behaves as a kick-ass warrior hero. These two things are not easy to combine in one character. Tobias pulls it off.
Even his main conceit, zombies in space, does NOT overshadow the characters and the world-building. This is honorably mature SF writing, not thrown together to make a buck. One thing which kept amazing me is how multiples times thru the book, the plot opens up into a whole new dimension or landscape or perspective. Yes, sci-fi is supposed to do this; here this ratcheting open a world to keep readers interested is done with expert care. Expert care means NO foreshadowing; yet, when the next door swings open, readers must be able to say, "Wow, suprising, yet it still makes sense!"
Another mature writerly thing he does is not spare his main characters tragedy and heartache. This is not easy to do because it's so easy to fall into sentimentality. Instead over and over again, each new hardship is used to shape development in one or more characters.
What I liked less was Tobias' translating his richly imagined world-building into words and phrases which evoked clear images inside me. I consider Larry Niven the high bar in this regard. Even Niven doesn't always succeed. Here wonderful expanses are sketched and bit sketchy. If the book was 50-100 pages longer, more scenic description sprinkled thruout, I bet this book would be more popular.
Wow, a surprising, undiscovered--by me anyway--gem of space opera sci-fi. Tobias takes handfuls of familiar sci-fi tropes AND MAKES THEM FRESH AGAIN. Consider the main character, Pepper. His interior world, backstory and motivations are well-developed; and at other times, he behaves as a kick-ass warrior hero. These two things are not easy to combine in one character. Tobias pulls it off.
Even his main conceit, zombies in space, does NOT overshadow the characters and the world-building. This is honorably mature SF writing, not thrown together to make a buck. One thing which kept amazing me is how multiples times thru the book, the plot opens up into a whole new dimension or landscape or perspective. Yes, sci-fi is supposed to do this; here this ratcheting open a world to keep readers interested is done with expert care. Expert care means NO foreshadowing; yet, when the next door swings open, readers must be able to say, "Wow, suprising, yet it still makes sense!"
Another mature writerly thing he does is not spare his main characters tragedy and heartache. This is not easy to do because it's so easy to fall into sentimentality. Instead over and over again, each new hardship is used to shape development in one or more characters.
What I liked less was Tobias' translating his richly imagined world-building into words and phrases which evoked clear images inside me. I consider Larry Niven the high bar in this regard. Even Niven doesn't always succeed. Here wonderful expanses are sketched and bit sketchy. If the book was 50-100 pages longer, more scenic description sprinkled thruout, I bet this book would be more popular.
May 17, 2015
Update March 2012 - the paperback is here! The hardcover was published Aug 2008 so it wasn't quite a 4 year wait, but the book arguably languished by the delay. I'm sure ebook sales helped... Now back to the original review.
Hey Tor... where's the paperback edition?
I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, so I was eagerly awaiting this 3rd entry.
But... something happened. While it's beyond the scope of this review, and does not reflect on the book or the author, I feel it's worth mentioning.
Tor declined to publish this book in mass-market paperback. I even had it preordered on Amazon, but that disappeared. The paperback edition just says "not available". So, after a quick look on Buckell's blog, I found out that Tor was less than happy with sales of both Buckell's first two books. (Sales for Crystal Rain were apparently acceptable, but it dropped off drastically for Ragamuffin.)
So, I can only speculate that for Sly Mongoose, Tor issued the hardcover, and played a wait-and-see game. When sales were again low, they deep-sixed the other editions and sent Buckell off to fuel the franchises, writing for Halo.
I'm not so happy with this decision, but I don't know the ins and outs of publishing. It seems to me that you'd make more money with paperbacks. So if there's any doubt that you might not make money with a new author, wouldn't it make more sense to lead with the paperback? That's what Baen does... only their most "established" authors get hardcover.
And this is not the first Tor book I've come across. I loved the Jerry Oltion novels I've read (The Getaway Special and Anywhere But Here). Great books, but you can't find them in paperback. And there are many readers I know that only read paperbacks (who knows - maybe they can't be bothered to store the larger hardcovers, or find them awkward to read, or don't want to spend so much on a single novel).
So why can't we have these in paperback? I'd argue that Tor, by leading with hardcover and not following up with paperback, is effectively diminishing the potential market for these newer authors.
Please, Tor... reconsider. Or at least count the ebooks sold when determining which authors will get "pushed". I know Tobias Buckell says that all of his novels have pretty solid ebook sales figures (and that's where I finally went to pick up Sly Mongoose). And if those figures are good, then why not issue the paperback, get it into Walmart, and see how many people pick up the book and discover a great new author?
OK... get off my soapbox... back into review mode.
So, what's good about Buckell?
He respects his reader enough to keep the pace going, and letting you figure things out. I admit, I was often confused in Crystal Rain with the universe Buckell had built (Azteca in space?), but I stuck with it, and not only ended up understanding what was happening, but enjoyed it. I didn't need to wade through pages and pages of dialogue to get the basics of the politics, Buckell was able to show me (without overtly telling me) all that I needed to know.
This is good - Buckell keeps his books uptempo and compelling, and never becomes pedantic.
Another thing good about Buckell, and especially in this series, is that there's a sense of unpredictable danger. You never really know where he's likely to go. In this novel, he expanded Pepper into a very memorable character (one of my all-time favorite characters in SF), and gave us a wild story involving zombies, bizarre settlements on unforgiving planets, and intense adventure.
This was probably the most compelling of the three books, and with the simplest politics, so I'm guessing most readers will find it their favorite.
Now... where can Buckell improve?
Not sure if this is his fault, or his editor's. But his grammar and spelling must be atrocious, as the number of errors that slip through (not only in my ebooks, but in the paperbacks) is unforgiveable.
You can't be a master at your craft if you stumble with the English language. Buckell has great ideas, great plotting, and great action in his books. He also needs to express himself in proper English. Honestly, I'm not an editor, but there were hundreds of suggestions I could have made to weed out comma splices, misspellings, redundancies in phrasing, and awkward sentences.
So... should we expect Buckell to become a master wordsmith, writing flawlessly and vibrantly like Jack Vance? No... but at least get a good editor who will fix up these clunkers that show up every 1-2 pages, as it really jars the reader out of the groove that the story is building up.
Do I recommend this book? Absolutely! It's probably the easiest of the three to read independently. Supposedly, you can read any of the books by themselves, but I really found that Ragamuffin made less sense until I read Crystal Rain and then came back to Ragamuffin.
So if you're never read Buckell, you might do well to start with Sly Mongoose. Then go back and read Crystal Rain followed by Ragamuffin. (Or just go in the order published, if you'll read all three anyways. But Sly Mongoose will certainly hook you.)
At this point, I am definitely buying any Tobias Buckell novel when it's released (except for franchise novels - I'm not bothering with Halo or any other such series). When Buckell again gets back to his own creative playground in which to work, I'll be in line with my cash to support a great young writer, with my reward being a fine time spent in good hands reading high quality SF.
At least 4 stars for this book, but it could have been 4.5 (so that's something for which Buckell can continue striving).
Hey Tor... where's the paperback edition?
I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, so I was eagerly awaiting this 3rd entry.
But... something happened. While it's beyond the scope of this review, and does not reflect on the book or the author, I feel it's worth mentioning.
Tor declined to publish this book in mass-market paperback. I even had it preordered on Amazon, but that disappeared. The paperback edition just says "not available". So, after a quick look on Buckell's blog, I found out that Tor was less than happy with sales of both Buckell's first two books. (Sales for Crystal Rain were apparently acceptable, but it dropped off drastically for Ragamuffin.)
So, I can only speculate that for Sly Mongoose, Tor issued the hardcover, and played a wait-and-see game. When sales were again low, they deep-sixed the other editions and sent Buckell off to fuel the franchises, writing for Halo.
I'm not so happy with this decision, but I don't know the ins and outs of publishing. It seems to me that you'd make more money with paperbacks. So if there's any doubt that you might not make money with a new author, wouldn't it make more sense to lead with the paperback? That's what Baen does... only their most "established" authors get hardcover.
And this is not the first Tor book I've come across. I loved the Jerry Oltion novels I've read (The Getaway Special and Anywhere But Here). Great books, but you can't find them in paperback. And there are many readers I know that only read paperbacks (who knows - maybe they can't be bothered to store the larger hardcovers, or find them awkward to read, or don't want to spend so much on a single novel).
So why can't we have these in paperback? I'd argue that Tor, by leading with hardcover and not following up with paperback, is effectively diminishing the potential market for these newer authors.
Please, Tor... reconsider. Or at least count the ebooks sold when determining which authors will get "pushed". I know Tobias Buckell says that all of his novels have pretty solid ebook sales figures (and that's where I finally went to pick up Sly Mongoose). And if those figures are good, then why not issue the paperback, get it into Walmart, and see how many people pick up the book and discover a great new author?
OK... get off my soapbox... back into review mode.
So, what's good about Buckell?
He respects his reader enough to keep the pace going, and letting you figure things out. I admit, I was often confused in Crystal Rain with the universe Buckell had built (Azteca in space?), but I stuck with it, and not only ended up understanding what was happening, but enjoyed it. I didn't need to wade through pages and pages of dialogue to get the basics of the politics, Buckell was able to show me (without overtly telling me) all that I needed to know.
This is good - Buckell keeps his books uptempo and compelling, and never becomes pedantic.
Another thing good about Buckell, and especially in this series, is that there's a sense of unpredictable danger. You never really know where he's likely to go. In this novel, he expanded Pepper into a very memorable character (one of my all-time favorite characters in SF), and gave us a wild story involving zombies, bizarre settlements on unforgiving planets, and intense adventure.
This was probably the most compelling of the three books, and with the simplest politics, so I'm guessing most readers will find it their favorite.
Now... where can Buckell improve?
Not sure if this is his fault, or his editor's. But his grammar and spelling must be atrocious, as the number of errors that slip through (not only in my ebooks, but in the paperbacks) is unforgiveable.
You can't be a master at your craft if you stumble with the English language. Buckell has great ideas, great plotting, and great action in his books. He also needs to express himself in proper English. Honestly, I'm not an editor, but there were hundreds of suggestions I could have made to weed out comma splices, misspellings, redundancies in phrasing, and awkward sentences.
So... should we expect Buckell to become a master wordsmith, writing flawlessly and vibrantly like Jack Vance? No... but at least get a good editor who will fix up these clunkers that show up every 1-2 pages, as it really jars the reader out of the groove that the story is building up.
Do I recommend this book? Absolutely! It's probably the easiest of the three to read independently. Supposedly, you can read any of the books by themselves, but I really found that Ragamuffin made less sense until I read Crystal Rain and then came back to Ragamuffin.
So if you're never read Buckell, you might do well to start with Sly Mongoose. Then go back and read Crystal Rain followed by Ragamuffin. (Or just go in the order published, if you'll read all three anyways. But Sly Mongoose will certainly hook you.)
At this point, I am definitely buying any Tobias Buckell novel when it's released (except for franchise novels - I'm not bothering with Halo or any other such series). When Buckell again gets back to his own creative playground in which to work, I'll be in line with my cash to support a great young writer, with my reward being a fine time spent in good hands reading high quality SF.
At least 4 stars for this book, but it could have been 4.5 (so that's something for which Buckell can continue striving).
December 25, 2008
Welcome to Chilo, a planet with corrosive rain, crushing pressure, and deadly heat. Fortunately, fourteen-year-old Timas lives in one of the domed cities that float 100,000 feet above the surface, circling near the edge of a monstrous perpetual storm. Above the acidic clouds the temperature and pressure are normal. But to make a living, Timas, like many other young men, is lowered to the surface in an armored suit to scavenge what he can.
Timas' life is turned upside down when a strange man crash lands on the city. The newcomer is fleeing an alien intelligence intent on invading the planet and discovering the secret hidden deep inside the perpetual storm--a secret that could lead to interplanetary war.
As the invaded cities fall silent one by one, Chilo's citizens must race against time to stop the enemy. And Timas will find out what kind of man he has become in the harsh conditions of Chilo's surface.
--Synopsis from the cover of Sly Mongoose
First came Crystal Rain, hailed as the first, if not the only Caribbean Steampunk novel.
Then came Ragamuffin, a Caribbean Space Opera.
Now we have Sly Mongoose, which throws the two together with something new and likely never done (at least not seriously): Zombies...in space.
That's right, Tobias S. Buckell has managed to write a killer science fiction novel (no pun intended) with zombies! Why are you still reading this? Go! Buy it. Now! It's on pre-order at Amazon. Yes, this is the coolest thing you have ever heard of. Yes, this is better than watching Star Trek re-runs or drooling over Battlestar Galactica. This may even be better than Star Wars, and for me to say that is like committing heresy.
Tobias has outdone himself here (and I'm not even sure what that phrase means). His first novel was a good novel and his second was even better, but this third novel is superb. This is what all the great science fiction from back in the day was about: high suspense adventure, fantastic and interesting characters and intriguing ideas. This is part of a new "tradition" it seems, a tradition which hearkens back to the days we so fondly remember in science fiction's glorious history. Space opera, adventure, fast-paced fight scenes (even the ones with the cripple), space ships, evil inhuman monstrosities, and even a little romance; it's all there, teasing you, tickling your senses, making you squeal with delight. Okay, maybe that's far fetched, but I squealed, especially when the first page of the book told me that Pepper was back!
Sly Mongoose is Tobias' best work to date. It's suspenseful, brilliantly devised, and an example of his excellent world building skills. Here we have Chilo, a world that most of us would pass off as uninhabitable. But Chilo is inhabited: flying cities, balloon ships, and the like. There are also two really fascinating cultures that inhabit Chilo: the Aeolians (a collective mind in their own right, who are all connected through a wireless network so they can vote on the consensus) and the people of Yatapek (who happen to be descended from certain folks we might remember from one of Tobias' other novels). It's one thing to make a world and add in a culture, but it's another thing entirely to create two distinct cultures on a planet that is mostly uninhabitable. I'll leave their eccentricities as a mystery, because you should be reading this book, not salivating over this small, bite-sized sample. These elements serve to solidify and validate the realistic nature of this world--and perhaps gives us a glimpse into what could possibly be done on our own greenhouse infested sister planet.
Then comes the zombies. They were creepy, but not too creepy. Just enough of that creep factor to keep you wanting more, but without making you uncomfortable (zombies can do that, after all). Apparently throwing Pepper into a room full of zombies is not a good idea for anyone. Seriously. Don't do it. Pepper gets mad, and when Pepper's mad he blows things up and kills things. It's not pretty.
The only thing that might be considered a flaw with Sly Mongoose is it's limited view of Tobias' universe. Crystal Rain was relatively limited, and then Ragamuffin took us off planet and into the wild universe Tobias had created. Now we're back to a single world again. I personally wouldn't consider this a flaw, mostly because Tobias has made this new world engaging and fascinating, surrounded by a gripping story. Throw in the fact that Pepper, in all his augmented glory, is there as one of the main characters and you're pretty much left with a book that is pure awesome. I do see the argument, but I think it's nitpicking when the novel itself is quite stunning in its own right. There's a reason why Tobias' novels are stand-alone: they should be treated as separate creations.
Sly Mongoose is a movie in the making. It takes us on a wild ride filled with horror, action, and a load of other equally positive and reinforcing words. Already this book is on my "Best of 2008" list, and certainly will be a favorite of mine unless I get too old to remember what it's about (hopefully that won't happen). I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think anyone who likes the good, old-fashioned excitement of action-packed science fiction should give this book a shot.
Now I'll leave you with this: Pepper + robotic carapace = cool cyborg-ish thing.
Timas' life is turned upside down when a strange man crash lands on the city. The newcomer is fleeing an alien intelligence intent on invading the planet and discovering the secret hidden deep inside the perpetual storm--a secret that could lead to interplanetary war.
As the invaded cities fall silent one by one, Chilo's citizens must race against time to stop the enemy. And Timas will find out what kind of man he has become in the harsh conditions of Chilo's surface.
--Synopsis from the cover of Sly Mongoose
First came Crystal Rain, hailed as the first, if not the only Caribbean Steampunk novel.
Then came Ragamuffin, a Caribbean Space Opera.
Now we have Sly Mongoose, which throws the two together with something new and likely never done (at least not seriously): Zombies...in space.
That's right, Tobias S. Buckell has managed to write a killer science fiction novel (no pun intended) with zombies! Why are you still reading this? Go! Buy it. Now! It's on pre-order at Amazon. Yes, this is the coolest thing you have ever heard of. Yes, this is better than watching Star Trek re-runs or drooling over Battlestar Galactica. This may even be better than Star Wars, and for me to say that is like committing heresy.
Tobias has outdone himself here (and I'm not even sure what that phrase means). His first novel was a good novel and his second was even better, but this third novel is superb. This is what all the great science fiction from back in the day was about: high suspense adventure, fantastic and interesting characters and intriguing ideas. This is part of a new "tradition" it seems, a tradition which hearkens back to the days we so fondly remember in science fiction's glorious history. Space opera, adventure, fast-paced fight scenes (even the ones with the cripple), space ships, evil inhuman monstrosities, and even a little romance; it's all there, teasing you, tickling your senses, making you squeal with delight. Okay, maybe that's far fetched, but I squealed, especially when the first page of the book told me that Pepper was back!
Sly Mongoose is Tobias' best work to date. It's suspenseful, brilliantly devised, and an example of his excellent world building skills. Here we have Chilo, a world that most of us would pass off as uninhabitable. But Chilo is inhabited: flying cities, balloon ships, and the like. There are also two really fascinating cultures that inhabit Chilo: the Aeolians (a collective mind in their own right, who are all connected through a wireless network so they can vote on the consensus) and the people of Yatapek (who happen to be descended from certain folks we might remember from one of Tobias' other novels). It's one thing to make a world and add in a culture, but it's another thing entirely to create two distinct cultures on a planet that is mostly uninhabitable. I'll leave their eccentricities as a mystery, because you should be reading this book, not salivating over this small, bite-sized sample. These elements serve to solidify and validate the realistic nature of this world--and perhaps gives us a glimpse into what could possibly be done on our own greenhouse infested sister planet.
Then comes the zombies. They were creepy, but not too creepy. Just enough of that creep factor to keep you wanting more, but without making you uncomfortable (zombies can do that, after all). Apparently throwing Pepper into a room full of zombies is not a good idea for anyone. Seriously. Don't do it. Pepper gets mad, and when Pepper's mad he blows things up and kills things. It's not pretty.
The only thing that might be considered a flaw with Sly Mongoose is it's limited view of Tobias' universe. Crystal Rain was relatively limited, and then Ragamuffin took us off planet and into the wild universe Tobias had created. Now we're back to a single world again. I personally wouldn't consider this a flaw, mostly because Tobias has made this new world engaging and fascinating, surrounded by a gripping story. Throw in the fact that Pepper, in all his augmented glory, is there as one of the main characters and you're pretty much left with a book that is pure awesome. I do see the argument, but I think it's nitpicking when the novel itself is quite stunning in its own right. There's a reason why Tobias' novels are stand-alone: they should be treated as separate creations.
Sly Mongoose is a movie in the making. It takes us on a wild ride filled with horror, action, and a load of other equally positive and reinforcing words. Already this book is on my "Best of 2008" list, and certainly will be a favorite of mine unless I get too old to remember what it's about (hopefully that won't happen). I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think anyone who likes the good, old-fashioned excitement of action-packed science fiction should give this book a shot.
Now I'll leave you with this: Pepper + robotic carapace = cool cyborg-ish thing.
March 24, 2020
This is the first Buckell I read, and it may have been helpful to have read the 2 other novels that are set prior to this one.
Overall it was a solid story - good character building, great world building.
There are some amusing elements ... yes, it's been said before, Zombies in space. But that description does not do any justice to the story or the universe that Buckell is developing.
Overall it was a solid story - good character building, great world building.
There are some amusing elements ... yes, it's been said before, Zombies in space. But that description does not do any justice to the story or the universe that Buckell is developing.
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April 29, 2024
This series keeps improving, which is unusual for a series, generally. From his very first written book, Crystal Rain, to now, I keep adding stars each time. Now I’m considering actually BUYING the set, retroactively for re-reading/skill acquisition purposes.
October 3, 2018
Ohio Science Fiction Author. Raised in the Caribbean
June 13, 2020
I enjoyed reading the book and liked the idea in it however it didn't grab my attention as much as his other stories.
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never-read
November 7, 2022[ read the first book in the series, 'Crystal Rain', and did not enjoy, therefore will not be continuing with the series ]
January 11, 2025
A fun read for young adults- great original work by one of my favorite Halo authors!
March 5, 2017
The story had potential however it was hard to get past the racial stereotypes and (in places) apparent lack of imagination. There was certainly a good amount of action, advancing the plot nicely. The characters seemed to lack depth at times, though perhaps that wasn't meant to be the focus. Overall, it isn't a book that I regret reading, however it also isn't a book that I would jump to recommend.
Details & examples:
Details & examples:
September 29, 2008
Space zombies. Floating cities. And Pepper leaping out of a spaceship and riding a heatshield down, sans parachute. What else do I really need to say about this one?
Sly Mongoose is Tobias Buckell's third novel, set in the same universe as Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin, but Pepper is the only character from the earlier books. As with Ragamuffin, this isn't a direct sequel, though it does continue the larger story Buckell is creating about humans struggling to survive and find their place as they discover just how dangerous a place this universe can be.
Sly Mongoose is set primarily on the planet of Chilo, a loosely Venus-like planet with crushing gravity, a corrosive atmosphere ... generally not a pleasant place to live. The inhabitants live in floating cities, descending to the surface to maintain the outdated and unreliable mining equipment. It's a hard life, and when Pepper drops in, it gets a lot harder. The Swarm (space zombies!) is coming, searching for a secret hidden on Chilo's surface, and they're prepared to kill anyone and everyone in their way.
Buckell does a lot of cool things in this book. For starters, Chilo's inhabitants are the descendants of the Azteca from Crystal Rain. One complaint I had about Crystal Rain was that the Aztecs came across as fairly straightforward villains without as much depth as I wanted. Sly Mongoose develops them into fully fleshed out people, still struggling to live down the shame of their ancestors' actions back on New Anegada.
Sly Mongoose leaves me curious where Buckell is going with this series. He's setting up a very dangerous and violent universe, one in which humanity will either need to unite and work together, or face extinction. Behind the obvious threat of the Swarm lies another enemy, and further in the shadows an even larger threat could be lurking.
The young miner Timas is a good character, but Pepper steals the book. Pepper is a highly practical, survival-oriented warrior. He's an interesting one ... long-lived, and having survived enough wars to warp any man. There are times he seems to be running on automatic, more machine than human, and throughout the book you see Timas and others trying to break through to that kernel of humanity. Sometimes they seem to reach him. Other times, Pepper just lets them think so, because it suits Pepper's plans at that particular moment. Definitely not a nice man, but a fascinating one, and a useful guy to have around in a war.
Overall, I'd say this is the best of the three books, an action-filled page-turner that left me eager to read number four.
Sly Mongoose is Tobias Buckell's third novel, set in the same universe as Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin, but Pepper is the only character from the earlier books. As with Ragamuffin, this isn't a direct sequel, though it does continue the larger story Buckell is creating about humans struggling to survive and find their place as they discover just how dangerous a place this universe can be.
Sly Mongoose is set primarily on the planet of Chilo, a loosely Venus-like planet with crushing gravity, a corrosive atmosphere ... generally not a pleasant place to live. The inhabitants live in floating cities, descending to the surface to maintain the outdated and unreliable mining equipment. It's a hard life, and when Pepper drops in, it gets a lot harder. The Swarm (space zombies!) is coming, searching for a secret hidden on Chilo's surface, and they're prepared to kill anyone and everyone in their way.
Buckell does a lot of cool things in this book. For starters, Chilo's inhabitants are the descendants of the Azteca from Crystal Rain. One complaint I had about Crystal Rain was that the Aztecs came across as fairly straightforward villains without as much depth as I wanted. Sly Mongoose develops them into fully fleshed out people, still struggling to live down the shame of their ancestors' actions back on New Anegada.
Sly Mongoose leaves me curious where Buckell is going with this series. He's setting up a very dangerous and violent universe, one in which humanity will either need to unite and work together, or face extinction. Behind the obvious threat of the Swarm lies another enemy, and further in the shadows an even larger threat could be lurking.
The young miner Timas is a good character, but Pepper steals the book. Pepper is a highly practical, survival-oriented warrior. He's an interesting one ... long-lived, and having survived enough wars to warp any man. There are times he seems to be running on automatic, more machine than human, and throughout the book you see Timas and others trying to break through to that kernel of humanity. Sometimes they seem to reach him. Other times, Pepper just lets them think so, because it suits Pepper's plans at that particular moment. Definitely not a nice man, but a fascinating one, and a useful guy to have around in a war.
Overall, I'd say this is the best of the three books, an action-filled page-turner that left me eager to read number four.
June 8, 2009
Sly Mongoose is the third book by Tobias Buckell that takes place within the same far-future universe in which human beings have expanded but have done so on the technology of more advanced species, so now they’re trapped holding on to what little they have left. Using this historical backdrop, Buckell crafts a group of flying cities (Bespin style) over a harsh, Venus-like world. Enter space-zombies. You heard me.
* The book has a couple main characters, including a super-soldier not unlike Takashi Novacs from Richard Morgan’s detective series. By shifting back and forth between them, we get a wide view of the world but a solid characterization of it through their eyes.
* One of the societies has a digital democracy through their brain implants. It’s a bit like the world in Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, and a little like one of the short stories featured on the Escape Pod podcast within the past year. They discuss and vote on everything in real time. Like Obama’s grassroots gone world-building. Or like having Facebook in your head.
* Because the networked people often wait to speak until they’ve heard from their other networked folks, the people of the main city call them “zombies.” Since I’d heard this was a book with space zombies in it, I was disappointed at this apparent cop-out. But no worries:
“Zombies,” Ollin repeated…. “We call the Aeolian representatives that visit us ‘zombies,’ you know, because they take orders and move slowly around and take forever to answer questions because they have to vote on it.”
Pepper shook his head. “Hell no, son, that’s not what I’m talking about. What I’m talking about is groaning, stumbling, dumb-as-fuck old-school zombies.”
* The other alien species aren’t all that well fleshed out in this book, but they aren’t the central issue. I imagine that in the larger world of Buckell’s novels, this fits nicely.
* Some lovely throwaway stuff that I like to think of as the key characteristic of good sf. At one point, a character from the networked democracy has an important decision to make and she’s cut off from the network. She laments, “No friend polls for this one.” There’s also a really cool deep atmosphere mining rig and some clockwork pteranodons soaring around in the atmosphere.
* The space zombies, of course, end up being more than just zombies but I’ll let you find that stuff on your own.
Overall, it’s pretty enjoyable. And a good use of space zombies.
* The book has a couple main characters, including a super-soldier not unlike Takashi Novacs from Richard Morgan’s detective series. By shifting back and forth between them, we get a wide view of the world but a solid characterization of it through their eyes.
* One of the societies has a digital democracy through their brain implants. It’s a bit like the world in Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, and a little like one of the short stories featured on the Escape Pod podcast within the past year. They discuss and vote on everything in real time. Like Obama’s grassroots gone world-building. Or like having Facebook in your head.
* Because the networked people often wait to speak until they’ve heard from their other networked folks, the people of the main city call them “zombies.” Since I’d heard this was a book with space zombies in it, I was disappointed at this apparent cop-out. But no worries:
“Zombies,” Ollin repeated…. “We call the Aeolian representatives that visit us ‘zombies,’ you know, because they take orders and move slowly around and take forever to answer questions because they have to vote on it.”
Pepper shook his head. “Hell no, son, that’s not what I’m talking about. What I’m talking about is groaning, stumbling, dumb-as-fuck old-school zombies.”
* The other alien species aren’t all that well fleshed out in this book, but they aren’t the central issue. I imagine that in the larger world of Buckell’s novels, this fits nicely.
* Some lovely throwaway stuff that I like to think of as the key characteristic of good sf. At one point, a character from the networked democracy has an important decision to make and she’s cut off from the network. She laments, “No friend polls for this one.” There’s also a really cool deep atmosphere mining rig and some clockwork pteranodons soaring around in the atmosphere.
* The space zombies, of course, end up being more than just zombies but I’ll let you find that stuff on your own.
Overall, it’s pretty enjoyable. And a good use of space zombies.
October 21, 2014
Tobias Buckell doesn’t like to keep readers waiting. Instead he shoves us into the heads of larger-than-life characters and hurls us into a zombie apocalypse in space.
The story starts with Pepper, some kind of centuries old super soldier (who is already familiar from the two previous books in the series) who is deorbiting onto a planet using a makeshift heat shield and a spacesuit, because that’s how he rolls. From there we are thrown into a world of floating cities, airships, acid clouds, hidden aliens, Aztec descendants and the ultimate democracy.
Pepper is a fascinating person, he is a force all to himself but he is not without feeling and we get little hints here and there why he roams across the galaxy throwing himself into every brutal fight and war he can find. That’s when he starts to feel a little bit human, he becomes less of a force and more of a person.
Tobias Buckell writes in a quick and sparse style. It almost feels too fast, at times like things are happening too quickly to keep up with. His prose is short, the sentences minimal and the paragraphs small enough to be taken in at a glance.
This book is short and packed with action that let’s up just enough to show characters going through real change and fighting for what they believe in. It’s one of those stories where amazing people triumph against terrible odds and I can’t recommend it highly enough. You probably don’t have to read the first two books in this series to understand this one but I can’t see why you wouldn’t want to.
Sly Mongoose is another powerful story by Tobias Buckell written with a fascinating background and a great premise in a fully imagined future that realistically combines the use of billhooks and swords with weapons that communicate directly with the brain through the nerve endings in your fingers.
Tobias Buckell will keep you turning pages.
The story starts with Pepper, some kind of centuries old super soldier (who is already familiar from the two previous books in the series) who is deorbiting onto a planet using a makeshift heat shield and a spacesuit, because that’s how he rolls. From there we are thrown into a world of floating cities, airships, acid clouds, hidden aliens, Aztec descendants and the ultimate democracy.
Pepper is a fascinating person, he is a force all to himself but he is not without feeling and we get little hints here and there why he roams across the galaxy throwing himself into every brutal fight and war he can find. That’s when he starts to feel a little bit human, he becomes less of a force and more of a person.
Tobias Buckell writes in a quick and sparse style. It almost feels too fast, at times like things are happening too quickly to keep up with. His prose is short, the sentences minimal and the paragraphs small enough to be taken in at a glance.
This book is short and packed with action that let’s up just enough to show characters going through real change and fighting for what they believe in. It’s one of those stories where amazing people triumph against terrible odds and I can’t recommend it highly enough. You probably don’t have to read the first two books in this series to understand this one but I can’t see why you wouldn’t want to.
Sly Mongoose is another powerful story by Tobias Buckell written with a fascinating background and a great premise in a fully imagined future that realistically combines the use of billhooks and swords with weapons that communicate directly with the brain through the nerve endings in your fingers.
Tobias Buckell will keep you turning pages.
April 8, 2012
This was a heavily-delayed paperback, which means it's been almost four years since I read _Ragamuffin_. But then, I recall having trouble absorbing the space-opera background even then. The history behind everything is *big* and complicated, and we've been getting barely a soda-straw view of it per book.
In any case, we now alternate between Pepper (semi-immortal defender of humanity, cranky bastard) and Timas (a teenager growing up in a ramshackle-poor mining town). Pepper drops into down just ahead of an invasion force of zombies. I honestly didn't need the zombies. I mean, I just read that Gibson screenplay for _Alien 3_, which has essentially the same plot, and how long has that been floating around? There's nothing *wrong* with it as a zombie plot -- we get chase scenes, fight scenes, pirate battles, secret enclaves of aliens, the usual. Not to mention that everything takes place a hundred miles up in the air above a Venus-like planet (with bonus scenes down in The Murk). All plausibly grimy and nuts-and-bolts-y.
Pepper is interesting, now that we get a closer look at him. (He may have been interesting last book but I didn't get into him then.) Throwing him into a narrative with a teenager is surprisingly effective; not only is everybody a kid to him, but Pepper is, in some senses, too *old* to be a mature adult. Things wrap up with suitable drama and enough space-operatic scope to satisfy me. A *fat* straw's-worth of new history, you know, like you get for the bubble tea.
In any case, we now alternate between Pepper (semi-immortal defender of humanity, cranky bastard) and Timas (a teenager growing up in a ramshackle-poor mining town). Pepper drops into down just ahead of an invasion force of zombies. I honestly didn't need the zombies. I mean, I just read that Gibson screenplay for _Alien 3_, which has essentially the same plot, and how long has that been floating around? There's nothing *wrong* with it as a zombie plot -- we get chase scenes, fight scenes, pirate battles, secret enclaves of aliens, the usual. Not to mention that everything takes place a hundred miles up in the air above a Venus-like planet (with bonus scenes down in The Murk). All plausibly grimy and nuts-and-bolts-y.
Pepper is interesting, now that we get a closer look at him. (He may have been interesting last book but I didn't get into him then.) Throwing him into a narrative with a teenager is surprisingly effective; not only is everybody a kid to him, but Pepper is, in some senses, too *old* to be a mature adult. Things wrap up with suitable drama and enough space-operatic scope to satisfy me. A *fat* straw's-worth of new history, you know, like you get for the bubble tea.
July 14, 2014
It's a wonderful thing to be able to find books for a very cheap price that you might not ever have purchased otherwise and discovering a new love for an author. That's what happened to me with Tobias Buckell. I found his book Sly Mongoose in a bargain in somewhere and thought it sounded kind of cool. Well, it's more than just kind of cool. It's awesome! I love sci-fi, but haven't read a lot of it over the years so my rating may be slightly skewed. Buckell presents here the story of young Timas who has the weight of his entire city on his shoulders. He's one of the chosen few who can go down to the surface of his home world, Chilos, to work on the drilling machine they need to survive. Timas' lives in one of the cloud cities on this bleak planet. When he goes for down to the surface to find and fix a problem with the machine, he spots an alien and goes after it. Talk of aliens is forbidden in his city sow when his co-worker is killed because of Timas' encounter no one wants to listen. The only person to believe him is the reason for his buddy's death. That mans name is Pepper and he's one cool guy. He's survived hundreds of years of life and isn't about to be taken down by some zombie-like threat that's heading straight for Timas' home planet. Together the two, along with others, will face a foe unlike any before. The twists and turns throughout the story keep you wanting to read more as you race to the end to find out what happens. After reading this, I can't wait to check out Buckell's other books. Hopefully they're as good as this one was.
July 6, 2009
Fast paced sci-fi. Interesting protagonists including a young hero, Timas, who must face incredible challenges on an inhospitable home world and a war weary, tech-enhanced, older man named Pepper. I had just finished reading Alfred Besters "The Stars My Destination" and I thought it was interesting how Buckell used a truncated English speech pattern with some of his characters, just like Bester did in his classic sci-fi novel. If you like your sci-fi full of battle sequences this is the one for you. Teens would also love this book because of its teenage hero and heroine, who handle complicated situations like adults.
For those of you who like history, (and I happen to have taken several classical history classes in my college days) the term "satrapy" and the name of Amminapses (an alien character in this book) comes from Parthian history. Satrap refers to a governor or subordinate bureaucrat of a provice in ancient Persia (and Satrapy is the territory under his rule). After defeat by Alexander, Amminapses, a Parthian from Egypt, was made Alexander's satrap of Parthia, which had been joined with Hyrcania.
For those of you who like history, (and I happen to have taken several classical history classes in my college days) the term "satrapy" and the name of Amminapses (an alien character in this book) comes from Parthian history. Satrap refers to a governor or subordinate bureaucrat of a provice in ancient Persia (and Satrapy is the territory under his rule). After defeat by Alexander, Amminapses, a Parthian from Egypt, was made Alexander's satrap of Parthia, which had been joined with Hyrcania.
September 30, 2009
I'm not a huge science fiction fan, but love fantasy! So I couldn't believe it when I LOVED this adult sci fi novel! I read in some reviews after reading the novel, that this author has created several books in this world, but I've never read them. However, I read this book as stand-alone just fine and highly recommend it.[return][return]Timas is a 14-year-old boy who helps upkeep the ore thingie under his city. Everyone depends on him to keep the city alive. And to stay thin. He forces himself to be bulemic so he can fit into the special suits to walk on the planet's surface. Everything changes on planet Chilo when Pepper crashes through the bubble into their world. Pepper is a trained fighter who can kick some butt. And does so regularly. But he just escaped zombies and is trying to save the world, even though no one believes him until aliens and zombies start showing up on Chilo. Timas and Pepper are forced to bring change to Chilo, through hard fighting, good luck, and exploring new ideas. Add in a cute avatar named Katerina to interest Timas, and you have one heck of an adventure story! This would make an awesome movie!
October 13, 2008
If you loved the way classic science fiction writers like Hal Clement would imagine a planet with radically different living conditions than Earth, and then extrapolate what sort of people would live on that planet, you're going to love this story: Chilo is a planet with massive atmospheric pressure, intense surface heat, and corrosive precipitation -- so the only societies that can flourish there are in floating cities, miles above the surface.
And then a virtually indestructible warrior, jumping off a passing spaceship, collides into one of those cities and announces that the planet is about to be invaded by a horde of zombies. Oh, and did I mention that one of the young men whose job it is to don a battered old spacesuit and scavenge the planet's surface is convinced he saw an alien down there...?
The science is intriguing, the action is non-stop, and... well, heck, Buckell's the kind of guy who can throw a character named "Captain Scarlett" into the mix without making it sound cheesy.
And then a virtually indestructible warrior, jumping off a passing spaceship, collides into one of those cities and announces that the planet is about to be invaded by a horde of zombies. Oh, and did I mention that one of the young men whose job it is to don a battered old spacesuit and scavenge the planet's surface is convinced he saw an alien down there...?
The science is intriguing, the action is non-stop, and... well, heck, Buckell's the kind of guy who can throw a character named "Captain Scarlett" into the mix without making it sound cheesy.
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