From the Bookshelf of The Roundtable…

Too Like the Lightning (Terra Ignota, #1)

Ada Palmer

Start date: September 15, 2023

Finish date: November 15, 2023

Discussion: Side Reads - Fiction

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Side Reads - Fiction

* Suggest a Fiction Side Read
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What Members Thought

Mar 03, 2021 Henk rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

Philosophy, science-fiction and theology brought in a compelling, quite unique faux 18th century style
Man is more ambitious than patient. When we realize we cannot split a true atom, cannot conquer the whole Earth, we redefine the terms to fake our victory, check off our boxes and pretend the deed is done.

A whole new world
Since when are we powerful enough to battle rumor? Truth is water in a sieve. It’s not enough to put your hand across the holes and hope.

Ideas evolving and the world changing b ...more

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Feb 07, 2018 Nadine in California rated it really liked it

I learned about this book through the Tournament of Books - the second volume in the series is on the 2018 long list and it sounded so good, I had to start the series. This is a dense book, in a good way. Even though the publishers blurb makes it sound action packed (and it is) the action takes place in an extremely complex world, so you can't speed-read your way through it.

In this world, civilization is divided into 'hives' created after humanity came close to obliterating itself through relig ...more

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Sep 28, 2023 Christopher rated it really liked it

Shelves: 21st-century, fiction, science-fiction, metafiction, dystopia

An eccentric and very complex read. This story takes place in the 25th century over the period of a few days. Our storyteller is Mycroft Canner, a "Servicer" who is repaying society for old crimes by basically being a slave to everyone who feels like giving him a task. He's not just an ordinary Servicer, though; his services are frequently used by the most elite of the world.

The world has seen peace for a few hundred years. Society is broken up into Seven Hives. Nations are a thing of the past; An eccentric and very complex read. This story takes place in the 25th century over the period of a few days. Our storyteller is Mycroft Canner, a "Servicer" who is repaying society for old crimes by basically being a slave to everyone who feels like giving him a task. He's not just an ordinary Servicer, though; his services are frequently used by the most elite of the world.

The world has seen peace for a few hundred years. Society is broken up into Seven Hives. Nations are a thing of the past; at a certain age, each person is free to choose their own Hive, depending on their own values. Geography is no longer consequential, because flying cars can taken you anywhere in the world in a matter of a couple of hours.

What makes it even more interesting (for me, at least; I'm sure this is the boring part for some) is that this world is organized by principles from Enlightenment era philosophers. And they aren't just sly references by the authors. The characters in this book are constantly referencing and using the works of Kant, Rousseau, Hume, Locke, Diderot, and others to justify their actions or worldviews. These people of the future are much smarter than me.

I enjoyed this book for the most part. I think it's needlessly complex in some areas, but that's also some of the fun... it's a rich, layered world filled with weird characters and locales. There was one aspect that was just a step too far and really didn't work for me: (view spoiler)

At the very end, I appreciated (view spoiler)

One thing I didn't like about the book is that I don't think there's a single "normal" human in it. Everyone is a power player or a pawn of a power player and I really have no idea how the average person lives in this world. I don't think that anyone works anymore, but I have no idea what people do. I wish we got more of a ground level view of how everything our characters are doing affects the masses.

I'm pretty sure I'll continue on with the books, but not right away. The things that will keep me reading: (view spoiler) ...more

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Sep 24, 2023 Pat rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

If you like political plots, this book is for you. It certainly was not for me. There are some interesting ideas and characters, but with each subsequent chapter, I became less and less engaged.

Also, be aware that the last few chapters build some suspense, but then it just stops. Nothing is resolved. This a four book series and I am not going to continue on so I will have to search around on the internet for summaries and spoilers for the remaing books.

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Oct 07, 2023 Lauren rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-and-fantasy

This was a three star read and “do not need to continue with the series” book until the reveal in the final chapter and now, dang it, I will have to keep going.

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