Railhead in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Apr 24, 2016 Justine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-read, favourites

4.5 stars rounded up

After thinking about it for a couple of days I rounded up my star rating on this one. This book is just so imaginative it really deserves it.

Railhead is set in a fantastic future where sentient trains transport people across vast distances to other planets by means of K-Gates, a technology pioneered and protected by Guardians, powerful AIs who long ago appointed themselves caretakers of humanity. Zen Starling is a petty thief who is minding his own business when opportunity 4.5 stars rounded up

After thinking about it for a couple of days I rounded up my star rating on this one. This book is just so imaginative it really deserves it.

Railhead is set in a fantastic future where sentient trains transport people across vast distances to other planets by means of K-Gates, a technology pioneered and protected by Guardians, powerful AIs who long ago appointed themselves caretakers of humanity. Zen Starling is a petty thief who is minding his own business when opportunity comes knocking with an offer it appears he can't refuse. What follows is an exciting heist story that quickly becomes something more, because of course the object of the heist is the key to a closely held and dangerous secret.

Not enough can be said about the amazing world building in this book. It is incredibly detailed and imaginative, immediately bringing the story to life. Zen Starling is a flawed main character who struggles to do the "right thing" in the face of an increasingly difficult situation. Used to being in a relatively simple world of black and white and small time stakes, he finds himself suddenly in uncertain waters and having to make decisions with implications that extend far beyond just himself.

The non-human characters in the story are equally well developed. The Motorik, or android, Nova starts out by recruiting Zen to work for her maker Raven, but it is obvious that she likes Zen too. She seems to have control over her own programming, but it's clear that Zen still harbours some bias and confusion about her motives simply because she is a machine and can be programmed.

The whole issue of how much a non-human entity can feel and how it might express self identity is dealt with very well throughout the book. This is an ongoing issue not just for the humanoid Motoriks, but also for the sentient trains themselves, and other characters such as the insect colonies who have formed into single-minded Hive Monks.

The finish to the story brings everything nicely to a close, but leaves the door open to more books being set in this world. I would be more than happy to read any that are. ...more

30 likes · Like · see review

Mar 31, 2017 Lindsay rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A heist, stargates, a space railway, sentient trains, robot friends and super-AIs. Why haven't you read this yet?

Humanity has spread to the stars via a network of K-gates which are only passable in a sealed environment traveling at speed, so ... trains. The K-gate network is a multi-world rail network traveled by super-advanced trains with AIs. In one corner of the galaxy "railhead" and thief Zen Starling seems to be in more trouble than usual.

Zen finds himself performing a "simple" heist, but s ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

May 30, 2018 Emma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Everyone was a passenger on a runaway train.

Stunning, imaginative, original. Character led Sci fi...LOVED it!

12 likes · Like · see review

Jul 25, 2017 Christina Pilkington rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites-of-all-time

Edited for reread in April 2022

I loved this book just as much as I did the first time if not more! When I read it 5 years ago, I knew that when my kids were a little older, I wanted to reread it with them. This year I'm reading it with my twin 16 year olds and we had the best time discussing the story. And this time we can jump right into the next book because the sequels are already written!

I'd highly recommend this book if you enjoy imaginative world building, unique plot lines and YA sci-fi. ...more

9 likes · Like · see review