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bazpoint

bazpoint@ramblingreaders.org

Joined 9 months, 3 weeks ago

Hulo... I'm Baz

I tend to bounce around between high-concept scifi / space opera type stuff and 'easy reading' thrillers of the Jack Reacher type. I've also got back into comics recently after 3 decades away. I'm always happy to hop into non-fiction or alternative genres though - it's usually just case of struggling to get them to the top of the queue. I read almost exclusively on a Kindle Oasis - after many years clearing houses I have no desire to accumulate dead-tree books!

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Neal Stephenson: Fall, Or Dodge in Hell 4 stars

Fall; or, Dodge in Hell is a 2019 speculative fiction novel by American author Neal …

Review of 'Fall, Or Dodge in Hell' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Another very enjoyable Stephenson, if perhaps not his very best. It struck me as somewhat similar to SevenEves [spoilers for that book to follow] in the very distinct 2 part structure taking part in very different worlds. In both cases the earlier, more near-future speculative section was more engrossing, though while I still loved the later full-on heavy scifi second act of 7eves, the equivalent in Fall, for all intents & purposes straight fantasy, never quite gripped as strongly. Also, while 7eves transitioned cleanly between the the two worlds, Fall had a somewhat muddled centre section, before finally finding its feet again in the tale of Prim & the Quest.

None of which to say it wasn't still thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking... difficult to rate though. A true rating might be 5 for the first third, 3 for the middle third and 4* for the final third.