The premise: What starts out as a simple act of vengeance for her her brother's murder turns into a dangerously political game for Ahni Huang. She might be a class 9 empath and have advance biogenetic augmentations that help her control her mind and body, but she's going to need every ounce of her talent, abilities and money to figure out the deceptions behind the deceptions that are occurring in the Platform of New York Up. There's a mystery there, a hint to the future of the entire human race, and some people would do anything to destroy it.

My Rating

Worth the Cash: it's a very solid, stand-alone SF story that has interesting similarities to one of the main conflicts of Adam Roberts' Gradisil: what does it take for a satellite community above Earth to gain it's independence? Rosenblum's further exploration of the evolution of humanity in zero-gravity and the fear of the Other makes for a jam-packed read, and before I forget to mention it, I was particularly fond of how the Oriental culture provided the basis for most of her main characters. That was a nice touch. I'll look forward to reading more of Rosenblum as the opportunity allows, and if you're a fan of near-future SF, you should definitely give this one a go.

The full review, which does contain some spoilers, may be found in my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.

REVIEW: Mary Rosenblum's HORIZONS

Happy Reading! :) ( )

There are some books that you pick up, read a bit, then put down. I have often thought that was because I was too busy to even finish a chapter right then. But no. I couldn't even stay up and finish the last five pages last night. This book just couldn't hold my attention.

There are some writers who are novelists (Tad Williams) and some who are short story writers (Mary Rosenblum). I picked this book up because I liked the stories that Rosenblum has written, but this novel seems mechanical. The characters move because they need to fulfill a story point and not because they want to. This too bad because the story of a radical evolution of children born in microgravity and the people who shelter them and the people who hunt and kill them is a fascinating idea. When you add that the protagonist is the daughter of the Taiwanese head of state sent to an orbiting platform to kill her brother's killer, the politics have a realistic overlay. But although the characters are pleasant, they are not moving. You will never be caught up in their life and death struggle. It might help you pass time in an afternoon, but you will never remember any of it once you have finished it. ( )

http://onefinemess.wordpress.com/2007/12/27/book-review-horizons/ ( )

http://www.sfreader.com/read_review.asp?book=1026 ( )

Really a fun read, interesting characters, lots of fast paced action, great orbiting colonies descriptions, and a facinating future world setting. Makes me want to read more of Mary Rosenblum.

The story follows Ahni Huang who is sent to an orbiting colony to kill her brother's killers. I can't say much more than that about the plot line, as the surprises are fast and furious. The colony is seething with seperatist rebellion, rebel factions are spinning out of control of the original rebels, and Ahni finds some very strange "people" living in zero gee. She's an empath from a very rich and powerful trading family, but despite her powers and resources, she's in over her head.

Great settings, Ahni's a solid protagonist, and the other characters are well drawn. What does it mean to be human in the future? One of my favorite SF questions, and well done in this book. ( )