I didn't find anything in the second half offensive but it is certainly eye rolly on many levels. He could have done some interesting things with the time jump but...

Point being if you stop now you aren't missing anything amazing. The first half is worth the price of admission (and reminded me of this xkcd [link] which I know means I should read The Martian) but the second half... well I doubt I will read that part again.

It is like the entire Enders Game series in one book. Starts out awesome ends up ridiculous space fantasy that has pretensions of plausibility.

The first half is worth the price of admission

Totally agree. It's a great 500 pages of fabulous disaster after fabulous disaster and people juryrigging survival.

Though I like the gliders (naturally) and the ring / eye is really cool

But

to have the cannibal berserker talk about bipolar/manic depression during the genetic selection debate and then to have the 5k year jump and suddenly there's a quarter of the ring genetically descended from that character marked red and gone politically feral? I am giving this the sideeye more than I've ever given any Stephenson the sideeye. I feel like we know where he stands at least in this book on nature vs. nurture.

also

is the Agent *never* explained?

wow I haven't ranted in so long.

Also...

I thought one char. blew herself up at the end of the council of Eves, but her descendants are on the chart. So confused.

Ack.

Bought Sunil's story and a bunch of others as penance for my sins.

Any suggestions for other Baba Yaga books?

"Enchantment" by Orson Scott Card. A Sleeping Beauty tale retold in Russian style. Baba Yaga gets a star turn as a witch so evil that even the twentieth century is scared of her. Really a good book.

Any suggestions for other Baba Yaga books?

Peter Morwood's Prince Ivan

[link]

Any suggestions for other Baba Yaga books?

Deathless, by Catherynne M. Valente

"Enchantment" by Orson Scott Card. A Sleeping Beauty tale retold in Russian style. Baba Yaga gets a star turn as a witch so evil that even the twentieth century is scared of her. Really a good book.

I'm afraid even Shakespeare-worthy writing would be beyond my ability to enjoy coming from a staunch advocate of criminalizing gay relationships who once stated that he regarded any government that would attempt to recognize same-sex marriage as a "mortal enemy" that he would act to destroy. The only contact I intend to have with Card ever again will be dancing on his grave while waving a rainbow flag.

Eh, he's a competent writer. If the book was good enough, I could see buying it used so he never saw a penny for it.

Card's name on a book gives me the same knee jerk reaction dubya's face or voice does--insta-gag. Can't help it. Don't particularly want to.

I have read and enjoyed some of Card's stuff. But some of the offhand social commentary slipped spoiled any enjoyment I had of the book. As in "I doubt high school kids are having anything like as much sex as people think. Oh, I'm sure there are a few girls who let themselves be used as a mattress but... " Stuff like that is scattered throughout the book. I can tune bad politics in an otherwise good book most of the time, but in this case in intruded too often and too prominently to let me enjoy it. Also it make stuff that otherwise would not ping me stand out. Frinstance he makes a big deal of how taboos vary from culture to culture. OK, great. But has to be more than coincidence that his example is that while the nudity taboo is still strong in our culture, whereas in the particular past culture the story focuses on a man publicly wearing women's clothes in much more shameful than public nudity.