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Christine's Reviews > Ruins
Ruins (Pathfinder, #2)
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A bit of a disappointment after Pathfinder (perhaps I rate it lower than deserved because of the disappointment). Feels like a second book in a trilogy - not much really happens, the end is vague, and there is too much bickering amongst the characters. Hopefully the next book in the series will also follow the standard trilogy pattern and provide more excitement and closure.
Although I generally enjoy a multi-character personal narrative with views into their internal thought process, somehow it became tedious in this book. Perhaps it was because so repeatative. The characters didn't gain depth from it, they just harped on the same thing over and over. I understand that three of the characters are teenagers, and many of the feelings they have were realistic (teeneagers can be whiny, childish, and quick to misinterpret - heck, we call can), but it seemed that each character had one defining, unwavering view - until they suddenly changed; they didn't seem to have thoughts related to things other than that which most bothered them. And it made Param's character in particular disappointingly dislikable.
There was also an abundance of philosophical discussions between the characters, which also could have been interesting and thought provoking, but somehow seemed more like attempts to be preachy or just "smart", perhaps simply because there was so much of it. Time would slow for a bit for the characters to philosophize; thus breaking the flow of action and losing momentum of the storyline.
The time travel and "powers" that the characters have get a bit out of hand (where can they go from here in the rest of the series) but I can't resist a time travel plot. I'm sure there were plenty of holes and paradoxes, but I like that it doesn't necessarily stick to more traditional "rules" and it is used well to drive the story.
The differences between each of the wallfolds is interesting; I hope we visit other wallfolds in the rest of the series. I was, however, disturbed by the fact that none of the wallfolds really seemed to develop (with perhaps the exception of Odinfold and language development). In more time than Earth's current recorded history no significant technology was developed in the folds we've seen? Ramfold seemed stuck in an Elizabethian-type era. Vadesh evolved the facemasks and Odinfold the mice, but that was all by machines and based upon skills brought from Earth. Larsfold went into the water and bonded with alien creatures but didn't seem to significantly change in culture or technology. In 11,000 years? Seems sad.
Despite my complaints, I couldn't put it down and look forward to the next installment.
Although I generally enjoy a multi-character personal narrative with views into their internal thought process, somehow it became tedious in this book. Perhaps it was because so repeatative. The characters didn't gain depth from it, they just harped on the same thing over and over. I understand that three of the characters are teenagers, and many of the feelings they have were realistic (teeneagers can be whiny, childish, and quick to misinterpret - heck, we call can), but it seemed that each character had one defining, unwavering view - until they suddenly changed; they didn't seem to have thoughts related to things other than that which most bothered them. And it made Param's character in particular disappointingly dislikable.
There was also an abundance of philosophical discussions between the characters, which also could have been interesting and thought provoking, but somehow seemed more like attempts to be preachy or just "smart", perhaps simply because there was so much of it. Time would slow for a bit for the characters to philosophize; thus breaking the flow of action and losing momentum of the storyline.
The time travel and "powers" that the characters have get a bit out of hand (where can they go from here in the rest of the series) but I can't resist a time travel plot. I'm sure there were plenty of holes and paradoxes, but I like that it doesn't necessarily stick to more traditional "rules" and it is used well to drive the story.
The differences between each of the wallfolds is interesting; I hope we visit other wallfolds in the rest of the series. I was, however, disturbed by the fact that none of the wallfolds really seemed to develop (with perhaps the exception of Odinfold and language development). In more time than Earth's current recorded history no significant technology was developed in the folds we've seen? Ramfold seemed stuck in an Elizabethian-type era. Vadesh evolved the facemasks and Odinfold the mice, but that was all by machines and based upon skills brought from Earth. Larsfold went into the water and bonded with alien creatures but didn't seem to significantly change in culture or technology. In 11,000 years? Seems sad.
Despite my complaints, I couldn't put it down and look forward to the next installment.
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