Rating: 
Summary: A complex, ambitious, vastly entertaining novel.
Review: A fantastic book that effortlessly examines complex matters such as artistic creation, space exploration, future technology and its impact on human societies, global tensions, serial murder and consciousness itself. Bear's genius is to link several stories thematically--particularly striking is the way a psychologist's exploration into the mind of a mass murderer parallels an artificially intelligent space probe's exploration of an uninhabited planet. Populated by strong and interesting characters (such as the murderer Emmanuel Goldsmith, a black poet; Martin Burke, the psychologist who uses nanotechnology to delve into "The Country of the Mind"; as well as detective Mary Choy, an Asian genetically altered to appear African American), Bear uses a variety of styles to tell his tale. There is awe and terror and desire here; insights into the nature and origins of evil, of the human need for justice, and the urge to travel far from Earth. The complex and at times experimental structure of the novel may turn off some readers, and I initially found it difficult to follow. Once the book had me in its spell, however, I was lost without it. This is my first Greg Bear novel, and it is certainly not my last. My highest recommendations.
Rating:
Summary: Just a great book
Review: A rare thing. A science fiction novel that's complex, interesting, entertaining and lots of other good 'ings. It's one of the few science fiction books I've read in the last few years that's risen above the pulp level. Unreservedly excellent. If you enjoy reading it, check out Slant also.
Rating:
Summary: Hot Stuff
Review: As a work of science fiction, this is an excellent example of cyberpunk at its best. The elements are all there: a dominant and slightly threatening technology and the risk of the unknown coupled with characters who are beyond (or well outside of) the norm. As a literary work, Queen of Angels is hot stuff. Spattered with rich language, well-drawn dialogue and a plot that twists through moral, societal and technological dilemmas, Bear's work is clearly of consequence. He raises questions of race, geopolitics and the futures available to us as we race toward a more and more complicated way of life.
Rating: 
Summary: Comlex writing does nothing for the story
Review: As other reviews have suggested this book is not exactly a "light read". I actually put this book away several times because it simply bored the hell out of me. But since I hate leaving something undone I forced myself through every dull page of Queen of Angels. There are three reasons I wouldn't recommend this book even to my worst enemies: First of all it is, in my opinion, the author's failure in fully describing the world in which the book is set. Second, it's the author's variation in style of writing. Why make it more complex than it has to be? I have always liked book that are easy to read so that the text in it self does not interfere with the plot. Third, I found the character descriptions to be shallow and uninteresting. I found it very hard to empathize with any of the characters in any way. This was my first, and probably last book by Greg Bear. I've understood that the Queen of Angels wasn't anything like his other books though so maybe sometime in the future when I have forgotten about this one I'll give him another shot. P.S I wonder why he kept calling robots arbeiters? It's like calling a dog a xzzcyggo just because it comes form the planet xxmorggi. Or was it something I missed? Perhaps arbeiters and robots are different?
Rating: 
Summary: ambitious but flawed
Review: Bear's ambition attempt at pushing the boundaries of SF succeeds and fails at the same time. Grappling with large issues of the nature of evil, AI self-consciousness and the direction humanity is taking, Bear tries but doesn't quite pull it off. The stylistic quirks become annoying after some time, and the middle section plods on. Fortunately, it redeems itself at the end, and the last 1/3 of the book is fascinating
Rating:
Summary: Greg Bear's best, and that is really saying something
Review: How this novel has been overlooked by so many sci-fi fans, not to mention the Hugo and Nebula awards committees, is beyond me. This is one of the greatest novels of the 20th century in any genre. Read it more than once, and discuss it with your friends (a fair amount of technical knowledge can help you understand some of the more arcane parts, but is not strictly necessary). "Queen of Angels" is a vivid and deeply philosophical novel about how a future society deals with the crime of murder, as seen through the eyes of a policewoman, a psychiatrist, and a poet. Bear is without living equal in his ability to create convincing future worlds and extrapolate the effects of technology on the human spirit. Along the way, he challenges the reader's fundamental perceptions of self, humanity, mental illness, and justice. This book is a good introduction to Greg Bear. It has a more-or-less-sequel, "Slant", which is also very good, although I thought the ending of that book was a little too pat. Fans of end-of-the-world fiction will love his "Forge of God" and "Anvil of Stars", which are better than anything Niven and Pournelle have done. Anything by Bear is guaranteed to be an enjoyable read at minimum, and several of his novels are complex and moving enough to stand with the best fiction of any age. I promise, if you are a thinking person, you will not regret reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Greg Bear's best, and that is really saying something
Review: How this novel has been overlooked by so many sci-fi fans, not to mention the Hugo and Nebula awards committees, is beyond me. This is one of the greatest novels of the 20th century in any genre. Read it more than once, and discuss it with your friends (a fair amount of technical knowledge can help you understand some of the more arcane parts, but is not strictly necessary). "Queen of Angels" is a vivid and deeply philosophical novel about how a future society deals with the crime of murder, as seen through the eyes of a policewoman, a psychiatrist, and a poet. Bear is without living equal in his ability to create convincing future worlds and extrapolate the effects of technology on the human spirit. Along the way, he challenges the reader's fundamental perceptions of self, humanity, mental illness, and justice. This book is a good introduction to Greg Bear. It has a more-or-less-sequel, "Slant", which is also very good, although I thought the ending of that book was a little too pat. Fans of end-of-the-world fiction will love his "Forge of God" and "Anvil of Stars", which are better than anything Niven and Pournelle have done. Anything by Bear is guaranteed to be an enjoyable read at minimum, and several of his novels are complex and moving enough to stand with the best fiction of any age. I promise, if you are a thinking person, you will not regret reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: This Future nightmare is not worth reading
Review: I am a tremendous fan of Greg Bear, but not this time. This book totally misses the mark. I don't care about anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic ideas, disjointed writing
Review: I could not get into this book. The characters did not draw me in and hold me. The language was sometimes confusing and you get these + signs that I never quite got. I read about 100 pages of this and put it down. It may finish stronger but to me it was not worth the time to get there.
Rating: 
Summary: just not there
Review: I could not get into this book. The characters did not draw me in and hold me. The language was sometimes confusing and you get these + signs that I never quite got. I read about 100 pages of this and put it down. It may finish stronger but to me it was not worth the time to get there.
|
