Rating: 
Summary: too much techno-geek and not enough plot
Review: I started off liking this book. the concept of rogue micromachines taking over the solar system is innovative. Soon however character development died as the author became more interested in the technology of space flight, space ships and games to simulate life. He lovingly describes the interior of the space ship for no apparent reason. Who cares? The novel was too technology oriented for my taste. After the first fifty pages it became obvious that the author was either a scientist or an engineer. I knew not which until I saw on your listing that he was the latter. It shows.
Rating: 
Summary: Borrring
Review: I started this book expecting an absorbing near-future mystery, and ended up barely slogging through it. The characters were cardboard, the ideas intriguing but the author seemed to think that introducing the idea is enough. Developing it to an intriging conclusion wasn't part of the deal. I finished it only because I try to finish every book I start.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing idea ... bad execution
Review: I was hooked by the premise and choked by the writing. I "sped-read" the final 50 pages or so for some inane quest to get my monies worth. Wil McCarthy might have potential writing half hour plots for sci-fi TV shows.
Rating: 
Summary: Starts well but gets tangled in jargon
Review: I was really enthralled with the first hundred pages or so and read them in almost a single setting. The concept was truly intriguing, and the mystery of the Mycora kept me wanting more. But the characters soon lose depth and are put on the back burner so that McCarthy can fill the pages with useless descriptions of spaceship physics and this Game of Life. I read those pages over a few times and still couldn't make a whole lot of sense out of them. The point he's arguing is clear, but he could have done itin a more friendly fashion. It's a quick read and is entertaining and the action is well written, but characters are important too.
Rating: 
Summary: "Bloom" needs a sequel
Review: I'll make this short and sweet. IMHO - well fleshed characters for a book of it's type, which is to say HARD-SF. If you are looking for Melville or Fitzgerald, ya might wanna try English Lit 101 again. Everything here is in service of the plot - a manmade nanite has destroyed the underpinnings of human civilization and is threatening to destroy what is left of it. There's alot of suspense here, terror of the unknown, discovery on a landmark journey, treachery, chases, and above all else, a warning on just how far we've come a little too quickly. This one will stay on my shelf for good. McCarthy is a credit to the genre, and while I wasn't too thrilled with his latest book "Collapsium", I'm hoping that he'll next revisit the universe he created in "Bloom" and take it to the next step, kick it up a notch or two, and let it soar.
Rating:
Summary: Sim Nanotech
Review: I'm not a huge fan of hard SF, but "Bloom" won me over. Mr. McCarthy's knowledge and handling there of, is brilliant in this, his fifth novel. I agree w/ some of the other reviews, in that some of the dialogue/interplay between characters wasn't the strongest point in the book. However, the setting, the mind sets, the new society which mankind finds itself in explains the character's interactions to me and it was done exceptionally well. All that said, what I found really interesting was the tech details of the ship's flight, as well as the biological patterns of "life", either imagined or real, which are discussed throughout the story. Those are the true jewels of this novel, and no other reader/reviewer has mentioned them! I'm buying and reading the rest of his novels asap.
Rating:
Summary: Sim Nanotech
Review: I'm not a huge fan of hard SF, but "Bloom" won me over. Mr. McCarthy's knowledge and handling there of, is brilliant in this, his fifth novel. I agree w/ some of the other reviews, in that some of the dialogue/interplay between characters wasn't the strongest point in the book. However, the setting, the mind sets, the new society which mankind finds itself in explains the character's interactions to me and it was done exceptionally well. All that said, what I found really interesting was the tech details of the ship's flight, as well as the biological patterns of "life", either imagined or real, which are discussed throughout the story. Those are the true jewels of this novel, and no other reader/reviewer has mentioned them! I'm buying and reading the rest of his novels asap.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Mix
Review: Is you love the plotting of Barbara Hambley and the Worlds and Science of Jerry Pournelle You'll love this book. The Plot is believable the Characters have depth (More would be sublime) and the Mycora is an alien species as compleks and intriguing as the Moties in Larry Nivens' The Gripping Hand
Rating:
Summary: Can't ask for everything - one molecular biologist's lament.
Review: McCarthy, like most science fiction writers, must be a nerd. This being the case, the science is always good, the story moves but anything having to do with human interaction (especially with girls) takes a huge nosedive. That said, if you skip the embarrassingly written sex and love bits, and in fact all the parts where people talk to each other, you get truly breathtaking bio and nano-tech sci fi. Truly, really visionary and important. This book should get 6 stars for the science but gets 2 knocked off for bad writing.
Rating:
Summary: Can't ask for everything - one molecular biologist's lament.
Review: McCarthy, like most science fiction writers, must be a nerd. This being the case, the science is always good, the story moves but anything having to do with human interaction (especially with girls) takes a huge nosedive. That said, if you skip the embarrassingly written sex and love bits, and in fact all the parts where people talk to each other, you get truly breathtaking bio and nano-tech sci fi. Truly, really visionary and important. This book should get 6 stars for the science but gets 2 knocked off for bad writing.
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