Rating: 
Summary: A very enjoyable read
Review: In the twenty-first century, renegade programmer Matt Cairns accepts a job from an American freedom fighter named Jadey to crack the impenetrable codes of the Marshal Titov space station. Matt proves to have the right stuff as he breaks the code. He quickly learns that contact with an alien species has occurred. However, the authorities learn of the breach, forcing him to seek passage elsewhere, perhaps with the alien interstellar technology. Several centuries later, Gregor Cairns, a descendent of Matt, along with his research partner searches for the crew of the Bright Star. He believes that studying the crew and looking at the star-hopping aliens should lead to finding the answer to leaping between the stars. This is something his ancestor apparently had done. COSMONAUT KEEP is an excellent science fiction tale that will excite sub-genre fans who enjoy a complex in depth look at future earth and alien cultures. The story line is as deep as it gets as the audience tastes two futures on two comparative worlds in one complicated tale. This novel shows that Ken Macleod is one of the better novelists on the market today. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: MacLeod's Best Yet
Review: Ken MacLeod does an amazing job of combining real politics with great sense of wonder science fiction. Cosmonaut Keep, the first book in a new series, is his best book yet. The book does a great job jumping between the stories of two different timelines: one a near future Earth dominated by Russia, another an alien world humans share with various aliens. It even manages to add in some UFO mythology in an interesting (and realistic) way. I look forward to the next book in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Another fine thinking human's space opera
Review: Like most of MacLeod's books, Cosmonaut Keep is told in two
alternating timelines. By far the most interesting story-strand is set
on the planet Mingulay, in a complex society of humans, saurs, krakens
and other sentients. The worldbuilding and backstory unfold very,
very nicely here, in ways that would be unfair to reveal -- much of
what's best in CK lies here, and I'll bet you'll have as much fun
reading it as I did. By contrast, the near-future alternate Earth, featuring a Red Europe
and a reactionary America, gets off to a slow start, and is likely to
irritate nonpolitical readers. But this stuff is at least intelligently
done, skimmable, and -- about 50 pages in -- finally starts to rock. But
I would have liked to have spent more time on Mindulay, the Second
Sphere, saur society, kraken ways -- and, I imagine, more of this will
be Coming Soon. I don't think I'm giving away too much by saying that Cosmonaut
Keep is a variant of the old Elder Races Rule the Universe shtick -- in
this one, Fermi's Paradox is enforced by stern Galactic Gatekeepers,
and woe to junior races who run afoul of the gods. They *hate* spam
-- and care about due process about as much as you do when you
spray Raid on an anthill.... Ah, here's a quote I can't resist, from Thomas Wright, the discoverer
of galaxies, written c. 1750 (courtesy of Freeman Dyson): "In this great celestial creation, the catastrophe of a world such as
ours, or even the total dissolution of a system of worlds, may possibly
be no more to the great Author of Nature than the most common
accident of life with us. And in all probability such final and general
doomsdays may be as frequent there as even Birthdays or Mortality
with us upon the Earth. This idea has something so Cheerful in it
that I own I can never look upon the stars without wondering that
the whole world does not become astronomers..." If this didn't influence MacLeod in writing Cosmonaut Keep -- well,
it should have! Other readers see Poul Anderson influences in CK -- what I saw were
David Brin touches, and explicit references to Hans Moravec
who, come to think of it, was a major inspiration for the AI Wars in
MacLeod's first four novels. And there's a welcome scattering of
short quotes from Golden Age classics -- a nice touch for the well-
read. Cosmonaut Keep is the first of a new series, "Engines of Light". Book
#1 comes to an adequate resolution, with plenty of hooks to prime
you for the next installment, Dark Light -- UK edition published in
November 2001. MacLeod's writing just keeps getting better, and I'll
happily put up with his hothouse politics to get to the amazing
inventions in his spectacular new universe-playground. Highly
recommended. And I should mention the wonderfully atmospheric cover art, by
new-to-me artist Stephan Martiniere, of the Nova Babylonia trader
starship landing at Kyohvic port, Mingulay. Bravo! Happy reading!
Pete Tillman
Rating: 
Summary: Very disjointed
Review: MacLeod has a good story to tell in Cosmonaut Keep, unfortunately his writing style lacks a lot to be desired. This novel is full of speculative ideas from politics, intrigue, physics, and the nature of the universe, wrapped into what could have been a good story about real people. The writing is disjointed, almost hackneyed. Most of the novel is parallel threads, one set on 21st century earth, and the other a colonized planet at some point in the future. The back and forth between threads is not handled with particular aplomb, so it takes a while to get 'into' the story and feel comfortable going and back and forth. And while the two threads come together at the end, the denouement is less than satisfying. Overall the general concept of the story is intriguing. There is a lot to be desired in the execution.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow starting retread, but worth reading
Review: Macleod's fifth novel - or his second, if you want to treat the first four as a single work - is slow to get going. At page fifty I was beginning to wonder if I really wanted to finish it. But when Macleod's two storylines finally get up to speed, they're compulsive. Having finished the book, my chief reservation is the sense that Macleod hasn't served up anything new: tandem storylines set in the near future and in a space-colonisation future, humans struggling with the implications of nanoscale, superintelligent minds, lovelorn heroes and heroines... it all seemed a bit like a retread. Fun to read, and I'll certainly be picking up the sequel - but if you haven't read Macleod before, start with his earlier ones. They're better.
Rating:
Summary: Two stories twisted into one.
Review: Matt Cairns is in our near future, in the 21 Century when the European Space Agency makes first contact with aliens. Gregor Cairns is in our FAR future, is a exobiology student who must REDISCOVER the secrets of interstellar travel. The two stories have been woven together. The First Chapter starts off with Gregor, the Second with Matt and so on. The author is somewhat a tease, because right when something seems about to happen, right when some new piece of information is about to help answer an important question, he ends the chapter and starts a new one in the other story line!
Don't worry, the book is full of cool stuff. Smart squids, starships, REAL dinosaurs, Area 51 (Dreamland), tiny Gods, flying saucers, spies, cyberpunk and more. YES, he likes to deal with politics, but it is part of the setting, not thrust into our faces. If you enjoy mystery, alien races (that turn out to be less than alien) and high-tech in your Sci-Fi, this is the book for you!
Rating:
Summary: Two stories twisted into one.
Review: Matt Cairns is in our near future, in the 21 Century when the European Space Agency makes first contact with aliens. Gregor Cairns is in our FAR future, is a exobiology student who must REDISCOVER the secrets of interstellar travel. The two stories have been woven together. The First Chapter starts off with Gregor, the Second with Matt and so on. The author is somewhat a tease, because right when something seems about to happen, right when some new piece of information is about to help answer an important question, he ends the chapter and starts a new one in the other story line!
Don't worry, the book is full of cool stuff. Smart squids, starships, REAL dinosaurs, Area 51 (Dreamland), tiny Gods, flying saucers, spies, cyberpunk and more. YES, he likes to deal with politics, but it is part of the setting, not thrust into our faces. If you enjoy mystery, alien races (that turn out to be less than alien) and high-tech in your Sci-Fi, this is the book for you!
Rating:
Summary: A Hipster Heinlein
Review: My rating's an average. The book is two stories in one, and the one set on Mingulay gets 4 stars. Mr. McLeod's description of a colonized world inhabited by humans and "saurs" (they get drunk and stoned together) and the briefly mentioned two other hominid species (imagine what dinosaurs might have evolved into had they had the chance), with traders from the stars passing through and the world's tech wearing out is fascinating (although you may feel that the romantic attachments Gregor Cairns goes through are solved rather smoothly). This part of the book is told in the odd-numbered chapters. Unfortunately the other story, told in, of course, the even-numbered chapters and narrated for the most part by Gregor's ancestor Matt, is a rehashing of Heinlein--and not done especially well (think "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" with cyberpunks and Deadheads instead of Libertarians and you sort of get the point). The author's notion that a resurgent Russia will gain control over the EU (something called an "oil war" is hinted at) is, to be charitable, bizarre; his economic theories aren't worth discussing; the by the numbers "up against the wall bureaucrats!" plotting is something we've all seen before, and done far more coherently. First of a trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Another strong effort from Macleod
Review: Once again, Ken Macleod has produced an original, intelligent work of science fiction in "Cosmonaut Keep". As usual, he has created a world that is by turns familiar, in other words it has its basis in a plausible future Earth, and completely bizarre. The bizzare aspects, in this isntance, being an earth-like planet that is home to humanoid (and regular) dinosaurs, native humans, and humans from Earth, and starships piloted by giant squid. Much like his previous books, Macleod has filled this one with quirky, conlicting (and conflicted) politcal theories. It is in this regard that he shines as one of the smartest authors around today. He writes with the authority of a polical scientist, but never comes across as dogmatic. I suspect that in real life he is left of center, but the politcal philosophies his characters espouse are really just vehicles to drive the plot. Finally, one positive, one negative. On the positive side, the characters in "Cosmonaut Keep" are Macleod's best yet. They show a level of depth that is just amazing; a level I didn't find in his previous works. On the negative side, "Cosmonaut Keep", like Macleod's other novels is told in alternating time periods. This proves to be a very creative way to intertwine seemingly disparite storylines, but it is handled poorly in the first half of this novel. Macleod should have been more careful in the details he reveals, as I found myself hopelessly confused 50 pages in. In the end all becomes clear, but this is a tough novel to get into as a result. Ultimately, though, "Cosmonaut Keep" is a smart, entertaining beginning to what promises to be a great series. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: I'm waiting to read the second in the series to fully judge.
Review: Sometime in the future when the Russians control all of Europe and the US is ruled by corporations, some scientists discover something odd up in space... An interesting book. I like very much the way it weaves political theory and extraterrestrial/theological speculation. What I don't like is the way that the book jumps between timeframes. It was confusing and distracting and I found myself going back and re-reading in a state of confusion rather than moving forward. I'm hoping that in a second series installment I would be able to enjoy the book more instead of spending all my time trying to figure out what's happening.
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