Rating: 
Summary: A disappointing continuation of the series
Review: After its two thrilling predecessors, The Stone Canal and The Cassini Division, The Sky Road turns out to be a disappointment. For one thing, it depicts a world which seems decidedly inconsistent with the backdrop of The Cassini Division - which should occur between the two threads present in this book. For another, the technology of The Sky Road is much lower than in earlier books, with only slight incremental improvements on what we have today in the year 2000 (plus a powerful artificial intelligence who mostly stays in the background).Thematically, I suppose The Sky Road is about individuals who become disillusioned with their beliefs over time, although it's a weakly-portrayed theme. Otherwise, the book presents a moral dilemma for its character Myra in the year 2058, who grapples with it in ultimately unsatisfying ways (her ultimate solution is telegraphed a mile away), and a voyage of discovery for its character Clovis, farther in the future (the 26th century?) as he learns about the legendary figure of Myra and discovers what his lover Merrial is up to. The sense of wonder is low, and although this book might be a decent build-up to another book, the end leaves you wondering, "That's it? What happens next?" Which isn't what one really wants out of a novel. As always, MacLeod's writing is fine, his characters enjoyable, and his mixture of politics with science fiction engaging. Unfortunately, it's all in the service of a rather bland story here. His earlier work is much better.
Rating: 
Summary: I¿m a Believer
Review: Before reading MacLeod's "The Sky Road," I read his "The Cassini Division." My review of "The Cassini Division" reflected the confusion I had while trying to work my way through the often-obscure text. My initial impression was that, for the most part, the glowing reviews I had read of MacLeod's work had been much too generous. Fortunately, I did not let my initial disappointment with "The Cassini Division" sour me completely on MacLeod. "The Sky Road" is one of the finest science fiction novels I have read in quite some time. MacLeod is worthy of the accolades and praise he has been receiving. However, I echo other reviewers' advice that readers should tackle "The Sky Road" before turning their attention to "The Cassini Division." In alternate chapters, "The Sky Road" jumps back and forth between the story of Myra Gowin-Davidova, who faced a worldwide crisis in her time, and that of Clovis colha Gree, who lives in Scotland far in the future when mankind is preparing to venture back into space for the first time since "The Deliverance." Clovis, a would-be scholar, wants to write a biography of The Deliverer, who is none other than Myra. One of the interesting and successful aspects of the novel is MacLeod's juxtaposition of a character acting in times of crisis with a far-removed biographer attempting to understand what happened in a time for which he has no context. MacLeod seems to argue that History is a matter of context, as much as it is a matter of anything. Many would agree. The novel is a lot of fun for those who are a bit left-leaning, or at least left-inclined. In MacLeod's alternative future, the fall of the Soviet Union turns out to have been a mere counter-revolutionary moment. Myra herself, who is ultimately a bit of a 21st century Joan of Arc, is Head of State for a small soviet-style republic known as the ISTWR (International Scientists and Technical Workers Republic). In the crisis of her times, she is the only one who can save the world from itself in the act known as "The Deliverance." Another interesting aspect of the novel is MacLeod's exploration of how spontaneous actions taken in the heat of the moment become mythic to all who seek to understand and explain the way that powerful personalities shape their times. In "The Sky Road," MacLeod demonstrates why such praise has been lavished upon his small canon. "The Cassini Division" is much too vague and referential to an unknown alternative history. In contrast, "The Sky Road" stands on its own as an entertaining tale. It reminds me of what I liked about science fiction in the first place.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: Having enjoyed "The Cassini Division" and "The Stone Canal", I was looking forward to this book with great expectations. Unfortunately, it came up somewhat short. That's not to say it's a bad book; but it isn't as intellectually stimulating, or as entertaining as its predecessors. As usual, the writing is elegant, and generally superb. The story is well plotted, and moves along at a reasonable pace. However, when all was said and done, I didn't really feel like I had gone anywhere by reading this book. The story was entertaining, but there was no real climax, and hence no real resolution. Perhaps that is what Macleod was striving for; a vehicle to develop characters for future works. If that is the case, he succeeded admirably. I suspect that this is a novel that will always be regarded in the context of his other works, rather than on its own merits. Still, I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone who likes their science fiction on the serious side.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not great
Review: I have not read any of Ken McLeod's other books, and it is not clear from anything on the cover that The Sky Road is part of a series or that is necessary to have read any of its predecessors. So, if my review seems uninformed by the other books, that's because it is. The Sky Road was on the ballot for this year's Hugo Award, which merely reminds me that last year was a relatively week year for novels (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won the Hugo for Best Novel, to a quite enthusiastic reception at the Millennium Philcon where it was announced.) The Sky Road is an awkward and somewhat arbitrary combination of near-future and far-future history. The near future is set in the middle of the 21st century, after some (to me, at least) unspecified worldwide paradigm shifts that have left the capitalist world in a shambles, the United States a relatively toothless beast, and a handful of space visionaries trying to execute some kind of coup, presumably to put themselves in power. The protagonist is Myra Godwin-Davidova, an American-born potentate in the "International Scientific and Technical Workers Republic," a tiny statelet in what was once the Soviet Union and is now again more than a collection of "former Soviet states" and not quite an empire. Myra's chapters alternate with those of Clovis colha Gree, a part-time history graduate student and part-time laborer on a spacecraft, centuries in the future, after Myra (known to posterity as "The Deliverer" for her mythical destruction of evil capitalism). Clovis, a Scot, is working on his dissertation about Myra. He is approached by Merrial, a fetching female member of a loose freemasonry called the Tinkers, people who have maintained technical knowledge since The Deliverance destroyed much of the high tech of the 21st century. Merrial is fearful that the Deliverance, which destroyed almost everything humanity had in Earth orbit at the time, left so many fragments in orbit that the ship Clovis is helping build during breaks from his studies, will be threatened. She wants him to help get information on the Deliverance from his university. But how does she know that information is there? This is a very interesting, but ultimately unsatisfying book. It isn't until the near end that the reader understands the exact nature of Myra's "deliverance" and how it bears little resemblance to what Clovis and the people of his time think it was. Nor does Clovis really find out at the end, which is a bit of a shame. The end comes too quickly - a very common if unfortunate occurrence - as if the author were in a hurry to finish. I didn't particularly appreciate the anti-Americanism, but that's probably just my own small-minded patriotism. Where The Sky Road succeeds is in painting a portrait of a near future that actually seems plausible. McLeod dispenses with the "expository lump," for the most part (or perhaps the narrative of how we get from here to there takes place in one of the preceding novels). Other than a few misspellings ("spetznatz" instead of "spetznaz" for special paramilitary police troops, for example) and a few other minor inaccuracies about Soviet matters, he has a lot of the history and politics correct. His near future is not a utopia (nor is his far future), and the people are not paragons. Myra is vain, proud of her own mini-state, unwilling to suffer defeat, suspicious, and a bit self-righteous. Clovis is gullible, easily led, provincial, and too much of an easy mark for a pretty face. Merrial, the Tinker girl who both loves and gulls him, seems almost too perfect to be true. The Sky Road is an engrossing read; paradoxically, it seemed to me too short; I'd have appreciated enough pages so that the end did not rush at me. There wasn't enough build-up to the climax, nor almost any description of the aftermath. Clovis never does learn the full truth, at least not in the pages of the novel. McLeod can think and he can write. The Sky Road is worth your while; but I'm sorry, it's really not Hugo-caliber.
Rating:
Summary: Only for the die-hards
Review: Of the four books of the Macleodian future, the Sky Road is the weakest. Like the Stone Canal, this book is split in two time periods, past and present. However, in this one, the "present" was dull. It simply lacked any thrill that kept you reading. Worse, I had a hard tim placing it until late in the book when I concluded that it was the 22nd century. Only the "past" storyline was intersting. However, it was a wonderful portrayal of the global disintegration of the 21st century. Lovers of the Macleod's books will find this one worth it if only to watch his depiction of a global dark age setting in. The only problem was the ending is entirely new. Its results are never mentioned in the Cassini Divsion. And in the "present" story, there is no mention of the Sheenosovs or any of the other things that seemed to have happened in the Cassini Division. This left me wondering if the Sky Road was in fact an Alternate History to Macleod's Future History. Half of it was wonderful, the other half left me confused.
Rating:
Summary: Only for the die-hards
Review: Of the four books of the Macleodian future, the Sky Road is the weakest. Like the Stone Canal, this book is split in two time periods, past and present. However, in this one, the "present" was dull. It simply lacked any thrill that kept you reading. Worse, I had a hard tim placing it until late in the book when I concluded that it was the 22nd century. Only the "past" storyline was intersting. However, it was a wonderful portrayal of the global disintegration of the 21st century. Lovers of the Macleod's books will find this one worth it if only to watch his depiction of a global dark age setting in. The only problem was the ending is entirely new. Its results are never mentioned in the Cassini Divsion. And in the "present" story, there is no mention of the Sheenosovs or any of the other things that seemed to have happened in the Cassini Division. This left me wondering if the Sky Road was in fact an Alternate History to Macleod's Future History. Half of it was wonderful, the other half left me confused.
Rating: 
Summary: Misleading
Review: The combination of radical politics, space opera and cyber-driven fiction has propelled Ken Macleod's anracho-socialist/capitalist future-world to the top of my list of Preferred Universes to live in. Macleod's intricate construction of a possible future has enthralled and enlightened me... and it is with pleasure that I can say The Sky Road is not only the best book of the four, it seamlessly integrates both a comprehensible and fascinating story/universe of its own with a concluding coda to the series that answers many (not all) of the plotlines from the Dark Period of the saga. Ok, that's all well and good, but PLEASE: do yourself a favor and just read a copy of this or any other Ken Macleod book you can get your hands on. Both The Cassini Division and The Stone Canal are availbale still here on amazon, and the first book can be bought from the UK iteration of the same. After all, does anything beat really well-conceived and written speculative fiction?
Rating:
Summary: MacLeod loses his way...
Review: Thinly plotted, poor characterisation and utterly self-indulgent. What a disappointment this book was. Quite clearly Ken had a couple of good ideas and attempted to build a novel around them. It didn't work, and the whole enterprise seemed to lack vision and depth. Sorry to be so negative, but that's my honest opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: Yuck!
Review: This book was my first exposure to Macleod and I'm sorry I bought it. If this book did not have a cover and I was asked what genre it belonged to, I would have said "romance". It is sappy and slow with very transparent characters and ultimately not believable. The writing is not good. Structurally, instead of developing characters through their actions, stereotypical people whose motives are dictated by their job title are used as walk-ons. And much of what should be told with action and dialogue is told through narrative. The specifics are not stellar, either. Here is an example: "The thought...appeared like a screensaver on the surface of her mind, whenever her mind went blank." And another (that I assume echoes romance novels): "She pulled away the curtain to reveal a large and reassuringly solid-looking bed...We faced each other naked, like the Man and the Woman in the Garden in the story." If you like that kind of thing then maybe you'll like this book. If you like books with crisp plots and lots of ideas, then look for something else.
Rating:
Summary: Just OK
Review: This book was ok. It was interesting to read, but there was nothing particularly special about it. I never really felt much concern over what was going to happen with the characters or the story. I wanted to find out what happened, but I didn't have any strong feelings about the characters or what I thought should happen. I've seen other reviews here that seem to indicate that this is part of a series. If that is the case, then perhaps I missed something in an earlier book that would have made this more enjoyable. I will probably investigate this and try to read any earlier books because I do think MacLeod writes well. Hopefully, in one of his other books I will find the spark that I think was lacking in this one.
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