Sun of Suns by Karl Schroeder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love the concept of this novel. Some far future creating-your-own-worlds stuff going on here. The premise is far from simple but easy to visualize: continents floating around in an enormous artificial balloon. Artificial suns inside.

The story, itself, however, feels nothing like hard-sf. Indeed, it feels like all the best features of a STEAMPUNK novel. Lots of airships, air battleships, airbikes, and a wild (but eerily familiar) plot of revenge, rebellion, piracy, treasure hunting, and discovery.

I really found both parts -- the premise and the swashbuckling adventure --rather charming. Maybe depth of characterization was lost in the overall plot, but really, it was a fascinating adventure. And make no mistake: it was a real steampunk adventure in all the best ways.

I absolutely recommend this for fans of either point. I know I'll be continuing. This is my first Schroeder and I'm loving the worldbuilding imagination.

View all my reviews