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gmw · 04-27-2018, 01:10 AM

Not sure if this is exactly the right thread to pass comment, but I've just finished reading Agent of Change* and I must profess some disappointment. I liked the characters, and I was never exactly bored - it moved along quite quickly - and the authors managed to immerse me in the new universe and cultures without overwhelming me (I really liked Edger and the whole Clutch thing with knives). But I got to the end and couldn't quite work out the point.

I tried to tell my wife what the story was about and could only come up with: guy meets gal and they try and save each other from all the people trying to kill them, and we get to the end and

Spoiler:

Was this a romance? Well, not really. The romance was there - albeit, it seemed, quite serendipitous and not overly convincing - but it didn't feel like a romance to read.

Was it about Val Con and the weird "Loop" thing? Well, since none of that was ever really explained with much clarity it doesn't seem likely. And if Van Con was supposed to be an Agent of Change, I can only ask:

Spoiler:

All of which leaves me wondering whether I can be bothered looking any further. All you good folk seem to be enjoying yourselves, but do we ever get to books with a bit more substance? Maybe an actual plot or point? Or is it all like some great saga with no particular individual stories?

* I tend to read new series in order of publication. One of those OCD things that started when I was young.

04-27-2018, 01:10 AM	#589
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,818 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	Not sure if this is exactly the right thread to pass comment, but I've just finished reading Agent of Change* and I must profess some disappointment. I liked the characters, and I was never exactly bored - it moved along quite quickly - and the authors managed to immerse me in the new universe and cultures without overwhelming me (I really liked Edger and the whole Clutch thing with knives). But I got to the end and couldn't quite work out the point. I tried to tell my wife what the story was about and could only come up with: guy meets gal and they try and save each other from all the people trying to kill them, and we get to the end and Spoiler: everyone still wants to kill them but they're safely stranded in the middle of nowhere where we can assume they will have lots of sex (and babies?) until someone picks them up so they can start over with the running away from people that want to kill them. Was this a romance? Well, not really. The romance was there - albeit, it seemed, quite serendipitous and not overly convincing - but it didn't feel like a romance to read. Was it about Val Con and the weird "Loop" thing? Well, since none of that was ever really explained with much clarity it doesn't seem likely. And if Van Con was supposed to be an Agent of Change, I can only ask: Spoiler: what change? Nothing changed in this book. Well, maybe the Loop thing changed, although it remained unclear exactly how much about it had changed - was it gone for good or what? And the really big question: Do I care? All of which leaves me wondering whether I can be bothered looking any further. All you good folk seem to be enjoying yourselves, but do we ever get to books with a bit more substance? Maybe an actual plot or point? Or is it all like some great saga with no particular individual stories? * I tend to read new series in order of publication. One of those OCD things that started when I was young.