- Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
- Read: January 23rd, 2023 – February 21st, 2023.
- Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
I enjoyed the premise of the book, the concept of “Architects” and “Parthenon”. I have to say that on some chapters I was a bit lost with some of the races though, and at some point in the trilogy I hope we get to read a bit more about them. It’s a pretty good history overall, and I’ll be reading the full trilogy 🤞.
Highlights
She remembered there had been parties, speeches and celebrations that the war was finally over, that they’d, what, won? Perhaps it was survival rather than victory, but sometimes just surviving was your definition of a win. — p. 11
Hostile stares from snooty staff and the cosseted rich, even in this hellhole, didn’t bode well for the future. Fear not the gun but the finger on the trigger, as the saying went. — p. 38
Colonial tradition was for grieving to be brief; the living needed to move on. It came from when the dead had outnumbered the living, and there just wasn’t time for protracted mourning. — p. 120
Too much gratitude starts to look like ownership. I’m sorry. — p. 152
And you’re asking why’s nobody focusing on that fact? Because the Oumaru was too small a disaster and people need something big to make them understand […] — p. 268
‘I made a judgement call.’ ‘A bad one.’ He nodded. ‘The problem with judgement calls is that they’re only ever good or bad in retrospect.’ — p. 300