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Count to the Eschaton Sequence #3
The Judge of Ages
The year is 10,515 AD. The Hyades Armada, traveling at near lightspeed, will reach Earth in just four centuries to assess humanity's value as slaves. For the last 8,000 years, two opposing factions have labored to meet the alien threat in very different ways.
One of them is Ximen del Azarchel, immortal leader of the mutineers from the starship Hermetic and self-appointed Master of the World, who has allowed his followers to tamper continuously with the evolutionary destiny of Man, creating one bizarre race after another in an apparent search for a species the Hyades will find worthy of conquest.
The other is Menelaus Montrose, the posthuman Judge of Ages, whose cryonic Tombs beneath the surface of Earth have preserved survivors from each epoch created by the Hermeticists. Montrose intends to thwart the alien invaders any way he can, and to remain alive long enough to be reunited with his bride Rania, who is on a seventy-millennia journey to confront the Hyades' masters, tens of thousands of light-years away.
Now, with the countdown to the Hyades' arrival nearing its end, del Azarchel and Montrose square off for what is to be their final showdown for the fate of Earth, a battle of gunfire and cliometric calculus; powered armor and posthuman intelligence.
One of them is Ximen del Azarchel, immortal leader of the mutineers from the starship Hermetic and self-appointed Master of the World, who has allowed his followers to tamper continuously with the evolutionary destiny of Man, creating one bizarre race after another in an apparent search for a species the Hyades will find worthy of conquest.
The other is Menelaus Montrose, the posthuman Judge of Ages, whose cryonic Tombs beneath the surface of Earth have preserved survivors from each epoch created by the Hermeticists. Montrose intends to thwart the alien invaders any way he can, and to remain alive long enough to be reunited with his bride Rania, who is on a seventy-millennia journey to confront the Hyades' masters, tens of thousands of light-years away.
Now, with the countdown to the Hyades' arrival nearing its end, del Azarchel and Montrose square off for what is to be their final showdown for the fate of Earth, a battle of gunfire and cliometric calculus; powered armor and posthuman intelligence.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published February 11, 2014
16 people are currently reading
307 people want to read
About the author
John C. Wright
130Ìýbooks445ÌýfollowersJohn C. Wright (John Charles Justin Wright, born 1961) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy novels. A Nebula award finalist (for the fantasy novel Orphans of Chaos), he was called "this fledgling century's most important new SF talent" by Publishers Weekly (after publication of his debut novel, The Golden Age).
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August 6, 2014
The Judge of Ages
Author: John C. Wright
Publisher: Tor
Published In: New York, NY, USA
Date: 2014
Pgs: 380
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
The distant future. An alien fleet travels toward Earth from a great distance. This fleet will test humanity for our value as slaves to our new/old alien masters. Mankind is preparing for their arrival. One faction of humans has been playing with their genes in an attempt to create a hybrid race that the oncoming horde will find worthy of conquest instead of extinction. In the eons long wait, they have created quite a few offshoots of Mankind. The Judge stands in opposition to that faction. He seeks a way to beat the Hyades and their far distant Masters. Posthuman vs. powered armor. Bullets and brains. The end of the beginning of the end. History and evolution. Masters and slaves. Will Man or his descendants survive?
Genre:
Adventure
Disaster
End of the World
Fiction
Science fiction
Why this book:
The title caught me. The image on the cover of the city in the clouds.
Favorite Character:
Scipio Montrose. He sounds like a survivor...or a quisling. I haven’t decided yet. But he comes across awesomely.
Soorm. He basically farted and belched an opponent to death.
How could you not love the Judge? He’s an awesome character.
Least Favorite Character:
Ull is thickheaded. As all around him put two and two together, he failed to realize that the object of his quest was before him the whole time.
Character I Most Identified With:
The swirling, science fictioness of the characters, alien is the best word to describe them even though they aren’t aliens and are all actually genetic children of Man, makes them virtually impossible to identify with.
Maybe the Judge...or the Giant, Bashan.
Soorm when he recognizes that Alpha Yuen brought a knife to a gunfight.
The Feel:
Very Grant Morrison-esque. Blue Men. Gray Men. Dog Men. Living Digital Super Whales. Spaceships so big that they are visible in the sky stretching from the sky into the distant heavens causing hurricane force storms as they move their tip through the atmosphere
Favorite Scene:
When Menelaus gets his peek outside through the digital machinations of the Gray Twins and he sees the gigantic ship stretching from way out in space into the atmosphere where it is vacuuming up a future version of Raleigh. And as its tip moves through the atmosphere, it stirs up hurricane forces to swirl around it and in its wake.
The run up to the duel...and the duel. Love the kneel before Zod moment when they are discussing Blackie’s “real� plan.
Pacing:
Breakneck. There’s a lot of headsnap, look at this over here, wow, in this book.
Spastic and jittery.
Mentally exhausting...but awesome.
The story is thick with exposition what with it being largely one big fight in a locked room. It’s a big room, throne room, but still. Just as I start to think too much exposition, something will hit me between the eyes and set off my wow circuits.
The exposition begins to wear as you get around the 220s to 250s. But then, the buildup to the duel kicks in and, just like that, the expository nature slacks off as Menelaus’s mind turns to the duel and the story becomes more about the present than the tremendous past of the Judge and all the various children of Earth and Man.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
Montrose, the real one, supposedly, finally, gets the drop on the guys who have been tormenting him for the whole first act and instead of going for it ends up recaptured/back under their spell. This was a huge letdown and felt out of character for someone who was supposed to be as on-the-ball as the Judge of Ages is supposed to be.
Hmm Moments:
The Noah’s Ark intelligent zeppelins floating over a blasted hell-like Earth carrying the future geosperma of the entire biosphere of the planet.
“Jesus pissing in Palestine� is a great exclamation.
chronovertigo - the crushing weight of aeons.
I like how all of the Thaws think that they are either still the Currents or going to be the next Ascendants when the dilemma works itself out. Course that sets the stage for the conquest of the Vaults to become a Civil War between all these aeons separated Children of Mankind whether they be cyborg Locusts, Giants, Sylphs, Blue Men, Gray Men, Dog Men, Humans who have uploaded their souls to the Noosphere, Net, Datumsphere, etc.
A locked room mystery where the reader knows the answer but have to follow the breadcrumbs as the invaders and prisoners figure it out. The plan and the plot of the Judge takes its time to boil, but the depth of characterization and the brain spinning speed of the pace make up for the slow boil.
The Earth Brain and The Jupiter Brain.
Why isn’t there a screenplay?
There’s no way that a screenplay would be the same as the story in this book.
Casting call:
Last Page Sound:
I feel cheated...but that’s alright.
Author Assessment:
Brain spinning. I would read other stuff by this author.
Editorial Assessment:
Well done.
Knee Jerk Reaction:
instant classic
Disposition of Book:
Irving Public Library, Irving, TX
Would recommend to:
everyone
Author: John C. Wright
Publisher: Tor
Published In: New York, NY, USA
Date: 2014
Pgs: 380
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
The distant future. An alien fleet travels toward Earth from a great distance. This fleet will test humanity for our value as slaves to our new/old alien masters. Mankind is preparing for their arrival. One faction of humans has been playing with their genes in an attempt to create a hybrid race that the oncoming horde will find worthy of conquest instead of extinction. In the eons long wait, they have created quite a few offshoots of Mankind. The Judge stands in opposition to that faction. He seeks a way to beat the Hyades and their far distant Masters. Posthuman vs. powered armor. Bullets and brains. The end of the beginning of the end. History and evolution. Masters and slaves. Will Man or his descendants survive?
Genre:
Adventure
Disaster
End of the World
Fiction
Science fiction
Why this book:
The title caught me. The image on the cover of the city in the clouds.
Favorite Character:
Scipio Montrose. He sounds like a survivor...or a quisling. I haven’t decided yet. But he comes across awesomely.
Soorm. He basically farted and belched an opponent to death.
How could you not love the Judge? He’s an awesome character.
Least Favorite Character:
Ull is thickheaded. As all around him put two and two together, he failed to realize that the object of his quest was before him the whole time.
Character I Most Identified With:
The swirling, science fictioness of the characters, alien is the best word to describe them even though they aren’t aliens and are all actually genetic children of Man, makes them virtually impossible to identify with.
Maybe the Judge...or the Giant, Bashan.
Soorm when he recognizes that Alpha Yuen brought a knife to a gunfight.
The Feel:
Very Grant Morrison-esque. Blue Men. Gray Men. Dog Men. Living Digital Super Whales. Spaceships so big that they are visible in the sky stretching from the sky into the distant heavens causing hurricane force storms as they move their tip through the atmosphere
Favorite Scene:
When Menelaus gets his peek outside through the digital machinations of the Gray Twins and he sees the gigantic ship stretching from way out in space into the atmosphere where it is vacuuming up a future version of Raleigh. And as its tip moves through the atmosphere, it stirs up hurricane forces to swirl around it and in its wake.
The run up to the duel...and the duel. Love the kneel before Zod moment when they are discussing Blackie’s “real� plan.
Pacing:
Breakneck. There’s a lot of headsnap, look at this over here, wow, in this book.
Spastic and jittery.
Mentally exhausting...but awesome.
The story is thick with exposition what with it being largely one big fight in a locked room. It’s a big room, throne room, but still. Just as I start to think too much exposition, something will hit me between the eyes and set off my wow circuits.
The exposition begins to wear as you get around the 220s to 250s. But then, the buildup to the duel kicks in and, just like that, the expository nature slacks off as Menelaus’s mind turns to the duel and the story becomes more about the present than the tremendous past of the Judge and all the various children of Earth and Man.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
Montrose, the real one, supposedly, finally, gets the drop on the guys who have been tormenting him for the whole first act and instead of going for it ends up recaptured/back under their spell. This was a huge letdown and felt out of character for someone who was supposed to be as on-the-ball as the Judge of Ages is supposed to be.
Hmm Moments:
The Noah’s Ark intelligent zeppelins floating over a blasted hell-like Earth carrying the future geosperma of the entire biosphere of the planet.
“Jesus pissing in Palestine� is a great exclamation.
chronovertigo - the crushing weight of aeons.
I like how all of the Thaws think that they are either still the Currents or going to be the next Ascendants when the dilemma works itself out. Course that sets the stage for the conquest of the Vaults to become a Civil War between all these aeons separated Children of Mankind whether they be cyborg Locusts, Giants, Sylphs, Blue Men, Gray Men, Dog Men, Humans who have uploaded their souls to the Noosphere, Net, Datumsphere, etc.
A locked room mystery where the reader knows the answer but have to follow the breadcrumbs as the invaders and prisoners figure it out. The plan and the plot of the Judge takes its time to boil, but the depth of characterization and the brain spinning speed of the pace make up for the slow boil.
The Earth Brain and The Jupiter Brain.
Why isn’t there a screenplay?
There’s no way that a screenplay would be the same as the story in this book.
Casting call:
Last Page Sound:
I feel cheated...but that’s alright.
Author Assessment:
Brain spinning. I would read other stuff by this author.
Editorial Assessment:
Well done.
Knee Jerk Reaction:
instant classic
Disposition of Book:
Irving Public Library, Irving, TX
Would recommend to:
everyone
no
November 24, 2013I've basically stopped reviewing here in favor of BookLikes, but for Mr. Wright, I'm willing to make an exception. Especially with this oh-so-perfect title. And, really, the rest of this review consists mostly of his writing, not mine:
"A real heroine does not manipulate good men by their affections, nor copulate out of wedlock." (Slut shaming, check.)
"Women, it must be noted, complain more than men." ()
"But the purpose of the specialization is also difficult to deny: children need both a father-figure to mete out justice and fight for the family against the world, winning bread and slaying foes, and need a mother-figure to quench the thirst for mercy and nurture the family within the home." (Oh, good, I was worried he might not say anything homophobic.)
"His mission is not to give into despair, and, when she walks out on him, to walk after her." (No means keep trying, check.)
"Now, if that is the essence of the male-female mating dance, as you can see, nature places a much greater burden on the woman." (Personal prejudice (especially Western) = nature, check.)
"The sexes are opposite, and culture should exaggerate the complimentary opposition by artifice in order to increase our joy in them, including artifices of dress and speech: when women dress and speak and act like men, some joy is erased from both sexes." (Put a bow on it, check)
"Feminism abolishes femininity." (straw-man feminism, check. There's a lot more of this kind of thing, but most of it is so long-winded and illogical that you, dear reader, would think I made it up.)
"By the way, gentlemen, this is why women talk more than men and talk about more trivial things." (
I've read more than enough of this author. No need to waste money on this upcoming title.
Also, just for good measure: Fuck you goodreads.
"A real heroine does not manipulate good men by their affections, nor copulate out of wedlock." (Slut shaming, check.)
"Women, it must be noted, complain more than men." ()
"But the purpose of the specialization is also difficult to deny: children need both a father-figure to mete out justice and fight for the family against the world, winning bread and slaying foes, and need a mother-figure to quench the thirst for mercy and nurture the family within the home." (Oh, good, I was worried he might not say anything homophobic.)
"His mission is not to give into despair, and, when she walks out on him, to walk after her." (No means keep trying, check.)
"Now, if that is the essence of the male-female mating dance, as you can see, nature places a much greater burden on the woman." (Personal prejudice (especially Western) = nature, check.)
"The sexes are opposite, and culture should exaggerate the complimentary opposition by artifice in order to increase our joy in them, including artifices of dress and speech: when women dress and speak and act like men, some joy is erased from both sexes." (Put a bow on it, check)
"Feminism abolishes femininity." (straw-man feminism, check. There's a lot more of this kind of thing, but most of it is so long-winded and illogical that you, dear reader, would think I made it up.)
"By the way, gentlemen, this is why women talk more than men and talk about more trivial things." (
I've read more than enough of this author. No need to waste money on this upcoming title.
Also, just for good measure: Fuck you goodreads.
May 25, 2014
While I enjoyed the previous two books in the series, this one blew me away. A slow start soon led to a frenetic pace of action and plot reveals that held up through the rest of the book.
This series has so many cool ideas in it that they could easily had been provided as a basis for other books. Space opera with plausible science brings it down to earth and up to the skies. Yet as cool as the action was, it was the interplay between between Menelaus and "Blackie" that provides so much entertainment. Especially as it is far from typical hero/villain interplay. The war of ideas and nuances in outdoing each other is just fun to watch and just went you thought you understood what was going on you descend down another layer of the onion.
I just found myself smiling through most of the book. Although this was not a quick read as the book is os dense in characters and ideas you have to read carefully to keep track. Still the effort it well worth it.
This series has so many cool ideas in it that they could easily had been provided as a basis for other books. Space opera with plausible science brings it down to earth and up to the skies. Yet as cool as the action was, it was the interplay between between Menelaus and "Blackie" that provides so much entertainment. Especially as it is far from typical hero/villain interplay. The war of ideas and nuances in outdoing each other is just fun to watch and just went you thought you understood what was going on you descend down another layer of the onion.
I just found myself smiling through most of the book. Although this was not a quick read as the book is os dense in characters and ideas you have to read carefully to keep track. Still the effort it well worth it.
May 23, 2014
Exhilerating SF by an author who'se well versed in SF-tropes, scientific knowledge, and the classics of western civilization. And has a vertile imagination, filling every page with new ideas, witty dialogue and huge revelations. Most of all, he's not afraid to write in order to provide the reader with that most elusive of sensations, a sense of wonder. A sense of wonder that is not produced by empty spectacle, but the deep awe one feels when confronted with deep time, the grandeur of space, breathtaking beauty or courageous sacrifice. Or two rivals and enemies smoking a cigarette together and choosing to be gentlemen. I felt this sense of wonder often, reading this book, at the same time being stimulated to think about different elements of human civilization, how they balance against each other, and how when one comes to the fore, at the cost of others, we lose what makes us human. And what makes us human is a lot simpler than hunge formula's, all encompassing intellect, and all the meddling people do: it's being a man, being a woman, and love your life. There's something chestertonian in that (the author is a fan, I know). Sadly some of these thoughts remain a bit academic, for I don't think Wrights characterisation is really where he shines the most. He's a man of idea's. And on some of his ideas I think I disagree, seeing how he is a bit on the right side of American politics, and holds on to some things I think are ultimately harmful. But he would say the same thing about me, and I don't find his politics harm the work. The imagination and passion for life do really outshine these little flaws in my opinion.
This is the third book in a series, and one must really read the first two, and start on an exhilerating journey into the far future. This book is intrigueing as all action takes place in one place, during approximately one day, and mostly consists of conversation. But there are awesome revelations that span aeons. Definitely recommended for people who like outlandish speculation coupled with hard science in their fiction.
This is the third book in a series, and one must really read the first two, and start on an exhilerating journey into the far future. This book is intrigueing as all action takes place in one place, during approximately one day, and mostly consists of conversation. But there are awesome revelations that span aeons. Definitely recommended for people who like outlandish speculation coupled with hard science in their fiction.
January 31, 2020
There was a gruesomely violent part near the middle (so nudity is evil and sullies the soul, but gore is totally fine, eh?). Yet the surprising and optimistic ending made up for it--as well as the nagging feeling that the MC is constantly lecturing us the readers. Where, oh, where is this going?
Favorite moments:
~ Some rumination on pop art, from the very distant future:
~ The future's full of wonders:
~ The clash of cultures carries on:
Favorite moments:
~ Some rumination on pop art, from the very distant future:
“You know about the Crusades? No, don’t tell me…�
“Of course. Strange Tales of the Street number 86 was Curse of the Treasure of the Templars, and one of the undead Professor Necromant raised from the Tombs of the Ages was a Crusader—a Red Cross Knight, in service to Richard the Lionheart during the King’s Crusade.�
“Huhn. You really can learn useful stuff from kiddie yarns. Maybe learn everything you need.�
“Professor Necromant also raised a zombie triceratops, an amphibious mer-vampire samurai cyberassassin from Atlantis named Glaucon, and a dog-eating Witch named Melech Chemosh Shemyaza the Nagual. Hey! Do you think this is the very tomb the Professor used?�
“Uh, yeah. Forget what I said about kiddie yarns being useful. (...)�
~ The future's full of wonders:
“My turn. My question is for Soorm. How is it you can see us? How is it that the nerve-seeking mites slipped by the Blue Men into our food did not work on your nervous system?�
Soorm said, “Lovely lady, they did work! That is, they worked on the spare nervous system I keep in my body as a fake. I have two spares. They are only connected to enough organs—spare organs—so that invasives trying to sly-up my cell life will think they succeeded. My real nervous system is hardened and molecularly double-encrypted. Even I do not know which organ contains my real brain; that way no one can trick the location out of me. (...)�
~ The clash of cultures carries on:
Indeed, Vulpina had demanded, and Keirthlin had expressed a desire, to be allowed to act as witnesses to the gunfight, but Menelaus Montrose told Keirthlin that women who see such things have a darkness that comes over their soul and does not depart, a thing that makes them less able or willing to be softhearted, wifely, or maternal.
Keirthlin replied that it was not necessarily the case that witnessing such cold and deliberate violence influenced the psychology for the worse. Coming to the aid of her argument, Vulpina bragged that she herself had seen such things on the playground nearly every day of her life, and twice on Dueling Day; and it had not affected her fertility, or the ability of the Eugenic Board to send a stud to beat her into submission in preparation for the mating assault.
January 16, 2014
Got confused and thought I was reviewing the Hermetic Millennia. Ah well, I'll just leave this here.
Hermetic Millennia is of Wright's best books. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Like in his Golden Age trilogy Write has some of the most imaginative post humans I've ever read about. The book is exciting, funny, and thought provoking. I thought it was significantly better than the first book in the series.
I'm sure the Judge of Ages will be fantastic as well.
Hermetic Millennia is of Wright's best books. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Like in his Golden Age trilogy Write has some of the most imaginative post humans I've ever read about. The book is exciting, funny, and thought provoking. I thought it was significantly better than the first book in the series.
I'm sure the Judge of Ages will be fantastic as well.
March 1, 2014
The scope of the COUNT TO A TRILLION series (JUDGE OF AGES is #3)is staggering, and this book is little more than a blink in that time, with huge impact.
September 10, 2014
This novel picks up the second after the conclusion of the previous novel. As I said in the review of the previous novel, this is merely part 2 of a novel that was cut in half for length reason. Most of the mysteries of the histories of the different post-human era are answered in multiple dialogues in this novel. The struggles between Master of the World (Hermetics) and Judge of the Ages (Montrose) are chess like with various characters noting their own position on the board. Some of the pieces are very very far away, some of the commit self sacrifice so their side may gain advantage (in this case, even commented on that fact as the act is being carried out).
Unlike the previous book, this book ends conclusively the war between the 2 post-human factions and sets stage for the next book The Architect of Aeons, in which we hopefully get to see the aliens, after waiting for 8 thousand years.
Unlike the previous book, this book ends conclusively the war between the 2 post-human factions and sets stage for the next book The Architect of Aeons, in which we hopefully get to see the aliens, after waiting for 8 thousand years.
March 3, 2015
This book was great. Think of "Count to a Trillion", "The Hermetic Millenia" and "The Judge of Ages" as a trilogy: most of the numerous threads are explained and wrapped up neatly in this book. There will be a few more in the series (the overarching thread isn't finished yet), but this is a good conclusion to the first series of events. It doesn't end on a cliffhanger like the last two did.
The first book was very cerebral and difficult to read, and the second was better but still rather slow and confusing, but this book really shines. It explains what was going on in the huge, fascinating evolutionary arcs humanity has been following over the several millenia. In fact, one of the few complaints I would have about this book is that it explains things several times, and sometimes I'm reading a recap that I already read earlier, and shouldn't have to go through again.
Overall, I thought this book was terrific: fascinating ideas, huge scope and a very interesting and creative conclusion: the ending definitely took me by surprise, in a good way. I would say that the protagonist is one of the more interesting and unique characters I have ever read in science fiction, and I like the way he was built up.
The first book was very cerebral and difficult to read, and the second was better but still rather slow and confusing, but this book really shines. It explains what was going on in the huge, fascinating evolutionary arcs humanity has been following over the several millenia. In fact, one of the few complaints I would have about this book is that it explains things several times, and sometimes I'm reading a recap that I already read earlier, and shouldn't have to go through again.
Overall, I thought this book was terrific: fascinating ideas, huge scope and a very interesting and creative conclusion: the ending definitely took me by surprise, in a good way. I would say that the protagonist is one of the more interesting and unique characters I have ever read in science fiction, and I like the way he was built up.
August 30, 2015
This 3rd book of 4 was a little uneven in pace. A lot of time in the middle was spent on an interspecies battle in Montrose's Tombs. Given the big scope of the concepts, I felt it was a little slow. But as the story progressed I understood that the details of the battle, especially as it related to the species capabilities in battle and their thought processes. Overall this book took me by surprise and with the injected humor it places him with Iain Banks and Neal Stephenson. As for vision and scope and pure mind blowing thougnts he is a natural peer of Greg Egan, Peter Hamilton and David Zindell
February 17, 2014
A truly masterful, viscerally satisfying space opera in the hard SF tradition.
February 8, 2015
Picks up where Hermetic Millenia left off, and does so with a bang. Almost 200 pages of a single battle scene, with lots of philosophizing going on in the intervals, and somehow John C. Wright makes it impossible to put down. But the final move in the millenia-long chess game is what makes this book fantastic. For all of his faults, Wright has endless imagination. The only thing that makes me cringe is Menelaus' blasphemy, endlessly inventive though it may be. But I have a thin skin for that kind of thing, so...
In any case, I'm anxiously awaiting volume four of this six-volume series.
In any case, I'm anxiously awaiting volume four of this six-volume series.
March 27, 2014
Alright. I loved this book. In its entirety. Wright brings us back to his character driven take on Last and First Men (With ninja beastmen and Doc Smith style curses!) in a book that consists of a conversation, a fight, and conversation, and another fight. Which sounds boring, but it's not. (At least, not if you're fond of secret histories and hard scifi sense of wonder.)
Caveat Emptor: This is book three of a series of... 5? 6? Something like that.
Caveat Emptor: This is book three of a series of... 5? 6? Something like that.
February 17, 2014
A few plot twists in this one... helps make sense of the previous book.
December 7, 2016
It got really gross and sexist.
February 12, 2014
The premise of this series is interesting, but the last two books could basically have been half a book, and nothing would have been lost. The interminable attempts to regain control of the hero's computer are tedious to say the least. None of the good characters are interesting, and the villains are not threatening. The hero and the main villain are fighting over a girl who is not that interesting. I would read the first book, and then skim the next two if the final two volumes turn out to be better, otherwise, I'd give everything after book one a pass.
March 20, 2015
It's an intriguing end to the tug-of-war, but the fourth star is because as a law student from Texas, there are so many beautiful one-liners for me that are probably irrelevant asides to most people. I think I enjoyed most of the journey, but still want to read more by this author to decide how I feel about him.
March 14, 2014
Great writer that is for sure very solid style and lot of depth but sort of anti Christian I think - I try to ignore it and that works for the most part - if it gets worse than I will quit reading his stories (-0:
February 4, 2015
Poor Montrose! Every chapter and every book ends in a cliffhanger. I'd say more, but hey, no spoilers!
April 27, 2014
Moments of brilliance but drags in places due to most of the plot advancing through dialog among a large number of characters that was hard to keep track of.
December 29, 2014
There's not much to be said for this one, other than "can't wait for the next book!"
June 29, 2014
I like the way through this book we still find out about what really happened in the first two. Things aren't exactly what they seem.
February 28, 2015
I love Wright's ideas, and sometimes his prose - but I feel like this book could have been cut down to a couple of short stories and benefited substantially. Got to be a slog toward the end.
February 18, 2022
The second half of . All the missing action of the rebellion formed in the previous book is finally here. The last book introduced some memorable and interesting characters from the different forms of man. With these characters Menelaus Montrose defeats their captors --- who turn out to be tomb residents themselves being manipulated by the Hermeticists. The missing piece from the previous book is finally revealed in this one: a historic game of chess is being played between Menelaus and his nemesis, Ximen del Azalchel (the leader of the Hermeticists). Ximen is trying to obtain the knowledge from Menelaus to create post-humans that do not devolve into madness: the anti-divarication formula. This knowledge had been discovered by the Princess before she left on her 70,000-year trip, and she used it to cure Dr. Montrose. With this formula Ximen wishes to create a new world in Jupiter made up entirely of artificial intelligences which will be led by him.
In order to pry the anti-divarication formula out of Menelaus, Ximen created societies which were lacking a key characteristic. Menelaus, in order to save human society from self-destruction, intervened to supply the missing characteristic, but the cure necessitated a society-level application of a part of the formula. And from the application of part of the formula, Ximen reversed-engineered the entire formula, in 7 parts.
The chess match is won by Ximen, except for the last move, in which Menelaus instills in the humanity of the day with a radical desire for extreme independence --- this as a bid to preserve humanity from a deeply hierarchical society where a person of lower rank is enslaved to her upper ranks as deeply as an arm might be enslaved to the mind that controls it. Ximen's plan is thus thwarted, but by the same move Menelaus' resources and plans are also thwarted: for the humanity that results from this move also deeply resents the Judge of Ages and his incursions into history. After merging into a worlwide super-mind, humanity's descendants ascend into a truly different species, more advanced, fiercely independent, and in charge of the planet. They decide to terminate the power of the Judge of Ages over his tomb system --- which causes all the tombs to be opened, and the millions of humans from all the previous ages of mankind to come back to the planet surface. However, Menelaus has one more trick up his sleeve. Wishing the earlier forms of man to be independent --- if they wished --- from the planetwide super-mind that has inherited the planet, he makes a lot of their races literally invisible to it (except if they personally choose to communicate with it via electronic means). After this, both Ximen and Menelaus are expelled from Earth, and these two agree on a truce until the return of the Princess in order to survive.
After reading the first three books of the story, the nature of the story is becoming clear. Events happen over a super-long time period. But this has one drawback. The very interesting and compelling characters that were introduced in this book and the previous one are simply lost to the vagaries of time, as they will continue to actually live their lives on Earth. It is only Menelaus and his nemesis Ximen that will pause their existence into limbo as they freeze themselves to await the return of their beloved (one the husband, the other the jilted fiancé) 60,000 years hence.
Again, I find the ideas introduced in the story quite good. But again, the delivery is lacking. In this book there is far too much exposition, except for the actual fighting, which was too confused, much too unrealistically motivated, and for which about 30 minutes of combat took a way too significant portion of the book.
In order to pry the anti-divarication formula out of Menelaus, Ximen created societies which were lacking a key characteristic. Menelaus, in order to save human society from self-destruction, intervened to supply the missing characteristic, but the cure necessitated a society-level application of a part of the formula. And from the application of part of the formula, Ximen reversed-engineered the entire formula, in 7 parts.
The chess match is won by Ximen, except for the last move, in which Menelaus instills in the humanity of the day with a radical desire for extreme independence --- this as a bid to preserve humanity from a deeply hierarchical society where a person of lower rank is enslaved to her upper ranks as deeply as an arm might be enslaved to the mind that controls it. Ximen's plan is thus thwarted, but by the same move Menelaus' resources and plans are also thwarted: for the humanity that results from this move also deeply resents the Judge of Ages and his incursions into history. After merging into a worlwide super-mind, humanity's descendants ascend into a truly different species, more advanced, fiercely independent, and in charge of the planet. They decide to terminate the power of the Judge of Ages over his tomb system --- which causes all the tombs to be opened, and the millions of humans from all the previous ages of mankind to come back to the planet surface. However, Menelaus has one more trick up his sleeve. Wishing the earlier forms of man to be independent --- if they wished --- from the planetwide super-mind that has inherited the planet, he makes a lot of their races literally invisible to it (except if they personally choose to communicate with it via electronic means). After this, both Ximen and Menelaus are expelled from Earth, and these two agree on a truce until the return of the Princess in order to survive.
After reading the first three books of the story, the nature of the story is becoming clear. Events happen over a super-long time period. But this has one drawback. The very interesting and compelling characters that were introduced in this book and the previous one are simply lost to the vagaries of time, as they will continue to actually live their lives on Earth. It is only Menelaus and his nemesis Ximen that will pause their existence into limbo as they freeze themselves to await the return of their beloved (one the husband, the other the jilted fiancé) 60,000 years hence.
Again, I find the ideas introduced in the story quite good. But again, the delivery is lacking. In this book there is far too much exposition, except for the actual fighting, which was too confused, much too unrealistically motivated, and for which about 30 minutes of combat took a way too significant portion of the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2019
oh, god. sigh.
so i accidentally grabbed this one thinking it was the first of the series. it's not. my bad. that might be partly why it's so weird. but then again, maybe not, because it's just...not that great.
like, okay, as old-fashioned ""classic"" science fiction, it's okay. it's got an interesting technological scheme, a lot of technobabble. and not gonna lie, the premise is stellar. alien invaders coming, slowly but inexorably, to enslave or murder all life on earth, and humanity's response is to turn both themselves & their planet into freaks of nature?? sign. me. up.
but then. then. oh my god. the execution. the subtext. like i'm a hundred pages from the end, and if i have to read through one more rant about how the whole problem with humanity is that human women aren't the property of men and--how did he put it?--"sexual pathologies" have "erupt[ed] in the west", i'm going to literally puke and then set this book on fire. and don't even get me started on how every. single. one. of his female characters is graded--by this supposedly very married & deeply loyal "gunslinger"--on how good their boobs are. literally. the male characters spend a ludicrous amount of time talking about the physical attractiveness of the female characters, even the ones who are supposedly very adept, able warriors. and that's not even mentioning the underage sex-crazed teenager who gets locked--oh my god--naked in a "coffin" with a man twice her age. like. so many layers of male entitlement and male nerd culture at it's absolute worst. dude.
and then even if you want to overlook All Of That, it's just not a very good novel. the plot progression reminds me of trying to learn how to drive a manual. like the entire novel is just somebody going "we must urgently do something!" and then talking ad nauseum. like if you're all about to die, why are we deconstructing everything that's wrong with Witch society? why? that should be the last thing on our list. and like, if we do spend time on such irrelevancies, there should be consequences. like, please, i'm begging this gd bell to just get here already & put us all out of our misery. please.
none of the characters sound or feel unique at all. it's like the author thinks if he talks enough about how different their cultures are & what they're all wearing--like, seriously, i've never read an adult author who spends this much time talking about costuming--we'll forget that his characters have all the uniqueness of ayn rand cardboard cutouts. their dialogue is stilted, fully three-quarters exposition, and it's deeply boring & deeply jarring by turns. like, john, my dude, have you ever heard a real human talk, even once? like, ever? because i feel like you haven't. real people don't talk endlessly about things in their cultures & surroundings & biology that are normal. they don't. when in a life-or-death situation, soldiers don't take the time to go: "why yes! i can take this grenade & throw it, for i have articulated limbs with biologically-primed muscles designed for throwing things! watch me!" people involved in life-or-death situations don't take the time to explain fundamental assumptions about their cultures to each other. they don't.
dear god. i'm not even joking or exaggerating. i wish i were.
like honestly the only thing this trainwreck of a book makes me want to do is rescue the premise from this dude.
edt: oh, and one more thing. Let Menelaus Montrose Say 'F*ck' You Coward.
so i accidentally grabbed this one thinking it was the first of the series. it's not. my bad. that might be partly why it's so weird. but then again, maybe not, because it's just...not that great.
like, okay, as old-fashioned ""classic"" science fiction, it's okay. it's got an interesting technological scheme, a lot of technobabble. and not gonna lie, the premise is stellar. alien invaders coming, slowly but inexorably, to enslave or murder all life on earth, and humanity's response is to turn both themselves & their planet into freaks of nature?? sign. me. up.
but then. then. oh my god. the execution. the subtext. like i'm a hundred pages from the end, and if i have to read through one more rant about how the whole problem with humanity is that human women aren't the property of men and--how did he put it?--"sexual pathologies" have "erupt[ed] in the west", i'm going to literally puke and then set this book on fire. and don't even get me started on how every. single. one. of his female characters is graded--by this supposedly very married & deeply loyal "gunslinger"--on how good their boobs are. literally. the male characters spend a ludicrous amount of time talking about the physical attractiveness of the female characters, even the ones who are supposedly very adept, able warriors. and that's not even mentioning the underage sex-crazed teenager who gets locked--oh my god--naked in a "coffin" with a man twice her age. like. so many layers of male entitlement and male nerd culture at it's absolute worst. dude.
and then even if you want to overlook All Of That, it's just not a very good novel. the plot progression reminds me of trying to learn how to drive a manual. like the entire novel is just somebody going "we must urgently do something!" and then talking ad nauseum. like if you're all about to die, why are we deconstructing everything that's wrong with Witch society? why? that should be the last thing on our list. and like, if we do spend time on such irrelevancies, there should be consequences. like, please, i'm begging this gd bell to just get here already & put us all out of our misery. please.
none of the characters sound or feel unique at all. it's like the author thinks if he talks enough about how different their cultures are & what they're all wearing--like, seriously, i've never read an adult author who spends this much time talking about costuming--we'll forget that his characters have all the uniqueness of ayn rand cardboard cutouts. their dialogue is stilted, fully three-quarters exposition, and it's deeply boring & deeply jarring by turns. like, john, my dude, have you ever heard a real human talk, even once? like, ever? because i feel like you haven't. real people don't talk endlessly about things in their cultures & surroundings & biology that are normal. they don't. when in a life-or-death situation, soldiers don't take the time to go: "why yes! i can take this grenade & throw it, for i have articulated limbs with biologically-primed muscles designed for throwing things! watch me!" people involved in life-or-death situations don't take the time to explain fundamental assumptions about their cultures to each other. they don't.
dear god. i'm not even joking or exaggerating. i wish i were.
like honestly the only thing this trainwreck of a book makes me want to do is rescue the premise from this dude.
edt: oh, and one more thing. Let Menelaus Montrose Say 'F*ck' You Coward.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2019
Reading "The Judge of Ages" taught me two things: 1, that John C. Wright can still write incredible science fiction, and 2, that Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ is still hypocritical in applying its own rules regarding reviews.
Let's address that second one first, shall we? Straight from Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ own review guidelines: "reviews that are predominantly about an author’s behavior and not about the book will be deleted." That's a sensible rule! I like that rule. Unfortunately, Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ only applies that rule when it protects leftist authors; otherwise, it's disregarded.
Now to the first point. Judge of Ages is an incredible entry in this series. After the somewhat slow and disjointed second book, Hermetic Millennia, JoA is a breath of fresh air. The first book, Count to a Trillion, was very good, and displayed much of the brilliance that made Wright's Golden Age trilogy so enjoyable. This book, I'm happy to say, is even better.
It picks up right where Hermetic Millennia left off (so you can't, unfortunately, skip that book, or you'll be very, very lost), and proceeds with an amazing feat of literary skill: Wright builds up a tense Mexican standoff for something like 100 pages, then shows us the aftermath. The last 100 pages or so are a discussion between two major characters, wherein a lot (and I mean a LOT) of heretofore unknown mysteries are revealed. Then the book ends with a surprise twist and starts a bit of setup for the scenario of book 4.
That standoff never loses steam, never drops tension; Wright masterfully weaves shifting circumstances into the standoff in a way that never becomes too confusing but also serves to elevate the drama. And then once that powder-keg reaches a flashpoint, he shows us the fallout, piece by piece. It's really clever, the kind of writing one looks at and says, "Man, I wish I could write like that."
JoA has enough cleverness built into it that it's an intriguing sci-fi romp, but it also drops enough hints that the reader can put some (not all!) things together themselves. The Golden Age trilogy (especially the first book) was terrible about requiring the reader to put things together; here, in JoA, it's just a bonus if you can figure things out a few pages before the characters do.
The setup for book 4 is well-done, as well; this book did not end how I thought it would, which makes me want to read the next book all the more. It's fun to see posthuman intelligence at work, but it's even more fun when posthuman intelligence gets outwitted, which does happen here, multiple times.
All in all, this is Wright at some of his best: it's still intelligently written science fiction, but it's much more accessible than the density of Golden Age. I'm hoping he can continue this trend through the rest of the series.
5 stars out of 5
Let's address that second one first, shall we? Straight from Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ own review guidelines: "reviews that are predominantly about an author’s behavior and not about the book will be deleted." That's a sensible rule! I like that rule. Unfortunately, Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ only applies that rule when it protects leftist authors; otherwise, it's disregarded.
Now to the first point. Judge of Ages is an incredible entry in this series. After the somewhat slow and disjointed second book, Hermetic Millennia, JoA is a breath of fresh air. The first book, Count to a Trillion, was very good, and displayed much of the brilliance that made Wright's Golden Age trilogy so enjoyable. This book, I'm happy to say, is even better.
It picks up right where Hermetic Millennia left off (so you can't, unfortunately, skip that book, or you'll be very, very lost), and proceeds with an amazing feat of literary skill: Wright builds up a tense Mexican standoff for something like 100 pages, then shows us the aftermath. The last 100 pages or so are a discussion between two major characters, wherein a lot (and I mean a LOT) of heretofore unknown mysteries are revealed. Then the book ends with a surprise twist and starts a bit of setup for the scenario of book 4.
That standoff never loses steam, never drops tension; Wright masterfully weaves shifting circumstances into the standoff in a way that never becomes too confusing but also serves to elevate the drama. And then once that powder-keg reaches a flashpoint, he shows us the fallout, piece by piece. It's really clever, the kind of writing one looks at and says, "Man, I wish I could write like that."
JoA has enough cleverness built into it that it's an intriguing sci-fi romp, but it also drops enough hints that the reader can put some (not all!) things together themselves. The Golden Age trilogy (especially the first book) was terrible about requiring the reader to put things together; here, in JoA, it's just a bonus if you can figure things out a few pages before the characters do.
The setup for book 4 is well-done, as well; this book did not end how I thought it would, which makes me want to read the next book all the more. It's fun to see posthuman intelligence at work, but it's even more fun when posthuman intelligence gets outwitted, which does happen here, multiple times.
All in all, this is Wright at some of his best: it's still intelligently written science fiction, but it's much more accessible than the density of Golden Age. I'm hoping he can continue this trend through the rest of the series.
5 stars out of 5
February 18, 2022
The biggest problem with this novel is its being the second half of The Hermetic Millennia. It came in too long, so Tor cut it in half -- and since I didn't read it immediately after the previous one, I had to do a little thinking to reorient myself in the story world, in particular all the different characters and the sequence of the ages in which their societies appeared.
But once I got back up to speed, all I can say is Wow! While the previous volume was Montrose struggling to solve a mystery while concealing his identity, this one soon becomes a mistaken identity story, when the villains are certain they have found the tomb of the titular Judge of Ages (who is actually the protagonist).
John C. Wright certainly has an eye for the operatic in his stage setting, with the allegorical figures that surround the hibernation coffin. The sheer grandiosity of it pretty well told me it was some kind of decoy, because it clashed so sharply with Montrose's character. Oh, but the sheer lushness of the description of that chamber....
And then we have the opening of the coffin and the revelation, which leads to a giant battle that pretty much demolishes all that ornate bric-a-brac and finally forces the hand of the actual villain who is behind all of it. So we have the resumption of the duel that was interrupted way back at the end of Book 1 -- except that it ends inconclusively, as hero and villain are both banished from Earth by a new power, and left to wait out the remaining centuries until the invasion of the force from the Hyades -- which will be the next volume, The Architect of Aeons.
But once I got back up to speed, all I can say is Wow! While the previous volume was Montrose struggling to solve a mystery while concealing his identity, this one soon becomes a mistaken identity story, when the villains are certain they have found the tomb of the titular Judge of Ages (who is actually the protagonist).
John C. Wright certainly has an eye for the operatic in his stage setting, with the allegorical figures that surround the hibernation coffin. The sheer grandiosity of it pretty well told me it was some kind of decoy, because it clashed so sharply with Montrose's character. Oh, but the sheer lushness of the description of that chamber....
And then we have the opening of the coffin and the revelation, which leads to a giant battle that pretty much demolishes all that ornate bric-a-brac and finally forces the hand of the actual villain who is behind all of it. So we have the resumption of the duel that was interrupted way back at the end of Book 1 -- except that it ends inconclusively, as hero and villain are both banished from Earth by a new power, and left to wait out the remaining centuries until the invasion of the force from the Hyades -- which will be the next volume, The Architect of Aeons.
June 28, 2018
This is porn for hard-SciFi/Science-fantasy nerds. I devoured this book without having the benefit of knowing half of what was going on, but it was tasty non-the-less. I haven't been able to get my hands on the previous books in this series (yet) but on it's own "The Judge of Ages" stands up well and I trust the rest of the series should be given due credit based on the performance of John C. Wright's writing, which is superb.
There is (or is equivalents of) nymphs, witches, kobolds, berserkers, A.I.'s, laser guns, battles, intrigue, immortal kings, and a screwball sense of humor to glue it all together. So if you're a fan of high-fantasy this will also interest you.
There is (or is equivalents of) nymphs, witches, kobolds, berserkers, A.I.'s, laser guns, battles, intrigue, immortal kings, and a screwball sense of humor to glue it all together. So if you're a fan of high-fantasy this will also interest you.
February 27, 2018
Never before has a book made me have to constantly stoop to pick my jaw off the floor!
I was not entirely satisfied with the previous book, the Hermetic Millennia, and that's somewhat understandable, as it was the first half of one book, and this is the second half. This is pretty much one long fight scene, and it is GLORIOUS. My mind kept getting boggled and stunned by the pure creativity of this author.
I was not entirely satisfied with the previous book, the Hermetic Millennia, and that's somewhat understandable, as it was the first half of one book, and this is the second half. This is pretty much one long fight scene, and it is GLORIOUS. My mind kept getting boggled and stunned by the pure creativity of this author.
December 6, 2021
Unending Scene / No Travel
I really liked the first book but it seems book two and book three both were stationary. Eh near 400 pages happened as if a man telling history of what but not how, and he remained in the same physical location the entire book. Book 2 at least went into different rooms. I think book 3 was 95% in one room. Also, the gun fight can be measured in multiples of the Dragon Ball Z Frieza Saga.
I really liked the first book but it seems book two and book three both were stationary. Eh near 400 pages happened as if a man telling history of what but not how, and he remained in the same physical location the entire book. Book 2 at least went into different rooms. I think book 3 was 95% in one room. Also, the gun fight can be measured in multiples of the Dragon Ball Z Frieza Saga.
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