[Mithfânion]

Two wonderful looking new SF books from the new Science fiction publisher Pyr. Of their current catalogue these are the two books that appeal to me the must ( though the Futureschock anthology seems cool as well). Has anyone read these two books? Outside of this board they seem to get favourable reviews, but they are unknowns.

[Ward]

I made it about half-way through Genetopia. While I can't say it had any glaring faults it just wasn't grabbing me, it's rather slow going and doesn't have a lot I haven't seen before, and I suppose I just wasn't in the mood for that sort of story (youth's journey through a strange world). I wouldn't say it was bad, but the characterization seemed a bit pat for the style of story he was trying to tell, and the plot just wasn't moving fast enough to make up for that.

[Raule]

I read Genetopia recently and had a similar reaction. I liked Brooke's short story (of same name) over at Infinity Plus better. Genetopia, the novel, felt disjointed -- slow in some places, rushed in others. By the end, I felt he had run out of steam with his idea and hadn't capitalized properly on allowing us to spend enough time with any one character to form an attachment. This may have been part of his strategy to make his themes work, but I think it hindered the novel in the end.