Ceres Storm

Don't read this book if you want your wonders spoon-fed to you. This is subtle, poetic stuff, and will fly beneath the radar of your average slack-jawed Baen-reading TV-watching fanboy. But if you have a certain amount of intelligence, and maybe insanity, then this book will be a treasure chest of wonders. And remember -- it's only the first book of a series. Not everything is meant to be clear in this one. Just hang on for the ride!

Finally, an epic sf adventure novel that isn't bloated and clogged with boring details. Herter's rapid-fire plot kept me turning the pages. It seems the readers here who haven't enjoyed the novel are used to being spoon-fed every character's motivations, or enjoy slogging through details that masquerade as "world-building," but really just grind a compelling plot to a dead halt. Sure, there's something cryptic about the way Herter tells an enormous story in under 200 pp., but I found it an astonishing storytelling style.I'm definitely ready for Herter's next.

Think early Dan Simmons when you get this book.. You will be swept across the solar system and the galaxy.... tiny steps to vastnessess hard to reconcile with the fact that Herter has no FTL ships to do research from.From young children to ancient rulers here are engaging characters whose convolutions of identities will keep you intrigued.I love sci-fi and read more than 100 novels per year.. this one is in the top 10 of 2001.

It's great to find a book that requires the reader to participate by using their mind as well as just reading and being fed the story. The author provides the basic framework of the story of Daric, his life (or lives) and a strange world set in the very distant future. The readers use their own experiences and interpretations to color the world that David Herter creates. The book asks many questions, the foremost of which is what is the real definition of life and can these lives be intertwined concurrently. It's one of those books that falls into the catagory that the more you read, the more you want to read and explore this new time and place.

David Herter writes with the voice of authority, and a style uniquely his own. He draws the reader in with a fascinatingly seductive tale of transformation, where Daric -- the protagonist -- evolves from an adolescent boy into a powerful galactic force. The plot, like some of the author's language, is both complex and poetic. It moves the storyline through mankind's future in a solar system that has been dramatically changed by nanotech storms. Where the fate of Daric, echoes the fate of human civilization.An exceptionally fine novel filled with complex and intelligent ideas. Very original, and highly recommended.