Eyes of the Calculor

Let me be clear here: this is not a jumping on point. For some reason the books aren't numbered as a trilogy of sorts but that's basically what they are . . . McMullen is decent at giving exposition but being I read the first two in the series I'm probably a poor judge of how well he brings people up to speed. Though, with that said, it may not be as difficult as all that as a lot of the concepts that powered the first book are gone, as well as most of the characters (while some folks have carried over, he's generally introduced an entirely new cast every time) . . . the end of the second book marked a bit of a sea change for the status quo, with one of the Big Concepts, the Call, being resolved entirely. The problem is that unless you've read the previous books you're not going to realize exactly how big a deal this is and how McMullen has been slowly shifting the overall direction over the course of the three books and stripping away what you thought were the core concepts before they could become gimmicks, which while not groundbreaking, at least shows a willingness to mess with his own rules. Anyway, as the first book showed us Australia and the second book put us in North America, the last book here starts to let the cultures mingle, with the flyers and the librarians getting almost equal time. Also, the Avians become a bigger force in the novel as they don't have to worry about getting shot in the face every time they poke their heads up. Like the other novels there is a lot going on and also like those other novels there's probably too much going on. Nobody can accuse McMullen in lacking ideas and the plots spin and collide and parallel each other like he expects to be dead by the time the book is over and has to get it all down now. This can be a bit disorienting, as it means the story moves too quickly and some of the deeper character motivations tend to get lost in the shuffle as you start to question why exactly people are doing the things they're doing. The kickoff event for all of this is Mirrorsun (don't ask) shorting out all the electronics on the planet for some reason, throwing everything into a bit of chaos. From there situations escalate, although with all the political manuevering and fighting it gets hard to tell exactly what the stakes are or who is on what side unless you start keeping a scorecard. The characters are mostly memorable, although there's so much to keep track of that nobody really gets to stick around in a scene for very long. There are some returning faces, including a few surprising ones. Some of the characters (I can think of two in particular) appear to have gone some radical personality changes in between books, which might be a little off-putting and not everyone is totally developed beyond "He's good at math and clever" . . . but the constant shifting about tends to alleviate that issue. If it's even an issue. But his dialogue remains sharp and funny at times, the ideas are bursting out a

Sean McMullen is a fellow Aussie but I won't let that cloud my judgment. The book is a page turner from the begining. It is fast paced and broad in scope. Sean has a rich imagination and has created a fascinating and very dangerous post apocalyptic (is there such a word?) Australia. This is one of a 3 part series. The other two novels are equally as good and if you read the first one you will have to get the others. Also read "The Centurians Empire" and "Voyage of the Shadowmoon" by the same Author.

For some reason, I didn't discover this was actually the last in a trilogy until halfway through the book, when it became clear that there was a complicated plot that had occured earlier. However, this did not at all stunt my enjoyment of Eyes of the Calculor, but perhaps it did limit it. McMullen definately has his own magnificent and very readable style, combining a sense of humour with wonderfully endearing yet complex characters, politics, religion and society, magic, technology and science, all set just under two thousand years in the future. The plot is complicated enough to allow an immediate re-reading, and many "Oh!" moments, where everything clicks into place. Although Eyes of the Calculor was fabulous as a stand alone book, I recommend it be read in sequence, in order to clean up issues of history and organisation of the society (which is quite complicated and worth understanding).If you're looking for something light and funny and completely new and unlike most other science fiction, this is the book (and series) for you. 4.5 stars.

In "Souls of the Great Machine," McMullen exposed his readers to a world full of complex cities on the future Australian continent, and in "The Miocene Arrow," McMullen went a step further and took us around to the other side of the world, in a future Denver, USA society, full of chivalry and aircraft. Different sets of characters were introduced to us in each book - far too many to begin listing here - and each brings with him or her a unique contribution to the story that unfolds in "Eyes of the Calculor." Zarvora Cybeline, former Highliber of Libris is replaced by Dramoren, an astute and altruistic man of great worth must organize a new calculor, and Jemli Miderellen, the new prophet of Woomera Confederation speaks out against all fueled machines. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, American forces, after finally recovering from a disasterous war, fomented by the Aviads of Austrailia, begin island hopping to gather horses from Austrailia. Samondel, Airlord of American Bartolica executes her sound plan, using pilots Serjon and Bronlar Feydamor as her most important and trusted crew members. Things go awry, however, and the fates of all parties involved, as well as a great number of innocent and ignorant civilians, are forever changed.At the same time, McMullen revives his older, once departed characters, only to have them inhabit bodies of the near-dead, catatonic characters found in Austrailia. This blend of old and new, as well as foreign and domestic, makes this fantasitc tale of future Earth both captivating and engrossing on very deep levels. Don't miss this adventure-romance, pregnant with lies, love, truth, mystery, faith and knowedlge. Buy this book, and read it!