City at the End of Time

by Greg Bear, 2008

Smashing, but not life changing. Another great ripping yarn. I find myself with less and less patience for such a thing of late, and I'm not sure how to tell if that's due to the quality of the works in question, or due to a change in my own temprament.

I would, in years gone by, have listed Greg Bear as one of my favourite science-fiction authors, but my rating for this one is slipping dangerously close to the 'not sure it was worth my time' level. I felt the same way about The Algebraist, by Ian Banks, who I previously have also loved to death.

I guess authors have their good and bad seasons just like anyone else. But I'm tempted to go back and flick through Eon and Eternity again, to see if they really were as well-crafted as I remember them. Whether I love or loathe the exercise should decide the issue.

Rating: 6.5/10 Why all the X-point-five scores recently?