Engines of Reason

Elder Race series, book 2

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Like other novels by Adrian Tchaikovsky, this is very well written. The pacing is good, the characters are well-drawn, and the story has good dynamics. The plot and the problem to be overcome in this one is very much character-driven.

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My old eyes have seen unwholesome things, as befits a wizard. I shake my head, feeling a great emotional weight come loose and lurch about like badly stowed cargo in a storm. Joining all the other loose pieces of me.

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This is a political, tender, mysterious, scientifically-interesting story about friendship, power, and the consequences of misusing power.

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The premise is that a 'wizard' is found whose powers rival those of the scientist who the natives call The Elder.

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The main character of series, the Elder, is a normal man, an Archeologist, Second Class, who was left on the planet when the rest of his team went back home to Earth. They left him with a technologically advanced tower that has drones, robots, and the machinery to build whatever gadget he needs. The natives think he’s a wizard because of his technology and understanding of science. As an archeologist should, he does his best to stay out of their lives.

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She gave no ground, knowing that if her people didn’t have the leverage, this meeting wouldn’t be taking place. Lyn had her own list of concessions and inducements, hard lines Cantiresse had told her not to cross. Somewhere between the circumferences of their positions was a narrow sliver of common ground where both sides would grumblingly accept what was on offer, if only they could find it.

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The Elder is called on to deal with the very destructive and geo-politically devestating actions of newly-found wizard, who demands to be called an Elder and who can speak English (a language not found on the planet). She's a loose canon and a complete mystery.

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By the book's end, we still don't understand who she is and how she got her powers. In a lot of ways, this book feels like a set-up for the next book in the series.

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