uggh

The audiobook was the best way to enjoy this book, the person reading did an excellent job she did different voices and accents for all characters. This book actually reminded me of how high you go into the dark, several short stories that connect through characters or situations. Yeah it was a book that I enjoyed.

While there was some really interesting ideas incorporated here, and it had its moments, overall it just didn't hang together for me, and didn't give me enough character. By that I don't mean that I dislike this type of storytelling, of jumps and weaving stories--in fact, I usually have a weakness for it--but here there just wasn't quite enough.

I found reading a dialogue-driven book without quotation marks was a lot like driving a column shift for the first time, after having been used to floor shift. First it had been jarring to have reflected gear positions (this analogy completely falls apart for international readers if column shifts outside New Zealand are different, but it's still relevant with a little imagination), but once my brain had realigned itself to the new dynamic of how the van worked, driving it became a refreshingly enjoyable activity. The novelty of the experience was invigorating.

Similarly, I enjoyed reading this novel for its own sake, even separate from its story. I'd never seen such narration style before; it was an intriguing new experience that took a surprisingly short time to adjust to, until it felt completely normal. Fortunately for me, I thoroughly enjoyed the story too, so this book was a double pleasure.

And, perhaps because I'm an impatient person, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the stylistic lack of quotation marks made it faster to read, too. That appeals to the pragmatist in me.

I would probably rate it 3.5 stars but I'll be generous

I loved the start of the book but as the book continued I could see why the ratings are so low for it

There's a lot of interesting concepts raised, but it doesn't feel like any of these have been explored in enough depth. The constant time leaps forward doesn't help with this, as it feels like you never stay in a certain narrative long enough to really feel involved. It was more like a brief summary of history rather than a in depth story.

Not sure whether I'll continue with this series...

There are no quotation marks in this book. Luckily the conversations are pretty straight forward he said she said. The time line jumps ahead in leaps and bounds leaving unanswered questions about what happened to people in the past. You get to know the characters just long enough to invest in them and then they are gone and you find out they died 100 years ago. This book isn't really about the details of people. It's the details of human society as they transition to off planet life. What happens to the many cultures of earth. Do we progress or regress as a species. Once you get over the lost quotation marks it is an interesting take on space life.

I was first introduced to Jason Gurley through "The Man Who Ended the World" and have since fallen in love with his writing style. Settlers is yet another good book from a good writer, keeping that same wonderful style that takes the reader on a journey through wonderful worlds, following well rounded characters, laughing and crying all the way. If you have never read Jason Gurley before, you must, however, I would not suggest this to be your starting place. If you have previously fallen in love with Gurley's writing, this is a fine addition to his marvelousness, but is a far cry from some of his other works. Settlers is full of great ideas, wonderful characters, and that classic sci-fi humour that any familiar readers (and new ones) will enjoy. His writing is fresh and delightful, but the pacing in this particular volume is a bit out there. Is feels like a bunch of short stories squished together that, although connected, do not have enough substance in and of themselves to make the mouth water. The over-arching plot is good, but the way it is developed makes discerning what this book is really about a bit confusing. Even while reading the final chapter I was thinking, "how exactly is this book going to resolve anything?" It felt like a bunch of loose threads that take a lot of imagination to tie together.

The conclusion does redeem this volume to some extent, but it plays out more like a teaser for books 2 than a true wrap to the volume. It also must be said (about the paperback version) that the formatting is very poorly done, making reading it in that format feel very amateur. Interestingly enough, the ebook version is formatted quite well, and I found myself putting down the paperback about halfway through and switching to the ebook version because the formatting in the paperback was annoying me so much. This, however, should not count as a mark against the writing, but is simply this reader's opinion about stylistic preferences.

If you like science fiction, or Jason Gurley, and tales with great characters, witty humour, and a sprinkling of political satire (as al science fiction should) this book is for you. Sadly, I wish the volume came together better than it did with the pacing. POV switching was not a problem, but some amount consistency in the over-all story progression would have been nice. This, however, does not turn me off of Jason Gurley, because it is still a magnificent work of art that kept me engaged until the very end, and the writing is still a delight.

Great series start

I really liked this book. The premise is interesting and I enjoyed the way the story was told and how it all unfolded.

The book took an average 3 hours to read through my kindle app. I highly enjoyed the story’s plot and characters, but mostly found the time skips to be unnecessary and very disruptive to what had just happened. The writing style was very easy to comprehend but it felt lacking and reminded me a bit of Wattpad fanfics. I really am looking forward to the rest of the series because I feel like the author has the ability to grow and change.