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    The Octagonal Raven
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    The Octagonal Raven
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    The Octagonal Raven
    Ebook619 pages9 hours

    The Octagonal Raven

    By L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

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    About this ebook

    Being a child of wealth hasn't made life easy for Daryn Alwyn but he hasn't wanted it easy and he's always been determined to choose his own path, abandoning the possibility of power and leisure with his family's giant Media Network for a solo career, first as a military space pilot, later as a freelance media consultant. Only when he becomes the target of a series of deadly attacks does he begin to realize the true depth of responsibility his heritage forces on him. And when his sister is assassinated and he becomes one of the wealthiest people in the world he learns that his real troubles are only beginning.

    Other Series by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
    The Saga of Recluce
    The Imager Portfolio
    The Corean Chronicles
    The Spellsong Cycle
    The Ghost Books
    The Ecolitan Matter
    The Forever Hero
    Timegod's World

    Other Books
    The Green Progression
    Hammer of Darkness
    The Parafaith War
    Adiamante
    Gravity Dreams
    The Octagonal Raven
    Archform: Beauty
    The Ethos Effect
    Flash
    The Eternity Artifact
    The Elysium Commission
    Viewpoints Critical
    Haze
    Empress of Eternity
    The One-Eyed Man
    Solar Express

    At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateApr 1, 2010
    ISBN9780312700850
    Author

    L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

    L. E. Modesitt, Jr., is the bestselling author of the fantasy series The Saga of Recluce, Corean Chronicles, and the Imager Portfolio. His science fiction includes Adiamante, the Ecolitan novels, the Forever Hero Trilogy, and Archform: Beauty. Besides a writer, Modesitt has been a U.S. Navy pilot, a director of research for a political campaign, legislative assistant and staff director for a U.S. Congressman, Director of Legislation and Congressional Relations for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a consultant on environmental, regulatory, and communications issues, and a college lecturer. He lives in Cedar City, Utah.

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    Reviews for The Octagonal Raven

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      Great read
    • 5/5
      It is one of the sci-fi mysteries which is a pleasure to work through. This is another of the books I re-read every few years. Note that it qualifies as cyberpunk even though it lacks the punk.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this book mostly because of its clever commentary on current society. Its well written, if a little bit slow, and for a future sci-fi novel, a little low tech. Still good though.
    • 2/5
      After forcing myself to finish 2/3 of this book I didn't have patience to read it more. However, the first few chapters are promising: Daryn Alwyn, the son of wealthy parents is a target of unknown assassins. After these opening chapters the reader obviously expects an exciting story, a thriller. However, it doesn't happen. The story is slow paced with numerous digressions and unnecessary descriptions of every single nook and cranny of a futuristic world. Instead of delivering drama, or at least some kind of action, we are tortured by mindless preaching. Also, the author's tendency to pile up as much techno-futuristic jargon as possible is another weakness in the story. The society is divided into two classes: pre-selects and norms. The pre-selects are the ruling class who control wealth and resources. They are different from norms in many aspects. First, they are subjects of genetic pre-selection. Also, they tend to augment themselves by way of" nanites". What are the ninetes? The book is quite vague with respect to this question. This is, I believe, the best explanation I found in the book: "The octagonal ninetes are just programmed...cellular machines designed to analyze structures and react. If the cells aren't integral , or if there's foreign matter there, like augnites...they attack."In short, the nanites are some kind of artificial mechanisms located in the pre-selects' bodies. They make pre-selects stronger (physically and mentally) in comparison to "ordinary" norms. However, if compromised, the "nanites " can be deadly for anyone who carries them. Although these two classes coexist peacefully, the norms (a majority of population) are gradually becoming emboldened asking for more rights. We witness the street protests against the ruling class. Even riots. Since the protagonist of the novel Daryn Alwyn (pre-select himself) is the most powerful man in the world - and now target of assassins - he is now in a desperate quest to find out who is behind all of this. Are the norms involved? Or perhaps the rouge elements within the ruling elite? However, Daryn must act quickly. Another puzzling question: who is responsible for the plague which threatens to decimate the whole pre-select population? Why aren't the norms affected by the plague?Another theory: a long-dead alien race is programming nanitic attack machines and spraying them across the Galaxy. In short, this is the context in which the novel is set. The motifs and the ideas presented in the novel are certainly very interesting, but the narrative aspect of it is a huge failure.