Review: Particle Horizon

Particle Horizon by Selso Xisto

My rating:         Science Fiction

Particle Horizon is an epic story of war and (im)morality, set in a far-flung future world where humanity has spread throughout the galaxy and artificial intelligence has progressed to be not only intelligent but (in the case of Una, one of the main characters of the narrative) creative and compassionate.

I loved the philosophy which weaved between action scenes, and the different reactions of human and AI characters to the unfolding war. The battle scenes are gritty and sometimes gruesome, but not gratuitously so: war isn't pretty or glamorous, and this book doesn't shy away from the more unpleasant parts. But there are also plenty of more gentle moments, as new friendships are formed out of unlikely circumstances.

If I have one slight criticism, it's that the book spans a fairly long period of time, but reads very quickly. In general I like a fast pace, but it was disconcerting in places - sometimes I felt like I'd turned a page just to find that a few weeks had passed unmarked.

All in all, a really great debut and I hope we'll see more from this author soon.