Remember 2 stars still means it was ok. However I was bored by halfway through and and only got to the end by skipping a lot of detail. Fascinating as it must be to create an alien world and move your characters around it - it's not so fascinating to read about, or not for me. The writing is good but more plot please. ( )

This is a pretty good read in the Boys' Own Adventure school of novel (although there are important women in it as well). It's pretty much 100% adventure plot. There's a bit of mystery surrounding the Exile... but not much for anyone who knew they were reading sf.

The world is pretty interesting. It's a cloud-covered world like Venus, and one in which one hemisphere is always facing the sun, and the other always dark. I'm not sure if the science behind it is plausible; I'd think that the hot side would be much hotter, and the cold side much colder- but there is an atmosphere, so it's plausible enough if one doesn't think about it too hard.

The motivations of the Exile and his people also seem a bit weak. They're going around to other planets, at great expense, to... collect weather data? Why?

While the characterization is pretty consistent, it's also pretty one-note. There's no bothering with that pesky growth stuff! But then, who'd have time when the plot is so eventful?

So- in my opinion it's OK, and probably more fun for people who like adventure tales. For myself, I prefer more thoughtfulness, like character intricacy and growth, a well-thought-out world that is more grounded in the science, etc. This could have been such a novel... but it's not. ( )