Lords of Uncreation (The Final Architecture, 3)

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Last part of a trilogy. I really loved the first book Shards of Earth and sadly struggled with the middle book Eyes of the Void. At the end I think I could have done without books 2 and 3 and would have preferred one standalone and closed novel with less padding and all the plotlines tidied up. Favourite characters are Olli and Kittering. Idris is really kind of a drag in this one, especially his forays into Unspace with their lengthy descriptions of what he sees and feels. My eyes glazed over a few times. Ollis‘ entire story was the most fun. I did enjoy Solace and Kris as well, although Kris only played a minor part. Too bad that she ended up so bitter at the end. Tā nu esmu nonācis līdz Arhitektu triloģijas beigām. Jāsaka ka ceļojums bija visnotaļ aizraujošs. Par autora spēju uzrakstīt aizraujošu stāstu es nekad nešaubījos. Mani kā lasītāju kosmiskās operas pievelk kā naktstauriņu iedegta spuldze. Līdz ar to šai triloģijai praktiski nebija nekādu iespēju mani pievilt. Oh, and everybody who has already read the first two books will read this one as well anyway, of course. She even is a bitter person at the reunion at the end because her friends are more successful than her. Which is a fine characteristic in theory that I would appreciate but seems to come out of nowhere and is part of this weird attempt to make her more of a main character than she is. This would have worked if there had been *any* use of her legal and diplomatic skills, but she is just... there, but not really there or important or relevant to any of the story.

Patiesu prieku sagādāja tas, ka autors stāstu bija izstrādājis jau no pirmās grāmatas (vismaz tāds iespaids radās) un tādēļ neviena grāmata nešķita atrauta no pārējām. Pasaule ir izveidota perfekti, palīdz arī tas, ka notikumi tiek apskatīti tieši tik daudz cik vajadzīgs grāmatai, neieslīgstot pārmērīgās detaļās. Arī zinātniskās detaļas stāstam ir līmenī, nav nekādu iekšēju pretrunu un uz beigām pazūd arī maģijas piegarša, jo viss top atklāts. Kā jau tas piedien triloģiju trešajām grāmatām, apskatāmās problēmas izmērs ir sasniedzis zināmā un nezināmā visuma izmērus. Vulture God apkalpei nu ir nopietnākas problēmas par viena lokāla Arhitekta uzbrukumu, viņi ir pievērsuši pašu visuma valdnieku uzmanību. Lai dzīve nebūtu rožu dārzs autors ir nolēmis pamanipulēt ar dažādu frakciju lojalitāti. Kādreizējie draugi kļūst par ienaidniekiem un civilizācijas, kurām šķiet viss bija vienalga pēkšņi kļūst ieinteresētas. The scenes in the "unspace" are too metaphysical to be interesting, and I think the attempted descriptions of the action in this place where things "are" but not really, are difficult to follow. The frequency with which they are entering and being pulled out of that place to deal with yet more inconsequential filler turned the book into a slog.vislabāk man patika ieskats Hegemonijas civilizācijā. No malas šķiet, ka kults kurā visi pielūdz austerveidīgus radījumus, kuriem pati ideja par kustību šķiet ķecerība. Viņas sūtņi izskatās pēc klaunu bara, kas brīvi interpretē savu saimnieku teikto. Bet Hegemonijas tehnoloģija un birokrātija ir tik attīstīta, ka neviens viņiem neko nevar padarīt. Un ja vēl spēlē iesaistās Aklu the Unspeakable (the Razor and the Hook) par kura nozīmi Hegemonijā var tikai minēt, tad lietas, kļūst pavisam dīvainas.

It’s hard to talk about too much else without spoiling the twists and turns of the plot, but I will say that the great universal-truth reveals that we get in Lords of Uncreation were incredibly satisfying and what I have been waiting for since reading Shards of Earth two years ago, and that I really enjoyed the development of the characters, especially Idris, Olli, and Havaer. Idris has been alive for about a century, never ageing or sleeping, and though that made being in his point of view very depressing at times, I loved seeing him in the Unspace sequences where the strength of his mind could take control and he didn’t have to deal with his physicality or his emotions. Olli, the disabled machine specialist and captain of the Vulture God, is the character that grew on me the most throughout the series, and the way her story ends up entwined with the mysterious Essiel was a really cool element that brought in extra world-building and upped the tension. And Havaer has interested me from the start, because he gives an insight into the nature of the ever-shifting politics and I enjoyed his calm presence and his heroics. Deep within unspace, where time moves differently, and reality isn’t quite what it seems, their masters are the true threat. Masters who are just becoming aware of humanity’s daring – and taking steps to exterminate this annoyance forever.

As I said before, all the questions that I had about the Architects, the Originators and the enemy behind the Architects are answered. I don’t think theorycrafters will necessarily be surprised by most of them, but for me the answers are never quite as important as how those answers resonate with the characters journeys, and in this case it all fits together immensely well.