This review is from: Soothsayer (Oracle Trilogy Book 1) (Kindle Edition)Although a lifelong science fiction fan, I had never before encountered the Inner Frontiers of Mike Resnick's Santiago world. This story, the first of a new series, is set within this environment and, although the pleasure of it's reading might possibly have been enhanced slightly by a knowledge of some of the characters, for me it stood alone, not needing any further background. It is not high literature, more a graphic novel painted in words instead of pictures, and as such the protagonists, even the main ones, remain two dimensional. But this is not a story which depends on realism to succeed; it is the ongoing battles and struggles to survive that drive the story forward.A young and very able thief named Mouse discovers and rescues an eight year old child being held captive in the hotel room of an alien. The young girl, who says her name is Penelope, is alone and afraid and, as later becomes apparent, has a very unique power - she can not only see immediate futures, she can influence them, too. This special ability makes her a very sought after person and she and Mouse travel together from world to world, trying to stay ahead of the bounty hunters and killers looking to make an excellent profit by recapturing the child again. There are lots of battles fought, dramatic escapes and piled up bodies. But who protects who? Mouse, the adult, surrogate mother, or little Penelope, the child with the vision as they seek safety together.This was a very intriguing storyline and a breathtaking race through the Stars. Santiago fans will, I'm sure, love the reappearance of some old heroes and gunslingers. But, as mentioned earlier, no previous acquaintanceship is needed to enjoy this thruster blasting romp. Lots of dialogue and easy read text, sometimes amusing, occasionally chilling and, overall, good fun.I was gifted this book in return for an honest review. Now that I have become acquainted with Mr.Resnick's work, I will be buying more
I believe I picked this one up because I liked the author's book of short stories (Will the Last Person to Leave the Planet Please Shut Off the Sun?). I also tended to like (and still like) stories about exceptional children, so I thought I would appreciate this tale of a young child with precognitive abilities. I'm not a huge fan of action plots, though, and this one was very focused on the action and not so much the characters (even though the concept of each character could have been compelling). I noticed early on that I wasn't quite sure how Penelope's abilities worked exactly; it seemed like she wasn't so much seeing into the future as she was being robotically fed possible futures and could easily choose which one to make happen by doing something as simple as changing the position of her body (with no apparent effect). Sometimes it was something that was clearly changing her surroundings, like when she deliberately distracts someone by spilling a drink, but later it seemed like her actions to choose the future were contrived and it was just sort of like a chess game. That said, I did like the idea of all these hard-boiled Old West Characters In Space types clamoring to control a little girl who was--at least at first--sympathetic as a person. I don't remember much about the plot because I think it confused me a little--and that's why I'm not really into action plots, because I like storylines better if they seem motivated by characters' choices and this one seemed to have a few too many "because that's how the story goes" plot points for me.
What do You think about Soothsayer (2005)?
I'm not sure whether to call this science fiction or fantasy. There are space ships and space travel, but many aspects of the stories seem more fantasy to me.I started reading thinking this book would not be for me. It seemed almost comic-book style although there are no pictures. It's about bounty hunters, thieves, and others chasing each other all over the galaxy, and many seem to be super-hero or super-villain types. But I did enjoy the story. It was fast-paced, and the characterization was surprisingly good. I kept turning pages, and actually looked forward to getting back to it. But the ending was so disappointing and such a let down that I went immediately back to not liking it. Bummer! I want to give it more stars, at least 4, but every time I think about how the story ended, I decide I just can't.Mike Resnick is an excellent writer, I just think this isn't my sort of story. I may try some other of his, and if anyone has a recommendation, feel free, because I would like to give him another try. But this just wasn't for me.
—Barbara Klaser
Good read. Entertaining. The author has a good style that held my attention without being taxing. He created future worlds and history vividly but sparsely enough not to encumber the plot. Interesting twist to have a little girl be the most sought-after and dangerous person in the universe. While the novel offers much less in details about life among the stars and space travel (that means that most of the events in this story could have happened on present-day earth and indeed each town on each world bears more of a resemblance to towns in the old untamed West than they probably should). Still it was enjoyable.
—Willis
First of all I received this book through the Arc Manor / Phoenix Pick Review program. This is the first book by Mike Resnick that I read. The universe created in this first part of the Oracle Trilogy , is a futuristic one, where space travel is possible, aliens live along humans, the colonized space is split between The Democracy and The Confederation.Among all this a small thief, The Mouse, on one of her routing jobs stumbles a small girl being held prisoner and rescues her … only that the little girl is not a normal little girl, she is the Soothsayer (yes, the oracle). I liked that the book is fast paced and full of adventure.The book revolves around big characters in the book the Mouse, Merlin, Yankee-Clipper and so on. This gives the book more of a comic book setting than anything else. I didn't like the ending because the entire story falls apart for me. There are two more books out from this series so maybe that will redeem it – but for this first now only 3 stars.
—Danutonline
