Tag: meta

I have been writing — or rather publishing my writing — for three years now. Things are still far from routine, but so far I am very pleased with how it’s are going!

I checked recently on Amazon to read some of my new reviews. Firstly, they are wonderful! I’m super grateful to all the readers who go to the trouble of giving such great and visible feedback!

Secondly, I was amazed at the numbers. You may not know, but reviews between countries are not shared. So all the reviews on the US or UK are unique to that country’s ‘instance’ of Amazon. Interestingly, I have very similar numbers of reviews for each book in both the UK and US; though I sell twice as many books in the US. Based on history, I seem to be getting just under one review per book per month.

Here are some highlights: 

Exceptional indie
Two great books thus far…looking forward to the third with considerable expectation. Weston does a great job balancing tech detail with well-developed characters and a smoothly flowing plot. There is the occasional typo, which rather than annoying me, reminds me that this is an indie author writing raw, exciting hard SF without an army of supporting cast. Well worth the purchase. With all of the (welcome) self-publishing going on, I have to do a lot of sampling, often finding myself incapable of finishing drivel. Weston, like Andy Weir, is a welcome exception.
Interesting characters set in a dark, but hopeful, near future
Toby Weston skillfully performs a literary high-wire act in his Singularity’s Children series by creating fully realized, interesting characters and placing them amid a landscape of high concept, highly disturbing near-future scenarios. His writing style is clean and casual, which makes his occasional descriptions of complex concepts both accessible and enjoyable–he doesn’t talk down to his readers, but rather lifts them up and helps them see how easily his characters’ world could soon be ours.

Weston repeatedly exhibits his enviable ability to shift the story’s focus, and our rapt attention, from a single character’s innermost thoughts to the collective mind of a global network, all the while infusing the narrative with moments of high-tension and high-comedy.

I’m looking forward to book 3, but not to finishing it, because I know that afterward I’ll have to wait for book 4.

Thank you, Toby Weston, for treating scifi readers like adults. 

Best SF I’ve read in years!
This is the first of a four novel series that takes place in the near future. The world building is brilliant, the characters quite interesting. Given it is four novels in length, not surprising that it takes a while to see the big picture, but well worth it. If you like William Gibson or Neal Stephenson I think you will very much enjoy this. I can’t wait for the fourth and final book!

Great near future plotlines
Great near future plotlines, well developed characters, super pace and writing skills…. challenging perceptions, thoughtful as well as just a fun read. Highly recommend this for Sci-fi fans. 

Great second book in the series
The second instalment of Singularity’s Children is fully delivering on the expectations the excellent first book set. Brilliantly written, the characters are further developed and storylines cross path. There is more action and again new aspects of the technological setup the books play in.
I particularly enjoyed that the not-so-distant future the plot is set in was at times scaringly reminding me of our current reality…
And as before, despite the slightly depressing background of this possible future, the surprising plot and cleverly sprinkled humour make this a thoroughly enjoyable read in the best tradition of authors such as Iain M Banks.

Looking very much forward to the release of the next book in the series! 

With each book in the series, the story gets better!
Conflict (Singularity’s Children, Book 3) by Toby Weston

With each book in the series, the story gets better! I do hope that the author is pounding away on his keyboard, furiously completing the next book. You *are* doing that, right Toby Weston?! I hope so as after finishing this one, I really need to know what’s next.
The character drive the plot, and in this book they drive it right off a nuclear cliff! So to speak. The stakes get higher, and the relationships get both clearer, and also more fuzzy. The technology is increasingly intelligent, which also has some interesting side effects. But hey, it’s not like it’s the end of the world… Is it?

Shockingly good!
I have no idea why this series doesn’t have hundreds of reviews, because this is the best SF I’ve read in a couple of years. If you like Hertling or Gibson, you’ll love this!

Writing this feeling pretty good 🙂
Many thanks to everybody who left a review already!