To Save a Soul (The Soul Cycle Book 1)

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But at some point, you need to reach clarity - that ah hah moment where everything clicks together. Some pages in, I still have no idea what's going on, why I should care, and lack any significant connection with the characters. And worse yet, I started finding excuses not to read the book, preferring to play my iphone a very bad sign. So I finally gave up - the first book showed promise, but was a bit muddled. I had hoped this one would be better.

Sadly, it's even more muddled. Sep 13, Josh Griffing rated it really liked it Shelves: The Dragon Award winner for "Best Horror" wasn't particularly "horror"-inspiring so much as surreal. But that's not a curse, either. Niemeier spins what seems to be an altogether different yarn, twenty years after the climax of the previous book.

Then the threads of the story's web start to spin like silver and fire and remind us that we haven't left the wilds of the earlier story after all: Sure, there are backstabbings and betrayals and gruesome villainy, shape-shifters and sorcery and spaceships, and even deicide on the gears of a clockwork Time itself. But the only way to describe it properly is "Hang on to your hats-- and screw your heads on tight! A splendid roller-coaster of adventure storytelling.

Jul 17, Fiannawolf rated it it was amazing. Onward to number 3. Do you just want to have a hell of a ride? It brings out otherworldly aspects I loved from the old World of Darkness games. This book is dense in the best sense of the word. Mar 07, Adam Lane rated it it was amazing. This novel is absolutely head and shoulders above the first book, Nethereal. The author has come a tremendous way in writing this one, and the content makes that clear.

It's possible that the first one suffered from prequelitis, needing to provide a cast just long enough to get through to this book, which is obviously the meat of his story. Either way, this is his true defining work right here. The writing style is comfortable and descriptive. Dialogue felt natural and smooth. At no point was I y This novel is absolutely head and shoulders above the first book, Nethereal. At no point was I yanked out of the story or had my suspension of disbelief broken.

A heads up on this book: The author doesn't see his story through the lens of tropes and favorite twists like most authors. This guy goes places that are deeply unsettling and unfamiliar, and he does so with confidence. Truth be told, he pulls it off every time. This book is unlike any other. Even the first book doesn't prepare you for the weirdness of this one. What's even more strange is that a significant part of this is a love story; the most twisted, deranged, metaphysical love story you can imagine.

I finished it last night and I'm still trying to wrap my head around the ending. It's one of those thinking pieces. And it obviously sets up more to come. But it was satisfying. And I've got the third book sitting right here next to me. J Mueller rated it it was amazing Jan 05, Daniel Tanner rated it it was amazing Jul 14, Andrew rated it really liked it Jul 26, Ray rated it it was ok Sep 28, AndTheRest rated it really liked it Apr 26, Cyber rated it it was amazing Jun 30, Sablehawk rated it really liked it Oct 16, Eric rated it it was ok Apr 08, Chris Padar rated it really liked it Sep 04, Remigijus Jodelis rated it really liked it Oct 14, Viktor Vidas rated it really liked it Mar 28, Carol rated it really liked it Jun 28, Elliot rated it liked it Sep 08, Nicholas Trandem rated it really liked it Aug 14, James rated it liked it Jun 10, Bryan Jones rated it it was amazing Aug 04, Joshua Palmer rated it liked it Sep 06, John Branch rated it liked it Oct 20, Clarence R Heun rated it liked it Jun 04, Joshua rated it it was amazing Feb 14, Jeremy rated it it was amazing Jul 11, Laj rated it really liked it Jun 20, Wendy rated it really liked it Aug 29, Many times characters were pissed off on one another or something and I really had no idea why.

All-in-all it would be very good as something you could read in the internet on some writers forum or something and I think author has potential but now he is so not on a publication level. The sole physics of this world is great, the institutions are great, the way hell is related to the world — all awesome. To accuse Neimeier of having any kind of style would be absurd.

At some point it was transparent and others painfully dull. Words were conveying the meaning but had no artistic function whatsoever. RPG and novels are two entirely different ways of storytelling and Neimeier failed to realize that. If anyone can recommend me similar books — technofantasy preferably in space — please do.

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May 18, Joanne G. Jaren Peregrine leads a group of pirates in his quest to destroy the Guild--those who eradicated his people. The Shibboleth's officers include Navkin, a venomous magician and much more ; Teg, a hard-bitten mercenary; and Deim, a helmsman with spiritual leanings. Nethereal is a difficult book to place neatly into a category. Take Firefly and Farscape ; subtract humor, add darkness; sprinkle liberal dashes of fantasy; pour in some fantastic worldbuilding; and then shake well until the reader isn't Jaren Peregrine leads a group of pirates in his quest to destroy the Guild--those who eradicated his people.

Take Firefly and Farscape ; subtract humor, add darkness; sprinkle liberal dashes of fantasy; pour in some fantastic worldbuilding; and then shake well until the reader isn't quite sure what is going on. Niemeier's first novel shows great promise for stories to come. The imagination and worldbuilding are there; I'd like to see the characters fleshed out more and made endearing to the reader.

I know who the characters are and can see the motivations of some, but I didn't like them as people enough to care if they survived or not. The story is a strong 3 star read; I added a star for the pure novelty of worldbuilding. This book does a lot of things right. I enjoyed it and I've already bought the second book, and look forward to seeing where the story goes. The author defies tropes and takes story set pieces well beyond where you think they're going to go. This is not a tired rehashing of rearranged tropes that most of sci-fi has become.

The author brings fresh ideas to the table time and again. This book will take you to uncomfortable places, but it does so tastefully and in an entertaining manner. As to the content, the author is obviously well versed in both very old sci-fi Nethereal hearkening back to the dawning of the genre and tasting strongly of Lovecraft and also in theology, based on the intricacy of his world building. No tired borrowing from real-world religions here, instead we see the frenzied fever dreams of a madman standing as divine creation, and it matches the setting perfectly.

That setting is vastly unique and incredibly deep, with a mountain of stories waiting to be told within it. I look forward to seeing what other stories this author pulls out of his world for us to experience. There were some minor bits which left me with mixed feelings, as with any book.

Given the depth of care taken in building the rest of the setting, I suspect that the author knows the answers to these two questions. Neither moment ruined my suspension of disbelief, but they did stick out to me as the two weak points of the narrative. As a reader, both could have easily been addressed in small scenes that just show me what the characters are feeling and thinking, and I would have felt satisfied. I also wish that the glossary had been included at the beginning, because there are some hefty metaphysical concepts that aren't explained as plainly as other books might do.

That adds to the mystery and horror as the reader tries to infer the way things work, but it was a relief to finally get some solid answers at the end. Being that this is the author's first published novel I do believe , I can forgive these minor points and focus on the rest of the story, which certainly has enough action and intensity to engage even the most picky of readers myself.

Souldancer

The book deceives you a bit, masquerading as a story about a few characters on a horrifying adventure when really it's the culmination of a plan to hatch something new. This book is the story of a birth; that newly birthed thing, perhaps, is an entire series with this initial book as it's base.

Go into this book expecting it to be the introduction to a world, rather than simply one contained story that opens and closes cleanly, with all answers wrapped up neatly inside. I've got a high stack of books waiting to be read, but I bought the sequel to this book and put it on top of the stack.

Is there a better review than that? May 19, Trish rated it did not like it Shelves: Thank goodness that's over. But boy was it a struggle. I never really cared about any of the characters, most of whom were too stupid to live, the main human villain was stereotypically genocidal for no properly explained reason, and the writing was spotty and confusing and in places, it was downright incoherent , littered with teeth-grating cliches. Boy does this guy need an editor!. I almost promoted it to two stars because of the interesting ideas in the world building - and the mix of magic Thank goodness that's over.

I almost promoted it to two stars because of the interesting ideas in the world building - and the mix of magic and technology. But in the end, it just wasn't worth it. The short story Strange Matter was better than Nethereal, although all in all, I assume that Niemeier was only on the Campbell ballot because of the assorted Puppies. Feb 19, Justin rated it it was amazing. Not only is it an entertaining story but the book is a lot cheaper than most of the big name published stories. Apr 28, Anya marked it as dont-read. May 04, Morgan Dhu rated it did not like it.

When I'm reading a book I wouldn't ordinarily pick up on my own accord, I like to check out a few reviews first, so I know something of what I'm getting into. So before starting Campbell Award nominee Brian Niemeier's debut novel Nethereal, I looked for reviews and read a few. It was a little disturbing to note that the majority of reviews I located were written by people situated within one degree of internet separation from a Rabid Puppy.

Nonetheless, I embarked on the novel. There is a way to When I'm reading a book I wouldn't ordinarily pick up on my own accord, I like to check out a few reviews first, so I know something of what I'm getting into. There is a way to plunge right into the manners, politics, history and culture of a secondary world without leaving the reader with so many questions that the text is frustrating in its opaqueness. Good science fiction and fantasy writers do it all the time, dropping just enough clues, giving just enough exposition, that the story and the characters' actions make sense.

Neimeier, unfortunately, does not do this. In addition to being frustrated and confused, this lack of incluing [1] left me feeling very little interest in the fates and fortunes of the characters. I gave the novel a decent chance to grab me - but by the time I'd read ten percent, I was still uninterested and unimpressed.

And I certainly would not consider an author for a Campbell award on the strength of it.

See a Problem?

The idea is to clue the readers into the world the writer is building, without them being aware of it. May 23, David rated it really liked it. I'm still trying to decide what I thought of this book. Dick if he was as smart as Asimov and crossbred with Dante. It has some similarities to some of Orson Scott Card's later work highly intellectual and philosophical. Really, I think I'm going to have to reread the book to really make a finally call on it. It was bizarre, but intriguing. I couldn't put it down - and definitely ordere I'm still trying to decide what I thought of this book.

I couldn't put it down - and definitely ordered the next one. The only major criticism I have is the characters were a bit weak - I didn't bond with anyone and wouldn't have been particularly upset if any particular character had died. However, the entire plot is so intriguing and I was so curious to find out what was really going on that I didn't mind the weakness of the characters. That's really high praise coming from me, since I'm typically a character addict and I have been known to not bother finishing books because I didn't care about the characters.

On a first read, I'd say this is the thinking man's science fiction. Surrealistic and bizarre, with a fascinating plot, if slightly lackluster characters. I'm looking forward to watching Niemeier's writing mature and hopeful that the next book will have some characters I can really like. I'll find out soon. Jul 10, Wes Thompson rated it it was amazing. Nethereal is not afraid to drag its characters through hell. Brian Niemeier has laid the groundwork for a fascinating space opera with his novel Nethereal.

A ragtag group of pirates gets more than they bargained for when they take control of the Exodus, an experimental starship unlike anything they could possibly imagine. The characters have a real depth to them as well. The story took me on a roller coast Nethereal is not afraid to drag its characters through hell.

The story took me on a roller coaster of a ride to places I didn't expect. I didn't want to put it down.

I would highly recommend Nethereal. Brian Niemeier has laid the groundwork for an epic space opera that I am excited to follow. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Souldancer (Soul Cycle #2) by Brian Niemeier

Jun 20, Faith marked it as did-not-finish Shelves: This is utterly incomprehensible, and certainly not strong enough for me to consider the author for a Campbell Award. It's a shame because the magic system looked promising and there were some interesting world-building details -- but I've got too many good books in the wings to waste my time on one this clumsily written. Jan 05, Alex Boyce rated it liked it Shelves: I've taken off a few stars for 2 main reasons: Why would there be cars or soft drinks?

For such an otherwordly space opera, I found these references took me out of the world Brian was building. It would have been nice if the author spent a bit more time with elaborating on the universe as well as all the theology and especially on how the 9 circles of hell worked. It just seemed the internal logic seemed to be bounce back and forth.. Aug 28, Russell rated it really liked it. Space pirates go to Hell as pawns in a plot to undo reality by the long-time lord of the lowest level of Hell. Gun fights, sword fights, massive space ship battles, scifi-magic battles.

If that doesn't hook you in, I feel sorry for you. Characters are well-developed and fleshed out. The world building is crazy good, built slyly from Dante's Purgatory by acting like it was merely riffing on the concepts, instead of baking them into the storyline. It's strangely deep because of that. Niemeier d Space pirates go to Hell as pawns in a plot to undo reality by the long-time lord of the lowest level of Hell. Niemeier draws on a lot of Christian imagery and concepts from various ages, but he works them into the story deftly and often indirectly.

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