Reviews round-up

More Solaris lurve from a pair of discerning SF websites ...

Adam Roberts' literally earth-shattering Splinter gets a considered review from Rich Horton at SF Site:

It's an odd, original novel. At one level it is at least a brave try at making the absurd events depicted in Verne's novel almost plausible. But more seriously, it is a character study. As Roberts suggests in his afterword, he (as with all of us) needs to resolve his relationship with his father to truly grow up. That Hector needs to survive the end of the world to grow up is, I suppose, a rather science-fictional result.

Across town, Revolution SF have this to say about the mighty Chris Roberson's Set the Seas on Fire:

Set the Seas on Fire works on many levels. First, there's the seafaring adventure novel. Any fan of this type of book will enjoy Roberson's attention to detail (no words used are inauthentic to the era). Then, there's the island life adventure novel... Roberson plundered many different cultures to create his natives, and they really ring true. Now we come to the character study. We see Hieronymous from childhood to adulthood (although not in a linear fashion). We get to see the forces that shaped him and made him the man he grew up to be, which has resonance both in this novel and in Paragaea, where Hero also appears. But we also get to see how he changes when faced with a challenge he hasn't prepared for -- love. The realistic detail in setting and character makes it all the easier to suspend disbelief once the supernatural elements start showing up; you really care what happens to these people, which is quite a feat. So if you like fast-paced adventure stories that don't sacrifice characters on the altar of plot, then you really should be reading Chris Roberson. Rating 9/10.