The Eye of the Reader

I'm fascinated by the different ways people read science fiction. I'm working on Susan Matthews for Novelist, and am checking out "Colony Fleet." The Amazon reviews are all over the place.

One reviewer compares it to Matthew's Judiciary series, and gives it 3 stars because it seems simplistic in comparison, but still worth reading.

Another reviewer, who worked for the aerospace industry for 20 years, gives 5 stars because it nails the differences in approach between the engineering and technical sectors, and it effectively warns against tech arrogance. Also it's well written and optimistic.

A third gives it 5 stars because it's stronger and more complex than the Judiciary series.

The world would be so boring if we all thought the same way!

Matthew's Judiciary series sounds absolutely fascinating, btw. I own most of them, picked up used from Uncle Hugo's I believe, but have never read them. I'm a little scared by the investigations around torture which is one of the reason d'etres of the series, but it goes in depth into ethical questions, the psyches of the characters, and the consequences of a corrupt theocracy. As I said, fascinating.

If you want to check it out before committing to the books, her website is active and includes a bunch of free material. She's working on the 7th novel in the series. I also found a series of blog posts that Tor.com did on her writing in late 2012, concluding with a short interview.