4.5 to 5.0 stars. It is official...I am a fan of Tobias Buckell and he has become an author that I will begin purchasing his new books upon release (at least until I come across a bad one). This is the third novel set loosely in the universe of the "48 worlds" and it expands and adds to the mythos referred to in the preceding novels, Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin. I am really enjoying how Buckell is slowly expanding the scope of the novels and parceling out the back story of how his universe is se...

Someone else has already pointed this out, but it bears repeating:Zombies. In space.Ok, so they're not old-school brain-eating zombies (don't want to mislead hard core horror fans), but they still wanna bite you & if you get bitten, you become one of them. Destroy the brain, they stop moving.Zombies.And they're in space.

The story had potential however it was hard to get past the racial stereotypes and (in places) apparent lack of imagination. There was certainly a good amount of action, advancing the plot nicely. The characters seemed to lack depth at times, though perhaps that wasn't meant to be the focus. Overall, it isn't a book that I regret reading, however it also isn't a book that I would jump to recommend.Details & examples:(view spoiler)[The names of some of the races seem ... odd... "Ragamuffins"? Wit...

Space zombies. Floating cities. And Pepper leaping out of a spaceship and riding a heatshield down, sans parachute. What else do I really need to say about this one? Sly Mongoose is Tobias Buckell's third novel, set in the same universe as Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin, but Pepper is the only character from the earlier books. As with Ragamuffin, this isn't a direct sequel, though it does continue the larger story Buckell is creating about humans struggling to survive and find their place as they d...

Tobias Buckell doesn’t like to keep readers waiting. Instead he shoves us into the heads of larger-than-life characters and hurls us into a zombie apocalypse in space.The story starts with Pepper, some kind of centuries old super soldier (who is already familiar from the two previous books in the series) who is deorbiting onto a planet using a makeshift heat shield and a spacesuit, because that’s how he rolls. From there we are thrown into a world of floating cities, airships, acid clouds, hidde...

This was a heavily-delayed paperback, which means it's been almost four years since I read _Ragamuffin_. But then, I recall having trouble absorbing the space-opera background even then. The history behind everything is *big* and complicated, and we've been getting barely a soda-straw view of it per book.In any case, we now alternate between Pepper (semi-immortal defender of humanity, cranky bastard) and Timas (a teenager growing up in a ramshackle-poor mining town). Pepper drops into down just

Sly Mongoose is the third book by Tobias Buckell that takes place within the same far-future universe in which human beings have expanded but have done so on the technology of more advanced species, so now they’re trapped holding on to what little they have left. Using this historical backdrop, Buckell crafts a group of flying cities (Bespin style) over a harsh, Venus-like world. Enter space-zombies. You heard me. * The book has a couple main characters, including a super-soldier not unlike Taka...

This is the third book in the Xenowealth series by Tobias S. Buckell. This book takes place many years after the events in Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin, the first two books in this series. In this one the descendants of South American peoples called the Azteca who had at one time lived on New Anegada and worshiped aliens as gods have moved to the hostile planet Chilo. There they try to make a new life living in cloud cities and mining the surface of the hostile world with remote mining machines.

RatingReview*** This review originally appeared on Out of this World Reviews. ***Tobias Buckell posted a request for advanced readers for his upcoming science fiction novel, Sly Mongoose, and, of course, I took him up on it.This is my first go-around with Buckell’s work, though I’ve had one of his other novels, Crystal Rain, on my radar for a long time. Sly Mongoose is and isn’t a continuation of the story told in Ragamuffin. While there are clear references to the story that unfolded in that pr...

Buckell's writing is exuberant, his plot choices audacious. There is a fantastic energy to his books, as though anything might happen. Each book has been better than the last, without ever losing the adrenaline rush or interesting world-building with which Buckell first burst onto the scene.For generations, a race of mind-controlling aliens calling themselves the Benevolent Satrapi enslaved the human race. Small bands fought back, and finally defeated their overlords in Ragamuffin. But the victo...

I enjoyed the premise and setting, but the side adventures didn't always mesh well with bigger-picture plot. I also wish more had been done with the rich cities/poor cities class dynamics. Still, this was a fun, well-paced read, and I loved that the cultures we met were based on Mexican and Caribbean history.

Fun but empty-headed space opera.

Enjoyable read despite the fact that it contains space zombies.

After an innovative and entertaining debut with “Crystal Rain”, author Tobias Buckell followed that up with an even better sophomore effort in “Ragamuffin”. Both novels are essentially stand-alone stories that share the same universe, the Forty-Eight worlds, and some of the same characters. Both also strongly hinted at great things to come from Buckell in the future. Well, the future is here my friend, as Buckell easily solidifies his claim as a hot new writer to watch. His absolutely incredible...

Update March 2012 - the paperback is here! The hardcover was published Aug 2008 so it wasn't quite a 4 year wait, but the book arguably languished by the delay. I'm sure ebook sales helped... Now back to the original review. Hey Tor... where's the paperback edition?I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, so I was eagerly awaiting this 3rd entry.But... something happened. While it's beyond the scope of this review, and does not reflect on the book or the author, I feel it's worth men...

Welcome to Chilo, a planet with corrosive rain, crushing pressure, and deadly heat. Fortunately, fourteen-year-old Timas lives in one of the domed cities that float 100,000 feet above the surface, circling near the edge of a monstrous perpetual storm. Above the acidic clouds the temperature and pressure are normal. But to make a living, Timas, like many other young men, is lowered to the surface in an armored suit to scavenge what he can.Timas' life is turned upside down when a strange man crash...

This is the first Buckell I read, and it may have been helpful to have read the 2 other novels that are set prior to this one.Overall it was a solid story - good character building, great world building.There are some amusing elements ... yes, it's been said before, Zombies in space. But that description does not do any justice to the story or the universe that Buckell is developing.

Ohio Science Fiction Author. Raised in the Caribbean

Itotia turned and grabbed Pepper's shoulder. "What can you do?"Kill the pipiltin. Destroy the envoy's airship. Instigate a coup. Kill everyone who kept annoying him.

I enjoyed reading the book and liked the idea in it however it didn't grab my attention as much as his other stories.