What do you think?
Rate this book
Retrieval Artist #3
Consequences
A woman dies in the domed city of Armstrong on the Moon. Detective Noelle DeRicci discovers that the victim is a Disappeared, an outlaw in hiding wanted for crimes against an alien civilization. Only DeRicci's old partner, Retrieval Artist Miles Flint brought the Disappeared home, something he would have only done if he believed the alien government would exonerate her for her crimes. But Flint and DeRicci are no longer partners; in fact, they're on opposite sides of the law. Flint can't tell DeRicci about his client's role in a war between humans and a mysterious alien race. The Disappeared's death is only the first volley in an escalation of that war, a war that threatens to engulf the entire solar system. The stakes have never been higher, the bad guys never so bad, and the risk of personal catastrophe never more imminent.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 6, 2004
About the author
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
1,300 books695 followersKristine Kathryn Rusch is an award-winning mystery, romance, science fiction, and fantasy writer. She has written many novels under various names, including Kristine Grayson for romance, and Kris Nelscott for mystery. Her novels have made the bestseller lists –even in London– and have been published in 14 countries and 13 different languages.
Her awards range from the Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award to the John W. Campbell Award. In the past year, she has been nominated for the Hugo, the Shamus, and the Anthony Award. She is the only person in the history of the science fiction field to have won a Hugo award for editing and a Hugo award for fiction.
In addition, she's written a number of nonfiction articles over the years, with her latest being the book "A Freelancer's Survival Guide".
She has also published as:
Sandy Schofield (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kristine Grayson - romances
Kathryn Wesley (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kris Nelscott - mysteries
Kris Rusch - historical fiction
Kris DeLake - romances
Her awards range from the Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award to the John W. Campbell Award. In the past year, she has been nominated for the Hugo, the Shamus, and the Anthony Award. She is the only person in the history of the science fiction field to have won a Hugo award for editing and a Hugo award for fiction.
In addition, she's written a number of nonfiction articles over the years, with her latest being the book "A Freelancer's Survival Guide".
She has also published as:
Sandy Schofield (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kristine Grayson - romances
Kathryn Wesley (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kris Nelscott - mysteries
Kris Rusch - historical fiction
Kris DeLake - romances
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
September 27, 2020
Notes:
- Roughest writing out of the three books I've read.
- Core concepts are good but shoddy execution.
- Split focus away from the main character made the story weaker.
- Failed to create realistic procedural case or develop retrieval case.
- The deal at the end would have made for a more interesting story than what was written. It seemed like the author had too many ideas and did not decide on order of relevance to the plot + series.
- Roughest writing out of the three books I've read.
- Core concepts are good but shoddy execution.
- Split focus away from the main character made the story weaker.
- Failed to create realistic procedural case or develop retrieval case.
- The deal at the end would have made for a more interesting story than what was written. It seemed like the author had too many ideas and did not decide on order of relevance to the plot + series.
March 15, 2016
3.5 stars again. Another good sci-fi mystery. The pace was still weird, most of the book was one mystery, then suddenly it was something else and then it was over. This is the third book in the series and I've thought the pace was odd every time, slow up until near the end and then a sudden wrap. It's not a terrible problem, it's just a bit odd. The character development also isn't what I'd hope. Noelle is still the best character, which is great, but kind of strange for a series that's named after Miles's profession. He's exactly the same every time, very shallowly portrayed. The book was much more about the journey's and the story that was unfolding than the characters. And a new character, the Etaean government leader, was interesting, although probably a temporary visitor to the series. Though the impact of her visit will probably be felt for a long time. Rusch writes books that are easy to read and that keep me wanting to turn the pages, even if I wouldn't exactly call them page-turners. I had a strong steady interest throughout, and I definitely want to get the next book as soon as I can.
One thing that I liked in this book as opposed to the previous two was that is was more clear that the corporations were at fault for rushing into alien worlds and not learning about their customs and laws. When their people broke those laws, the businesses found it cheaper and easier to find ways for the employees to Disappear than to have done the right thing in the first place. That had become the standard business practice to the degree that many corporations at the time of this book were now requiring contracts saying that their people wouldn't have families at all so worlds like the Wygnin wouldn't have children to target or so it would be easier to Disappear the employees if necessary. As annoying as that attitude was, it felt like a predictable extension of corporation behavior that we have now, good science fiction extrapolation into a future scenario. And it helped smooth over one of my concerns from the first two books where the author's attitude seemed too cavalier about humans breaking the laws on alien worlds, since some of the examples that had been used for people needing to Disappear didn't seem so trivial.
The new aliens that were introduced, the Nyyzen, were also interesting to me. They work in pairs and are triangle shaped. But once humans began working with them they realized that they weren't actually just pairs and working in twos wasn't just a custom. Compatible Nyyzen created a third, transparent entity between them. In this book the third entity of the pair was the actual ambassador. It reminded me of Jack Chalker's Cluster series from many years ago and his spherical aliens, how much their physiology shaped their psychology and language. These guys were shaped like triangles to some degree, but more importantly functioned in partnerships that are totally different than anything humans have. Our mental drive seems to be either toward attempting monogamy or no commitment at all. Group commitments are rare other than in business partnerships, which often fail. It's interesting to think about how that dynamic, a partnership that produces another (adult? not a child anyway, they aren't parents to the being) sentient being of equal or greater ability, a group of three, how that would shape a society. I love that kind of thing in science fiction, new ideas that make me think and wonder.
So, another good but not great book, uneven and a bit wobbly, I think because the author was looking more toward her long story arc than toward making this the best book possible. She's doing more toward bringing Noelle's story along than Miles, though I do see him moving in a certain direction with his career and how it's affecting him emotionally. There just isn't a lot that goes on with him other than hacking, hacking, hacking sometimes, he's a great hacker, one of the best, and don't you forget it!
One thing that I liked in this book as opposed to the previous two was that is was more clear that the corporations were at fault for rushing into alien worlds and not learning about their customs and laws. When their people broke those laws, the businesses found it cheaper and easier to find ways for the employees to Disappear than to have done the right thing in the first place. That had become the standard business practice to the degree that many corporations at the time of this book were now requiring contracts saying that their people wouldn't have families at all so worlds like the Wygnin wouldn't have children to target or so it would be easier to Disappear the employees if necessary. As annoying as that attitude was, it felt like a predictable extension of corporation behavior that we have now, good science fiction extrapolation into a future scenario. And it helped smooth over one of my concerns from the first two books where the author's attitude seemed too cavalier about humans breaking the laws on alien worlds, since some of the examples that had been used for people needing to Disappear didn't seem so trivial.
The new aliens that were introduced, the Nyyzen, were also interesting to me. They work in pairs and are triangle shaped. But once humans began working with them they realized that they weren't actually just pairs and working in twos wasn't just a custom. Compatible Nyyzen created a third, transparent entity between them. In this book the third entity of the pair was the actual ambassador. It reminded me of Jack Chalker's Cluster series from many years ago and his spherical aliens, how much their physiology shaped their psychology and language. These guys were shaped like triangles to some degree, but more importantly functioned in partnerships that are totally different than anything humans have. Our mental drive seems to be either toward attempting monogamy or no commitment at all. Group commitments are rare other than in business partnerships, which often fail. It's interesting to think about how that dynamic, a partnership that produces another (adult? not a child anyway, they aren't parents to the being) sentient being of equal or greater ability, a group of three, how that would shape a society. I love that kind of thing in science fiction, new ideas that make me think and wonder.
So, another good but not great book, uneven and a bit wobbly, I think because the author was looking more toward her long story arc than toward making this the best book possible. She's doing more toward bringing Noelle's story along than Miles, though I do see him moving in a certain direction with his career and how it's affecting him emotionally. There just isn't a lot that goes on with him other than hacking, hacking, hacking sometimes, he's a great hacker, one of the best, and don't you forget it!
October 10, 2015
This book, at its core, was about assumptions, I think. What assumptions do we make about people and situations, even when we may think we're being open-minded? Things may appear to be one way, but that may only hold a shade of truth (or none at all). As a former journalist, I thought especially of reporting situations where everyone has different interpretations of what had happened or what kind of person the "villain" was. It seemed impossible to ever fully know the truth: people's actions and motivations. Motives are slippery, too—we may kid ourselves into thinking we act for one reason but actually have other, deeper motivations.
I wish this book had more fully explored the leader of Etae, since she seemed so different in her thoughts from others' perceptions and knowledge of her (all of which could be true!). I suspect she will come up again in this series.
I wish this book had more fully explored the leader of Etae, since she seemed so different in her thoughts from others' perceptions and knowledge of her (all of which could be true!). I suspect she will come up again in this series.
March 20, 2019
I read this book quickly. I had forgotten about DeRicci's promotion. I had forgotten that this book introduced the governor-general as well as Mayor Soseki. I had also forgotten that this was the book where Miles first starts to kinda screw over DeRicci. Miles gets on my nerves from this book until the mystery of the book 'Paloma' in regards to him is solved.
March 5, 2017
The third installment of this series gives a deeper look at the web of interstellar politics and connectedness going on in the universe and it's all taking place in Armstrong City Dome on the Moon. This one took me a little longer to get into because at the beginning there are points of view from characters unknown & unnamed on planets never heard of and in the past. I felt a bit disconnected and took in the information like one does all info dumps thinking that this is probably important to what's coming but this isn't making it a riveting read by any means. Things improved greatly when Noelle & Miles are back on the scene and it's clear that the story is firmly planted on the Moon. That's kind of what I'm here for. I liked meeting the mayor Arek Soseki and hope he's around for future books (perhaps as the governor-general because he had better foresight than the current one).
There was a detailed conspiracy going on concerning Etae and their bid to become part of Earth Alliance that was so multilayered I'm not exactly sure I've got all the details worked out. Suffice it to say, many threads were related and culminated in multiple murders, rioting and some serious terrorist activity that damaged the Dome and killed a bunch of people. The descriptions of that were unsettling. Also in the unsettling category was the way the media & corporate influence played a pivotal role in social sway and political shifts. It was an all too timely reminder of our modern age.
As always, Miles & Noelle get the job done in the end but this time they ended a lot farther from one another as the line that is the solitary life of a Retrieval Artist, has been underscored. I'm a little sad about that but I do look forward to seeing how their cases intersect in future books. I'd recommend this one, of course.
There was a detailed conspiracy going on concerning Etae and their bid to become part of Earth Alliance that was so multilayered I'm not exactly sure I've got all the details worked out. Suffice it to say, many threads were related and culminated in multiple murders, rioting and some serious terrorist activity that damaged the Dome and killed a bunch of people. The descriptions of that were unsettling. Also in the unsettling category was the way the media & corporate influence played a pivotal role in social sway and political shifts. It was an all too timely reminder of our modern age.
As always, Miles & Noelle get the job done in the end but this time they ended a lot farther from one another as the line that is the solitary life of a Retrieval Artist, has been underscored. I'm a little sad about that but I do look forward to seeing how their cases intersect in future books. I'd recommend this one, of course.
January 7, 2013
I would give this book 3.5 stars if I could. I enjoyed it, and I look forward to the rest of the series.
Liked:
* The idea of consequences - poor past decisions can be damaging even if you've had a change of heart.
* The fact that it was hard to tell who were the "good guys" and who were the "bad guys."
* The series story arc: can a detective and a retrieval artist be friends? What is the deal with Paloma? What will happen with the political situation in Armstrong?
* Some questions broached: what is acceptable in a state of war? What role does the media play? What role should it play? What happens when the revolutionaries become the government?
Not so much:
* The ending felt half-baked
* So much information left out - perhaps to leave room for future books.
* I want more aliens! What I took to be the original premise of the series (conflicting moralities between races leading to problems with justice) doesn't really make much of an appearance here.
Happy overall though. (Are the people satisfied?)
Liked:
* The idea of consequences - poor past decisions can be damaging even if you've had a change of heart.
* The fact that it was hard to tell who were the "good guys" and who were the "bad guys."
* The series story arc: can a detective and a retrieval artist be friends? What is the deal with Paloma? What will happen with the political situation in Armstrong?
* Some questions broached: what is acceptable in a state of war? What role does the media play? What role should it play? What happens when the revolutionaries become the government?
Not so much:
* The ending felt half-baked
* So much information left out - perhaps to leave room for future books.
* I want more aliens! What I took to be the original premise of the series (conflicting moralities between races leading to problems with justice) doesn't really make much of an appearance here.
Happy overall though. (Are the people satisfied?)
March 13, 2022
4/5
https://delivreenlivres.home.blog/202...
La série portait le nom de « Les experts récupérateurs » en VF, mais vu que la traduction a été arrêtée et que je la continue en VO, je vais donc maintenant la désigner sous son nom anglais, ce qui est plus logique.
Il s’agit d’une série de policiers de SF. Une série longue vu qu’elle comporte 15 tomes + une 10ène de textes courts, dont la novella qui a donné son nom à la série et qui a fait parti des nominés du prix Hugo de la novella de 2001
On est sur un univers et un type d’intrigue qui ressemble fortement à la série Andrea Cort (Emissaires des morts) qui a eu du succès récemment, tout en ayant sa propre saveur.
En gros on parle du coté diplomatique et judiciaire entre les humains et les extraterrestres. Les personnages doivent faire de leur mieux pour enquêter et trouver une solution qui soit viable sans mettre à mal les relations entre les différents peuples. Et souvent les problèmes sont des problèmes d’incompréhension ou de différence de culture.
En gros le but est de sortir de la merde des humains qui ont fait quelque chose qu’ils n’auraient pas du faire (marcher sur la mauvaise plante, creuser en terre sacrée, acheter/vendre un objet rituel comme souvenir, avoir osé parler à une personne exclue de la société …).
Pour contourner le problème, tout un système c’est mis en place. Ce système n’est pas officiel bien sur, mais il n’a jamais été déclaré illégal.
Et le principe c’est de faire « disparaître » les humains en question. Tout est fait pour les aider dans ce but, il existe de nombreuses sociétés dont c’est le boulot, d’inventer de nouvelles identités totalement légales pour ce genre de personnes (contre une somme importante, il va sans dire).
Mais évidemment il existe aussi le coté inverse, c’est à dire des gens chargés de retrouver ces personnes la. D’un coté les trackeurs, qui sont les chasseurs de prime si on veut. Ils sont payés par les autorités si la personne disparue a des problèmes avec la justice humaine (il ne faudrait pas que les gens utilisent le système pour s’enfuir après avoir commis un meurtre par exemple …)
Et de l’autre coté les experts récupérateurs. Ceux ci sont un peu l’équivalent du détective privé, ils travaillent pour des particuliers qui veulent retrouver un disparu pour une raison quelconque.
Notre personnage principal, Miles Flint est expert récupérateur.
Miles est très éthique. Il ne prend pas un boulot juste pour l’argent, étant déjà riche il n’en a pas besoin. Il fait ça pour aider les gens et pour le challenge que la recherche d’une personne disparue représente. Miles est également un hackeur du coup ça lui permet d’utiliser ses capacités pour son boulot.
Il prend toujours énormément de temps pour décider si il prend une affaire ou pas. Pour lui la sécurité du disparu a la priorité sur tout. Il ne lancera jamais les recherches si il n’est pas certain que celles ci seront bénéfiques pour celui ci.
L’intrigue dans ce tome est assez complexe a expliquer parce qu’il s’agit plus d’une situation globale avec de nombreux facteurs qu’une simple enquête. D’ailleurs c’est certainement pour ça que je l’ai beaucoup apprécié.
Tout tourne autour d’une planète, Etae, une de ces petites planètes extérieure à l’alliance humaine mais qui possède une population humaine.
Celle ci a une histoire récente très chaotique. Elle avait une population indigène (sous entendu extraterrestres), mais elle est malheureusement rempli d’un matériaux rare très recherché, du coup une autre espèce a entreprit de s’en débarrasser pour pouvoir l’exploiter. Arrivent les humains qui prennent à leur tour la position dominante en se débarrassant de ceux ci. Cependant le gouvernement mis en place tourne rapidement à la dictature des corporations qui se battent pour son exploitation.
Et finalement le dernier renversement a lieu il y a une 15ène d’année quand une révolution a lieu et que les rebelles prennent le pouvoir à leur tour.
On pourrait dire « tout est bien qui fini bien », mais en fait pas tant que ça.
Etae étant hors de la zone de l’alliance humaine, aucune restriction n’a pu être mis en place lors de la guerre civile qui a eu lieu à l’époque. Et celle ci a duré suffisamment longtemps pour faire évoluer les technologies vers une modification humain extrême pour créer des super soldats.
La guerre a beau être vraiment terminée depuis un 10ène d’année, ces armes humaines sont toujours présentes et représentent toujours un problème pour l’alliance humaine.
Mais voila, maintenant qu’elle a la paix, celle ci aimerait justement entrer dans l’alliance humaine.
C’est la que le coté diplomatique de la série prend place. Des négociations secrètes ont lieu entre les représentants de différents gouvernements de l’alliance humaine et les représentants d’Etae. Ces négociations auront lieu sur Armstrong, la capitale de la Lune.
Et c’est la que les choses dégénèrent progressivement.
L’entrée sur le territoire de l’ambassadrice d’Etae est bloquée parce qu’elle n’a pas les papiers nécessaire (pas officiels, logique vu que son gouvernement n’est pas reconnu par Armstrong). On est obligé de demander son admission spéciale au maire de la ville, qui s’y oppose et dévoile sa présence à tout le monde …
Pendant ce temps, ignorant tout de ces problèmes, notre personnage principal Miles est sur une affaire concernant une disparue qui a été graciée et donc qui peut reprendre sa vie normale.
Mais la aussi les choses ne se passent pas comme prévu, la jeune femme se fait assassiner dans l’appartement de ses parents, qui sont des personnalités d’Armstrong (un juge très médiatisé et un chercheur).
Et il se trouve que Miles devient vite le principal suspect, car il a été vu dans la période supposé du meurtre dans l’immeuble.
Lui sait bien que c’était pour s’occuper du problème de la disparition de la jeune femme, mais vu que malgré toutes les caméras et moyens mis en place on ne retrouve trace de personne d’autre sur la zone, il ne peux pas échapper à ce qui va suivre …
Cous vous demandez surement qu’est-ce que ces deux affaires ont à voir l’une avec l’autre?
Et bien en fait la disparue de l’affaire de Miles est une ancienne mercenaire qui a combattu dans la révolution d’Etae, et qui était recherchée pour crime de guerre par les autorités locales …
La situation générale va vite se transformer en un gros chaos qui va tourner au drame pour tout le monde. On suit aussi bien les médiateurs diplomatiques qui tentent de sauver leur sommet et les négociations, que Miles, qui a bien l’intention de ne rien laisser le distraire de sa recherche du vrai assassin de sa cliente, surtout si ça lui permet de s’innocenter …
Voila pour ce qui est de l’intrigue de ce livre.
Un des thèmes que j’ai le plus apprécié dans ce livre (et plus globalement de la série, c’était déjà très présent sur le premier tome) est les « a-priori ». Je m’explique.
En gros on nous présente une situation de départ dans laquelle il semble être logiquement un « bon » coté et un « mauvais » (de la loi et/ou de la morale). Et petit à petit on nous introduit des nouveaux points de vue, des éléments et une évolution qui vont nous prouver que finalement on avait en grande partie tout faux depuis le début. La situation est toujours bien plus complexe qu’on s’imaginait, et en général il n’y a pas vraiment de bons et de mauvais, juste des situations pourries qui ont entraîné des conséquences que les personnages ont du traiter de la seule façon qu’ils pouvaient sur le moment. D’où le titre du livre, « Consequences« , qui est tout à fait adapté.
Et je trouve ça très intelligent parce que ça nous remet en cause nous même. Surtout dans une série qui est du genre policier. Il y a un coté assez ambiguë de la situation du point de vue du lecteur qui se développe. On fini par ne plus savoir ce qu’on aimerai qu’il se passe une fois qu’on devine les injustices qui pourraient facilement arriver car certains personnages continuent à avoir leur point de vue noir/blanc du départ. Finalement il y a très peu de personnes qui méritent vraiment leur problèmes …
J’ai apprécié qu’on joue avec mes a priori et qu’on ai une situation globale complexe et mouvante qui évolue aussi bien du coté policier que du coté diplomatique. Et l’ensemble rend bien car ça donne une image plus globale qu’une simple enquête.
J’ai passé un bon moment dans cette lecture et je lirai la suite avec plaisir !
https://delivreenlivres.home.blog/202...
La série portait le nom de « Les experts récupérateurs » en VF, mais vu que la traduction a été arrêtée et que je la continue en VO, je vais donc maintenant la désigner sous son nom anglais, ce qui est plus logique.
Il s’agit d’une série de policiers de SF. Une série longue vu qu’elle comporte 15 tomes + une 10ène de textes courts, dont la novella qui a donné son nom à la série et qui a fait parti des nominés du prix Hugo de la novella de 2001
On est sur un univers et un type d’intrigue qui ressemble fortement à la série Andrea Cort (Emissaires des morts) qui a eu du succès récemment, tout en ayant sa propre saveur.
En gros on parle du coté diplomatique et judiciaire entre les humains et les extraterrestres. Les personnages doivent faire de leur mieux pour enquêter et trouver une solution qui soit viable sans mettre à mal les relations entre les différents peuples. Et souvent les problèmes sont des problèmes d’incompréhension ou de différence de culture.
En gros le but est de sortir de la merde des humains qui ont fait quelque chose qu’ils n’auraient pas du faire (marcher sur la mauvaise plante, creuser en terre sacrée, acheter/vendre un objet rituel comme souvenir, avoir osé parler à une personne exclue de la société …).
Pour contourner le problème, tout un système c’est mis en place. Ce système n’est pas officiel bien sur, mais il n’a jamais été déclaré illégal.
Et le principe c’est de faire « disparaître » les humains en question. Tout est fait pour les aider dans ce but, il existe de nombreuses sociétés dont c’est le boulot, d’inventer de nouvelles identités totalement légales pour ce genre de personnes (contre une somme importante, il va sans dire).
Mais évidemment il existe aussi le coté inverse, c’est à dire des gens chargés de retrouver ces personnes la. D’un coté les trackeurs, qui sont les chasseurs de prime si on veut. Ils sont payés par les autorités si la personne disparue a des problèmes avec la justice humaine (il ne faudrait pas que les gens utilisent le système pour s’enfuir après avoir commis un meurtre par exemple …)
Et de l’autre coté les experts récupérateurs. Ceux ci sont un peu l’équivalent du détective privé, ils travaillent pour des particuliers qui veulent retrouver un disparu pour une raison quelconque.
Notre personnage principal, Miles Flint est expert récupérateur.
Miles est très éthique. Il ne prend pas un boulot juste pour l’argent, étant déjà riche il n’en a pas besoin. Il fait ça pour aider les gens et pour le challenge que la recherche d’une personne disparue représente. Miles est également un hackeur du coup ça lui permet d’utiliser ses capacités pour son boulot.
Il prend toujours énormément de temps pour décider si il prend une affaire ou pas. Pour lui la sécurité du disparu a la priorité sur tout. Il ne lancera jamais les recherches si il n’est pas certain que celles ci seront bénéfiques pour celui ci.
L’intrigue dans ce tome est assez complexe a expliquer parce qu’il s’agit plus d’une situation globale avec de nombreux facteurs qu’une simple enquête. D’ailleurs c’est certainement pour ça que je l’ai beaucoup apprécié.
Tout tourne autour d’une planète, Etae, une de ces petites planètes extérieure à l’alliance humaine mais qui possède une population humaine.
Celle ci a une histoire récente très chaotique. Elle avait une population indigène (sous entendu extraterrestres), mais elle est malheureusement rempli d’un matériaux rare très recherché, du coup une autre espèce a entreprit de s’en débarrasser pour pouvoir l’exploiter. Arrivent les humains qui prennent à leur tour la position dominante en se débarrassant de ceux ci. Cependant le gouvernement mis en place tourne rapidement à la dictature des corporations qui se battent pour son exploitation.
Et finalement le dernier renversement a lieu il y a une 15ène d’année quand une révolution a lieu et que les rebelles prennent le pouvoir à leur tour.
On pourrait dire « tout est bien qui fini bien », mais en fait pas tant que ça.
Etae étant hors de la zone de l’alliance humaine, aucune restriction n’a pu être mis en place lors de la guerre civile qui a eu lieu à l’époque. Et celle ci a duré suffisamment longtemps pour faire évoluer les technologies vers une modification humain extrême pour créer des super soldats.
La guerre a beau être vraiment terminée depuis un 10ène d’année, ces armes humaines sont toujours présentes et représentent toujours un problème pour l’alliance humaine.
Mais voila, maintenant qu’elle a la paix, celle ci aimerait justement entrer dans l’alliance humaine.
C’est la que le coté diplomatique de la série prend place. Des négociations secrètes ont lieu entre les représentants de différents gouvernements de l’alliance humaine et les représentants d’Etae. Ces négociations auront lieu sur Armstrong, la capitale de la Lune.
Et c’est la que les choses dégénèrent progressivement.
L’entrée sur le territoire de l’ambassadrice d’Etae est bloquée parce qu’elle n’a pas les papiers nécessaire (pas officiels, logique vu que son gouvernement n’est pas reconnu par Armstrong). On est obligé de demander son admission spéciale au maire de la ville, qui s’y oppose et dévoile sa présence à tout le monde …
Pendant ce temps, ignorant tout de ces problèmes, notre personnage principal Miles est sur une affaire concernant une disparue qui a été graciée et donc qui peut reprendre sa vie normale.
Mais la aussi les choses ne se passent pas comme prévu, la jeune femme se fait assassiner dans l’appartement de ses parents, qui sont des personnalités d’Armstrong (un juge très médiatisé et un chercheur).
Et il se trouve que Miles devient vite le principal suspect, car il a été vu dans la période supposé du meurtre dans l’immeuble.
Lui sait bien que c’était pour s’occuper du problème de la disparition de la jeune femme, mais vu que malgré toutes les caméras et moyens mis en place on ne retrouve trace de personne d’autre sur la zone, il ne peux pas échapper à ce qui va suivre …
Cous vous demandez surement qu’est-ce que ces deux affaires ont à voir l’une avec l’autre?
Et bien en fait la disparue de l’affaire de Miles est une ancienne mercenaire qui a combattu dans la révolution d’Etae, et qui était recherchée pour crime de guerre par les autorités locales …
La situation générale va vite se transformer en un gros chaos qui va tourner au drame pour tout le monde. On suit aussi bien les médiateurs diplomatiques qui tentent de sauver leur sommet et les négociations, que Miles, qui a bien l’intention de ne rien laisser le distraire de sa recherche du vrai assassin de sa cliente, surtout si ça lui permet de s’innocenter …
Voila pour ce qui est de l’intrigue de ce livre.
Un des thèmes que j’ai le plus apprécié dans ce livre (et plus globalement de la série, c’était déjà très présent sur le premier tome) est les « a-priori ». Je m’explique.
En gros on nous présente une situation de départ dans laquelle il semble être logiquement un « bon » coté et un « mauvais » (de la loi et/ou de la morale). Et petit à petit on nous introduit des nouveaux points de vue, des éléments et une évolution qui vont nous prouver que finalement on avait en grande partie tout faux depuis le début. La situation est toujours bien plus complexe qu’on s’imaginait, et en général il n’y a pas vraiment de bons et de mauvais, juste des situations pourries qui ont entraîné des conséquences que les personnages ont du traiter de la seule façon qu’ils pouvaient sur le moment. D’où le titre du livre, « Consequences« , qui est tout à fait adapté.
Et je trouve ça très intelligent parce que ça nous remet en cause nous même. Surtout dans une série qui est du genre policier. Il y a un coté assez ambiguë de la situation du point de vue du lecteur qui se développe. On fini par ne plus savoir ce qu’on aimerai qu’il se passe une fois qu’on devine les injustices qui pourraient facilement arriver car certains personnages continuent à avoir leur point de vue noir/blanc du départ. Finalement il y a très peu de personnes qui méritent vraiment leur problèmes …
J’ai apprécié qu’on joue avec mes a priori et qu’on ai une situation globale complexe et mouvante qui évolue aussi bien du coté policier que du coté diplomatique. Et l’ensemble rend bien car ça donne une image plus globale qu’une simple enquête.
J’ai passé un bon moment dans cette lecture et je lirai la suite avec plaisir !
February 15, 2009
I wish I could give 1/2 stars on the rating, because 3 stars seemed to low, 4 stars too high. I did enjoy the book. At times,I liked it a lot, but at other times, it was just OK.
The primary characters were still interesting to me, even if many of the ones introduced in this story seemed one dimensional.
Perhaps the problem was that this book took itself a little to seriously, which wasn't what I was looking for. The question of what behaviour is acceptable in war, and what the implications are after war, is an important and even a timely one. It was even handled in an interesting way, setting up future stories.
And in the end, I decided on 4 stars, and I'll probably read the next one soon.
The primary characters were still interesting to me, even if many of the ones introduced in this story seemed one dimensional.
Perhaps the problem was that this book took itself a little to seriously, which wasn't what I was looking for. The question of what behaviour is acceptable in war, and what the implications are after war, is an important and even a timely one. It was even handled in an interesting way, setting up future stories.
And in the end, I decided on 4 stars, and I'll probably read the next one soon.
January 14, 2020
Consequences is the third novel in Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Edgar award nominated series about Retrieval Artist Miles Flint, who was first introduced in the Hugo Award winning novella “The Retrieval Artist”. The first two books in the series, which deftly combine the science fiction and mystery genres, are The Disappeared and Extremes (SFRevu 0803). While the reader who has read the first two books will be more familiar with the background information about Miles Flint and his former partner police Det. Noelle DeRicci, lack of knowledge of the first two books will in no way hamper or diminish the reader’s ability to enjoy Consequences. In fact, new readers (like me) will probably enjoy it enough to want to track down the other two, and Rusch provides enough background exposition that the new reader is never lost.
The book is set in an unspecified time in the future when Earth and worlds settled by humans are part of a vast interplanetary Alliance of human and non-human worlds. The rules of the Alliance require all members to respect the rules of all member worlds. Of course, many alien cultures are vastly different than ours, and definitions of crime differ as well. As a result, a person could find himself facing the death penalty because he stepped on a flower on another planet. As a result, organizations developed which would help people disappear and establish new identities on other worlds in order to escape unduly harsh punishments for actions that many would not consider a crime. Retrieval Artists are investigators who locate the Disappeared and reunite them with family if possible. Retrieval Artists work alone and trust no one, since the people they are trying to locate may have a price on their heads.
The book opens with an assassination on a distant world. At first this seems unrelated to the rest of the story, but as the plot develops, it becomes clear how it ties in. Having started literally with a bang, the scene then shifts to Miles Flint as he is uniting Carolyn Lahiri, a former disappeared with her parents in the city of Armstrong on Earth’s moon. Her parents had come to Miles when an amnesty on Etae had been declared which would allow Carolyn, a former combatant in the various Etae wars to resume her identity. Shortly after being reunited, all the Lahiris are murdered and Det. DeRicci is assigned to the case, which is a political hot potato because Carolyn’s parents were a prominent judge and doctor. DeRicci finds evidence that Flint was working for the Lahiris and visits him at his office, hoping he will assist her out of friendship, and also feeling that she owes him a heads up because they used to be partners on the police force. Flint refuses to help her because all the work he does as a Retrieval Artist must be done with the utmost secrecy. DeRicci is hurt and also a little angry at herself, since Flint is considered a suspect and her friendly heads up is going to be hard to explain, especially if Flint leaves Armstrong. Flint is upset by the death of his client and decides to investigate on his own, both to clear his name and to assure himself that he did not lead the assassin to the Lahiris. Also, being an honorable man, he feels he owes it to the Lahiris to find their killer.
In addition to the plot threads involving the simultaneous murder investigations of DeRicci and Flint, the third major plot thread involves a semi-secret meeting between Alliance ambassadors and representatives of the Etae government, which has requested admission to the Alliance. What the Etae government can offer in return for admission to the Alliance becomes a key plot point. The meetings are being held in Armstrong and complications ensue as the secret meetings become public knowledge. All three plot threads prove to be interrelated and are fairly neatly tied up in the last third of the book.
Both Miles Flint and Noelle DeRicci are interesting and likeable characters. Rusch ably weaves the various plot threads together. The internecine plotting and politics of the large interstellar Alliance are nicely developed. Rusch also clearly put a lot of thought into what the fallout of a bloody civil war like the one on Etae would be and the sort of difficulties the winning side would face in gaining acceptance and in dealing with the consequences of the actions that put them in power in the first place. In fact, the title of the book, Consequences, is the overall theme of the book, since everything that stems from the characters previous acts. Readers who enjoyed the previous books in the series will definitely want to read this one as well, and new readers should not be put off by the fact that it is the third in the series, since it works equally well as a stand-alone novel.
The book is set in an unspecified time in the future when Earth and worlds settled by humans are part of a vast interplanetary Alliance of human and non-human worlds. The rules of the Alliance require all members to respect the rules of all member worlds. Of course, many alien cultures are vastly different than ours, and definitions of crime differ as well. As a result, a person could find himself facing the death penalty because he stepped on a flower on another planet. As a result, organizations developed which would help people disappear and establish new identities on other worlds in order to escape unduly harsh punishments for actions that many would not consider a crime. Retrieval Artists are investigators who locate the Disappeared and reunite them with family if possible. Retrieval Artists work alone and trust no one, since the people they are trying to locate may have a price on their heads.
The book opens with an assassination on a distant world. At first this seems unrelated to the rest of the story, but as the plot develops, it becomes clear how it ties in. Having started literally with a bang, the scene then shifts to Miles Flint as he is uniting Carolyn Lahiri, a former disappeared with her parents in the city of Armstrong on Earth’s moon. Her parents had come to Miles when an amnesty on Etae had been declared which would allow Carolyn, a former combatant in the various Etae wars to resume her identity. Shortly after being reunited, all the Lahiris are murdered and Det. DeRicci is assigned to the case, which is a political hot potato because Carolyn’s parents were a prominent judge and doctor. DeRicci finds evidence that Flint was working for the Lahiris and visits him at his office, hoping he will assist her out of friendship, and also feeling that she owes him a heads up because they used to be partners on the police force. Flint refuses to help her because all the work he does as a Retrieval Artist must be done with the utmost secrecy. DeRicci is hurt and also a little angry at herself, since Flint is considered a suspect and her friendly heads up is going to be hard to explain, especially if Flint leaves Armstrong. Flint is upset by the death of his client and decides to investigate on his own, both to clear his name and to assure himself that he did not lead the assassin to the Lahiris. Also, being an honorable man, he feels he owes it to the Lahiris to find their killer.
In addition to the plot threads involving the simultaneous murder investigations of DeRicci and Flint, the third major plot thread involves a semi-secret meeting between Alliance ambassadors and representatives of the Etae government, which has requested admission to the Alliance. What the Etae government can offer in return for admission to the Alliance becomes a key plot point. The meetings are being held in Armstrong and complications ensue as the secret meetings become public knowledge. All three plot threads prove to be interrelated and are fairly neatly tied up in the last third of the book.
Both Miles Flint and Noelle DeRicci are interesting and likeable characters. Rusch ably weaves the various plot threads together. The internecine plotting and politics of the large interstellar Alliance are nicely developed. Rusch also clearly put a lot of thought into what the fallout of a bloody civil war like the one on Etae would be and the sort of difficulties the winning side would face in gaining acceptance and in dealing with the consequences of the actions that put them in power in the first place. In fact, the title of the book, Consequences, is the overall theme of the book, since everything that stems from the characters previous acts. Readers who enjoyed the previous books in the series will definitely want to read this one as well, and new readers should not be put off by the fact that it is the third in the series, since it works equally well as a stand-alone novel.
Read
November 18, 2020So Scott Card, when he reviewed the Retrieval Artists series as a whole, said (or at least implied) that they didn't have to be read in any particular order; that they stood alone. That may very well be somewhat true, but without the background from at least the first novel, I think you'll be lost. In fact, when I read the third, Consequences, without reading the second, it left me wondering if I had perhaps missed some significant events in the lives of its main protagonists, who were introduced in The Disappeared, former detective turned Retrieval Artist Miles Flynn, and former detective turned assistant chief of police for Armstrong Dome (on the Moon), Noelle DeRicci. I had actually hoped to run onto a reasonably priced copy of the second book, Extremes, but never did, so I finally jumped into this one feet first.
If you've ever heard the line, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter", I think you've found the single foundation upon which the whole story is built. Representatives of the new government of Etae, who began as the rebel forces toppling the repressive and brutal government of the planet, have arrived at Armstrong Dome to begin meetings with the Assembly?? to determine whether they will be allowed to join this group of "civilized" worlds and races and enjoy the flow of foreign aid to their impoverished and starving citizens. Some of the diplomats arriving at the conference are strongly opposed to the Etaens recognition, while others are more sympathetic, hence plenty of room for some rather topical discussions about how former terrorists turned statespeople should be treated.
There are also dangerous enemies of the Etaens in the mix, people who, for various reasons, would rather see them dead than successful, and DeRicci's and Flynn's involvement begins when a trio of Flynn's former clients are murdered in a very odd fashion. DeRicci is made chief investigator on the case, and Flynn decides he needs to figure out what's going on both to protect himself and avenge the Disappeared who has been killed.
Multiple POVs, well handled, some good suspenseful mystery, a bit of danger, and some deeper political questions posed - if not answered. Rusch delivers a good tale once again.
If you've ever heard the line, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter", I think you've found the single foundation upon which the whole story is built. Representatives of the new government of Etae, who began as the rebel forces toppling the repressive and brutal government of the planet, have arrived at Armstrong Dome to begin meetings with the Assembly?? to determine whether they will be allowed to join this group of "civilized" worlds and races and enjoy the flow of foreign aid to their impoverished and starving citizens. Some of the diplomats arriving at the conference are strongly opposed to the Etaens recognition, while others are more sympathetic, hence plenty of room for some rather topical discussions about how former terrorists turned statespeople should be treated.
There are also dangerous enemies of the Etaens in the mix, people who, for various reasons, would rather see them dead than successful, and DeRicci's and Flynn's involvement begins when a trio of Flynn's former clients are murdered in a very odd fashion. DeRicci is made chief investigator on the case, and Flynn decides he needs to figure out what's going on both to protect himself and avenge the Disappeared who has been killed.
Multiple POVs, well handled, some good suspenseful mystery, a bit of danger, and some deeper political questions posed - if not answered. Rusch delivers a good tale once again.
March 5, 2021
I'm still making my way steadily through the Retrieval Artist series by Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Consequences is number three and follows what happens when Flint retrieves a Disappeared woman who has apparently been pardoned. The titular consequences are not good for her or her family, nor it seems for Flint, at least for a while, since the murders DeRicci is tasked with solving make it look like he is the culprit.
It's kind of a weird story in plot terms, since we don't really see Flint doing his retrieval work (this seems to be common across all the books so far, despite the name of the series), and the it also pits Flint and DeRicci against each other, which I wasn't all that keen on.
The fragmented narratives were even more confusing than in book two, with seemingly unrelated events going on in several parts of the moon city, and only really coming together right at the end. That ending felt very rushed, with most of the main plot points being revealed in the last thirty pages, but quite a lot of stuff left unresolved, which isn't always a bad thing.
There also wasn't really a reconciliation for Flint and DeRicci, at least not on the page.
All that aside, though, the pace was high, the intrigue kept me reading, and I still very much like Flint and DeRicci as characters. It's a shame they don't really get to work together any more, but I still really enjoyed the book overall and have ordered the next four in the series, so I've got plenty left to get through.
It's kind of a weird story in plot terms, since we don't really see Flint doing his retrieval work (this seems to be common across all the books so far, despite the name of the series), and the it also pits Flint and DeRicci against each other, which I wasn't all that keen on.
The fragmented narratives were even more confusing than in book two, with seemingly unrelated events going on in several parts of the moon city, and only really coming together right at the end. That ending felt very rushed, with most of the main plot points being revealed in the last thirty pages, but quite a lot of stuff left unresolved, which isn't always a bad thing.
There also wasn't really a reconciliation for Flint and DeRicci, at least not on the page.
All that aside, though, the pace was high, the intrigue kept me reading, and I still very much like Flint and DeRicci as characters. It's a shame they don't really get to work together any more, but I still really enjoyed the book overall and have ordered the next four in the series, so I've got plenty left to get through.
September 9, 2019
I thought I would like this book a lot once I was a hundred pages or so in. Sure, the protagonist Miles Flint is a moody, judgmental loner, who also happens to be a genius-hacker and a millionaire, which is a bit odd, and some of the writing was unclear (or maybe the ebook I bought from Smashwords was just very poorly made, maybe the print version is better), but everything not involving him was really promising.
I was expecting this to be a two-parter, I was nearing the end of the book, and there were still so many plot threads to be resolved (vague spoilers ahead) .
I hate it when books pull this shit.
5/10 Okay-ish.
I was expecting this to be a two-parter, I was nearing the end of the book, and there were still so many plot threads to be resolved (vague spoilers ahead) .
I hate it when books pull this shit.
5/10 Okay-ish.
March 25, 2021
Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. Consequences. Retrieval Artist No. 3. Roc, 2004.
Give the retrieval artist series credit. It keeps finding new ways of being noir. We have permanent colonies on the moon and many other places in our own solar system and elsewhere. In some ways, the human colonies are as weird or weirder than the various alien cultures with their penchant for revenge murder, multigenerational retribution, and child abduction. Nobody wants an interstellar war, so there is an uneasy alliance that depends on nobody stepping on anyone else’s cultural toes, an intractable problem at best. Former lunar policeman Miles Flint works as a retrieval artist, rescuing victims who have been caught up in the arcane system. When one of the people he has rescued is murdered with her whole family, Miles feels obliged to look into the case. As we might expect, what he finds is not simple.
Give the retrieval artist series credit. It keeps finding new ways of being noir. We have permanent colonies on the moon and many other places in our own solar system and elsewhere. In some ways, the human colonies are as weird or weirder than the various alien cultures with their penchant for revenge murder, multigenerational retribution, and child abduction. Nobody wants an interstellar war, so there is an uneasy alliance that depends on nobody stepping on anyone else’s cultural toes, an intractable problem at best. Former lunar policeman Miles Flint works as a retrieval artist, rescuing victims who have been caught up in the arcane system. When one of the people he has rescued is murdered with her whole family, Miles feels obliged to look into the case. As we might expect, what he finds is not simple.
February 17, 2019
A story of youthful idealism gone horribly wrong, of a person in hiding for decades who is encouraged to come out to reconcile with family, only to die. And hero Miles Flint has to figure out what is really going on here, in a tangled web of lies that may involve aliens who are genuinely *alien*, not just literary devices for holding a mirror to the Other within human society. Aliens whose minds and societies may not make sense to humans, creating enormous pitfalls for those who interact with them.
May 31, 2020
l love Rusch's writing, enjoyed the previous books in the series, and plan to continue on to the next ones. And I liked this book quite a bit. But there was something...careless?...about it. There was some awkward word usage, which alone wouldn't lower my rating. But also, in a number of places, characters thought and did things that didn't hold up to scrutiny; either out of character, not likely in the context, or inconsistent world-building. If it weren't for those things, I would give the book four stars.
October 25, 2019
Interesting book. At times, I was wondering what the story segment had to do with the overall view, but it's all tied together at the end, and it all makes sense. It's a good story, though if it didn't take place on the moon, I'm not sure we could qualify it as scifi, but that's a side note, for those who like their scifi on the hard side of things. Otherwise, it was a pretty decent mystery story, and even if you're not a scifi fan, if you're a mystery fan, you'll probably enjoy this one.
February 18, 2022
This one was less private detectivey than the first two. So if you don't like learning about political intricacies of made up alien planets, this is probably not the book for you. Which now that I phrased it that way seems weird to say that I do like, especially because I don't have interest in actual political happenings. 😝 I just love her world and culture building. Such a great series b for me.
March 16, 2021
I'm very much enjoying this series. It examines cultural and legal situations that might arise when alien cultures, taboos and laws intersect with human equivalents. What happens when someone ficks dust off a shoulder and that is illegal in an alien culture? Well, then the offenders 'Disappear'.
Great characterization, imaginative plots, and complexly drawn worlds.
Great characterization, imaginative plots, and complexly drawn worlds.
July 5, 2023
Excellent sci fi mystery/thriller
But the body count is high, and there is little happiness. I really like Miles, but he has chosen a calling that demands a solitary lifestyle. He and Noelle are believable, intense characters. The story is a well-written intense tale of vengeance, betrayal, murder, terrorism, and mob stupidity.
But the body count is high, and there is little happiness. I really like Miles, but he has chosen a calling that demands a solitary lifestyle. He and Noelle are believable, intense characters. The story is a well-written intense tale of vengeance, betrayal, murder, terrorism, and mob stupidity.
December 26, 2017
The human politics of this one seemed more interesting than the previous two in the series, and I hope Rusch returns to this conflict. However, this novel seemed to go off on a tangent and never come back.
October 1, 2018
Another good mystery - DeRicci and Flint are such likeable characters... you find yourself pulling for them no matter what happens. It seems rare these days to find clean mysteries, but these fit the bill. Just good nail-biting suspense!
September 7, 2020
75% Setup
I like the series and will continue to read it, but most of the book was setup. It felt more like it was filling in the Retrieval Artist universe than telling a story. Most subplots came together at the end, but I was left with a felling of, “is that it?”
I like the series and will continue to read it, but most of the book was setup. It felt more like it was filling in the Retrieval Artist universe than telling a story. Most subplots came together at the end, but I was left with a felling of, “is that it?”
July 13, 2017
Awesome
I stumbled upon her books looking on amazon for another book. I thought it looked interesting. I love her books a I recommended them to my son. Awesome
I stumbled upon her books looking on amazon for another book. I thought it looked interesting. I love her books a I recommended them to my son. Awesome
September 1, 2017
Whodunit , ... maybe "Whatdunnit", ...?..
February 12, 2019
One of the best of this series
I love this series and found the twists to the expected plot lines refreshing. Some things left hanging but maybe to be addressed in later books.
I love this series and found the twists to the expected plot lines refreshing. Some things left hanging but maybe to be addressed in later books.
August 5, 2020
I find that I have trouble putting any of Rusch's books down. Something about her writing style grabs my brain.
August 26, 2020
I enjoy this author and this series. Plot shifts between characters without losing the flow. No in depth character development, but I find books that do tend to drag.
February 10, 2021
Love these little space detective jaunts
September 1, 2022
She back on the money with this entry in the Retrieval Artist series!
Nice mystery on the moon!
Nice mystery on the moon!
September 5, 2023
I jumped to the end.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews