Greg Keyes

I found myself very conflicted about this book. At first glance, it would appear to be a standard fantasy novel, with the farm boy who goes on a journey to be a hero, and princess in distress, and an incredibly powerful enemy that must be overcome. However, things are not what they appear to be. The "hero" turns out to have little to no idea what he's doing, nor does he have some set or prophesied destiny to fulfill. In fact, several other characters comment consistently about how stupid and unwise he behaves. The princess in distress is actually very intelligent and inquisitive with a latent power in all members of her family that make her more dangerous than anyone else. And the true nature of the gods makes the reader question what is really going on. There's an ancient secret about the Rivergod and his enemies, and the characters are realizing that they may simply be pawns in a game of the gods.

Keyes creates an incredibly interesting world, where gods exist in everything, from the field of grass, to the streams that cut the land, to the very campfires that the characters gather around, all the way to the great Rivergod which consumes all other gods around him. The characters are quite dynamic and change and learn during the course of the story in this book and it's sequel, "The Blackgod." However, the reason I can only gives this novel three stars is because it is painfully obvious that this was Keyes first book. Some of the prose and the dialogue feel rather clumsy, and certain aspects that seemed like they were supposed to be mysteries became painfully obvious much earlier than the actual reveal. Which leaves me very torn. If Keyes had waited longer in his career before he wrote this book and its sequel, I feel that it would have turned out much, much better. Still, it is very worth the read if you can look past it being a freshman effort that turns the standard high fantasy fare on its head (much like how George R.R. Martin's Song of Fire and Ice series challenges the low fantasy genre). Fascinating, but far from perfect.… (mer)

I'm genuinely stunned at how good Greg Keyes is. He took a simple movie tie-in and actually made supporting characters more compelling than they would be in the subsequent movie.

He also found clever ways of giving us Kaiju vs Jaegar porn without positing a new breach. Really smart decisions to make a story that's interesting in it's own right, especially in regards to Jinhai's parents.

The only flaws are really beyond Keyes' control. The fate of Raleigh and what happens when you chuck a Kaiju into a volcano actually contradict Uprising. Not horribly so, but enough that you get the sense the Keyes did not benefit from a tight story group that would approve and endorse his take on canon.… (mer)

A great run up to the movie, covering the years between the War of '96 and 2016. This is the book I wanted after the movie came out originally, admittedly with more detail. All the same, this is a well written book, filling in information and details about how the ESD (Earth Space Defense) comes together and how everyone on the planet comes together to prepare for the next invasion. While I don't think you need to read this book to see Resurgence, I think it's well worth the time to read. Now I want more! LOL… (mer)