One thought on “7th Sigma”

1. Stephen Gould is perhaps best known for his novel Jumper originally released in 1992 and later adapted into a film in 2008 I found the film enjoyable if somewhat forgettable and regrettable only in that it managed to line the pockets of Hayden Christensen Burried in a box of ARCs from Baker and Taylor I found Gould s most recent novel, 7th Sigma, and immediately cued in on the idea giant metal eating bugs In 7th Sigma a plague of metal devouring bugs of mysterious origin overran the American sou [...]

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2. Anyone else notice dystopian novels are being released like every other week, kinda like when Pride and Prejudice and Zombies came out and then monster mash up books were coming out so fast you didn t even know they existed until you stumbled across them in the book store This is yet another dystopian novel that has been released among the hordes of others that have great premises but seriously fail in the execution Whether that is due to time restraints publishers wanting to churn these books o [...]

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3. Before you read this book, read Kim by Rudyard Kipling Firstly, because Kim is a great book Secondly, because if you read 7th Sigma first, you would be missing all the references to Kim And thirdly because if you read 7th Sigma first you might give it credit than it deserves And also because it is available for free on the web, kindle, iBooks, etc I really like Steven Gould s work, and I think he can tell a realistic sci fi story like few others, but I really think 7th Sigma didn t live up to p [...]

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4. If I was to take a look at my outfit, I ve got a metal bracelet on, a zipper, and metal bra hooks, this means that if I was a character living in the Territory in Steven Gould s 7th Sigma, I d be screwed The territory is basically the Southwestern US It is infested by these dangerous metal eating bugs who don t give a shit about your flesh and will eat you up if it means getting to sweet delicious alloy However, people are resilient and willing to build lives without the use of metal, coping ins [...]

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5. Goddammit I was sure I was going to flip out over this book before I started That s the second time this has happened to me this year, where I have a book set aside to enjoy as my absolute favorite book of all time candidate It s hard to do that with a book I ve never read, but I knew that Stephen Gould has written some pretty adored books, I know my son read Jumper and thought it was pretty great, and I heard Mr Gould in an interview a few times and thought he made a pretty good sell on whateve [...]

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6. 3 Stars3 is probably a little generous, but this is a short and fast read with some enjoyable moments.This book started out interesting enough, with a post apocalyptic feel, and a bit of horror to boot There was less blood when it came out of his chest, but the blind black snout of the June bug sized creature came right through the remnants of the shirt as if it weren t there It crawled up and out, wet and red It stood up high on it s legs and spread it s wings It buzzed them and the blood splat [...]

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7. Days later Kim is still on my mind The book seems like fun but is not balanced like I ve come to find Gould s other works If history has taught me anything I can see a reasonable sequel coming along and then I d probably like this one .I know I m a fan of Gould but the vignettes do get a little tired and the whole experience does leave me wanted It doesn t quite flesh out the parts where I m wondering is he still training How is he and Sensei getting along What is life actually teaching him We [...]

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8. Although the first few pages were hard for me to get through mostly because I think there were too many names, side commentary, and info dump , I was quickly drawn into the story once the words became normal I would say this is a western, except set in the near future after a semi disaster involving bugs that eat all metal I found it particularly interesting to see how people still adapted and changed as did technology, by necessity Though there was no general plot arc in terms of an epic evil t [...]

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9. I didn t like this book at all Generally, when I rate books, I try to balance my personal enjoyment of the book with the book s actual quality Some well written books just aren t my cup of tea some lesser quality books are very entertaining Sadly, I found this book to be neither enjoyable nor well written.If you ve read the description of this book, which appears verbatim on the book s jacket, this sounds like an interesting novel People must learn to adapt when metal eating bugs require them to [...]

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10. Kimble is a smart kid who knows he d rather be on the streets of the Territory than under the heavy hand of his drunken father Then he meets Ruth, who is leaving a divorce behind to open a new dojo deep in the Territory They get along better than they should, and so the story rolls Kim is a smart boy who is already mostly grown up at thirteen, but looks much smaller and younger even than that With an adult reckoning, incredible aikido skills, and a strong need for justice, Kim is an easy recruit [...]

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11. The premise of this one intrigued me a future earth where US nano technology got out of hand and created self replicating bugs that consume metal They seem to be prevalent in the Southwest than elsewhere in the States or world The book also surprised me I didn t realize it was a YA book until after I started I enjoyed the simplicity of the plot and characters while some of the morality was a bit heavy handed It relies on Japanese philosophy as taught through martial arts with some Buddhism thro [...]

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12. I m a long fan of Rudyard Kipling s Kim, and this story is an open homage to that, set in a futuristic, post apocalyptic American southwest and paying at least as much tribute to the Western genres I read so much of as a kid It was an interesting world, and the story was fairly carefully written.I ve studied aikido for some years, so the martial arts part was well written, but made me a bit uneasy There is a bit of the martial arts discipline turns people into thoughtful, well adjusted humans vi [...]

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13. It s hard for me to say whether or not this book was a hit On the one hand, I am disappointed by how the author pushed some important subject matter to the back burner As I discussed above, I never did feel fully engaged in this book as a whole However, on the other hand, 7th Sigma isn t really deep, or thought provoking and I don t think it s supposed to be It s a fast paced ride through an interesting world It s immensely fun and entertaining For readers who are looking for that kind of thing, [...]

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14. There have been parts which I really enjoyed But I missed information about the bugs and not animals.This is a book about survival under certain conditions and it is a book about aikido I think a younger audience will enjoy it than I did.

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15. The bugs will go through anything to eat metal, self replicate, and have completely devastated the western seaboard of the United States Kimble lives in the now metal barren Territory and builds a life after his abusive father with an Aikido instructor I really enjoyed this book The pace was great, the characters were interesting I wasn t enthralled to the point of un put down able but the premise was engrosing.However, there was than one spot in the narrative where sections of time are skipped [...]

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16. I wanted to like this book a lot than I did The blurb had me going Wow, that sounds fascinating Unfortunately, when all was said and done, the book didn t live up to my expectations Steven Gould did a good job telling the story of the book, but it s not exactly the one I was expecting from the description.Gould apparently based the character of Kimble Monroe on the titular character of Rudyard Kipling s Kim , which I ve never read, nor do I have any intention of reading So I can t comment on ot [...]

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17. I really enjoyed Jumper and Wildside by Steven Gould, so I thought I would check this out Plus, I had the pleasure of meeting him and his wife many years ago now when they came up to Faribanks, Ak for a writer s workshop I thought both of them were nice, interesting people who came across as really caring about talking to aspiring writers.7th Sigma didn t disappoint, it is classic juvenile sci fi And I mean that in the best Heinlein esque sense I guess these days we say young adult fiction I lik [...]

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18. Finally A young adult book where the main character is not wrought with emotion 7th sigma is set in a dystopian desert southwest Bugs have taken over that area Not just any bugs Bugs that will eat any scrap of metal there is There are people who have decided to live in the what is now referred to as the Territory They have adapted to living in this barron land with these creatures They have had to do without though Nothing metal inside or out Kimble is one of those people A boy just trying to su [...]

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19. Its basically several short stories that follow Kimble the main character over the course of 6 or 7 years as he grows up from a runaway boy escaping an abusive father who we never meet, he s already been living on the streets for a while when we first meet him of about 11, while living in an area of the USA that has become kind of primitive due to metal eating bugs that cover a huge are of the country Because of the bugs people have to do without many of todays technologies such as cars, telepho [...]

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20. I have always like Steven Gould s books Jumper is still one of my favorites 7th Sigma is another great story by Gould that I cannot categorize It might fit under a Young Man s Adventure like early Heinlein novels I highly recommend reading this book, just so he continues in the series.

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21. OK, the extra star is probably because I m from NM, and enjoyed all the references and maybe secretly want Albuquerque to be eaten by post apocalyptic metal bugs Inventive and fun read.

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22. I scanned a few other reviews of this book and was gobsmacked by the 1 and 2 star ratings A good reminder that one man s trash is another man s treasure, I guess.This book is almost scripture to me I go back and read it again when I m really down and don t know what my life is about, and it centers me Maybe it will do that for you, or maybe it ll be entirely forgettable I ll probably re read it every two years or so from now until I m dead It might be my favorite book I am so totally fine with t [...]

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23. UnfinishedThis is a brilliant start to an engaging series, but the answers are still out there, I sure hope the second book is written.The story starts of so well, and so engagingly and picks up all sorts of fascinating threads to weave a mesmerizing tale and then it stops.

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24. loved the ending

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25. Homage to Kim, which I read so long ago that I remember too little to talk about whether it succeeds It s a loosely connected series of vignettes, recounting tales from the life of Kim Monroe, starting as a 13 yer old boy It s very clearly YA in the old mold, but it s not really a coming of age story Kim doesn t so much come of age as he is born ageless and just absorbs maturity must be the aikido, sigh.The premise is interesting enough metal eating bugs have supposedly escaped from an experimen [...]

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26. A good story by Mr Gould I expect a sequel will be in the offing in a year or two And I will read it as soon as it comes out.I do have one issue with the mechanics of Mr Gould s storytelling In than a few instances, he adds a unique plot wrinkle or has our character learn a new skill or describes an item in detail and then never uses it returns to it ever again Violating the rule of thumb Don t show the audience a gun unless it is going to be used Along the same vein there is an unwritten rule [...]

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27. I suspect if you favor John Wayne westerns over Clint Eastwood ones, you will like this book What stands out in this book is the main character who, despite his flaws, is a decent, whole person None of the post modern smirking or boomer confliction that you see in other books, he simply knows what is decent and right and tries very hard to do that This is a striking accomplishment nearly half a century after The Duke s heyday The underlying setting is quite inventive and since its described in o [...]

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28. I m trying to allow for this being aimed at a younger reader, but I can t forget that this could have been a better book It s a disguised Western It s a tribute to Kipling s Kim It s a way to use the author s stored knowledge about martial arts Credit first for one technique I liked Gould repeatedly has Kim do something while explaining some of the details, such as removing a brick to hide a message, but also remembering to pack the space below so the message doesn t fall down out of reach After [...]

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29. No, this is not a rating of passion I read the whole book, laughed at some of the parts, liked some of the action.But seriously If you want to read this book because you think the jacket description sounds cool, forget it Because the metal eating metal bugs are nothing but the background If there is a back story to them, it ain t in the book because they re just part of the territory If the bugs would have had anything besides a minor rule in the book, it would have been neat No one even cares t [...]

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30. I think I ve read most books by Steven Gould and I find his tales are very much a hit or miss affair with me His works either become an instant favorite of mine Jumper, Reflex, Wildside or I enjoy the read, but will never think of them again I find this novel, 7th Sigma, as falling somewhere in the middle It s the near future and the American Southwest The Territory is infested with artificial bugs like little robots that eat anything metal It s not known where they came from they are a mystery [...]

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