Set in a world of the ground breaking 80's computer game Elite (and all its later iterations including Oolite), the background, technology and other social structures are at least partly familiar to all who have played these games to any extent. This made the story more accessible as there was no need to start the sotry with page after page of background / set up / scene setting.
If you like Status Quo, wait till you read this. A story extremely well thought out and very well written. A story with so many twists, small and large that it was virtually impossible to predict what was come on teh next page. Superb. Most authors these days are a least a little predictable. Drew isnt.
I simply couldnt put this down, with so many distractions in my house, cats, PS3, XBox and a wife I was surprised to find myself reading this on my iphone and ignoring everything else. Not since the Necroscope series by Brian Lumley ahve I been this captivated by an author.
Superb style of writing. I eagerly await the third installment of this trilogy.
If only there was a way to rate it more than 5 stars.
Seriously, this is the best 'book' i have read in a very long time, maybe ever. And i dont say that lightly. I have read many epic stories, many novels that I have greatly enjoyed.
Probably the only story to come close is the Graphic Novel form of Watchmen (not the film, although that was good). Watchmen was superb, but it had pictures to guide your imagination; Mutabilis doesnt have any of that, yet still I am able to imagine the world without any difficulty. This is indicative of most carefully constructed and well thoughout prose at its best.
Thank you, long may Drew continue to write such quality, and I hope that his writings can be discovered by a wider audience.
This was a short story that suffered from being a short story. Set in a world of the ground braking 80's computer game Elite (and all its later iterations including Oolite), the background, technology and other social structures are at least partly familiar to all who have played these games to any extent. This made the story more accessible as there was no need to start the sotry with page after page of background / set up / scene setting.
The story centres around two characters, one a scientist who makes an accidental discovery that could trigger the galactic equivalent of the cold war between US and USSR, and the other a young highly-skilled upstart pilot with an attitude problem.
I read this in less than a day because I simply couldnt put it down. I have Xbox, PS3, high end PC, and various other forms of entertainment, but i could not put this down. It has been a long time since I was last so captivated by an author and so well drawn into the story, caring about the characters, feeling their emotions and imagining their world in great detail in my mind. As soon as I had finished it, I couldnt wait to start the next installment in the trilogy Mutabilis.
This and the other stories by Drew are highly recommended to anyone who played Elite, likes space stories or just generally wants something a little different.
This was a short story that suffered from being a short story. Set in a world of the ground braking 80's computer game Elite (and all its later iterations including Oolite), the background, technology and other social structures are at least partly familiar to all who have played these games to any extent. This made the story more accessible as there was no need to start the sotry with page after page of background / set up / scene setting.
Great story, lovely twist at the end. Twist is quite a traditional one, but set to papaer in quite a different way. (you'll understand when you read it, but I am not giving anything away as that would spoil it)
This and the other stories by Drew are highly recommended to anyone who played Elite, likes space stories or just generally wants something a little different.
Set in a world of the ground braking 80's computer game Elite (and all its later iterations including Oolite), the background, technology and other social structures are at least partly familiar to all who have played these games to any extent. This made the story more accessible as there was no need to start the sotry with page after page of background / set up / scene setting.
I did like this story, but it warranted a second read. The ending was quite sudden, and it would be ideal for a sequel.
The only problem I felt with it was that the two halfs of the story were imbalanced; there was plenty of description and prose in teh first half, but the second half seemed to race ahead. Maybe that was how i read it.
However, this and the other stories by Drew are highly recommended to anyone who played Elite, likes space stories or just generally wants something al ittle different.
This was a short story that suffered from being a short story. Set in a world of the ground braking 80's computer game Elite (and all its later iterations including Oolite), the background, technology and other social structures are at least partly familiar to all who have played these games to any extent. This made the story more accessible as there was no need to start the story with page after page of background / set up / scene setting.
The story itself is based around a specific point of the elite game; there are eight 'charts' full of stars, you travel between them; but is there a ninth?
It is very difficult to give a good review with spoilers, and i dont want to give any spoilers. The story is good it is just let down by not being long enough, the end is quite abrupt. If there had been a little more to it, i would have scored it higher.
However, this and the other stories by Drew are highly recommended to anyone who played Elite, likes space stories or just generally wants something al ittle different.
David Pratt’s book reviews
Set in a world of the ground breaking 80's computer game Elite (and all its later iterations including Oolite), the background, technology and other social structures are at least partly familiar to all who have played these games to any extent. This made the story more accessible as there was no need to start the sotry with page after page of background / set up / scene setting.
If you like Status Quo, wait till you read this. A story extremely well thought out and very well written. A story with so many twists, small and large that it was virtually impossible to predict what was come on teh next page. Superb. Most authors these days are a least a little predictable. Drew isnt.
I simply couldnt put this down, with so many distractions in my house, cats, PS3, XBox and a wife I was surprised to find myself reading this on my iphone and ignoring everything else. Not since the Necroscope series by Brian Lumley ahve I been this captivated by an author.
Superb style of writing. I eagerly await the third installment of this trilogy.
If only there was a way to rate it more than 5 stars.
Seriously, this is the best 'book' i have read in a very long time, maybe ever. And i dont say that lightly. I have read many epic stories, many novels that I have greatly enjoyed.
Probably the only story to come close is the Graphic Novel form of Watchmen (not the film, although that was good). Watchmen was superb, but it had pictures to guide your imagination; Mutabilis doesnt have any of that, yet still I am able to imagine the world without any difficulty. This is indicative of most carefully constructed and well thoughout prose at its best.
Thank you, long may Drew continue to write such quality, and I hope that his writings can be discovered by a wider audience.
The story centres around two characters, one a scientist who makes an accidental discovery that could trigger the galactic equivalent of the cold war between US and USSR, and the other a young highly-skilled upstart pilot with an attitude problem.
I read this in less than a day because I simply couldnt put it down. I have Xbox, PS3, high end PC, and various other forms of entertainment, but i could not put this down. It has been a long time since I was last so captivated by an author and so well drawn into the story, caring about the characters, feeling their emotions and imagining their world in great detail in my mind. As soon as I had finished it, I couldnt wait to start the next installment in the trilogy Mutabilis.
This and the other stories by Drew are highly recommended to anyone who played Elite, likes space stories or just generally wants something a little different.
Great story, lovely twist at the end. Twist is quite a traditional one, but set to papaer in quite a different way. (you'll understand when you read it, but I am not giving anything away as that would spoil it)
This and the other stories by Drew are highly recommended to anyone who played Elite, likes space stories or just generally wants something a little different.
I did like this story, but it warranted a second read. The ending was quite sudden, and it would be ideal for a sequel.
The only problem I felt with it was that the two halfs of the story were imbalanced; there was plenty of description and prose in teh first half, but the second half seemed to race ahead. Maybe that was how i read it.
However, this and the other stories by Drew are highly recommended to anyone who played Elite, likes space stories or just generally wants something al ittle different.
The story itself is based around a specific point of the elite game; there are eight 'charts' full of stars, you travel between them; but is there a ninth?
It is very difficult to give a good review with spoilers, and i dont want to give any spoilers. The story is good it is just let down by not being long enough, the end is quite abrupt. If there had been a little more to it, i would have scored it higher.
However, this and the other stories by Drew are highly recommended to anyone who played Elite, likes space stories or just generally wants something al ittle different.