Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
The timber in this ring is paired with a brushed black Tungsten exterior, with an offset Rose Gold inlay. The science and the ideas of AI is totally different at least to me, and I really liked the idea and where Leicht took it.
It's beautiful, feels great on, and is well-made so you don't need to worry about accidentally knocking it on stuff. Other than rooting against the corporation who did not recognize AGIs as independent beings and who thought they had a right to conquer an alien world just because they could – I could get behind disliking them! Loki's Ring itself was an appropriate mix of terrifying and awe-inspiring, and I wish we had gotten to spend more time there. Even with the disaster going on, the story went nowhere fast, and I believe too many character POVs played a part in this. The “sector” with Loki’s Ring felt as big as a city block; the grandeur and, well, “space” of space were lost in the casual real time communication across vast distances and crowds is space ships around the ring.The concept is so great - Loki’s Ring, a planet built by an unknown group, with a few secrets that get unveiled toward the end of the book, is very creepy in description while being beautiful, and is the center of the plot.
Constant drawn-out chapters are exhausting for a reader and impact the pacing of the story, which already had issues. When making wedding bands, I put blessings into the rings for the couple’s journey through life together. karter's crew was atonal to the whole story, because every time something exciting or suspenseful would happen the book would swap to them doing sassy arguments and they all had the same character voice and they should have been REMOVED from the whole book.A long middle, too many POV characters, and a sense that the setting wasn’t - and could never be -real.
in part, i was really looking forward to this book because from the blurb it was PRECISELY up my alley so probably some of it is burnt disappointment more than this book being bad, although i'd argue its pretty bad. i'm so close to giving it a 1 star but again i think this book had a good story in it but was utterly failed by editors not cottoning on that Karter's whole thing should have been removed completely to make it LESS of a slog. She makes certain to let us know when characters are trans/nb and when their romantic relationships aren’t heteronormative.For a genre that looks to the future, alot of authors and publishers seemed rooted in the antebellum past of rockets and white men going to the stars. Minorities in science fiction could sadly be almost counted on one hand, though their works were sometimes some of the best.
Different people, different experiences can only bring different and better ideas to science fiction.I also found the depiction of AI personalities and the way they fit into this future society fascinating. I am not a gemologist and cannot vouch for the emerald or other gems in the ring, but I think it looks nice. I thought Leicht did a wonderful job of conveying this and particularly liked the idea of the developmentally challenged AI “child” who still has amazing talent and promise. Heavily female and queer with an eye to further inclusivity, the story was a serious counterpoint to his rampant misogyny and serious inability to take "the other" seriously.
Great Deal 
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