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 The Star Faction by Ken MacLeod
reviewed by John Kenny
Original appearance: Albedo one issue 10, 1996
I'm always eager to try out a first author and the fact that THE STAR FRACTION by KEN MACLEOD is bone fide SF was doubly pleasing. Macleod pulls together three characters of disparate backgrounds in a future London that is on the verge of revolution. He paints an extremely bleak picture of life in this post Thatcher/Major England where Communist/Socialist factions struggle to survive.
Overall, this book succeeds, with convincing characters, social setup and a version of the global computer network that is well thought out. Macleod ties up all his threads in expected and unexpected ways that leave you feeling satisfied. If I have any reservations it's in his densely described political demography. It took me seventy pages to get to grips with the political setup. I was mixing up the Army of the New Republic with the Left Alliance, I thought the Greens and the Barbarians were separate groups for a while, the Cranks and the Creeps seemed interchangeable.
And the two main relationships which spring up throughout the course of the novel just don't ring true. I think the author felt that it was an essential ingredient in a novel, but the characters and story would have worked just as well without it.
In essence The Star Fraction is a very British Neuromancer with a few interesting twists. I found the ascendancy of Communism/Socialism to be a bit of wish fulfilment on the author's part (although Macleod does have the maturity as a writer to have reservations about this) but as wish fulfilment goes it beats the hell out of your typical American power trip. I would just love to see how well this novel does in the States. Reservations aside, a noble first effort.
 The Stone Canal by Ken MacLeod
reviewed by John Kenny
Original appearance: Albedo one issue 12, 1996
I picked up The Stone Canal by Ken MacLeod with some trepidation. Having read The Star Fraction and liked it, I just wasn't in the mood, this time, for the same level of densely written and convoluted political shenanigans. I had found his first novel to be overloaded with political factions which seemed to have more than one name and was constantly confused as to who was doing what and when and to whom. Having said that, I thought it was a worthy debut.
This time out I was pleasantly surprised to find more emphasise on story and character and less on politics (still there in abundance and integral to the plot, I might add). Also, you get to find out how the socio-economic setup in The Star Fraction came to be. I would say that a lot of this material existed before The Star Fraction was written and would recommend that you should perhaps read The Stone Canal first. That way you'll get far more enjoyment out of his debut novel.
In any event, both are stand alone books and can be read without the other, together or in any order. If I were to sum up the flavour and content of Ken MacLeod as a writer, I would have to say that he's a bit like a left-wing, cyberpunkish Heinlein. Yes, I know, that's a bit of a mindbender.
Highly recommended.
 The Cassini Division by Ken MacLeod
reviewed by Underwood
Original appearance: Albedo one issue 17, Autumn 1998
The Cassini Division by Ken MacLeod is the third novel in a loosely linked trilogy and his third novel overall. His first two, The Star Fraction (runner-up for the Arthur C. Clarke Award) and The Stone Canal, had huge impact - though the first was better received and garnered more praise than its successor. Which left him with a need to deliver with the third, to consolidate a solid reputation.
While there is nothing wrong with The Cassini Division, it is a perfectly acceptable, readable and likeable novel, it is not going to win any prizes or have the newspaper and magazine critics lining up to sing its, and its author's, praises. The sort of words it is likely to attract are solid and workmanlike or possibly terms like reader-friendly and entertaining. All the types of comment likely to make Ken's editors reassess his position in their future plans and his place on the marketing spend league table.
If you liked his first two novels you are likely to also enjoy this one. But for an introduction to Ken MacLeod you should probably refer to his debut in fairness to him and to yourself.
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