Mr. Roberts has written three loosely connected stories having to do with mass-murderer and revolutionary Jack Glass, named for his propensity to kill using glass. In the first, he's in a prison asteroid, sentenced under a mistaken name to serve for eleven years in carving out the rock to make a habitation for the company to sell (space on Earth is only for the wealthy and most people exist in bubbles floating in space and living their short lives subsisting on a type of algae). The next story is about two of the scions of one of the wealthy families who have come to their island on Earth when a murder of one of their servants takes place. The third story has one of those daughters now on the run throughout space, escaping from the most powerful of the space governance that Jack Glass wants to overthrow.
I found this to be an interesting story as it's somewhat different from a lot of what I read. I was horrified and intrigued by the first story but found the next two only mildly entertaining. Still, these are well worth reading. ( )

Jack Glass, notorious criminal and murderer of millions is imprisoned on a asteroid with seven other criminals. The people who have sent him there for eleven years don't know he is there, but when they find out they will be back to get him. It is a cruel, sharp and brutish place, and he must use all his guile to escape from the un escapable place.

On a small planet elsewhere, two sisters are experiencing a spell in gravity in a sealed orbital habitat owned by their hyper rich family. There are themselves, and few personal staff, and 20 or so servants. Normal life is interrupted following the murder of one of the servants, and one of the sisters, Diana, takes over the investigation from the police allocated to the investigation. as she progresses thing are not what they seem, and the murder is a prompt to discover some of the greater questions and threats to the family.

I have read a couple of his before, the last one read I thought was not great at all so I wasn't looking forward to this much. I thought that it was an original story line, a bit gruesome and brutal at the beginning. I liked the way that the story unwrapped in layers, so you were never sure just what to expect next.

The characters were interesting, Jack Glass in particular as he was innovative and single minded. I couldn't warm to the two sisters, they came across as arrogant, and self interested, but that may have been the idea. The worlds that he has created didn't come across as fully plausible, but the integrated tech did. Overall ok, not are I would read another by him just yet. ( )

An unusual novel, I haven't liked the first part and eve thought to deop it, but I'm happy I finished it. ( )

An interesting concept, but the book wasn't that enjoyable. Plus some things are unbelievable, even in sci-fi (like dead person spacesuits), and some of the character motivations were just dull. In love with the 16 year old girl? Yawn. I'll admit that I did like the FTL bullet plot device that travels backward through time, however. ( )

Adam Roberts always raises the bar. 'Jack Glass' channels 'Golden Age' science fiction adventure and detective fiction. and does it with page turning verve. Diana Argent is addicted to solving murder mysteries. The best in the solar system. Jack Glass is a criminal mastermind. The best in the solar system. Their paths intersect, and on their interaction hangs the fate of humanity itself. Brilliant.
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