The ethos effect - bookwyrm.cincodenada.com

592 pages

English language

Published Nov. 15, 2004 by Orbit.

ISBN:: 9781841493220
OCLC Number:: 59184392

(1 review)

Study the power mad governments of our Earth, past and present, then expand to cover entire systems in space, again with all the evils we've learned and known about like re-education camps, death and destruction caused by racial differences or just pure, ordinary greed. What's the solution to the power mad takeovers? This story delves into that with possible alternatives, a lot of action and more twists and turns than a broke back snake. Well worth your time. gmb 3-16-20

5 editions

kyonshi reviewed The Ethos Effect by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

Review of 'The Ethos Effect' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

This book fails so hard. What starts as a competently written space opera/conspiracy plot turns into a lengthy essay on ethics and what it means to be ethical. Which would be ok, if the author had any idea what he was talking about, and if he didn't force the words ethics and ethical into any longer conversation the characters have. Because sure, why not spend a romantic date with the main character gushing about how ethical he is?
But even that would be alright, if it wasn't for the fact that the ethical solution the author goes for is to genocide the hell out of a planet. Twice.
So the main character is a really, really ethical hyper-competent dudley-do-good wrecked by guilt over things he couldn't control, until the author decides that he needs to end the book and hey, he still has this backup doomsday weapon lying around and …

This book fails so hard. What starts as a competently written space opera/conspiracy plot turns into a lengthy essay on ethics and what it means to be ethical. Which would be ok, if the author had any idea what he was talking about, and if he didn't force the words ethics and ethical into any longer conversation the characters have. Because sure, why not spend a romantic date with the main character gushing about how ethical he is?
But even that would be alright, if it wasn't for the fact that the ethical solution the author goes for is to genocide the hell out of a planet. Twice.
So the main character is a really, really ethical hyper-competent dudley-do-good wrecked by guilt over things he couldn't control, until the author decides that he needs to end the book and hey, he still has this backup doomsday weapon lying around and the bad guys are all on that one planet...