The Octagonal Raven

By L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Book Overview

Being a child of wealth hasn't made life easy for Daryn Alwyn but he hasn't wanted it easy and he's always been determined to choose his own path, abandoning the possibility of power and leisure with his family's giant Media Network for a solo career, first as a military space pilot, later as a freelance media consultant. Only when he becomes the target of a series of deadly attacks does he begin to realize the true depth of responsibility his heritage forces on him. And when his sister is assassinated and he becomes one of the wealthiest people in the world he learns that his real troubles are only beginning.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031287720X
• ISBN13: 9780312877200
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.6" x 1.4" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

A Raven Among Eagles

The Octagonal Raven (2001) is a standalone SF novel in the Archform: Beauty universe. Over four centuries after Flash, Earth has a number of colonies linked by interstellar Gates. The Federal Union is the overgovernment of Earth and the colonies. In this novel, Daryn Alwyn comes from a rich family and has the advantage of preselected genes. However, he did not join UniComm, the family business, but instead became a Federal Service pilot. Now he has retired from FS and started his own business as a consulting methodizer and is also an up and coming edart composer. Most of his consulting work is for the networks, but never for UniComm. Attending a concert party organized by his cousin Kharl, Daryn meets an interesting young lady named Elysa. When the room becomes a bit warm, Daryn and Elysa step outside on the veranda. While outside, Daryn becomes a little flushed and dizzy. He returns to the house and immediately collapses. Elysa fades into the night and then cannot be found in the public databases. Recovering enough to have an extended conversation, Daryn finds that he has been more or less unconscious for two weeks. Apparently he had an anaphylactic reaction, but later learns that this shock had been caused by unknown nanites. Kharl had treated him with specialized search and destroy nanites that cleared out all other nanites from his system. Then Kharl restores his normal nanetic protection and releases him from treatment. In this story, Daryn is attacked several times by a hidden cabal. He reports some of these attacks, but the Civil Authority either cannot detect the attacks or is unable to follow up the available evidence. Daryn only knows one assailant -- Elysa -- so he keeps trying to discover her true identity. However, two of the attacks occur while he is tracking down the single physical clue to her identity. Daryn revisits an old acquaintance -- Majora Hyriss -- who had been at Kharl's party. Daryn had originally been introduced to Majora by his mother, the matchmaker, and so he had been polite but reserved at the time. In the last few years, he has begun to regret his coolness. When he finds his own system to be snooped, Daryn pays her a visit to use her system for his data searches. After a while, he really begins to regret his prior coolness. This story was published before Arch-Form: Beauty and Flash, but seems to have some common elements. Apparently this novel is a sequel to these other books, taking place hundreds of years afterward. One such element is the Noram Commonacracy. Yet this book also has a PST Trust -- the cabal entity -- although that acronym may have another meaning than the PST in Flash. But the role is the same in both books. Highly recommended for Modesitt fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of differing societies, hidden conspiracies, and understated romance. =Arthur W. Jordin

Excellent, intelligent SF thriller

This is simply an excellent SF thriller. The main character, Daryn Alwyn, is a member of the genetic and economic elite called "pre-selects", as well as a member of one of the richest and most powerful families in the world - the Alwyns control the largest news network in the world. Daryn chooses not to use his family's wealth and sets out to make it on his own, first as an interstellar pilot and later as an independent artist/analyst. The first part of the novel consists of alternating chapters, switching back and forth from Daryn's youth to the present. I usually dislike this type of structure but Modesitt handles it perfectly, balancing the development of character, plot and setting perfectly. Towards the end of this section, the main conflict has been set up, and the last 200 pages are a page-turner leading to a very satisfying conclusion. The novel has a large number of similarities with "Archform: Beauty", another excellent stand-alone by Modesitt Jr.

Don't miss this one

It's a while since I've had so much fun reading an SF mystery/adventure yarn. This is a masterfully crafted work. You're into it from the first page, and it doesn't slow down or let up the rest of the way (and THAT's a satisfying 460 pages). What's more, Modesitt manages to cram more action/suspense per page than one usually expects, so there's none of those boring "filler" passages one sometimes has to suffer through while looking for the next place where something actually happens, not in this book. The book is structured into numerous short chapters, each a compact and attention-grabbing little story, all strung together to make up the larger story. And the mystery element just keeps building up.To top it off, it's not just a dumb space opera action novel, but the intelligent and thought-provoking work we've come to expect of Modesitt.

What Sci Fi was designed to do...

On the surface, The Octagonal Raven is a compelling, intelligent thriller. It can be read as such. However, this story is far more than that. Modesitt satirically blows up the flaws in our society and uses them for a greater purpose. He picks on the alarming bias of 24/7 news channels, strikes at the elitist medical system in our world, and allows the reader to consider many other social issues. The Octagonal Raven is an exciting and suspenseful science fiction novel. Modesitt has truly evolved into a pivotal and important writer of the new millenium.

Good but not his best, a bit slow moving at times

Because of his family's wealth, Daryn Alwyn has been the recipient of genetic enhancements and nanotech augmentations. Still, Daryn prefers to succeed on his own, rejecting the opportunity to join in the giant media firm, UniComm, run by his family. Instead, he becomes federal starship pilot and ultimately serves as a media consultant.However, Daryn's perfect world is knocked off its axle when a woman tries to kill him at a party. After recovering from "poison," Daryn can not find the elusive culprit. His world spins further out of orbit when his sister dies in a suspicious looking accident. More attempts on his own life and other selected murders have Daryn, a raven among eagles, investigating who will benefit from the deaths of his family ands other key UniComm officials.THE OCTAGAONAL RAVEN is a well written, but somewhat slow science fiction thriller. The story line is fabulous when it concentrates on the social issues of the haves vs. the have nots which involve "modern" medical techniques such as the genetic enhancements that give an added edge to the rich. When the plot focuses on a conspiracy, it teeters a bit as if L.E. Modesitt, Jr. was undecided between a social statement and a futuristic take over the world thriller. Science fiction fans will want more of the latter as that type of tale provides quite an impact when well written and Mr. Modesitt, Jr. can tell a terrific tale.Harriet Klausner