I often like to give authors whose first book I didn’t like a second chance. There are many times that authors I like write books I don’t like. For instance, I just can’t get into Charles Stross’ Bob Howard series, but I enjoy several of his other books. When I read Paul McAuley’s The Quiet War, I liked the ideas, but felt the story just didn’t work (my review). So when I say McAuley’s latest book, Cowboy Angels, I decided that I should give McAuley another try. So was my second try at McAuley any better than the first try?

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The Quiet War by Paul McAuley is an interesting book about the choice people make. The book reminds me, in some ways, of Firefly. They both deal with a central authority and outer planets that want to go in a different direction. McAuley has created an novel that deals with different science fiction topics (ecological disaster, bio modifications and space wars), but the novel as a whole doesn’t hold together.
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