By: William Barton Publisher: Doubleday Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Doubleday Number of Pages: 436 Publication Date: January 01, 1990 Release Date: January 01, 1990
Book Description: A small, disaffected group of artists, scientists, and software developers en route to Titan , the crew of Deepstar was seeking escape, isolation, and refuge when Iris wandered into the solar system. Now curiosity and wonder are drawing the star travelers to the mysterious gas giant and its hospitable moons -- for here lies their long sought dream of a new home and future. But an alien space-going vessel -- unimaginably ancient yet astonishingly still operational -- has been left behind on the surface of one of Iris's oribiting satellites by a strange and unknown culture. And the extraordinary artifact is pointing the colonist toward an even more remarkable discovery awaiting them on Iris itself; something deadly, inconceivable....and alive.
Does everything have to be so nice? I'm currently enjoying reading this book.Then again.....I LOVED Six Feet Under.....characters don't get more screwed up than that.....I guess you just have to like the darker sides of life.
Not worthy This book was left at one of those free book exchanges, now I know why. First, there was a typo in jacket sleeve, identifying the goal of the colonists as being Titan not Tritan, so I started confused. I struggled through incomprehensible technology, self-indulgent introspection (in the form interminable flashbacks), almost no narrative and constant sexual encounters. Finally, still struggling at 150 pages I decided to go online to see if I was the only one who had trouble with this book, apparently not. I love science fiction, but this is just a high tech book about sexual fantasies, with characters not even mothers could love. Just because it's in space doesn't mean it should be called science fiction. These are explorers who live in holograms, scientists with no curiosity or scientific methodology. Save your money, save a tree don't bother with this book. Pick up something by Pohl, Bradley, Niven, Bradbury, McAffrey, Bova, Clark, Asimov or LaGuin and explore.
A painful read- I finished it in hopes of a good ending. Sadly I was disapointed even then. This book starts out with painfully undefined terminology that requires 1/3 of the dead trees to be read in order to understand. It was literally a chore to read this book- but I bought it and I would finish it.
3/4 of the story could be a typical survivor movie with the 'DR's happening instead of the 'time outs with a video camera'.
I was afraid I was losing my taste in SciFi when reading this book- but as it turns out it really is just a poor read. Skip it.
Can't I give it 0 stars? I couldn't even make it to the hundred page mark. There are better mysterious space object books out there. There are better troubled artist books out there. There are better sex books out there. There are better unsympathetic character books out there.
Don't be fooled by the blurb comparing this to Samuel R. Delaney. Barton & Capobianco aren't even close to being in his league.
More Soap Opera Than Space Opera... So I made it about two thirds of the way through this novel, and I've had enough. I tried really hard to like this book, and the blurb made it sound reasonably interesting, but very soon into the story I found myself engaged in these writers unfettered, vebose self-indulgance. Shallow, boring characters who never know when to shut up (and never say anything really interesting... unless you find ugly characters navel-gazing really interesting), and yet another re-tread on the hoary old Ancient Giant Hollow Artifact scenario, which follows the usual and very predictable paradigms. And you know, if I'm really keen to tittilate myself with some hard-core sex descriptions, I'll go out and purchase a copy of Hustler. Having spent the last year living and working in L.A. (I'm from the UK), I'm tempted to think that this nonsense was written by two bisexual chemists from Santa Monica (no offence to any bisexual chemists living in Santa Monica). Avoid this badly written drivel at all costs, and spend your 7 bucks on a Greg Egan novel instead. Truly, truly dreadful.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
