By turns imposing, ingenious, whimsical, and wrenching, though too amorphous to fully satisfy.
Another of Banks’s far-future Culture yarns (Inversions, 2000, etc.). In the Masaq’ Orbital artificial habitat (population about 50 billion; run by an artificial intelligence called the Hub) lives the composer, Ziller, a five-legged Chelgrian, and his friend, Kabe Ischloear, the huge, pyramidal Homomdan Ambassador. The two chat like Ivy League professors. A century ago Chel fought a dreadful civil war over its caste system; Ziller was so disgusted he left and never returned, but the Culture admits it fomented the war by political anticaste manipulations. Also in the recent past was the Culture’s war against the expansionist Idirans, won handily by the Culture. As a fighting spaceship, the Hub fought in that war and, to its everlasting anguish, was responsible for many deaths. Back on Chel, life has held no meaning for Major Quilan since he lost his beloved wife in the civil war. When approached by mysterious agents, he accepts a suicide mission to Masaq’ even though the details are withheld. Will Quilan merely attempt to persuade Ziller to return to Chel? Of course not, though readers know that whatever dire plot’s a-brewing cannot succeed, thanks to the godlike powers of the Hub. Matters will culminate as Ziller conducts his latest masterwork and, in a melancholy commemoration, the light of a nova caused by the Hub during the Idiran War reaches Masaq’.
By turns imposing, ingenious, whimsical, and wrenching, though too amorphous to fully satisfy.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7434-2191-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Pocket
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2001
Everybody talks about the weather; but Jane Unger and her band of Storm Troupers hack the weather. In the late 2030s, as a legacy of the greenhouse effect, millions of people have died or been displaced due to heavy weather. A renegade band of meteorologists and computer experts, the Storm Troupe, prowls the Texas plains, chasing funnel clouds, gathering data, and waiting for the meteorological equivalent of the Big One: an F-6 tornado, a twister so big that it could mean the end of civilization. Using flying robots, cross-terrain vehicles, virtual reality, and raw courage, the Troupe risks life and limb for the sake of scientific knowledge (and for the attendant thrills). Into the somewhat unstable society of the Troupe comes Jane's younger brother Alex, professional invalid and family ne'er-do-well. To everyone's astonishment, Alex thrives and brings a perspective on loyalty, family, and sacrifice that helps pull the Troupe into the solid team they will need to be if they are to survive an F- 6. Lucid and tremendously entertaining. Sterling (The Hacker Crackdown, 1992, etc.) shows once more his skills in storytelling and technospeak. A cyberpunk winner.
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1994
ISBN: 0-553-09393-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Spectra/Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
Dotted with cliché and melodrama but driven–and driven well–by good old-fashioned sci-fi storytelling.
A sci-fi adventure steeped in the lore of an ancient civilization that will appeal to children and adults alike.
Max Quick's life drastically changes after time suddenly stops. The young man of 12–harassed by bullies, living as an orphan in a violent home for boys and about to be thrown into juvenile hall–is mysteriously immune to this chrono-freeze. He soon discovers other children who are impervious as well–namely, Casey Cole and Ian Keating–and the three find themselves embarking on a thrilling quest to save the world from an all-powerful foe from outer space. Heavily inspired by the folklore of the Sumer civilization of ancient Mesopotamia, the narrative shines brightest in the chapters that focus on the re-telling of this fascinating history. Jeffrey skillfully infuses the story with an authentic historical context, and then thrusts the narrative into the future by introducing aliens, time travel and massive gems with the power to stop time and minds–a difficult task indeed, but one that he successfully accomplishes. Alas, the story does suffer from thin character development and some amateurish dialogue, which, in many instances, is plain unrealistic, with the characters' voices often coming across as affected. Furthermore, the characters tend to have thoughts or make pronouncements that belie their actual age, or take actions that do not seem in line with their previously established personalities. (Casey, age 12, vacillates constantly between a spoiled, temperamental eight-year old and a sexually conscious adolescent vying for male attention.) Fortunately, the story is compelling enough to supercede these minor quibbles.
Dotted with cliché and melodrama but driven–and driven well–by good old-fashioned sci-fi storytelling.Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2004
ISBN: 1-4116-1323-6
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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