Blind Waves

ISBN: 0-312-86445-0 Order from: Amazon.com

A relatively simple adventure set in the near future, this novel presents likable, competent and believable heroes, two-dimensional villains, and a fairly optimistic outlook.

Reviewed by David on June 18, 2000

Genre: Science Fiction (Near Future, Amateur Sleuth, Conspiracy, Romance)

Synopsis: A couple of decades hence, the polar caps shrink, raising the ocean level by 100 feet and flooding coastal areas. Much of the world's population is displaced, and the disruption and huge refugee camps raise the tensions everywhere. Despite the strain, the floods were slow enough to preserve much of the infrastructure and minimize casualties during the evacuations, and the world and political structures are quite recognizable.

Thus, despite a much larger and more ruthless Immigration and Naturalization Service, some people still have an hopefull approach, people like Patricia Beenan. A successful woman, fortunate to be a US Citizen, Pat is doing her best to integrate the refugees in the floating island of New Galveston in normal life. Despite a few clashes with the INS, Pat generally trusts the government, until her tiny salvage submarine finds evidence of a massacre at sea.

Suspicious of the INS, the second largest armed service in the US, Pat has a hard time cooperating with the government investigators while someone is trying to kill her. While trying to survive, it becomes clear that more risks have to be taken to uncover the deadly plot that already took the lives of so many civilians, and threatens the fragile hope of the floating cities.

Full Review: As one came to expect from Steven Gould, the plot is quick and streamlined, and the main characters are intelligent and well-meaning. The heroes are full adults, and spend no time floundering around emotional issues, which makes this more of a mystery adventure than a romance. The rather flat opposition, and the silky smooth relationships among nearly everyone else prevent this from being a profound novel, but it succeeds in giving several hours of pleasant diversion, with occasional glints of humor.

Overall: 5.5; Plot: 4.5; Characters: 5.5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 6.5; Originality: 5.5;

ISBN: 0-312-86445-0 Order from: Amazon.com