ISBN: 0-441-00893-3 Order from: Amazon.com
A grim novel of space travel and discovery, the book has solid characters, good world-building, and plenty of suspense, but an implausible premise.
Reviewed by David on August 09, 2003
Genre: Science Fiction (Aliens, Politics)
Synopsis: Argonos, a multi-generational ship from a probably decayed Earth has wondered the space for centuries, looking for a planet to colonize. Struggling with strained environment, the ship society also suffers from sometimes vicious politics as well as stratified population.
When they discover a human colony, the ship is torn by conflicting motives: hope for a new home, fear of the unknown, unwillingness to change the power structure. What they find, however, is more ominous than internal tensions. It's possible that no one on Argonos will have a say in their fate.
Full Review: The book is populated with interesting characters, flawed and yet humanly three-dimensional in their fears and desires. The book, with its echoes of Orphans of the Sky is a solid adventure in the space of adversity.
However, the major factor in the book: the aliens, were a puzzle to strain one's suspension of disbelief. Both their motivation and their use of their technology was sufficiently inconsistent to mar the plausibility of the entire plot.
Overall: 4.5; Plot: 4; Characters: 6; Style: 5.5; World-building: 6; Originality: 6.5;
Copyright date 2001, Berkley Publishing Group (Ace), January 2002, Mass-market paperback, 379 pages
ISBN: 0-441-00893-3 Order from: Amazon.com