aron Schoenfeld and Jack Lumet grew up together in the Bronx in the 1960s. Sixty years later, they are leading a crew of nine on humanity’s first voyage to Alpha Centauri, on a ship with only enough fuel for a one-way trip. They hope to return from the eight-year voyage using a gravity-assisted slingshot maneuver.
Aaron picked Jack because he is an expert on an Iroquois myth that the "currents" between Earth and Alpha Centauri "flow both ways." The other members of the crew include a computer expert, a medical doctor, a botanist/nutritionist, an engineer/computer expert, a biologist/policeman, a communications expert and a "bioprogrammer."
Strange things begin to happen, and continue throughout the voyage. One of the crew dies of unknown causes. They observe strange "shifts" in the positions of the AC stars. Some of the crew mutiny, wanting to turn back. The doctor has a child, father unknown, which she names Noah. As they approach the system, a massive cloud of hydrogen and oxygen appears, combines to form water, then disappears. They pass the hulk of an abandoned ship. A planet which they find at first to be similar to Mars starts to become Earth-like. They theorize Noah may be causing the anomalies through some quantum-mechanical ability of mind over matter.
When they attempt the "boomerang" maneuver that can hurl them back at half-light-speed toward Earth, the ship inexplicably slows, and they head back to the planet, which is now totally Earth-like. They try to investigate the derelict hulk, but it has strange mental effects on anyone entering. Suddenly, they are moving backward, returning to Earth, caught in a temporal "roll-back" that leaves only those on the ship moving forward in time, and they must spend the eight-year return voyage attempting to determine what has happened. Will they return to Earth at the same time they left, only to take off again?
Fuzzy logic, funky science
Paul Levinson’s Borrowed Tides is a frustrating novel, filled with logic so fuzzy, science so funky and characters so forgettable that one has to stop and re-read sections to believe that was what the author actually wrote. The plotline is a endless chain of inconsistent and inexplicable events, which the characters spend interminable time discussing, and making laughable attempts to explain.
In all good science fiction, it is clear from the depth and consistency of vision that the author knows much more about his world and characters than is explicitly shown. Throughout this book, it appears Levinson knows little about his characters, the ship they are on or the nature of the phenomena they are supposedly observing. His characters aren’t even as distinct as the usual job-related SF archetypes--all of the crew seems to have similarly vague technical skills, generally limited to engaging in ludicrous theoretical discussions and occasional abilities with computers.
It also becomes clear early that Levinson does not have the necessary depth of understanding of basic science that it takes to give verisimilitude to Hard SF. The concept of quantum-mechanical control of mind over matter is an ambitious one that would require a skilled SF author to make believable, and Levinson fails to do so. His concept of temporal "roll-back" makes little sense. Errors of science abound. At one point he has a huge interstellar cloud of hydrogen and oxygen appear in space, quickly react to form water, and disappear because it "evaporated." At another point, his space travelers wonder how a planet with no moon (but three suns) could have tides. There are enough scientific gaffes to keep the field’s humor writers busy for years.
Borrowed Tides is that rare book in the SF genre that is hard to recommend to any reader.
