his is the fifth book in the complex series that began with Hogan's debut novel, Inherit the Stars (1977). But be not afraid: In a succinct and lucid seven-page prologue, Hogan lays out all the backstory any reader needs to know.
To summarize even more than Hogan does: Five years after the initial discovery by mankind of an alien corpse on the moon during the 2040s, humanity is now friends with the Thuriens, aka the Gentle Giants of Ganymede, who live on the planet Thurien, which revolves around Gistar, some 20 light-years from Earth. The pacifistic, benevolent Giants have faster-than-light communications and spacedrive, as well as much other knowledge to share with Earth. An age of abundance is dawning, with all the cultural upheaval that entails. The only fly in the ointment: a militaristic hominid race known as the Jevlenese, who, having been uplifted by the Giants prior to the rise of Homo sapiens, resent our intrusion on the scene.
As the new book opens, Dr. Victor Hunt—the man who first discovered the lunar corpse and began this whole sequence of events—is called to Thurien to help with a new development. He brings with him such scientific companions as Josef Sonnebrandt, Xyen Chien, Chris Danchekker (and Chris' annoying author cousin Mildred), and assistants Sandy and Duncan. What the team has to investigate is this:
A fleeing fleet of five Jevlenese ships has inadvertently encountered freak cosmic conditions that allowed them to travel 50,000 years into the past—and onto another timeline! Longtime speculation about the nature of parallel worlds is now confirmed. Naturally, the first impulse of all the scientists involved, both Giant and human, is to learn how to traverse the timelines themselves.
After much experimentation, the process seems perfected. A Thurien ship is outfitted and sent after the Jevlenese fleet. But what is at stake is more than just rounding up a few pirates.
The race of Giants originated on the planet Minerva, which once occupied the zone between Mars and Jupiter. When the Giants relocated to Thurien, they left Minerva to their uplifted human proteges, the ancestors of the Jevlenese. The humans soon formed two camps, began to war, and eventually blew up Minerva, all before recorded human history really began. By traveling into the past of this alternate universe, the Giant-human expedition has a chance to save this version of Minerva. But only if they can outwit the Jevlenese, who have already infiltrated the Minervan power structures.
The Giants really have no skills at trickery or warfare, though, that could outfinesse the Jevlenese. But luckily, Vic Hunt and his human companions can remedy that deficit!
Campbellian SF for a new century
I must confess that after finishing—and enjoying—the second book in this series, The Gentle Giants of Ganymede, way back in 1978, I drifted away from the ones that followed. Certainly not out of aversion, but only because they emerged at long intervals during which I always seemed to have something more pressing to read. I'm glad, however, that I've returned to the series, since Hogan has managed to keep it fresh and vibrant after nearly 30 years.
Here's what I found to admire.
There are tons of neat ideas here. Hogan's version of the multiverse and how parallel worlds work is well thought out and unique. His conception allows him to pull off some nifty set pieces, such as when one "multiporter" experiment leads to the convergence and collapse of several contradictory timelines into one jumbled-up fusion. (This phenomenon is confined to a small area and set of people, thank goodness!) The climactic method by which Hunt and company pull their chestnuts out of the fire is also pretty darn flashy and fun.
But Hogan is not concerned simply with physics. The culture of the Giants is radically different from ours, and Hogan—through the foil of Mildred, the inquisitive sociologist author—has a lot to say about mature, sane cultures and how we might become one!
Actionwise, Hogan keeps all his plates twirling quite adeptly as well. Things never seem dragged out, and there's a modicum of suspense. Although Hogan is just so darn nice and caring of his characters that the reader just knows nobody's really ever going to be harmed permanently. That old softie Hogan can't even stand to permanently kill an AI named ZORAC, deciding to reboot him from a handy backup copy.
All of this action and speculation is conveyed through realistic if not particularly deep characters, employing an agreeable prose style, dollops of humor (the ongoing riff about the persistent FBI agent tracking down Hunt at the most awkward times is pretty funny) and a good old sense of wonder. Hogan's hardly stood still for three decades, and can be proud of the books he's gifted us with.
