|
|
The Siege of Eternity
As the world squabbles over control of alien technology, interstellar war is
approaching
 |
The Siege of Eternity
|
|
By Frederik Pohl
|
|
Tor Books
|
|
$22.95/$29.95 Canada
|
|
Hardcover, Nov. 1997
|
|
ISBN 0-312-86375-6
|
|
|
Review by Clinton Lawrence
 he Siege of Eternity is a sequel to Frederik Pohl's novel The Other End of Time, where he introduced readers to an interstellar war for control of the eschaton (the moment the universe collapses, when everyone who has ever lived will be reborn and live for eternity). Two alien species are fighting for the eschaton, and both are trying to recruit humans for their cause. One race has infiltrated Starlab, an abandoned space observatory orbiting Earth, and captured a human expedition there. The aliens then made copies of the five human crewmembers, installed implants in their brains, and sent one set of humans back to Earth.
As Siege opens, the National Bureau of Investigation has arrested two copies--Americans Patrice Adcock and Dan Dannerman--because it believes they are lying about the events that took place on Starlab (neither remembers seeing anything unusual). Meanwhile, the captive group has not only escaped from the aliens, but it has in turn captured its three caretakers. They then radio that they are returning to Earth, just as the NBI is preparing to surgically remove the implants from Pat and Dan.
Dan and Pat are exonerated, and soon the NBI and the world at large become obsessed with gaining control of the alien technology on Starlab. Meanwhile, caring for the alien captives has become a difficult task, since efforts to synthesize edible food for them have met with only marginal success. To complicate matters, a fundamentalist terrorist group believes the aliens are demons. In the midst of greed, political squabbling and intrigue, the matter of how to deal with the alien threat soon seems forgotten, until one of the species restores contact with Earth.
Solid suspense and a fascinating theory...
In The Siege of Eternity, Frederik Pohl continues to build a fine saga around a recent theory by Frank Tipler, which is an attempt to justify the concept of immortality through theoretical physics. Pohl doesn't dwell on the specifics of the theory, however. Instead, he uses the theory to raise the stakes in the battle between the two alien factions (known as the Scarecrows and the Horch). In fact, most of the human characters in the book are skeptical of the theory, even though many are familiar with Tipler's work.
While Tipler's theory is fascinating, Pohl wisely focuses most of his efforts on portraying an unrepentantly selfish world dealing with an unprecedented crisis. His world is politically unstable, with widespread terrorism, runaway inflation and rampant crime. Even most of the likable characters are more concerned with personal gain than with the larger problems of dealing with the alien threat, which is itself a major dilemma. Pohl is also very effective at presenting the Horch and Scarecrows as aliens, and at this point in the story it's not clear which group presents the greater threat.
Pohl does employ one technique in The Siege of Eternity that doesn't work well--inserting news bulletins into the middle of scenes. Too often they bring an interesting exchange to an abrupt halt over some matter at best peripherally related. However, the items are usually interesting when he places them between scenes.
Overall, The Siege of Eternity is a solid, suspenseful continuation of the saga begun in The Other End of Time. It's clear that Pohl is creating something that could well turn out to be a special series.
As good as many of these recent novels are, I think I'm getting a little tired of reading about 21st centuries where the economy is in disarray, and pollution and crime are overtaking civilization. Can someone out there try a different, but still convincing, depiction?
-- Clint
Back to the top.
Final Orbit
Space can be murder
|
Final Orbit
|
|
By S.V. Date
|
|
Avon Books
|
|
$5.99/$7.99 Canada
|
|
Paperback, Dec. 1997
|
|
ISBN 0-380-79625-2
|
|
|
Review by Susan Dunman
 antiago Santich is a disillusioned astronaut ready for retirement. At the ripe old age of 58, his career has encompassed more space missions than anyone else in NASA. Two flights on Gemini, one Apollo moon walk and three shuttle missions have done little to pacify his longing for one more space flight. Unfortunately for Santich, there is little hope for a seventh mission. His criticism of safety measures following the Challenger disaster have relegated the "Dean of American Astronauts" to a dead-end assignment at Houston and removal from the active flight roster.
When a routine satellite repair mission is inexplicably aborted before repairs are made, it piques Santich's curiosity. Back on Earth, a badly damaged Atlantis and secluded crew raise questions about the scuttled mission. Why was Atlantis ordered to land in poor weather conditions, why was Atlantis' live video transmission suspiciously knocked off the air, and how did a returning astronaut die in a freak car accident shortly after landing?
Santich learns that the car crash victim will not be mourned by NASA administrators, as he was the focus of an FBI investigation on bid-rigging in space station contracts. As the likelihood of a cover-up becomes more plausible, Santich begins a personal investigation of the situation and faces the biggest dilemma of his life when the NASA program director appears with an irresistible offer. If Santich will stop asking questions about the aborted mission, he will be rewarded with the opportunity to fulfill his ultimate wish--one last trip into space.
Houston has more than one problem...
Those without an inborn passion for aeronautics and space flight may find contemporary shuttle missions rather mundane. Lacking phasers, lasers and warp drives, current space travel can indeed seem monotonous. But the present can be as exciting as SF's fictional futures, and Date is out to prove it with this first novel. After all, who needs dangerous aliens, uncharted planets and heroic earthlings when the subject includes conspiratorial NASA administrators, government bureaucracy and over-achiever astronauts?
Date covered NASA for four years when he wrote for the Orlando Sentinel in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and it's clear he's comfortable with the subject. As one of his characters quips, "All this hierarchy at Johnson is about one thing: Who gets to ride the go-cart." Date gives the go-cart and its supporting cast a realistic treatment that includes lots of information about the shuttle and the space program, but the facts never slow down the action or obscure the plot.
Characters range from egomaniac astronauts to a sleazy female reporter nicknamed "space slut" who always gets her story, and her man. Although some may not consider this work "true" science fiction, it's sure to please those readers who enjoy the occasional murder mystery or thriller along with their SF. It's a clever combination of fiction categories, and through it all Date admirably conveys the thrill of space flight and its addictive attraction--one that's powerful enough to kill and die for.
This made even me, who gets motion sickness on a merry-go-round, want to pilot the next shuttle available.
-- Susan
|
