A great first part of a quadrilogy. Aug 12, Bren rated it really liked it Shelves: One concept I enjoyed was the artificial stupid - the name sounds like a back-formation from after we achieve actual artificial intelligence. As the first book in the series, most of the time is spent introducing the characters and their relationships. May 07, Kate Page rated it liked it. The Starfarer series is enjoyable, but not amongst her best work. The pacing is a bit slow, and the characters spread a bit thin.
It is a clever and absorbing depiction of space exploration and alien life, but a bit over descriptive for me at points. As usual with McIntyre, there is an interesting take on sexuality and relationships. Jul 10, T. N rated it it was amazing. I really enjoyed reading this. The characters are the main show of the first book of this series as well as setting up the political and social landscape of the future we know find ourselves in. As a science fiction writer myself, I enjoyed seeing the optimistic but still human future that this book is set in.
I just managed to finish this book before the library due date, but it would be books that I would add to my personal bookshelf. Jun 28, Mckinley rated it it was ok Shelves: Not sure I'll read the rest of the series based on this one. May 01, Freyja rated it liked it. It ends with a cliffhanger, just let me say that, as there are sequels. The action and tension are well-paced. The characters are distinct and interesting, even the villains.
This book was hard to put down. Jun 01, Faith rated it liked it Shelves: This was fun, especially in the latter chapters, but it dragged in the early-middle and the characterizations all felt a bit surface-skimming. Feb 07, Paul rated it did not like it. Interesting parallels with today — a president opposed to science, for example — but lacking plot and low on characterization and ingenuity. Jan 25, Clyde rated it liked it. Good start to series. Jul 19, Cathy rated it really liked it Shelves: It feels a lot like a two hour movie that introduces a new TV series.
It has a very diverse cast of characters in looks, employment, and personalities. It feels a bit academic and leisurely at first, reflecting the academic nature of the Starfarer's mission and staffing. But the pace picks up and even becomes quite exciting by the end. I also thought at first that the theme seemed a bit outdated and too tied into the Cold War, but actually it may have been visionary in it's co Very entertaining.
I also thought at first that the theme seemed a bit outdated and too tied into the Cold War, but actually it may have been visionary in it's conception of a world divided between East and the isolationist and violent Mideast Sweep. The attempt by the US to overpower other countries' investments in Starfarer and the shortsighted and faulty decisions about attempting to make it a military asset are disturbingly believable. The seemingly simple story has so many layers, I could go on and on. There are Earthly political conflicts, romantic and emotional entanglements, academic rivalries, artistic concerns, social and economic issues, lots of pro-Canadian statements, and some interesting theories about how romantic relationships would evolve if the issue of procreation were taken off the table.
But none of it is overwhelming, except maybe the attempted political domination by the US. The rest all plays out in a leisurely fashion that features a seemingly loosely-woven cast of characters who's stories all end up playing together wonderfully. If you had asked me half way through, I'd have said that it was a good but not great book. But after the exciting last section and reflecting for this review upon just how much the author accomplished so seemingly effortlessly, my assessment is considerably higher. It is a bit dated, I'll admit, but unfortunately the most dated points may still be valid, even if the circumstances that inspired them have changed.
And the social commentary is still and again very timely. Oh, and I didn't even mention the whales.
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Like I said, a lot happens. And I can't wait to see what happens next. May 29, Surreysmum rated it liked it Shelves: It was the Canadian content of this that really got me going! One of the protagonists, Victoria McKenzie, is a Canadian. She lives in a group marriage with a dandified young Caucasian called Stephen Thomas and a gentle, competent Asian called Satoshi. The other main protagonist is an "alien contact specialist" female called J.
The significance of t [These notes were made in The significance of the name escapes me, for J. Anyway, the four of them together with some interestingly delineated minor characters contrive to baffle a bureaucratic plan to turn the huge research starship on which they live and work into a military facility.
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They do this by getting the starship in its experimental stages off to an early start, and the novel ends with the first hints of contact with an alien culture. If something as light as this can be said to have a theme, contact with the alien, and one's response to it, is the thread that runs through this book. All three of the partners in the "marriage", while very close, are slightly alien to each other, and Victoria's Canadian-ness makes her non-threatening but ever-so-slightly-different to the American J.
I'm sure that's why it's in there. Canada comes out rather well in this novel - I wonder if McIntyre visited? And then there's the Russian cosmonaut of a different age, and various people of the elder generation. Characterization is definitely McIntyre's strength in this novel. She expanded effortlessly on the ST characters, and does so here as well. And it doesn't hurt that she's politically correct as well!
Starfarers
Aug 28, Paul Hancock rated it liked it Shelves: I was hooked by the long setup of this book only to be disappointed by the abrupt ending that followed soon after. There were a lot of very interesting personal, political, and technological story arcs that i was engaged with that just sort of evaporated. They were replaced with a new interest but i thought it was all too soon. Now that I'm m writing this review i can see that this book is just the first volley in a series of books so I'm a little less bewildered. However i would still like to se I was hooked by the long setup of this book only to be disappointed by the abrupt ending that followed soon after.
However i would still like to see a bit more resolution at the end of the book, just so i can feel some sort of satisfaction at having completed a story. I'll be looking out for more in this series as i think it has a lot of potential. I'll consider this just to be an overloaded pilot episode. Ok so for the story Lots of interesting things going on, each of which are explained just enough to tease but not enough detail to become impossible or flawed. Some political crap goes down on Earth and the funding countries are trying to repurpose the ship for war like purposes. People cane record their experiences and emotions and upload them to some future type of you tube.
Dec 20, William Leight rated it really liked it. My copy of "Starfarers" featured a prominent blurb by Ursula K. Le Guin, which gives the reader a reasonable idea of what he or she can expect to find inside. McIntyre is hardly a Le Guin clone, of course: Some of her hard-sf ideas are more effective than others: I thought the treatment of the solar sail was excellent, but the idea of a "cosmic string" that allows My copy of "Starfarers" featured a prominent blurb by Ursula K. I thought the treatment of the solar sail was excellent, but the idea of a "cosmic string" that allows you to travel between stars struck me as one of the least believable means of superluminal travel I've run across.
She also lacks Le Guin's subtlety: For instance, the plot arc involving Griffiths, who represents the enemy, militarism, is somewhat strained and not entirely plausible, and the character doesn't work all that well. Inherently unfair comparisons to one of today's greatest living writers aside, though, this is a quite enjoyable book: The main downside to reading it is that McIntyre novels are not easy to find, so it may be a while before I can continue the series. One of my mom's old books I found on the attic. This seemed the most interesting of them all. The characters were all right, but there were many of them in a short book, so I didn't get to know them that well.
Everyone in the book loves him, but I thought he was annoying. I do like the diversity of the cast. I always love first expeditions into space. This did not disappoint, though the actual expedition on One of my mom's old books I found on the attic. This did not disappoint, though the actual expedition only just started, this book being mostly about the preparations. The idea of governments trying to stop it feels especially relevant at the moment, somehow, with European governments currently appearing to do their best to roll back any political progress and steps toward European unity from past decades, because of the terrorism scare and refugee problem.
The problem of governments attempting to stop the expedition struck home with me, and kept me engaged through the less eventful parts. Though this is trivial, I am especially grateful that the amphitheater actually was an amphitheatre, and not a Greek theatre. An amphitheatre is, of course, an arena; "completely circular," as it was mercifully described in Starfarers.
I really, really hate it when people say "amphitheatre" when they mean a semicircular theatre. The end was fascinating, and I am curious about the sequel. Jun 09, Althea Ann rated it liked it.
Starfarers by Poul Anderson
First in a series of 4. It could be humanity's most glorious accomplishment - an interstellar ship designed for a peaceful scientific mission of exploration and searching for sentient life elsewhere in the universe. Unfortunately, international politics being as you might expect, not everything is running as smoothly as the researchers might wish - as a matter of fact, some countries have pulled out their personnel, funding to the ship has been cut, and there are plans afoot to scuttle the whole m First in a series of 4.
Unfortunately, international politics being as you might expect, not everything is running as smoothly as the researchers might wish - as a matter of fact, some countries have pulled out their personnel, funding to the ship has been cut, and there are plans afoot to scuttle the whole mission, arm the ship with nuclear devices and use it as an orbiting weapons platform, never to leave our solar system. Against this background, the book focuses more on interpersonal relationships and politics than on action - we get to know Victoria, Satoshi and Stephen Thomas - partners in a multiethnic group marriage that old-timers find shocking and young folks feel is old-fashioned.
Theoretical alien-contact specialist J. Elderly ex-General Cherenkov - former hero or terrorist? And possibly, the screwdriver in the works - undercover agent and militarist Griffith Good, but the book ends leaving you feeling like it's all a set-up for events yet to come An interesting vision of space travel. I'm not sure I'm "good" with the science you know how use science fiction readers are Imagine two space habits, built as inhabitable cylinders i.
But instead of being a generation ship, they are "grabbing onto a cosmic string" to transport them instantly to another system. But the story is An interesting vision of space travel. But the story isn't about the science, or space, but the people involved. They challenge in dealing with a government that's changed its mind and wants to re-purpose the ship, the dealing with different personalities and agendas and such. Jan 10, Roger rated it really liked it. Starfarers by Vonda McIntyre was hard for me to get into as one character after another was introduced and developed without one clear protagonist throughout the first half before any real action or suspense.
And for a book called Starfarers, I was disappointed that they didn't go anywhere until late in the book. However, all that groundwork in the first half was used to advantage in the second, making it interesting and suspenseful with conflicts and relationships developing as they prepared fo Starfarers by Vonda McIntyre was hard for me to get into as one character after another was introduced and developed without one clear protagonist throughout the first half before any real action or suspense.
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However, all that groundwork in the first half was used to advantage in the second, making it interesting and suspenseful with conflicts and relationships developing as they prepared for interstellar flight against mounting obstacles mostly political. My favorite author is Robert Heinlein and the second half of this vaguely reminded my of his Methuselah's Children. I was well into it by the end, when it really started to get good. Aug 05, Suzanne rated it really liked it. Egalitarian space utopia versus grasping hawkish government That would have been enough to hook me, right there.
But McIntyre also creates vivid imagery and a cast of delightfully diverse, deeply human characters. Despite the futuristic scenario, the personal and political tensions that drive the story feel all too real. The set-up takes a long time before the plot really kicks in. You would think that Anderson, with his track record, could take this opportunity to develop some fascinating backstories for these voyagers.
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After all, it's no small thing to volunteer to go off on a space flight that will ultimately return you to a "home" perhaps even more alien to you than the place you're going to visit. But instead, Anderson surprisingly glosses over his characterizations. We get little feel for what is motivating any of these intrepid starfarers beyond some vague sci-fi notion of "wow, the universe, so much to discover!
The crew of the Envoy is composed entirely of idealized politically correct stereotypes, ethnically diverse to a fault, and often to the point of absurdity. One character, pilot Jean Kilbirnie, seems a clear attempt to recreate the memorable character of Caitlin Mulryan from the almost-as-tedious The Avatar , and she speaks with such a thick Scottish brogue you feel like she's a refugee from a dinner theatre rendition of Brigadoon. So do they fly off into the great unknown? Do they encounter strange new worlds and alien civilizations? Do they boldly split infinitives where no man has gone before?
Well, actually, Anderson's grammar is sound, thanks very much, but his story is so unremittingly tedious and melodramatic that by the time you're halfway through you'll be pleading for Dominic Flandry to turn up and start blasting anyone and everyone. This is purely by-the-numbers stuff for Anderson, folks. Indeed, the extent to which Anderson's laziness can be demonstrated is in a series of recurring subplots showing how life on Earth is changing as the centuries pass. This could lead to some really worthwhile sociological speculative fiction; yet what Anderson chooses to do, again, is rehash stories and themes he has visited before.
This takes place most glaringly in Chapter 21, where Anderson merely Scotch-tapes a slightly revamped version of a that's right, novellette called "Ghetto" into the novel proper. And by today's standards, it's melodramatic to the point of being turgid, a ridiculously obvious and overwrought commentary on class in which a starfarer, having returned to Earth after centuries, tries to integrate himself into Earth culture by settling down and marrying an Earth girl, with the expected unhappy ending.
Your reaction will probably be equally divided between rolling your eyes at the mawkishness of it all, and wondering why it is Earth people have chosen to oppress starfarers this cruelly in the first place.