Friday , March 29 2024

Sunstorm

Arthur C. Clarke is one of the authors responsible for turning me into a science fiction fan. During the early 1970s, I read Childhood’s End and the incomparable Hugo Award-winning Rendezvous with Rama and one or two collected works. The enjoyment of those books not only led to more of his books but to many, many other authors. I was hooked.

Whether due to age or other reasons, most of Clarke’s recent books have been co-authored, some with adequate results and others not meeting the mark. His latest, Sunstorm, is the follow-up to Time’s Eye, both co-written with award winning author Stephen Baxter. It is one of those SF books you find yourself liking despite the flaws you see as you’re reading it.

One of the bigger problems is that although billed as a conclusion to Times’ Eye, there are very few ties between the two books and even fewer substantive connections. Instead, Sunstorm is almost a stand-alone tale with the end of the world looming and the only hope is collaborative human effort on an extraordinary and unimaginable scale. Add to that tried and true theme a few side references that make you wonder and the invariable plot twists and you have a book that does not soar above the crowd. Still, Clarke and Baxter are sufficiently talented that they keep your interest.

Despite its failings, this book unquestionably has kernels upon which most SF fans can feast. There’s the hard science for those who like that sort of thing and the social issues that have always intrigued me more. Moreover, the book throws out a variety of ideas and concepts that not only make you ponder but at times make you think the idea is worthy of exploration in its own right. This is serviceable proletarian SF and doesn’t claim to be anything more.

About Tim Gebhart

After 30 years of practicing law to provide shelter for his family, books and dogs. Tim Gebhart is now perfecting the art of doing little more than reading, writing and sleeping.

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