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Heorot Series #3
Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle,
Steven Barnes
publisher
April 7, 2020 / ISBN 9781982124489
Science Fiction / Action & Adventure
Reviewed
by David M W Powers
AMAZON |
33
years in the waiting
A series that spans 33 years, with a new installment every 7
or 8 years... The final instalment... One readers of the earlier
stories will want to read...
But what of those who haven't read the original novel or the
following episodes? Or who have forgotten...
Starborn and Godsons stands well enough alone, and this reviewer
was unable to find copies of the previous works to (re)read.
A colony that has barely survived, decimated by large and save
predators, losing many of the resources – technological,
biological, and genetic – that were necessary to become
a thriving civilization... Have the enough to survive? Have
they will to survive? Have they the genetic diversity to survive?
A ship that appears, but then communication is lost... An AI
that is torn by conflict, but holds the keys to understandings
and misunderstandings... A few hundred new colonists, or perhaps
a million... Saviours of the world, or conquerors of the galaxy...
It's been a long wait, but this is a pretty good story with
some inttriguing novel elements and twists on the colonization
and first contact themes, as well as some solid exploration
of familiar tropes. Writing, storyline, and pace are all pretty
good, though not quite in the unputdownable category.
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Reviewer: David M W Powers is the author of over 300
scientific papers and two books on Artificial Intelligence,
Robotics, and Autonomous Vehicles. His alter ego, Marti Ward
explores the implications of advanced technologies in science
fiction. |
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