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Telempath
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From Publishers Weekly
This concluding novel in the Stardance trilogy, after Stardance (1977) and Starseed (1992), suffers from a problem common to later volumes in multibook sagas: competing demands between the plot and the series' backstory. The Starmind, a universal overmind engineered by benevolent aliens from telepathically linked human Stardancers, is the Robinsons' response to SF's usual presentation of human futures based on technological, rather than artistic, development. Here, though, the Starmind's final evolution seems too methodical and out of sync with the novel's human focus: the moving drama of 21st-century writer Rhea Paixao and the emotional rift that grows between her and composer husband Rand Porter when he moves the family from her beloved Earth to a luxury hotel in outer space. Subplots concerning an assassination attempt and a conspiracy to liberate humanity from the Starmind's control illustrate the parochial concerns the human race must overcome in order to achieve the apotheosis planned for it. Not surprisingly, the novel features the authors' usual well-drawn characters, but the euphoric optimism of its climax seems unearned and less believable than the concluding pathos of Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End, to which this trilogy is clearly indebted.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
This final book of the Stardance trilogy will best be appreciated by readers of the prior books, which introduce the Starmind which has given humanity the ability to move beyond Earth. Composer Rand finds there's a conspiracy to destroy the Starmind, and finds himself embroiled in a social and political conflict which could ultimately destroy the Earth. -- Midwest Book Review
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
14/04/2007
Generally speaking, I am polar opposite of Spider's political beliefs. I also don't like the generally improbable and often far too fantastic scenarios he sets up. This book stretched my "buy the premise" abilities to their max. This book starts right off in a world where a scientist has unleashed a virus that causes mankind to max out our sense of smell. It suggests that we have the capability to smell even more than wolves and dogs (in spite of the much poorer design of our nose for that sort of thing) and this "ability" to smell so much more overwhelms most of humanity. I didn't buy any of this for a second.
BUT, he writes readable books with characters that are interesting and I generally finish them because I am interested to see what happens. I ended up going with 2 stars on this one because the ending was so weak. Overall, I enjoyed the read enough to finish the book though, so make of that what you will.
I tend to buy Robinson's books used so I don't have as much invested in the ones I am disappointed with - but I do still buy them.
15/08/2002
Baen Books just has a hard time with cover art, I guess. But this time they've underdone themselves.
Anyway, grab this book while it's back in print. It's the novel-length expansion of Spider Robinson's novella "and-doom pessimism that marks "noir" SF. Because this book squarely faces a number of interesting and difficult problems, _and works them through to resolution_, it's actually a profoundly hopeful story despite its apocalyptic backdrop.
Spider is one of my favorite two living SF writers (the other being James Hogan), and this is about as close as Spider comes to writing "hard" SF. Get it while it's available; Spider is incapable of writing a dull word.
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 Adventure Guide to Antigua, Barbuda, Nevis, St.Barts, St.Kitts and St.Martin John Bigley, Paris Permenter |
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