Product Description
Fifteen-year-old Linc Marani is from the wrong side of twenty-second century L.A.'s tracks. Everyone he knows is addicted to dope, booze, and the violence that masquerades as bravado in life on the streets. When a chance at some cold hard cash is offered to him by a slick associate in a fancy Cadillac, Linc jumps at the bait, only to find himself sentenced to a juvenile labor camp when the heist goes sour.

Labor camp, to Linc, means an aching, dawn-to-dusk bootcamp-style grind with no hope of escape or parole. He is about to give up and head out for a precisely regimented and miserable future when a mysterious psychologist offers him the chance of a lifetime. Can Linc overcome one of the worst neighborhoods on Earth by proving his worth on a mission beyond the stars?

Outward Bound is the sixth book in the Jupiter series. Patterned after the inspiring coming-of-age novels that Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov used to write, the Jupiter series has laid claim to that same imaginative drive and skillful storytelling that has delighted generations of science fiction readers worldwide.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Excellent reading...
Having been an avid Heinlein reader for years, I was doubtful I'd ever find another writer who could capture my attention to such an extent...then I found Inherit the Stars one day. After several years of reading the Giant series, I thought I might look at some other books from Hogan. To my delight, I have discovered that James is every bit as good at weaving a story as the Master was, heh heh.

Outward Bound captures the same flavor as many of the Heinlein juvenile series does, telling the story in a uniquely Hogan fashion. While I detest flowery descriptions, I have to say this one is uplifting and touches your soul. Everyone should be able to relate to the young man's trials at different levels, and I recommend this book as a must read. Most will love it, some like it, and very few disappointed by the style...

Regurgitation of the first book in the Jupiter Novels series
Linc Marani, teenage stooge for drug dealers, is arrested and left to the system by his bosses who he once admired, he has only two choices - be written off and dropped in a hole in the prison system or check out a program run by Outzoners who are building a new society beyond Mars' orbit.

Set in the same unverse as the other Jupiter Novels by Charles Sheffield (Higher Education, The Billion Dollar Boy, and Putting Up Roots) and Jerry Pournelle (Starswarm), Outward Bound would be the fourth chronologically after the Sheffield books.

While Higher Education and The Billion Dollar Boy were very good entries in the series, and Putting Up Roots was a bit of a let down, Outward Bound misses the mark. This is not because it is a bad book; actually it is a pretty good book on its own. But, it is almost a retelling of the first book in the series, Higher Eduction, with different characters and different scenarios, but basically the exact same formula: Boy goes bad, boy chooses different path offered instead of being written off, boy is tested with other troubled teens, boy must deal with bully/nemesis without getting thrown out of the program, boy does well and goes to space, boy learns more in space and earns responsibility, boy saves the day. That series of events are identical with both books in the series. Oh, and Outward Bound is basically a Science Fiction version of the Outward Bound program.

So, if you only ready one, this one would be good, but Higher Education would be better as it establishes the universe and sets the tone for the series.

>>>>>>><<<<<<<

A Guide to my Rating System:

1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.

Outward Bound Good Cyberpunk Book
Outward Bound

Outward Bound is an excellent science fiction book for either the science fiction fan or anyone looking for a good novel.The book is a short read that seems to go by rather quickly, which is a first for a slow reader like myself. The chapters are fairly short, but make the book easier to follow.I was definitely surprised that the book kept my attention, I could hardly set the novel down.

Linc Marani is a troubled teen who wants nothing more than to live the fast life.He runs into problems with the law and is turned to an alternative boot camp for youth.There he faces the adversity of his new and mysterious life. He interacts with many characters and problems, such asAngelo, the buddy, and Arvin, the bully. Tension rises when Arvin and Linc continue to butt heads and neither are willing to back down.The central theme is whether Linc will be able to turn his meaningless life around into something that is worth more than anything on this planet.

This is an uplifting story that gives hope that there are better things out there, showing that hard work and self control can get you somewhere in life.The technology is a little hard to follow but gets the point across.I was intrigued throughout the novel, this is the best science fiction book I have read, and I would rate it above the well known novels such as Blade Runner, Snow Crash, and Shockwave Rider.James P. Hogan's Outward Bound is just an entertaining, feel good novel.

Outward Bound
Outward Bound is an excellent science fiction book for either the science fiction fan or anyone looking for a good novel.The book is a short read that seems to go by rather quickly, which is a first for a slow reader like myself. The chapters are fairly short, but make the book easier to follow.I was definitely surprised that the book kept my attention, I could hardly set the novel down.

Linc Marani is a troubled teen who wants nothing more than to live the fast life.He runs into problems with the law and is turned to an alternative boot camp for youth.There he faces the adversity of his new and mysterious life. He interacts with many characters and problems, such asAngelo, the buddy, and Arvin, the bully. Tension rises when Arvin and Linc continue to butt heads and neither are willing to back down.The central theme is whether Linc will be able to turn his meaningless life around into something that is worth more than anything on this planet.

This is an uplifting story that gives hope that there are better things out there, showing that hard work and self control can get you somewhere in life.The technology is a little hard to follow but gets the point across.I was intrigued throughout the novel, this is the best science fiction book I have read, and I would rate it above the well known novels such as Blade Runner, Snow Crash, and Shockwave Rider.James P. Hogan's Outward Bound is just an entertaining, feel good novel.

uplifting
(Don't let the number of stars fool you.I only give the Bible a five.Four means I would *buy* this one.)

This is a fun read that is very upbeat.I have read it three times, checking it out of the library, and each time come away feeling better about the world.Good things can happen, even in a yucky future!

Linc (short for Lincoln?) really overcomes an awful background.Nice! ... Read more

Product Description
The man on the moon was dead.They called him Charlie.He had big eyes, abundant body hair and fairly long nostrils.His skeletal body was found clad in a bright red spacesuit, hidden in a rocky grave.They didn't know who he was, how he got there, or what had killed him.All they knew was that his corpse was 50,000 years old -- and that meant that this man had somehow lived long before he ever could have existed! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Get It! You'll Be Glad You Did
As a scientist myself, I enjoy the writing of James P. Hogan, because his science is solid - not surprising when you learn that before becoming a writer, he was an engineer. But more than this, he's a great storyteller. Inherit The Stars is plausible and absolutely riveting, and the characters are engaging and memorable. I couldn't put the book down. It - and the two books that complete the trilogy - have a permanent home in my book collection.

A Sense of the Mysterious
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious," wrote Albert Einstein. "It is the source of all true art and science". I have a fondness for good hard science fiction. But how much hard sf is really inspired by that sense of the mysterious? Only a small percentage, I would guess.

I do not know what inspired James P. Hogan's first novel, _Inherit the Stars_ (1977). But it is certainly _about_ a scientific mystery. Human explorers discover a mummy in a spacesuit on the far side of Luna. The body is determined to be 50,000 years old. It is physically human-- not a product of a different evolution that would occur on an alien planet. But if "Charlie" came from a high-tech civilization on Earth, where are the archeological traces of that civilization? There are none. Who is Charlie? Where did he come from? How is he important to the human race?

The novel is about how scientists make hypotheses (and, being human, are sometimes dogmatic about their own ideas) and change them as new information comes in. Hogan knows that this problem cannot be solved by a single scientific genius working out of a backyard laboratory. It will have to involve hundreds of experts in different fields working in scores of laboratories. It will need administrators to co-ordinate information and ask critical questions.

Many of the details of this novel have the ring of authenticity: How scientists talk to one another, how staff meetings are conducted, the comical signs placed on lab doors, how sugar and coffee are hidden from graduate students, how masses of papers are reviewed and evaluated and sent to various teams, and how personality conflicts can lead to false trails.

Some mysteries open with a spectacular puzzle and then peter out to an anticlimactic solution. Hogan does not disappoint. His solution to the mystery of Charlie is properly impressive. Moreover, he keeps the final piece of the puzzle well concealed until the very end.

So Hogan does well scientifically. But how does he do artistically? That may seem an odd question to ask in a review of a hard science fiction novel. But there are novels-- by, for example, Arthur C. Clarke, Gregory Benford, and Charles L. Harness-- that balance scientific rigor with artistic excellence. _Inherit the Stars_ is not quite in that company. But it has a clear, serviceable style, credible characters, and an ingenious plot. In case you haven't guessed, I liked it a lot.

SciFi Quality Equal to Clark
This is one hell-of-a-good read.Reminiscent of Author C. Clark's "Rendezvous with Rama."

Though Science Fiction, it is really a cross between tradiditional sci-fi and a good detective mystery that would challenge the best CSI.Many reviews here have already given a brief introduction to the book's story line, and I see no need to repeat them.I would simply say that this book relies heavily on true science, and gives the reader an insight into how scientific theory evolves over time to become science fact. It will keep you guessing right to the end.I don't normally give SciFi books a five star rating, but in this case I make an exception for the quality of the work puts it far and above the average for this category of fiction.I couldn't put it down, and neither will you, if you treat yourself to Inherit The Stars.

[...]

Fun
This book is refreshing science fiction, heavy on the science.It's a mystery, with the mystery(ies) being "solved" again and again as new evidence is discovered. Plenty of plot twists and a satisfying outcome make this a fun read. This was my first experience with James Hogan.Don't know where he's been hiding.

Rivetting isn't a word I use often...
I often catch myself wondering if Hogan actually intended Inherit the Stars to be as deep and intensely thought provoking as the novel ended up being. I suppose he did...in simplest terms, this novel has become one of the only ten or so books I read multiple times "intentionally", heh heh. I have read most of my Heinlein series so much over 40 years that I am due for a complete new set. Now my growing Hogan series is competing fast. His perfect weave of mystery in finding a human corpse on the moon is pretty much standard scifi fair, UNTIL you find out a sentence later that the space suited dead man (dubbed Charlie)had died some "fifty thousand years" before earthmen crawled out of their caves, heh heh. The story becomes an exercise in finding not only where he came from, but why he was so perfectly human! The scientific debates that are generated throughout the book have the reader questioning his own origins, and rightly so...I believe Inherit the Stars was intended to be the first in the "Giants" series that followed, but for all intents and purposes this is Charlie's book... ... Read more

Product Description
James P. Hogan stands among the foremost writers of science fiction today, and is renowned for his ability to combine accurate science from the cutting edge of present-day research with living, breathing characters in fast-paced, suspenseful stories. "Catastrophes, Chaos & Convolutions" gives Hogan's thousands of avid readers both a solid-chunk of high-quality science fiction and a look behind the scenes, as Hogan describes how his work came to be written; with biographical details. Add a dash of science fact articles, often on controversial topics (suppose, for example, that Velikovsky was right and the orthodox scientists wrong), and you have a volume that is an essential purchase for real science fiction fans everywhere. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Crackpot Pseudoscience
James Hogan wrote in 2005, "Once you've got a shop window to the world that people are coming to look at, you find all kinds of thoughts, opinions, and "takes" on various issues that you just have to air. But at least it's better to vent them in a place that anyone interested can choose to visit, than to insist on bogging your books down and turning them into pulpits, with the consequences that we've all seen and groaned at."Five years and some Crackpot Pseudo-scientific ideas later he does exactly that. Buried under the Dingbattery there are some good stories. On a whole its not worth the effort.

Fascinating Science!
I was absorbed by the facts and science in this book- well writtend and not boring. It flows along without staggering on shop-talk. Scary things are said!

great nonfiction & fiction
This is the first book by James P. Hogan that I've read and I'll certainly read more. It contains a fascinating nonfiction article on plasma physics and the sun ("The Cosmic Power Grid") that builds upon the work of Hans Alfven, challenging the notion that the sun is powered by fusion. For sheer speculative thinking, this one's got to get an A+. The fiction and the nonfiction in the volume is inspired by the same imaginative scope. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Hogan should be required reading for everyone!
Mr. Hogan's works in this book, covering true life, science and science fiction, are quite simply a group of beautifully polished gems.His books - this one, as well as Rockets, Redheads & Revolution, just to name a couple - should be required assigned reading in our junior high and high schools - not to mention colleges and universities - around the country, so as to force our young people to see new points of view, think outside the box, and stop regurgitating what is fed to them by the media.

And that goes for you as well, reader of my review - go, get this book, read this book, think about it, talk to people about it, discuss discuss discuss!

An absolute MUST read
12 stories covering the gamut from time travel and machine life to religious wisdom and political conspiracy, 5 nonfiction pieces ranging from evolution to nuclear power, 7 biographical anecdotes, and a one-act play!

Required Reading
Another collection of masterpieces. Known Nukes should be translated into all languages, understood and globally debated. ... Read more

Product Description
Midway through the 21st century, an integrated global computer network manages much of the world's affairs. A proposed major software upgrade - an artificial intelligence - will give the system an unprecedenteddegree of independent decision-making, but serious questions are raised in regard to how much control can safely be given to a non-human intelligence. In order to more fully assess the system, a new space-station habitat - a world in miniature - is developed for deployment of the fully operational system, named Spartacus. This mini-world can then be "attacked" in a series of escalating tests to assess the system's responses and capabilities. If Spartacus gets out of hand, the system can be shut down and the station destroyed... unless Spartacus decides to take matters into its own hands and take the fight to Earth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

One of the best books I ever read
I honestly think this should be made into a movie. This book came out before the internet but would be an incredible story in this day of the web. No doubt a deal is already in place, but come on holiwood, let's see an original story make it's way to the big screen... Oh yeah, and for you reading this? Get it and read it. A great story.

Science fiction, better than non-fiction
The ideas and vision discussed in this book were way ahead of its time. In fact, it came out a full 11 years before Raymond Kurzweil's The Age of Intelligent Machines. Kurzweil's subsequent work gained him a dozen science and technology related awards, but what did Hogan get? This man is way too underrated.
In this book the author talks about evolution of intelligence at an exponential rate, drastically different computational models yeilding the same outward results, risks associated with autonomous AI, and has the exceptional mental horizon to conceive the scientific arguments of several different skeptics of the central idea discussed. Sure, there are some technical and logical wrongs in this book. But the overall idea is surprisingly accurate and robust even 30 years after its publication. I for one see very similar patterns to those predicted in this science fiction book, in the AIs of recent strategy games such as CnC Red Alert 3.
You should read this book for its fast paced action. Or for the mental stimulation that it provides.

What if scientists had a really, really bad idea?
Based on a novel, this manga tells of a near-future world is governed by increasingly complex artificial intelligence system.

Fearing that the human race might lose the ability to 'pull the plug' scientists decide to experiment in a contained enviornment.A new AI system called Sparticus is installed in a space station wtih several 100 people.The humans try increasingly complex ways to disable the AI, while the AI fights back by going around their barriers and even building its own network connections.

Soon enough it becomes a shooting war, with Sparticus building armed drones and blowing out airlocks.Finally the humans try to set off a nuclear weapon on the station, but will even that be enough?

Two Faces of Tomorrow could be a lot of fun, a robots vs space marines book in the style of Terminator or Alien.But it's not.It's talky, and it's preachy, and it insists that this is a serious premise.That the only way to test AIs is to have a shooting war on a multi-billion dollar space station.

Perhaps it worked better as a novel but as manga the first half is far too dull and while the second half, the shooting war, is interesting it comes far too late to interest me.

The human characters are barely fleshed out and I felt no real attachment to them.

The art by Yukinobu Hoshino is decent enough but he's an artist who seems much happier drawing space stations and drones than people.The human figures are all too similar.

It took me almost a year to read this off and on, it really did not hold my interest.

I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that
I first heard of The Two Faces of Tomorrow via Yukinobu Hoshino's (the author/artist of the excellent 2001 Nights) graphic novel adaptation. I picked that up, but thought I should read the original novel first. Especially since I have a number of James Hogan's books in my TBR pile.

James Hogan manages to take the hoary old sci-fi cliche of the evil mastermind computer and put, well, not a new spin but at least some believable science behind it. The book is set some time in the mid-2040's. The internet and some very smart server computers has managed to bring about world peace and end hunger. However a computer makes connections the programmers never predicted causing a near-fatal incidentby being logical, but not reasonable while solving a demolition assignment. Computer scientist/psychologist Raymond Dyer wants to upgrade the system by programming in 'common sense'. He wants to give TITAN (the otherwise stable system responsible for so much of humanities peace and prosperity) a true artificial intelligence. A conscience.

Since everybody in this world has seen the Terminator films, they want to thoroughly test the system far from Earth before upgrading. In order to see the worst that might happen, they install a version of the A.I. that has been modified with an aggressive survival instinct into a newly completed space station. They then provoke the A.I. (dubbed Spartacus) to see what its' reaction will be. As you might imagine, things quickly get out of hand.

I have to give him credit. Mr. Hogan really knows his stuff. This book was written in the late-70's, yet he predicted the internet and cell phones (though they have different names). He also avoided the pitfalls of so many hard sci-fi writers that had us flying hovercars by the 1990's or moving the Cold War into space. Thirty years later, this book doesn't feel dated. If I didn't check the copyright, I would believe this was a newly written novel.

The problem is that even though the setup is terrific and the authors foresight impressive, the first two-hundred-something pages are an endless series of philosophical dialogues on the dangers of technology versus the benefits and lectures relating to A.I. occuring on and onbetween the different characters.It really started to drag on the book. For quite a while there was just no forward momentum. I was reminded of Notes from Underground, where a pretty good novel waits at the end of an endless stream of philosophical noodling. While it was interesting (especially the experiments with the FISE computer) overall it felt like Hogan was laying out his hard sci-fi cred before treating us to a fun story of an evil computer blowing stuff up. Maybe it would have worked better if he could have interlaced these lectures within the body of the story a little more, perhaps as flashbacks or something.

Also, his characters are pretty flat. Here I am, a day after reading it and the only characters I can really remember by name are Dyer and his girlfriend Laura. The various military and government personal I couldn't quite remember as I was reading chapter by chapter. I don't expect dynamic, larger-than-life characters in hard sci-fi (given the protagonists required for these stories it would probably strain my suspension of disbelief too much) but man, Hogans characters make Stephen Baxter's characters seem absolutely scintillating.

His characters also seem to place too much faith in science and reason. While that is laudable, it just didn't feel very realistic. Dyer is able to win over the Pentagon and the White House through carefully reasoned arguments. This book was obviously written before our 43rd president was elected. Hogan must think better of our government than I do, but I think the experiment he wanted to run would have hit a couple of hundred more roadblocks in the real world than it did in this book.

Still, once the action started the book really did pick up. It's funny, because Hogan doesn't write especially good action scenes, but it helped to give the book the forward momentum that it was missing in the first half. The ending is also satisfying. Unexpected, yet wholly logical and optimistic (though a little unbelievable as again it counts on a long time military man accepting some scientific theories over hard-bitten common sense). Overall I'm glad I read the book and will try more from Hogan. As a hard SF writer, he is impressive. I just hope his sense of pacing is better.

Comic Book
I was disappointed in that I did not realize it is a comic book, and a heavy one at that. I had read the original back around 1980 and was looking forward to a novel like the original. I evidently didn't research it enough although I read the reviews at this site. I did wonder what Yukinobu Hoshino had to do with the book - I thought maybe the book cover or an illustration or two. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Thought provoking
Thought provoking look at what would happen in a world of sovereign individuals not bound by ideology, religious dogma or economic restraints, who have to defend their civilization against a well armed, fanatical aggressor - without killing the 30,000 people aboard the invader ship.

Utopian fantasy
Hogan is a member of that group of sci-fi writers who present bold ideas but don't particularly write well or develop characters (Isaac Asimov is the first, and best, member of that school of Sci-Fi writers.) His idea seems rather weak to me as ignores human (mainly male) nature. We have had thousands of years of war, sexism and the exclusion of various "outsider" groups (based on caste, race, tribe, income, etc.) Even studies of chimpanzees, humans closest relatives, have shown certain "outsider" males are physically abused by the "alpha males" of the group. Look at the primary source texts and warlike art of civilizations from the Aztec to the Sumerians and you will see intolerance is a problem of the y-chromosome, not social conditioning from one particular society. Matriarchy might be the only real answer to the world's problems.

Another Home Run from James P Hogan
This one has been on my wish list for a long time and it finally made it's way to the top.It might be pulp fiction, but it was well worth the read.

A Fun Look at a Great Society
This is a little-known but smart book that I would reccomend to any science fiction fan.

In James P. Hogan's entertaining novel, humankind has settled a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri's primary star.The planet is called Chiron, after one of the few "good" centaurs in Greek mythology, and is settled by robots who use stored genetic information to create the first generation of human Chironians.Decades later, after a devastating world war, a newly fascist America sends a starship to claim its colony.Predictably, the Terrans and Chironians come into conflict.

This book probably offers the best exploration of an anarchist society in science fiction since Ursula LeGuin's The Dispossessed.Although some reviewers have criticized Hogan's depiction of a noncapitalist society, they are clearly stuck in the old-fashioned mindset of communism versus capitalism and incapable of appreciating anything outside that paradigm.The description of the interaction between Terrans and Chironians is evocative of the early European explorers' accounts of Native America and Hogan's descriptions of the American's rationalizations for their encroachment on Chiron are reminiscient of some of the worst chapters of history as well eerily predictive of recent events.His account of the nonthinking aquiesence of some segments of the Terran population to the powermongering of the upper "echelons" is similarly spot-on.

The book suffers from a large cast of characters, none of whom are really given a chance to develop although this is a criticism often applied to science fiction.

Overall, an excellent book.It's influence can be seen in the popular computer game Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.

Not just a sci-fi book...
This story is about what could be built in the future if only we put away our old ideas.Our ideas about money, physics, government, military force and the nature of mankind.A fan of James P. Hogan knows what I am talking about.This book would also be good for fans of Robert A. Heinlein, L. Neil Smith or even L. E. Modesitt, Jr.Great ending that I didn't see coming the first time I red it.Almost wish there was a sequel! ... Read more

Product Description
Something strange is happening on the planet Cyrene, which is in the early phases of being "developed" by the mammoth Interworld Restructuring Corporation. Terrans from the base there have been disappearing. Myles Callen, a ruthlessly efficient "Facilitator," is sent to investigate. Also with the mission is Marc Shearer, a young, idealistic quantum physicist, disillusioned with the world, who’s on his way to join a former colleague, Evan Wade. On arrival he finds that Wade too has vanished and doesn't want to be found by the Terran authorities. Wade has arranged contact via the Cyreneans, however, and accompanied by two companions that he has befriended, Shearer embarks on a journey to find his friend that will change Cyrene—and Earth itself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

very entertaining
It's interesting how a book written in 1978 that depicts events set in the 2000s describes advances in technology and portrays an alternate future (present). The characters are very reminiscent of a number of academic scientists (and the bureaucrats they sometimes come up against) who I know, which makes for an entertaining read.

Just like I remembered
I read this book over 20 years ago, and have remembered it as one of my favorites.I decided to buy it again, and re-read it.It was just as good as I remembered!

Great!
Kept me interested until the end - very suspenseful

Absolutely first rate hard science fiction
This was the first book of Hogan's that I picked up, almost twenty years ago.I was amazed by the story Hogan could tell - an intelligent, well thought out scientific thriller, with believeable characters who acted uponreal motives.I have been a huge fan of Hogan's ever since, and have acollection which will be complete as soon as Amazon can find the twoout-of-print titles I've ordered.Do yourself a favour and buy everythingby Hogan you can get your hands on.This man can write!

Sc-Fi at it's best
This book is a exciting fast paced read and I would recomend it to any reader ... Read more

Product Description
Human society on Jevlen was falling apart -- and it looked as if JEVEX, the immense super-computer that managed all Jevlenese affairs, was at the heart of the matter. Except that the problems didn't stop when JEVEX was shut down. People were changing -- or being changed. It was almost as if the Jevlenese were being possessed...

Meanwhile, in a very different universe, where magic worked and nothing physical was predictable, holy men caught glimpses of another place, a place where the shape of objects remained unchanged by motion, and cause led directly and logically to effect. And the best part was that when the heart was pure, the mind was focused, and circumstances were right, some lucky souls could actually make the transition to that other universe. If only they all could... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Disappointing from one of my favorite authors
Hogan is possibly my favorite Sci-Fi author, but this one does not deliver at all. Had it not been Hogan, I would have quit halfway through, and I have rarely put down a book in my life - especially because I am picky about what I read in the first place.

As mentioned in other reviews, it's not only confusing but there is just no compelling story here. Even though we're seeing some familiar characters from previous books, there's nothing I really care about in the story. I don't care about Jevlenese being taken over, I have no investment in them. Nothing is really threatening the main characters until very late in the story - too late for you to care.

And the people we are supposed to care about are not likable. The new female character introduced is not compelling either.

I SO wanted to like this book, and I struggled and pushed on, but I was only relieved when it was done, not satisfied. Skip this one and stick with Hogan's better stuff.

The best Sci Fi since Snow Crash
I loved this book.Both as a stand alone work and as the 4th in the Giants series.I had read some bad reviews before cracking the cover, and now wish I hadn't looked at them.They were just not accurate.This is one of the best books I have read all year, and holds a place on my top 10 shelf.

The only way the subtle plot and social commentary could be considered "murky" is if you read at the 3rd grade level.

If you have read all of his material, or if you have never heard of James P. Hogan, buy this book.

Number 4 in the story of the "gentle giants of Ganymede"
This is the fourth book in the "Giants" series which began with "Inherit the stars" and continues with "The Gentle Giants of Ganymede" and "Giants Star."

The first three books in the series are also available in a "3 in 1 Giants Omnibus" and there is now a subsequent fifth book, "Mission to Minerva".

Continues the story which started when human ideas of our place in the Universe were turned completely topsy-turvy by the discovery of a 50,000 year old human body on the moon in "Inherit the Stars" which was one of the most brilliant SF novels ever written.

I thought the story had finished with "Giant's star" but James Hogan finds a way to continue it with brilliant new twist. Something is going wrong on the planet Jevlen, and to solve it the heroes of the first three books have their minds projected inside a huge computer - where they find a whole different kind of Universe.

About the only thing on which I agree with the reviewers who trashed this book is that it's not quite as good as the first three. However, I think it's still well worth a read if you are into science fiction and original ideas.

Don't waste your time with this one, read a GOOD book.
I love the clear, clean, crisp writing of James P. Hogan. The solid scientific research behind his scenarios cannot be hidden.
His plots are anything but trite. But after reading this one I am forced to the conclusion that Mr. Hogan was doing some bad drugs at the time he wrote it. It is muddy, murky, and overlong.
It bears almost no resemblance to anything else he has written.
It is confused and confusing. It is boring and unsatisfying.
Avoid at all costs!

Fails to deliver like the previous 3 novels.
Entoverse is the fourth novel following the Giant's Trilogy.Like the previous three, the same characters can be found throughtout.Also, there is a great deal of scientific research done by the main characters.But unlike the previous three novels, this novel fails to maintain interest and can be confusing.

First off, the novel takes you back to Jevlen, following the "Pseudowar" between the Thuriens and the Jevlenese.The supercomputer JEVEX has been shut down....or so all non-Jevelense think.In harsh reality, JEVEX is still running at a small rate, but there is a totally different world living in its system.The author has created a new world for us to explore, however it turns out that this world does not follow the laws of physics in our universe.To make it even more confusing, it seems that this world is merely just a computer generated pattern designed by the Jevlenese.To complicate things even more, the inhabitants of this "new" world, are taking over the bodies of our universe.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am one for all types of science fiction and new ideas.As a matter of fact, I think unique ideas make a science fiction novel.But this idea has gone too far.The novel becomes confusing because this world is run through a computer process.Yes, it is a new idea, but the idea has been taken to far.In fact, this novel does not have the quality writing and suspense as found in the previous three novels.It seems this novel was written just to be written, lacking purpose and further muddying the waters.I do not recommend this novel, as a matter of fact, if you read the previous three novels, you might want to stop there, because this one could leave you highly disappointed. ... Read more

Product Description

Giant's Star: The aliens from Ganymede bought with them answers that forever changed human history. Finally, humans thought they comprehended their place in the universe ? that is, until they learned of the Watchers in the stars. Now Earth finds itself in the middle of a power struggle between a benevolent alien empire and an off-shoot group of upstart humans who hate Earth more than any alien ever could.

Entoverse: Jevlen is a rational society managed to perfection by immense super computer JEVEX ? until now. Things are falling apart, people are changing, or being changed, and shutting down JEVEX doesn't help. The changed behave as if they are possessed by demons. Meanwhile in a nearby, completely different universe, rationality is creeping into a world where magic has always held sway. Logic, the magic of this world, is beginning to work! Cause is actually leading directly to effect! What's more, with the proper concentration and purity of mind, crossing over into a new, rational universe can be achieved. Jevlin is that destination, of course, and the collision is between not just worlds, but universes with completely opposing operating systems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Giant's Star's Nuclear Fuel is Spent
These are the third and fourth novels in Hogan's Giant's series.The first in the series was his debut novel and one of my all time favorite SF novels.It gets 5 stars.The second novel was pretty good, but not as good as the first, so it gets 4 stars.The third novel was OK, but only because we love the characters from the first two novels so much we'll overlook a lot.Let's give that one 3 stars.The fourth and final novel is a real disappointment.It gets 1 star from me.

Hogan has played this one for all it's worth.If you've read "Inherit the Stars" and "The Gentle Giants of Ganymede", you can stop right there and remember Hogan as one of your favorite SF authors.If you keep going and read "Giant's Star", you'll remember him as a great author who's light got a bit dimmer.However, if you read "Entroverse", you'll probably wish you hadn't and wonder what the heck happened to Hogan.

Alternate universes and fast action makes for gripping adventure
James P. Hogan's THE TWO WORLDS furthers the `Giants' series with two complete novels, GIANT'S STAR and ENTOVERSE. Aliens bring answers lurks change human history - and humans find themselves in the center of a power struggle between competing alien groups rather than completely understanding their roots. In ENTOVERSE a computer manages a rational society - until it begins to unravel. Alternate universes and fast action makes for gripping adventure in two linked novels under one cover. ... Read more

Product Description

SOS FROM A FUTURE THAT WILL NEVER BE

It's amazing enough when Murdoch Ross's brilliant grandfather invents a machine that can send messages to itself in the past or the future. But when signals begin to arrive without being sent, Murdoch realizes that every action he takes changes the future that would have been...and that the world he lives in has already been altered!

Then a new message arrives from the future: The world is doomed! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

A different sort of time travel
"Thrice Upon a Time" is a science-fiction novel about a 'problem' in a fusion reactor and about a few messages that are sent through time.This is a different sort of time travel and, at the time this book was written, scientists thought that it might be possible!

This is a very good, tightly written, story.

I recommend it.

Brilliant novel about changing the past ...,
This excellent 1980 hard science fiction novel is somewhat like a more scientific version of the film "The butterfly effect" except that the characters are trying to literally save the world from imminent destruction instead of making alterations in individual lives. And that this novel isn't quite so unbearably sad.

Though of course, this novel was written many years before that film so it is Hogan who had the original idea.

Of all the dozens of novels I have read which include either time travel or other speculations about the nature of time, "Thrice apon a time" includes far and away the most imaginative and brilliantly explained picture of how a universe in which you actually can change the past might work.

Almost every single other novel I have read or film I have seen in which the possibility of changing the past comes up is a variation of one of the following views, explaining why you can't or shouldn't:


1) you can't do it at all because the past has already happened and may not be altered

2) you won't notice any effect, because if you change anything you'll find that you "already did it" and any change you made will already have been incorporated in the universe you started from

3) you absolutely must not attempt to do it because it will destroy your universe or cause a huge catastrophe such as a split in the timestream

4) you should not attempt to do it because there are likely to be unpredictable side effects which may be very harmful.


The scientists who are the central characters of "Thrice apon a time" discover an unusual side effect of certain reactions - a small amount of energy is sent backwards in time. They build a machine to measure the effects when that energy arrives in the past - and then find that it can be used like a receiver for messages which can be sent backwards in time. E.g. they can use the effects which their machine measures to send messages back to their earlier selves at any time after the machine was built.

Being very aware of the potential threats described in 3) and 4) above, our heroes initially have no intention of using the machine for any significant communication. Until it turns out that a new experimental reactor which was used for the first time a few days after they built the machine has produced catastrophic effects.

So catastrophic, in fact, that trying to change the past may be their least bad option, even though it means that their present selves and things which are very valuable to them will be erased ...

Brilliant take on an old concept
The concept of time travel is one of the oldest themes in science fiction.Just when you think its been milked dry, someone like James P. Hogan comes along and breathes new life into an otherwise tired concept.I found "Thrice Upon a Time" to be the most thoughtful, innovative takes on time travel I've seen yet.Almost universally, time travel books or movies deal with a person being transported either back or forward in time.In this case, Hogan deals with information being sent back in time.He theorizes that "in any reaction, a tiny (almost undetectable) amount of energy goes back in time".If properly modulated, that energy can act as a signal to relay information.This technique makes it possible for those in different futures to send messages back to a point in the past.So, someone in the future can tell their former self what to do or avoid.That, in turn, changes the course of events. This becomes a way to avoid dangerous or costly mistakes, since those in the future can reveal how a given course of action turned out.Of course, it also results in the negation of those timelines not taken.This means that one's future self risks elimination when they send any type of message back in time.That's some pretty heavy stuff.Hogan's unique skill as an author is his ability to use his engineering knowledge to make the impossible seem practical.One example is his use of "bootstrapping" (a mainstream computing hack) and reinventing it as a way to send messages back one day at a time (thus bridiging a larger time gap with the past).The idea that from every instant, there are multiple (perhaps infinite) possible timelines is fascinating too.Bottom line:if you care more about ideas than horrible aliens or exploding spaceships, then this is the book for you.

Makes a wild idea plausible
Thrice Upon a Time is my first Hogan book, but I have followed up by ordering more.Time travel is a favorite topic of mine.I've read so many I've lost count.This one stands out in that it is very heavy on science and theory.If you like to ponder the possibilities and ramifications of communication across time, this book will appeal to you as it did to me.It has an excellent treatment of the paradox dilemma.One guage I use to measure a time travel novel is believability...Hogan has managed to be creative while at the same time presenting a plausible scenario.The consequences of altering the future are explored in a satisfying (and believable) manner.Those reviewers who found the book dull are not people who have spent a great deal of time pondering the theories.The book involves the reader in trying to figure out the theory, because once the ability to send communication back in time is discovered, the next step is figuring out how it's done and how the paradox situations fit into the equation.The true nature of time is explored thoroughly.It is not a book of rip-roaring action, but definitely a book for those who are enthralled by the idea of communication through time.I found it immensely satisfying.

Great Potential
This book starts with a lot of potential, but unfortnately the author gets bogged down in ad infinitum descriptions and details of the "science and theory" of his device that is the heart of the story, and the real story gets lost. I thought this book was written in 2000, but it was actually first copyrighted in 1980, so the science is somewhat outdated. His later books are better, such as The Legend That Was Earth. ... Read more

Product Description
In the face of planet-wide economic disaster, two totalitarian empires rise in China and Japan, threatening the world with a devastating war, and the police states of the U.S. and Europe place their hopes in a team of DNA scientists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Political posturing diminishes an otherwise interesting novel
James P. Hogan's novel starts out in a world heading towards crisis.In a not-too-distant future, the United States is slowly rotting from within, with revolutionaries and gangs forcing an increasingly authoritarian reaction from the government.As an increasingly likely conflict with Japan and China looms, scientists develop a device that heralds the prospect of improving decision-making by allowing users to tap into the infinite number of decisions made by their multitude of counterparts in alternate worlds, thus discovering the wisest course of action.But then the scientists discover a means of transporting a person's consciousness into their counterpart in another universe.As the scientists begin to explore the possibilities, though, the military prepares to move in and use the device for their own ends.

Like his earlier novel The Proteus Operation, Hogan provides a plot of considerable interest, one well grounded in scientific theory as befitting an author of hard SF.Yet character development is lost amid the considerable political commentating the author continually engages in, as he uses his premise to both offer his theory on the failings of our world (too much government) and construct an idyllic alternative that in which everything is perfect (thanks to limited government).Some of it is laughable (as in how Britain manages to have socialized medicine WITHOUT government), much of it demonstrates a poor understanding of human history, and all of it gets in the way of the suspense Hogan attempts to build throughout the novel.It makes for an annoying read, one that would have been better is there had been less of Hogan's political views and more focus on the characters and some of the interesting implications of his premise.

A Satisfying Tale That Overcomes it's Faults
This is the first novel I've read by Hogan. I was immediately hooked by the premise, and pleasantly surprised that the science held up so well after a decade.
Can't really argue with many of the complaints voiced by other readers, and the book did drag on more than few times. Yes, there were some poorly fleshed-out characters and some vague plot points. I felt the central characters and main plot line were quite intriguing and very well done.
I don't run across many novels that I wish hadn't ended--this was one of them. There doesn't seem to be a sequel, but I'd welcome one gladly.

Promising material, but grindingly dull prose
"Paths to Otherwhere" is an example of a book that I wanted to like. The premise of the Many Worlds theory is fascinating, but the storyline is saddled with tired government/scientist cliches and uncompelling characters.

The story is clearly an excuse to explore cutting-edge concepts. No problem there... science fictionis well-populated with works of the type; Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Crichton come to mind. But Hogan's focus is so slanted towards the science that he forgot the story. He is a good author: The Giants/Ganymede series is a memorable work. Hogan unfortunately stumbles here

...

Better than......
This one is better than Thrice Upon a Time. Hogan still tends to get carried away sometimes with lenghthy explanations and suppositions of the science involved, but not to the exclusion of the plot in this one. This was written many years after Thrice Upon a Time, and it shows. I thought it was an entertaining and enjoyable read.

Mind-blowingly cool SF
I've been reading James P. Hogan's SF since the late 1970s, when I picked up a copy of his second novel, _The Genesis Machine_. I still haven't read the "Giants" novels, but I've read quite a bit of his other stuff.

He's got a nice range, from hard SF like this book to espionage thrillers like _The Infinity Gambit_ to nonfiction essays on various controversial subjects. (You can read a lot of his nonfiction on his website...)

The emphasis in his science fiction is on "science"; he knows his stuff and the physical theories on which he founds his novels are pretty plausible. He's also got a keen eye for the absolutely mind-blowingingly cool detail: some event that seems entirely ordinary but has such profound implications about the nature of reality that you just put the book down for a moment and go "Wow."...

Since he's one of my two favorite living SF writers and the only one of the two who writes "hard" SF (the other is Spider Robinson), I've lately been trying to figure out where to start reviewing his books. I picked this one because it registers so high on the Mind-Blowing Coolness Meter, but I could really have started anywhere.

No spoilers here: all the details I'm about to divulge appear within the first few pages of the book. Here's the underlying premise: the Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics is correct; it's possible for quanta to interfere with their own counterparts along other branches of events; it's also possible for _information_ to be passed from one branch to another, and even from the future to the past, with devices that detect such interference.

One of those mind-blowing details occurs during a test of just such a device: a woman deliberately mistypes a word on a computer keyboard, but it appears correctly on the screen -- _because the quantum interference detector is determining the output by averaging all the possible futures_. Similarly, the woman finds it amazingly easy to draw a perfect circle on the computer screen, because the device averages _out_ the random errors introduced by her and all her counterparts along the other branches of the Multiverse.

That's just a taste of what this novel has in store for you, and it's just background; the plot is even cooler, and I won't spoil it for you. Let it suffice to say that you'll get your mind blown at least once every forty or fifty pages; every time you think Hogan has run out of tricks, he manages to pull out another one. His characters are, if not altogether gripping, at least interesting enough to keep the plot moving (Theo Jantowitz, for example, is a charming academic curmudgeon) and his standard theme -- "good science getting screwed up by government and corporate interests" -- is treated with Hogan's usual realism and flair.

In general it's a well-written and hopeful book that explores a fascinating "rational mysticism" that I sort of hope turns out to be true. (And I'm not sure why a couple of the other reviewers are dissatisfied with Hogan's handling of a certain "moral problem"; in fact it's not only addressed repeatedly but very nicely resolved.)

But again, I just picked this book to review because I had to start _somewhere_...He's all-but-unarguably the finest writer of "hard SF" out there today. ... Read more

Product Description
Visionary teens Kevin and Taki realize that they can make millions from Bug Park, a micro mechanical entertainment park that employs direct neural interfacing, but a murderous saboteur forces them into a war of physics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

BUG PARK
BUG PARK

James Hogan delves into the world of micro robotics, corporate greed, and the realm of virtual gaming to create this extremely entertaining novel.

Let me sum the book up like this; teenage friendship, a cheating step mother, an easy going scientific father, the fathers military minded best friend and business partner, micro sized robots ran by DNC: Direct Neural Coupling, Ex-business partner wishing to steal the patent for DNC.

This book was much more entertaining than I had expected.The story starts with a bang and ends with an atomic blast.Bug Park is a light read and comes across a bit different than other works by Hogan.I was truly upset that I ran out of pages to read. James Hogan has been added to my must read authors list.

I highly recommend this book.

Welcome to the world of the very small
At first glance at the cover you might think, gee, this is a kid's book.A book about bugs and tiny robots and adventure.But this book is not for kids.
It has greed and murder and physics and explosions and tiny chainsaws.It has a complexe plot, interesting characters, great technology and even a feel good ending.
Oh, and don't forget guns, money and lawyers.A great book.But of course, this is JAMES P. HOGAN.

Telepresence in an Insect Microcosm
In Charles Scheffield's excellent novel, THE NIMROD HUNT, micro-miniaturized man-shaped mechanoids battle live spiders and warrior ants.The human controllers become immersed in attacks on nests or anthills via telepresence.The electronic sensorium provided by the mechanoids' sophisticated sensors temporarilly replaces normal human senses.

In BUG PARK, James P. Hogan updates the same idea to create a futuristic amusement park game.People battle insects by putting their controlling 'consciousness' inside tiny bug-sized, man-shaped "mecs".When a mec is seriously damaged or rendered inoperable by an ant, the human operating that mec is unceremoniously thrown out of the game for "dying."

Hogan uses DNC, direct neural coupling, a technology yet to be invented, to pull this off.DNC shuts down our normal senses and replaces them with sensory input from the mecs.DNC allows Eric Heber, one of the teenage protagonists, to control the movements of the "Taki" mec as if its limbs were his own.

I have been an avid reader of James P. Hogan's works since his classic first novel, INHERIT THE STARS.Even though BUG PARK is a juvenile novel, the science and technology are as fully explained as anyone would ever want and most adults will also enjoy this book,

Readers will love the rapid, breath-taking pace of BUG PARK.Indeed, I can easily see how this novel could become a major blockbuster motion picture with its exciting mix of cutting-ege technology, kids in peril and corporate corruption.

(Are you listening DISNEY Corp.?)

No Bugs : Johnny Questvs. The Evil Step-Mother
Mr. Hogan did a fantastic job with the physics in this book.That is the one thing that kept me reading more than anything else.What I was disappointed in, is that fact that with a title of "Bug Park", there are so few insects/arthropods of any kind in the story, it is like eating a McD's cherry pie, and finding only one cherry...very disappointing indeed.The story should be re-titled.

Also, one point to nit-pick, for scientific names of any organism, when spelling the binomial name out, the genus is capitalized and the species is *always* lower case.On page396, "Limenitis lorquini"is what I am referring too, and the editors should be ashamed of themselves, because this is not the author's fault.

The story was enjoyable, the plot moves well, but the family structure was almost a direct parallel to Johnny Quest, including Bandit, I mean Batcat.I kept becoming distracted from the story as I read "Hoggi" instead of Taki etc., and like any good J.Q. story, the villain perishes in their own nefarious trap, leaving the hero's hands clean.

Finally, I enjoyed the little "Microcosm" joke at the end, I'm sure you will too.

Spielberg, make this into a movie!
Bug Park was a really fun read.As usual, Hogan comes from a base of hard science, which helps makes the premise believable. The only thing I found that bothered me was the contrived bit with one of the kid's tie to organised crime.Still, loved the book and it would make a great family movie.Someone needs to give a copy to Steven. ... Read more

Product Description
Richard Jarrow, a mild and unassuming teacher, wakes up in a hotel room in a strange city with no memory. Everyone he knows treats him as a stranger. The government and secret police think he knows the whereabouts of a missing scientist named Ashling who was planning to defect to the Offworld colonies. Finding Ashling will be the key to Jarrow finding out what happened to himself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

One of my Perennial Favorites
I'm surprised at some of the mediocre reviews. This is one of my faves by Hogan, that I have often returned to just to read for pleasure. Lots of interesting twists and turns, and great characters as always. I'm a sucker for stories where things are not what they seem, I guess.

It's hard to say much without giving things away. I always find this book a fast read and the first time I read it I couldn't put it down. If you enjoy Hogan's style, don't miss this book.

You're no Philip K. Dick.
Ugh. This type of book is something Philip K. Dick does -way- better. The whole misplaced identity and 'tyranical' government thing is just handled so poorly here.

The attempts at philosphing are such poor straw-man scenarios (Do you want your government telling you where you can go! Don't give out any personal information!). And the whole multiple identity thing is just chunky.

At least Dick kept you in suspense as to which identity was valid, and made you care/humanize with the poor guy. This book is nothing more than a cheap execuse for Mr. Hogan to expouse on how much he hates government intrusion (yet I bet he'll complain if the roads aren't plowed).

I really regret picking this up, I don't regret putting it down.

Started out ok, but devolved into a worthless piece of crap.
When starting this book, I thought the premise looked pretty interesting and I had read other things by Hogan, so I thought it might be pretty good.

It started out a little slow, but once it got going, it seemed like it was going to be ok.Several times there were plot developments that made me think, this is really going to pick up now, but it never really did.Fairly early on in the story, I thought of something that I thought would have been an interesting twist for the end, but later events led me to discard it as a possibility.However, when I got to the end, what I had thought of did turn out to be the twist.Even though events in the story made it difficult.Which was made worse by an entire section of the book that tried to explain how the events unfolded without offering anything of value to the story.Add to this a protagonist who was completely discarded halfway through the story, an abrupt unsatisfying ending, and you get a pretty worthless book.

I wouldn't recommend this book.If you want to read something by Hogan, try Inherit the Stars instead.

P.K. Dick, eat your heart out
I completely enjoyed this book. Its a story like Total Recall
with strange twists of personality exchange, but gripping from
start to finish. Its also an interesting future, where the US is
a totalitarian state and eastern europe a libertarian utopia
(hence the Prometheus award the book won, which honors best
libertarian fantasy). The political elements are believable
and don't hit you over the head. The plot does.

Good sci-fi book
This book is a good sci-fi read. It has a bleak vision of the future in where America has adopted an almost 1984 Orwell feel to it and freedoms are routinely violated all in the name of protecting resources and believe it or not, Asia and Russia are the the lands of opportunity. Throw in a dab of mystery and government intrigue and a man with amnesia and five months missing from his life and you have a great story.

This is the first book I have read from this author and I am looking forward to reading more. I recommend this novel to anyone who likes mystery and sci-fi. ... Read more

Product Description
Joe Kopeksky consults with physicists, psychics, and priests in his desperate attempt to discover why time has gone awry all over New York City. By the author of The Proteus Operation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Out of Time is out of this world
Classic Hogan!This is a must read for all Hogan fans.Adding the mystery of an investigation to the normal "far out" views of the world, Hogan has proven he is the master of sci-fi.You must add this bookto your collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Can you find this story?
I'm not very familiar with Hogan's works, though I have enjoyed some of his collaborations.This is one of the very, again, very, few books I simply didn't want to finish.The social structure he describes for the Kronians is simply too laboured to be believable even in context.The story itself is buried under the mass of verbiage used to describe the social, historical, and scientific setting of Hogan's, er, uh story(?).It may be that a platoon of Reader's Digest Condensed Book editors could have made this tome readable, but then it would have been, at best, a novella or perhaps no more than a short story.

A Conflict of Worldviews
The Anguished Dawn is the sequel to Cradle of Saturn.In the previous volume, a new planet, Athena, has been ejected from Jupiter in a Velikovskian scenario, ravaging the Earth and disrupting orbits.A few people have been evacuated off the planet by the Kronians and resettled on the moons of Saturn. Athena has passed beyond the Earth, but continues to disrupt the inner-system with its gravitic attraction, electrical discharges, and poisonous tail.Moreover, smaller debris from this ejection are still sweeping through space as far out as the Kronian colonies, impacting on planets, moons and manmade objects.

In this novel, Landen Keene leads a group of Kronian engineers developing an dual-purpose fusion-plant, producing both thrust and electrical power, thus providing mobile temporary power for settlements and work camps.He is on LORIN 5 above Saturn learning about orbital operations, when a cluster of objects is detected in an orbit intersecting both Titan and Rhea.The Long Range Intercept Station launches heavy-metal lasing rods at the most dangerous objects, but does not have enough to dissipate the whole cluster.People on both moons are killed and the Security Arm training center on Rhea is demolished.

After his memorable visit to LORIN 5, Lan returns to Titan for a meeting with his boss, Pang-Yarbat, and a potential addition to their group, Jan Wernstecki.After Pang and Lan describe their development of electrogravitic devices, Jan is definitely sold on changing jobs.

After this meeting, Lan has drinks with Ludwig Grasse and Claud Valcroix, European governmental officials who had evacuated from the planet through the Eurospace facilities in Algeria.Ludwig sounds out Lan's willingness to participate in a political effort to achieve power for the Terran survivors.Although Lan is not interested, he acts noncommittal to draw out more information.

Lan's close friend Vicki is working in the Planetary Sciences section of Kropotkin's Polysophic Academy.She and her boss, Farzhin, have been delving ever deeper into the Vedas and other ancient literature to discover more about the catastrophic changes that have occurred within the Solar System.Now they have invited Sariena and Charley Hu to a briefing on their latest discoveries.

Vicki's son Robin has been moody and despondent since their evacuation and is considering leaving school to join the Security Arm.When Lan talks to him, Robin is brusque and noncommunicative.

This story is about a clash of cultures.The Kronians had originally settled on the moons of Saturn to get away from the intense competition between individuals and groups on Earth.Over the decades, the Kronians have developed a cooperative society that values individual competence over material wealth.In fact, the Kronians have no means of exchange, but rather everything is available to anyone.Now they have an influx of self-selected immigrants, many of whom are firm practitioners of competitive and even cutthroat tactics.

Although some of the Terran survivors try to explain the danger, the Kronians are naive enough to believe that they are not in any danger from these powermongers. They learn their lesson the hard way.

These story also involves some Terran survivors who experienced the catastrophe first-hand, a group of the left-behind.The contrast of these hunter-gathers with the technological sophistication of the Kronians increases the suspense and impact.

The philosophical differences between the Terrans and the Kronians are discussed to some extent, but the story itself contrasts the different consequences of these apprproaches.Essentially, the story illustrates the destructive effects of the Terran methods and the creative effects of the Kronian approach.

Recommended for Hogan fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of cutting edge technology and truly different human cultures.

post apocalyptic non-stop action thriller
Though it was nearly Worlds in Collision, but actually the orb missed a direct hit on the Earth, but still the aftereffect destroyed the land masses and oceans, polarity, and ecosystems leading to the end of civilization though survivors exist.The last remnant of Earth culture resides on the Saturn moon of Kronia.Kronians have two strategic goals that of reaching the stars and rebuilding the Earth.

When the Earth finally stabilizes, former resident Landen Keene joins the first Kronian expeditionary force establishing a planetary base to explore building a Utopian world where contribution to society rules.However, many of those who managed to escape the consequences of planetary destruction did so because they wielded the power and wealth to flee to Kronia.These Pragmatists plan to regain their status of domination.Two groups isolated by the vastness of space from the only human civilization battle while those who remained behind want to obliterate any returnee regardless of their philosophy.

Though loaded with action, readers will be split over James P. Hogan's latest science fiction thriller that in some ways feels like an Irwin Allen movie.The story line leaps nicely from the events chronicled in CRADLE OF SATURN (though it helps to have read that book first).However, the plot concentrates on the mass destruction at the cost of failing to fully explore an interesting philosophical debate between two divergently thinking groups and in turn never truly develops key cast members except somewhat Landen.Only readers who enjoy a post apocalyptic earth with non-stop action that defies gravity will want to peruse THE ANGUISHED DAWN.

Harriet Klausner ... Read more