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Title: Red Thunder by John Varley ISBN: 0-441-01015-6 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.59 (39 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: just terrible
Comment: I love Varley. His Titan trilogy stands as one of the finest works in all SF. That's why this is --so-- disappointing. As others have pointed out, this is vaguely reminiscent of Heinlein's juvenile SF, but it is not nearly as good. This isn't appropriate for juveniles and I don't even think they would find it interesting. The first half of the book is about the variously messed up lives of some uninteresting teenagers. The character development is poor, the dialog is wooden. The "washed up ex-astronaut" and the events that led to his disgrace are implausible and the "character" is very poorly developed. The novel is supposed to be filled with coon-ass cajuns from south Lousiana. Well, I grew up in New Orleans, and these characters are completely hollow, with no authenticity.
I can't recommend this book at all. Read Titan/Wizard/Demon or the short fiction by this author, but this book is one to avoid.
Rating: 2
Summary: Derivative
Comment: The Amazon.com reviewer, Cynthia Ward, is almost correct that this novel is patterned on Robert Heinlein juvenile novels. This is a considerable understatement. This book is essentially an updated version of Heinlein's Rocket Ship Galileo. Strip away the contemporary window dressing and the story is that of a group of talented, and somewhat alienated teens, developing a space craft and beating opponents of America to another component of our solar system. This is Rocket Ship Galileo. Varley has also used several of Heinlein's typical plot devices. Many years ago, an intelligent critic commented that almost of Heinlein's heros are "practical men," intelligent and capable individuals with useful skills but usually not scientists or intellectuals. Several of his novels, notably the juvenile novels, are bildungsromans featuring the maturation of a practical man under the guidance of an older mentor. He used this device in some of his adult novels, including his best book, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, in which the maturing practical man is a sentient computer system. This plot device this the central instrument of character development in Red Thunder. Varley even imitates some of Heinlein's characteristic stylistic methods, including first person narration and the somewhat smart alecky tone of the narration. Varley is a competent writer and his prior books show that he is capable of considerable imagination. He can certainly do better than knockoffs like this.
Rating: 1
Summary: Not a Happy Camper
Comment: John Varley is one of my favorite authors. I like his work so much, I actually bought this book before reading the reviews here. That was a mistake. This is juvenile fiction that's not even fit for juvenile's to read (i.e., too much sex). Some of the reviews compare this work to Heinlein's early, juvenile fiction, days. It just doesn't compute. Heinlein's early works were 1) interesting, and 2) not just for juvenile's but also boy-scoutish (i.e., clean). Varley's "Red Thunder" is neither. I can understand Varley's sexual themes in "Steel Beach" and "The Golden Globe:" he's writing about advanced, bored societies at an adult level. But, here, he's just going on and on about, essentially, the live's of a small group of late adolescents. Heck, it takes him over half the book to get to a point where the characters actually start to get ready to do what they're going to do. Note that I said "start to get ready," not "start:" the half-way point is when they actually get a glimmer of what they're going to do. What a bore.
I suppose Varley figured he needed a bit of juvenile fiction to round out his audience base. Unfortunately, he would have been better served by cutting out the first 150 pages of the book and deleting all the sex. If he wanted "character" (hah) development with these kids, he should have ignored their poor, downtrodded lives and developed their characters while they actually did something that furthered the plot.
Stay away from this book.
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Title: For Us, The Living : A Comedy of Customs by Robert A. Heinlein ISBN: 074325998X Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: The Golden Globe by John Varley ISBN: 0441006434 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 27 July, 2004 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Broken Angels by Richard K. Morgan ISBN: 0345457714 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 02 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Darwin's Children by GREG BEAR ISBN: 0345448359 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Ilium (Simmons, Dan) by Dan Simmons, Homer Iliad ISBN: 0380978938 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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