Sunstorm (Time Odyssey)
by Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Baxter
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Book Summary Information
Author: Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen BaxterEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-02-28
ISBN: 0345452518
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Del Rey
Book Reviews of Sunstorm (Time Odyssey)
Book Review: 2 and 1/2 Stars -- A Major Disappointment
Summary: 3 Stars
Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter's Time's Eye is one of the greatest recent science fiction novels, which makes it a true shame that this sequel is distinctly subpar - a great disappointment to fans of Time's, to say nothing of Clarke's many masterpieces. It has since emerged that, in contrast to Time's, the nearly ninety-year-old Clarke did little writing, but Sunstorm would not stand out even if written fully by Baxter or any other capable SF writer. Though not entirely without merit, it lacks nearly all of what made Time's and other Clarke classics great and has little else to recommend it. Though meant to be palatable as a standalone, it makes more sense if one has read Time's - and no one should have anything to do with it until having read the latter anyway. All Time's fans should read it because Firstborn, the concluding volume, is far stronger, but Sunstorm is of at best moderate worth in itself.
The novel is simply weak on every front. Clarke is known for brilliantly imaginative stories and plot elements, but this has his weakest premise. The general idea of a potentially catastrophic sunstorm is interesting, but the details are poorly thought out; for instance, the method by which the Firstborn instigate it is implausibly roundabout. The authors manage to work historical events into the context in an interesting and inventive way, but the plot is very dull. Early segments where the threat is discussed and possible defenses theorized are somewhat intriguing, but the solution is quickly reached - and is so obvious as to be passé. Its enactment takes up most of the plot and is simply not engaging enough to hold the book. One might think suspense would at least be high, but things work out just as anyone would have predicted. The distinctly anti-climactic ending is not helped by a contrived, out of nowhere crisis that is in any event almost instantly resolved. Clarke has thrilled and fascinated me since I was thirteen, and I never would have thought he could be associated with such weak material. I have read nearly everything he wrote, and this is by far his least successful dramatization.
The authors try to save the weak plot by throwing in numerous things of interest to Clarke buffs: space elevators, solar wind, references to the Space Odyssey series and other works, etc. These are somewhat fun at first but soon start to seem disingenuously manufactured. Clarke fans have long been used to such things, accepting them with a wink, but in the past they always had a strong story with mesmerizing ideas to hold them up. Here they practically stand alone and almost seem dangerously near self-parody. Clarke was after all not only one of the most brilliant writers of recent times but one of the most brilliant thinkers and inventors, and it is truly sad to see him recycling old ideas with nothing to add. He would have been better served by leaving Sunstorm unwritten than trotting out such a half-baked effort.
Clarke has always been criticized for weak characterization, and Baxter presumably contributed significantly to Time's relatively strong showing in this area. However, Sunstorm's characters are simply uninteresting; no other novel, or even short story, by Clarke has such bland and, above all, boring ones. It is almost impossible to care about them. The emotions we are supposed to feel simply do not come; even deaths fail to move. The younger characters in particular are downright annoying, as are the computers - a sad realization considering they come from the creator of HAl. Even the lone major character returning from Time's is newly uninteresting - indeed, is inexplicably practically a different character, everything that made her worthwhile somehow replaced by near-risible timidity. The authors of course had the right to take the series in a new direction, but it is extremely hard not to wish for Time's far superior cast. The slight romance attempt is also a failure, while the interesting Time's romance is mysteriously dismissed in an aside; several other continuity discrepancies are similarly jarring. The two researchers are the only even remotely alluring characters, and the book would probably have been better if their subplot had been developed more.
The novel's strengths are few. Clarke standbys like religious critique are here implicitly but a pale shadow of former depictions and hard to pay attention to in any case amid general mediocrity. His characteristic optimism and faith in technology are here in full, but the presentation makes them infinitely less compelling than usual. The fact that we can see where his strengths could have been utilized only makes the weak execution all the more depressing.
Sunstorm is simply a major disappointment. Clarke completists will of course want it, but anyone who liked Time's but is scared by my review and/or others might consider skipping to Firstborn, as it parenthetically explains the little one would miss. I am glad it was not Clarke's last novel, as I feared it would be, but it is still unfortunate that his canon has such a weak entry.
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