Pros: *Interesting plot line
*Fairly good pace
*unexpected, but not outlandish, complications and climax
Cons: *Characters act in unbelievable ways
*Hard to track flurry of disposable and minor characters.
The Bottom Line: Engaging plot and intriguing twists offset the infuriating implausibilities and easy outs. Time spent reading Moonseed is not wasted, but time taken to find and get a copy might be.
ladyhawk2_99's Full Review: Stephen Baxter - Moonseed
In most fiction but especially in science fiction, it is generally necessary to suspend some item of reality in order to create favorable circumstances for a story. Often in science fiction it involves accepting faster than light travel, androids, or aliens. It's part of what I call the 'contract' between the science fiction author and reader. We accept these scientific impossibilities in exchange for an engaging story that we couldn't get otherwise.
The Story
The world awakens one day to find that Venus, the morning star, has exploded. Scientists, baffled, renew their interest in all things astronomical, including certain moon rocks that have, so far, been insufficiently (or not at all) studied. In an attempt to get the most possible research completed, rocks are sent to a variety of labs across the world, including one to Scotland. This becomes the perfect opportunity for geologist Henry Meacher to start afresh, leaving behind both flagging career and (soon to be ex) wife in the USA.
Unfortunately, clean lab techniques common in the USA are not shared by Scotland, and dust from the moon rock is inadvertently released from containment. Within days, certain rocks in Scotland begin to exhibit traits similar to the moon rock, nicknamed moonseed due to its propensity to spread. Henry is the first person to notice the similarities, to recognize the parallels with Venus, and the only person who has a plan. Time is running out, and success is far from certain. With help from Geena, his ex-wife at NASA, will he be able to save the Earth?
The Style
Moonseed is a hard science fiction novel. For those unfamiliar with Sci-fi and fantasy novels, there's basically a continuum. If you know the type and quantity of fuel required by the FTL ship to reach the earth's escape velocity, the novel is hard science fiction. If you know that a big colony ship took off somehow with all it's passengers in a vaguely referenced cryogenic suspension, it's soft science fiction. If you're a little fuzzy on where the dragons came from, it's probably fantasy.
The Nuts and Bolts
I often find that hard science fiction drags a bit. While other reviewers made this complaint about Moonseed, I actually found the flow was less interrupted by scientific explanations than most books of this style. Sure, Baxter occasionally has one physicist briefing another in an extremely introductory manner about String Theory, but I guess that's forgivable.
Given that the Earth is in peril, of course there are a large number of requisite mayhem and destruction events. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, and the often overlooked meltdown of a nuclear fission reactor all work their way into this novel in full and graphic detail. Since many science fiction novels feature the destruction of Earth it's hard to break new ground here. Baxter made a decent enough depiction of his doomsday scenario, but it wasn't particularly compelling.
Characterization in this novel is a weak point for a couple of reasons. First, the manner in which he presents his disasters is by having a designated character experience them first hand. So in one chapter, we meet a new character and get a brief bio (pregnant wife, single mom, grandpa, heroic firefighter), and in the next chapter they die in their appointed destruction event. Rinse, repeat. The constant stream of disposable characters made it a bit hard to remember whether a given character was the Prime Minister of England, or just the Red Shirt that was written in for the Earthquake scene (if you don't understand the reference, don't worry, it's not important).
Second, and most unforgivably, the characters lack believability. While I am perfectly willing to accept impossible technologies, viruses, or what have you, I am not willing to forgo basic human nature for the sake of moving the plot. To me, characters that don't behave in fundamental human ways is a violation of the reader/author contract. Cryogenic suspension, fine. Characters who forget to eat for 4 days, not fine.
A case in point. Early in the novel, caught inside his house during an earthquake, an elderly man sustains an open chest wound. The wound is severe enough that a collapsed lung is the most likely outcome without immediate intervention. His 10-year-old grandson, under grandpa's direction, secures a plastic magazine wrapper, and fixes it in place with the liberal application of bandages to bind the probably broken and visible ribs and keep the lungs from losing oxygen. (Uh, Baxter? I don't happen to have that many ace and gauze bandages in MY house.... and I don't think my 10 year old is up to this level of first aid... But ok....). Next they arrive at an aid center. Grandpa doesn't want to be separated from Junior, so the two of them decide not to report to the hospital unit, and instead proceed to the usual processing center, vowing never to mention grandpa's gaping open chest wound. (Baxter? You'd really better be going somewhere with this.) Then, 2 weeks later, without a single other word about grandpa's condition, not having taken even so much as penicillin against inevitable infections, grandpa pops off and goes mountain climbing. UH, NO! I'm willing to put up with a lot to move the plot line, but this is just too much. Convenient children, hostile governments that chummily fork over their most private technologies without any need for negotiation, Baxter takes too many easy outs.
The Final Word
Despite the occasional slow moment during which Baxter presents his scientific explanations, the excessive number of expendable and short lived characters, the stock natural disasters which comprise the bulk of hundreds of pages, and the shortcuts Baxter takes with human nature that tests the reader's patience, this isn't a bad book. The conclusion is surprising and engaging. There are plenty of unexpected twists and turns, and some conflicts and events that are definitely unique to Moonseed.
While I wouldn't run out and tell everyone (heck, anyone, to be honest) to read this book, neither would I say you should not read it. If by some chance Moonseed happens into your home or onto your reading list, go ahead and read it. You probably won't consider the hours of your life lost or wasted. However, neither will you miss anything by not deliberately acting to procure a copy. It's an enjoyable novel that breaks no particular ground in any direction, and the implausibilities are evenly offset by the unique complications and outcome. Ho Hum, Ho Hum. That about sums it up.
In this latest thriller from the author of Titan and Voyage, a Moon rock exposed to conditions on Earth unleashes a devastating geologically destructi...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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