Black Star Rising

In the dystopia of Black Star Rising, China and India stepped in to save a world ravaged by the nuclear war began by the Soviet Union and the US. While the survivors in the US feel resentment that their saviours occupied the land, the Chinese feel that the "Yankees" can no longer be trusted to hold power in the world. It is against this backdrop that a mysterious spaceship appears in space, propelling a young ethnically American peasant into sudden prominence and a raft of difficult choices. Pohl is one of the most prolific and long-producing authors in science fiction. Black Star Rising is not part of one of his larger series, but is an interesting digression which is informed by the favorite Pohl themes as well as by the concerns of 1985, in which it was written. It should satisfy his fans and appeal to readers new to his work.

This was one of the first sci-fi's I read as a child, and it whet my voracity for the genre. The scenario was plausible at the time of its writing (1980's), and depicts a post-apocalyptic world in which Communist China and India are the world powers. An unexpected plot twist juxtaposes an idealized remnant of American civilization with the reality of the post-war Earth.

This book is humorous as other Pohl novels (although this is a bit more light-hearted as well). The novel takes place in a nearish-future world, where the US and Russia pretty much left each other defenseless after years of warring; because they no longer had defense, and other countries were affected too, the densely populated China and India took over the world easily (in a non-ridiculous kind of way).Thus the stage is set; I don't feel like just ripping of the back of the book's summary so I'll just say this: Pohl's humorous touch adds spice to this Sci-fi novel with an interesting look on the future. The back cover said it's also an important message to mankind, but I don't know... judge for yourself, if you can find this book at a used bookseller. Four stars, because I don't want to give it a "perfect rating."