Out of the Sun

"Out of the Sun" (1996) is the second in what amounts to a trilogy by British author Robert Goddard, starting with the excellent "Into the Blue" (1990) and ending with "Never Go Back" (2006), all revolving around Harry Barnett, a likeable regular guy, who loves his pints, and has had less than success with work and business ventures. As one young American poet put it, the shining sun sees most of us every day on this turning globe. Sees us until the day we are out of the sun, gone, and seen no more. A mysterious phone call informs Harry that his thirty-three-year-old son David is as good as dead, being hospitalized in a severe coma and on life support. Harry never knew he had a son, but thinking back, he well and fondly remembers how it happened. Son David, a brilliant PhD mathematician interested in higher mathematical dimensions, belongs to a group of scientists trying to predict the full spectrum of challenges the world will be facing in 50 years. The group's employer, called Globescope, has clients who pay highly to identify these future challenges so they can meet them profitably. Globescope sees the group's predictions to be quite dire. Believing that customers should hear only good news, the employer refuses to pass on the results and fires David's group. When the fired group seeks to publish their work independently, group members keep turning up dead under mysterious circumstances -- or, in Harry's son David's case, comatose. To protect the rest of the group, Harry is trying to find out who is responsible. He also hopes to find a doctor who can cure David. Harry's dangerous quest takes him from England to Copenhagen, to New York, Chicago, Dallas, Washington D.C., and elsewhere, and has him playing several roles. The perilous telling has considerable charm, humor, romance, and luck, with a surprise ending. If I may repeat, we in the States are now indeed fortunate to have easy access to Goddard's books.

This single book by Robert Goddard was by far the best book i've read all year. I read it on a trip I took to South Carolina (for those of you looking for a good travel book) and finished the whole thing in two days. I just could NOT put it down...the twists in plot so unexpected, I found myself laughing out loud, or not being able to read for the tears in my eyes. I'm not often a passionate reader, but every chapter he gave brought me closer to the story and characters than any author had ever done before. Don't be afraid to dive into this one-- you'll end up satisfied in the end...but wanting more just to sleep at night. I'd previously never heard of Robert-- but Kudos to the designer of the cover--it's how I pick my travel books. (and just for us picky ones, the type font is easily read, and attractive, the paper is well-grained, and the whole book is sturdy, as a travel book should be).Go for this one-- it's wonderful, all around.

A friend of mine gave me as a present this magnificent book - "Out of the sun". I use to read a lot, so I didn't expect something that outstanding. It caught me right from the first page, and while reading it I went, along with the characters, through joy and despare, thrill, mystery and most of all - unexpectedness. I think the most beautiful side of this story is its "realisticity", i.e. its closeness to real life matters. As the story goes, we see that Harry is not as omnipotent as story-characters often are. He just "runs into" events (or events "run into" him) and deals with them wisely and decisively, leaving us, however with a feeling, that he is only human, like all of us, and sometimes makes mistakes. Another point, completing the latter, is that the characters couldn't be divided, as usually, into "bad" and "good". They all could be taken from our immediate environment. That makes you wonder more about human behavior, what some people are capable of doing at certain circumstances.Eventually, I'd like to recommend this book to all those who are considered with "true" stories, ones that take you one (or more) level inside that "grey matter" of yours.Enjoy this story by "the most compelling storytellers of them all"!

I discovered Robert Goddard's books on my last visit to Melbourne, Australia. I have read all that I could find. This book has been the best of the lot. Having read Into The Blue, it was interesting to follow Harry's life further. Robert Goddard develops the story in a way that you can hardly put the book down as you follow the story line down very twisted paths. I would recommend this book very highly.

As with all Robert Goddard's books, Out of the Sun was thoroughly well researched, well written, plausible, and thoroughly entertaining. Also as usual, there were the mass of characters, red herrings and false starts to keep you guessing to the very end. Surprisingly, he appears to have developed a taste for a schmaltzy ending, a temptation he has not succumbed to before. The truth is that I disliked the central charachter, personal prejudice you understand, and so wanted to hear how it all ended, but didn't much care for the "happy ever after" stuff. As a Goddard fan, there was no option other than to read this book, and although it does not disappoint,it is not a spelbinder as for example "In Pale Battalions"is. I would recommend it though to fans and casual readers alike. He still has the power.