Sunstorm

This actually was quite enjoyable and felt like a traditional Clarke novel. The science wasn't too above our heads, and the fiction was enjoyable. The only character that I missed during the book was Alexander. Wouldn't it be nice to know how his world comes out. All in all, excellent.

Definitely looking forward to the next one. Although Clarke has a tendency to mull over details of the lifestyles of his characters a bit too much in the first book and in this one, the writing is still good. Once again he leaves you impatient for the next book by writing an ending that keeps you anticipating.

Clarke & Baxter have done it again. All I can say is please do'nt let it end with this volume. It was a nice quick read, characterization could have been a little fuller. The near future technology was energizing.

Unlike the the other reviewers to date, I preferred this novel over their last collaboration (Time's Eye). The core of the plot is solid, hard SF, requiring science and engineering to meet the threat. The threat is plausible, I think novel, and the solutions interesting. Yes, the characters are sketched, much more in the style of early SF, particularly Clarke; I prefer them that way. Where the story detracts from being an even better novel, is the weak continuation of the alien watchers thread. This novel could have been written without reference to the Firstborn, Bisesa Dutt could have been eliminated from the story, and nothing of significance would have been lost. I suspect marketing played a role here, and of course the ending is a set up for a potential third novel. As another reviewer noted, the science is layed on with a shovel and is very much in-your-face. Clarke used to do this so much more elegantly, a little more thought would have improved the flow. Finally, the references to Clarke, his ideas and his works is either charming or irritating, depending on your love of his books. I think it was an overdone paean to him. Some elements were just not needed, such as the the space elevator, and some dialog lifted directly from HAL 9000 was just too cute. Having said that, this collaboration seemed to work better for me, and I found the book quite engrossing, reading it in just two sittings. This is not the best work of either of these two authors, but it works well enough to be a very good read.

I just finished reading Sunstorm and I was very impressed. This book is even better than the prequel Time's Eye -- and I'll add quite different. Time's Eye was filled with a lot of history and very little science. Sunstorm is exactly what you'd expect from Arthur C. Clarke... good old fashioned Sci-Fi. Unlike Time's Eye, this book stays relevant and very interesting throughout (Time's Eye dragged in the middle), and the ideas and concepts in this book are quite interesting... especially about the nature and rationale for the First Borns. There's really nothing bad I can say about this book, perhaps other than the fact that the book got somewhat involved in solar behavior, and I've personally never been too interested in that type of phenomenon. But this is such a minor inconvenience compared to the greatness of the rest of this book. This is the best Baxter/Clarke collaboration to date and a very good book! P.S. I've seen in a couple of places that this was the last installment in this version of the odyssey. Judging by the ending, I just can't see this as being true... but maybe that's just me.