The Anguished Dawn

The Anguished Dawn is the sequel to Cradle of Saturn. In the previous volume, a new planet, Athena, has been ejected from Jupiter in a Velikovskian scenario, ravaging the Earth and disrupting orbits. A few people have been evacuated off the planet by the Kronians and resettled on the moons of Saturn. Athena has passed beyond the Earth, but continues to disrupt the inner-system with its gravitic attraction, electrical discharges, and poisonous tail. Moreover, smaller debris from this ejection are still sweeping through space as far out as the Kronian colonies, impacting on planets, moons and manmade objects.In this novel, Landen Keene leads a group of Kronian engineers developing an dual-purpose fusion-plant, producing both thrust and electrical power, thus providing mobile temporary power for settlements and work camps. He is on LORIN 5 above Saturn learning about orbital operations, when a cluster of objects is detected in an orbit intersecting both Titan and Rhea. The Long Range Intercept Station launches heavy-metal lasing rods at the most dangerous objects, but does not have enough to dissipate the whole cluster. People on both moons are killed and the Security Arm training center on Rhea is demolished.After his memorable visit to LORIN 5, Lan returns to Titan for a meeting with his boss, Pang-Yarbat, and a potential addition to their group, Jan Wernstecki. After Pang and Lan describe their development of electrogravitic devices, Jan is definitely sold on changing jobs.After this meeting, Lan has drinks with Ludwig Grasse and Claud Valcroix, European governmental officials who had evacuated from the planet through the Eurospace facilities in Algeria. Ludwig sounds out Lan's willingness to participate in a political effort to achieve power for the Terran survivors. Although Lan is not interested, he acts noncommittal to draw out more information.Lan's close friend Vicki is working in the Planetary Sciences section of Kropotkin's Polysophic Academy. She and her boss, Farzhin, have been delving ever deeper into the Vedas and other ancient literature to discover more about the catastrophic changes that have occurred within the Solar System. Now they have invited Sariena and Charley Hu to a briefing on their latest discoveries.Vicki's son Robin has been moody and despondent since their evacuation and is considering leaving school to join the Security Arm. When Lan talks to him, Robin is brusque and noncommunicative.This story is about a clash of cultures. The Kronians had originally settled on the moons of Saturn to get away from the intense competition between individuals and groups on Earth. Over the decades, the Kronians have developed a cooperative society that values individual competence over material wealth. In fact, the Kronians have no means of exchange, but rather everything is available to anyone. Now they have an influx of self-selected immigrants, many of whom are firm practitioners of competitive and even cutthroat ta

Though it was nearly Worlds in Collision, but actually the orb missed a direct hit on the Earth, but still the aftereffect destroyed the land masses and oceans, polarity, and ecosystems leading to the end of civilization though survivors exist. The last remnant of Earth culture resides on the Saturn moon of Kronia. Kronians have two strategic goals that of reaching the stars and rebuilding the Earth.When the Earth finally stabilizes, former resident Landen Keene joins the first Kronian expeditionary force establishing a planetary base to explore building a Utopian world where contribution to society rules. However, many of those who managed to escape the consequences of planetary destruction did so because they wielded the power and wealth to flee to Kronia. These Pragmatists plan to regain their status of domination. Two groups isolated by the vastness of space from the only human civilization battle while those who remained behind want to obliterate any returnee regardless of their philosophy.Though loaded with action, readers will be split over James P. Hogan's latest science fiction thriller that in some ways feels like an Irwin Allen movie. The story line leaps nicely from the events chronicled in CRADLE OF SATURN (though it helps to have read that book first). However, the plot concentrates on the mass destruction at the cost of failing to fully explore an interesting philosophical debate between two divergently thinking groups and in turn never truly develops key cast members except somewhat Landen. Only readers who enjoy a post apocalyptic earth with non-stop action that defies gravity will want to peruse THE ANGUISHED DAWN.Harriet Klausner