Birth of Fire [Mass Market Paperback]

Jerry Pournelle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1978

Birth Of Fire is the story of Garrett Pittston, wrongly convicted of murder. Pittston faces a choice: life in prison, or near-slavery on Mars. Under the appalling conditions imposed by those who run the mines from Earth, Pittston and his fellow workers start a revolution to wrest their freedom from the penal colony. Display advertising in science fiction publications.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (July 1, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671821970
• ISBN-13: 978-0671821975
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,260,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I write science fact and fiction. Themes range from trivial amusements to how to save the world. In 1980 I predicted that by the year 2000 anyone in Western Civilization would be able to get the answer to any question that can be answered; that happened a bit faster than I thought it would. My column in BYTE is the longest running column in the computer industry.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Mars Colonization Novels Ever, November 7, 2001

By 

optimusprimerib (off the grid) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birth of Fire (Mass Market Paperback)

I had not read any of Jerry Pournelle's other books, when I picked this up years ago. It is an amazingly good yarn dealing with the now cliched notion of the colonization of Mars. The lead protagonist Garrett is given the option to stay in jail in overcrowded earth or get shipped out to Mars on a work detail.
He opts for the latter and gets involved in a revolution to free Mars from the oppressive multinational corporations back on earth. I read this book at least thrice! Great writing. The author moves the action at a good pace. The book felt very believable.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Pournelle, October 17, 2005

By 

Leo Champion (Boston, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Birth of Fire (Mass Market Paperback)

Jerry Pournelle is one of the more qualified people writing science fiction nowadays - he's done a lot of things, knows a lot, and seems to have a network of contacts rivalling what Winston Churchill had in the `30s.

Like most of the near-greats, he's written a couple of brilliant books that made his name, and a lot more that aren't *quite* at that level. Birth of Fire is one of the latter - it's better than what most SF authors do, but it's not up to Pournelle's best. Which still places it above 90% of published SF.

Other reviews have summed the plot up well enough: intelligent but no-direction teenager is sent to Mars as a convict and gets involved in a revolution. Simple enough plot, but the skill is in the execution. Pournelle draws economic and political relationships well, but doesn't waste words on unnecessary detail. There are authors who like extensive description, to "stop and smell the roses"; Pournelle isn't one of them.

The plot moves fast and the action scenes are as good as anything Pournelle has done in his better-known military fiction - which is to say, very good indeed. There's an ingenious and nicely-executed scene involving the immobilization of a solar-powered transport; the combat in general, both strategic and tactical, is well-handled. Pournelle seems to have really done his research, which is common enough, and *thought* about how these details apply to tactical and political situations, which is less common.

Not quite up to the standard of Lucifer's Hammer or the Falkenberg's Legion books, but as good as anything else written by one of today's best living SF authors.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars solid but unexceptional Pournelle, May 24, 2000

By 

Leonard Matz - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Birth of Fire (Mass Market Paperback)

Birth of Fire is an entertaining read with all of the Pournelle elements you would expect. The character of the young protagonist is developed nicely. The plot is solid and moves along well; helped by some interesting military tactics. The Martian setting is very well developed.

However, the book doesn't have the same spark as most other Pournelle novels. The biggest disappointment is that only the main character is developed enough to make the reader care about his fate. We never really learn enough about the thoughts and motivations of the girl who is one of the two supporting characters to become caught up in her story. The Martian colonial society also has a few small but nagging inconsistancies.