Customer Reviews

Blind Waves

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A fine book by the author of _Jumper_, _Wildside_, and _Helm_.

This is an interesting adventure set in a near-future world where an Antarctic ice shelf collapse has flooded the world's low-lying regions and created a massive refugee problem, making the INS the second-largest branch of the armed forces.

Like flying in _Wildside_ or aikido in _Helm_, there's a "central skill" to the book, and this time it's diving and submersibles. It's interesting material, and it's well integrated into the story.

Definitely recommended, as are his other books.

Wow! Steven Gould has written another thrilling novel! Set in a near future of flooded continents and floating cities, once the story starts to run it just does not stop. Social consciousness, ecology, romance, and an abiding love for the Bard are cleverly woven together with personal submarines, fast ships, and flying bullets. The characters are well thought-out, both in their descriptions and their interactions.

As in Mr. Gould's previous novels, there's a unifying theme; in this case, underwater travel. And if the protagonists aren't diving in a submarine or swimming their way to and from danger, they're zipping back and forth in boats on the surface. Also as in *Jumper* and *Wildside*, a large government agency, in this case the INS, figures prominently in the plot. The scary thing is, I find this part of the scenario an all too plausible extrapolation of present-day events.

Foodies, beware: there's a restaurant in this book that ought to be real, and I hope someday I find myself in it.

Now that I've read this book, I'll just have to keep on rereading it, and *Jumper*, and *Wildside*... until the next Steven Gould novel comes out!

BLIND WAVES is another wonderful read from the author of JUMPER. The technical problems and solutions are fascinating, and the relationship between the two main characters develops beautifully. With references to Shakespeare sprinkled throughout, this is a smart, sophisticated story, yet it doesn't exclude any reader. Even if you hate Shakespeare, you'll still love this book. Really a great read.

I got a kick out of this book. It is set post the melting of the polar Ice caps, land is at a premium and the US have tightened their borders so that the immigration authorities behave like a combined Coastguard, CIA, FBI and Secret Police. The heroine Patricia Beenan, finds something that sets off a train of events in the highest state circles and in her own life. Obviously I am not going to say more as it would spoil the fun. But it involves fun and stealth games in a high tech micro submarine, life aboard a floating city, a little food, a little wine and a little romance. Drawbacks in this book? Well, I felt the whole development of the socio-economic climate post holocaust could have been developed more, but that's just me and it would be boring to most readers. I loved the injection of spanish throughout the book, but that's because I speak the language and it gave me the opportunity to practice. For a non hispanophile I think it might grate after a while. All in all I found it an enjoyable read, not cerebral stuff, a nice passer of time on a holiday.

This is a good read, like most of S. Gould's books (excluding that atrocious collaberation "greenwar" or whatever). This is not his best, that title goes to "Jumper" or "Wild Side", but it is better than the average book. With likeable characters and an interesting story it is over before you even know.

Gould's prose is like going down a slide; interesting at first, then exhilerating the closer you get to the end so you can't wait to start again.

Gould's first two books, Jumper and Wildside, are ovelooked classics of SF. His third, Helm, which was his first attempt at world-building (as opposed to introducing a single SF element in our world), was not so good. I worried that Gould was losing it, but he has returned to form with Blind Waves.

Blind Waves is a rollicking thriller with fun characters, a twistier plot than expected, and a fully realized and extremely well utilized setting among the ruins of a U.S. coastline flooded by melting Antarcic ice. Gould's muscular prose propels his heroes through a series of imaginative and dangerous predicaments. And Gould's heroes, although perhaps not the most realistic out there, are the kind of people I like and care about, not grim jerks. I always like an adventure better if it's about people I'd like to hang out with, and Gould's heroes Patricia and Thomas fit the bill.

Gould exceeds his own high standards here on many levels, from his meticulously researched maritime environment to his plot, which is far less simple than it seems. And he manages this without sacrificing his strengths, which are his clear writing style and compelling characters. In Blind Waves, Gould succeeded in the world-building he failed at in Helm. He has added a powerful new skill to his already burgeoning repertoire -- there's nowhere for the man to go but up. I eagerly await his next work.

I was somewhat dubious about this book because of the plotline, so well described in other reviews, but I bought it because I have enjoyed Gould's other three solo novels. I'm so glad I did!

Although I searched in vain for the plot twists borrowed from my favorite Dorothy L. Sayers' novel, I truly liked Patricia and Thomas. I agree that their relationship was a little rushed, but it made sense given the context of their situation. Everything was rushed as they struggled to solve the attack and sinking of the Open Lotus mystery and found that this disaster might only be a prelude.

Like many other Gould readers, my favorite novel of his is JUMPER, but I would put BLIND WAVES a close second.

What to a boatload of dead illegal's, rouge Federalies, a beautiful submarine captain and a scarred internal investigator all have in common? How about one pretty tight and well written story. Good romance, yes. Interesting story, yes. Well rounded and understandable characters, sort of. The great American novel, no.

Does this book have it's problems? Sure it does. If you don't know Spanish, I don't, you miss a bit of the repartee between the characters, irritating but not fatal. Lots of references and quotas from Shakespeare, interesting if you like the Old Bard, I do, somewhat irritating if you don't. The whirlwind romance of Patricia Beenan and Thomas Becket, strangers to marriage proposal in four days, is somewhat unbelievable, but what the heck, it is fun.

In fact that pretty much sums up this book, unbelievable but fun. I enjoyed it. I liked the pace, I liked the romance and I even liked the intrigue and the story line. This was no career defining novel but it was one heck of a fun read, so pull up next to the fire or your chair on the beach and have a go at it, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Recommended.

I am a big fan of "Jumper", "Wildside", and "Helm", and in "Blind Waves" Steven Gould again shows his talent for world-building. In the near future, much of the US is underwater due to rising sea levels and its population now lives on floating islands around the new coast. Consequently, the INS has become its most feared policing body. As in "Jumper" and "Wildside", the protagonists are trying to untangle a mystery while unsure whether they should be running to or from the authorities. However, Gould breaks from his previous novels' pattern and tries to write from a female perspective - with less than stellar results. Gone are the complicated, sympathetic, and insecure protagonists of his previous work, replaced with a carbon-copy Strong American Woman and a cookie-cutter romance telegraphed from page one. While the mystery itself is a page-turner and the world he has imagined are fascinating, witnessing both from the main character's perspective renders them much blander than in Gould's previous novels.

Robert A. has been reincarnated! Blind Waves is in the vein of some of RAH's best- a male writer that can develop a female protagonist- and paints lifelike images of a world after a natural disaster. Waiting eagerly for the next book- they get better each time. I don't usually re-read too many books- but I'm keeping this one.