Customer Reviews

Camelot 30K

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I could not put this book down, even after reading it for the third time. The science is fantastic and drove me back to low temperature physics books several times in order to verify Forward's facts.

I especially liked the implied inefficiency of goverment and the toading approach of mission control to the bottom line. Having worked all too often with and for the government, I well understand the mission crew's ire at the junk they were forced to use.

The civilization on Ice is facinating, at the least. A hive entity with individuality within the members of the hive sufficient to allow independent thought and initiative. Unlike the Bugs in Starship Troopers, these are people, with their own wants and desires and their own abilities.

This is a book that covers it all: Science, personal interactions, government ineptitude and political cowardness, all set against the Kuiper Belt and low temperature physics. A great read.

. . .but once again, it is evident that Robert Forward's scientific achievements, which are many, are not matched with great writing skills.

This book hypothesizes an alien race, living on a frozen world on the very edges of the Solar System, in an existence only 30 degrees (Kelvin) above Absolute Zero. The science is extremely well-conceived, the aliens (once one accepts the science) are believable, and the character development in all the humans (and all but one of the aliens) is virtually non-existant. Even the dialogue seems stilted.

But then again, one does not read Forward for character development! In this respect, the true Forward fan will not be disappointed.

The book does get rather "preachy" toward the end -- and I find this a bit annoying -- but overall, the book is a good read, with the caveats previously mentioned.

A truly interesting concept and story arc; some people have criticized it for the fact that there's so little plot, but as an anthropologist I found the cultural study to be quite cool. On the down side, the characters *are* rather two dimensional, as others have noted, and in fact the appendices to the book give the whole plot twist away. I didn't look at them until after I had finished the book, but even so, I kind of had an idea where it was going.

But I still liked Merlene.

Out on the edge of the solar system is a planet shrouded in cold and ice. On this planet Earthians (is that a word?) land and discover a race of tiny creatures, technologically developed. This is the story of that meeting and is perhaps one of the five best scifi novels of that year.

In what is perhaps a parody or even a parable, we learn of the kerack civilization, its music, art and manners. Communication is accomplished through tiny robots are lowered to the surface and via VR, an astronaut explores the surface and the culture. Our heroine, Merlene, a lower-class citizen of this world, is the vehicle by which we are introduced to this strange yet inviting world. Like many races on Earth, society is based on a queen and workers, with all the accompanying niches of warrior, wizard children, etc.

As the story progresses we slowly understand that warfare has been a way of life for these people but now has progressed to a point that is potentially all-consuming. We slowly realize that events are building toward something we can barely fathom: The denizens of the city are preparing a nuclear blasts through biological means. This explosion destroys Camalor, Merlene's city, but in the process propogates genes into space.

The ending is a tour de force. One human elects to remain on the planet and Merlene has an epiphany and at last understands that she is to be the new leader, the queen without a city, a Jeremiah-like prophet for peace. She begins her journey with the remaining human "bot" beseeching all those who hear her voice with a final plea, "You be listening to the message o'Merlene. You be believing that message and you will be saved." Priceless!!!

As with his outstanding work Saturn Rukh, Forward does an excellent job of imagining the sort of totally alien anatomy/physiology/culture that one would expect to evolve on other worlds. Highly recommended to fans of hard SF.

It took me almost half of the book to get jazzed about this one, but I did get jazzed. This is a tour de force description of an alien culture. They are the Keracks, only a few centimeters high, living a medieval-like existence, but with advanced chemistry and metallurgical skills, on a comet, with an ambient temperature of only 30°K, out beyond the orbit of Pluto. They are an insect-like race with an ant-like culture living in individual city-states that are extremely hostile towards each other. There is a collective mind, but individuality is also developed, along with specialization and sophisticated arts. Forward's substantial use of chemistry and nuclear physics quickly outstrips my paltry knowledge, but it's fundamental to his weaving a fascinating tale of evolution and procreation, along with the beginnings of salvation that borrows from the story of Jesus Christ. Really a fascinating book!

Here on the Amazon page, there is a review of this title from "Kirkus Reviews," and I pretty much agree with what is said there. I spotted the book on the shelf, and was reminded of the graphic novel "Camelot 3000," which is quite good. Aside from the title, there's no similarity, though. The "30K" is a temperature, not a year, and while this book has better science than the graphic novel, it is totally devoid of characterization or plot. I saw what appeared to be strong reviews on the cover, and was suckered in. "Don't judge a book by its cover." Forward tries to do what Swift did in "Gulliver's Travels," or Abbott did in "Flatland," making concepts into characters. Forward ain't no Swift, though! He plods along, illustrating this, commenting on that, and trying to make it appear as if there is some grand mystery ahead. There is none, especially if you had the misfortune to notice the illustrations in the appendix first. Human characters are given gratuitous snippets of "personality" to try to make them distinct, and one is even given a disease which is an obvious and unnecessary plot device. Kerack characters are mostly human in their attitudes and behavior, with a few obligatory quirks (predominantly the typical non-human attitudes about sex and other bodily functions). The science is rather cute, and I use that word deliberately. It illustrates a point, but it's such an obvious construct that it's really quite tedious. As the Kirkus reviewer says, the biology of Ice might work, but how would it ever occur in the first place? You might be able to set it in place as a full-blown system, but it is so specialized it could not evolve. Creationism, perhaps? In short, there really isn't much to recommend this book. Go locate "Camelot 3000" instead.

Fun book. Great approach to "mechanical" life. This is one of those books you can get lost in....and simply enjoy! The characters are easy to get to know and the story-line is well-developed.

The story is very imaginative in its setting ( the Oort Cloud beyond the expanse of our solar system ). Although the content is almost entirely a description of an alien civilization, it is still quite absorbing. I have read a lot of science fiction, and this is definitely something different. Also, this used book arrived in good condition from the seller.

My science knowledge is limited, and yet I'm usually able to read and enjoy a lot of the genre. I hit a wall here, for sure. This book is all about science, with just a smattering of fiction if you look real hard. The foundation of this story is science, and without any clue to the many discussions that take place, I felt like I was definitely on the outside looking in through frosted glass. I was prepared for some technical information, having read (and greatly enjoyed) Dragon's Egg. But the strengths of that book are absent here. I'm not sure who the intended audience was for this, except to say it was not me. I felt like I must have read it by mistake when it was over.