Customer Reviews

The Ceres Solution

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Many of my favorite science fiction writers have moved on to wherever those guys go. I could name many, but you know the group. Somehow I never got around to reading Bob Shaw and picked this up, written in 1982, and throughly enjoyed it. Unfortunatly Bob has joined his peers, but that doesn't mean I won't enjoy reading many more of his books now that I've read this one.

I chose it based on the Vincent Di Fate artwork on the cover. As a rule of thumb, whenever I see his art, I enjoy the book.

Not the best ever, but I did miss a lot of sleep because I couldn't put it down. If you like classic science fiction, buy it cheap. It's a great read! His style reminds me of Charles Sheffield---Takes you places you've never been with memorable characters.

Long ago, humans evolved on another planet. They colonised other planets, then civilisation collapsed. The inhabitants of the planet of Mollan can travel from one planet to another with a thought, and live five thousand years. The gravitational influence of the moon is the reason Earthlings can't travel to other stars with a thought. A small group of radicals from Mollan plan to violate the noninterference policy by blowing up the moon.

I just finished this minutes ago. This is a rather short book, yet has enough character development to have one caring deeply. Almost every page past 30 is entertaining in its own right, and the exploration of mortality and the scientific framework for the story are unique and quite imaginative. I enjoyed Orbitsville, and was unimpressed by Orbitsville Departure. This is the best by far of the three, and a very pleasant surprise.

Probably Shaw's best "hard" science fiction. While barely longer than a novella, Shaw manages to explore all of humanity's major themes- love, death, immortality, self-sacrifice, earthly suffering, everything we've wondered about for the last 50,000 years... it's a stunningly good story! The characters are amazingly well-drawn. Gretana begins as probably the most shallow heroine SF has ever seen, only likeable because her fellow Mollans are even more obscenely conceited. But her "exile" to Earth opens her eyes and her relationship with Denny Hargrove (the irascible paraplegic protagonist) deepens her perspective into true wisdom, allowing her to understand and experience real love. All too short, and not without minor flaws, still The Ceres Solution is a miraculously good read. If you enjoy SF, put this one on your short list!