13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A solid attempt spoiled by the need to be a series, October 24, 2002
This review is from: The Duke of Uranium (Mass Market Paperback)
John Barnes is one of the finest science fiction writers of his generation; he mixes an exceptional sense of how societies work with a good grounding in hard science, and casts it all into a dramatic framework of interesting characters and tension-driven plotting. I've never read a book of his I didn't enjoy; indeed, I try and read everything he publishes. This book is a young adult novel, and a good one. John Barnes has clearly read the master of the science fiction young adult novel, Robert Heinlein; much of the social setting for this novel builds off of Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" in particular (the need to perform some service, military or otherwise, to become a full citizen). As a teacher who uses young adult novels throughout the year, I have to say that this novel presents two problems for the young reader: one, Barnes' invention of new words will confuse most young readers whose vocabularies may not be strong enough to recognize which words are real and which invented (there were moments I wasn't sure what his new words inferred, despite a doctorate in English and long decades spent reading science fiction); and two, the novel becomes less and less inventive as the pages turn: in his interests in establishing a series, many characters are introduced and conflicts left unresolved, and the main conflict that is wrapped up is done in a particularly formulaic way. I don't want to say more, because I don't want to give away any plot secrets (and the editorial review above gives a decent plot summary), but I found my own excitement growing less at the moment when it should have been accelerating. All in all, a solid effort, but one that forgets Heinlein's basic principle: all books need to be self-contained to be truly effective. Heinlein himself never violated that principle in his juveniles, and Barnes shouldn't either. The mania for series we find among adult readers has not inserted itself as the dominant trend in young adult readers (although there are series to be found, they are not the dominant form writers for this market mostly follow). That said, I would only recommend this book to a very bright young reader, with a solid vocabulary, who will be willing to put up with an ending that is far too open for its own good.
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Apprentice Secret Agent, May 17, 2003
This review is from: The Duke of Uranium (Mass Market Paperback)
The Duke of Uranium is the first novel in the Jak Jinnaka series. Fifteen hundred years after the development of spaceflight, there are human colonies spread throughout the Solar System. However, they are not alone, for the alien Rubahy have a colony on Pluto, the last remnant of the invading force that survived the sterilization of their home planet. Any century now, the Galactic Court will issue their verdict in the case resulting from that war and maybe issue an Extermination Order against both parties. In the meantime, the round impact craters from the Rubahy bombardment of the Northern Hemisphere by near lightspeed projectiles sparkle like sequins in the sunlight as one approaches the planet.
In this novel, Jak is taking his last required class in gen school, bored out of his mind as usual. When the period ends, he and his tove, Dujuv, pre-order their habitual fare at the Old China Cafe and claim a private booth when they arrive so that they can check their admission scores for the Public Service Academy. Jak misses the cutoff for his genetic type by 65 points and Dujuv misses by 11 points. Neither one is likely to be attending PSA. On to the contingency plans; Jak intends to join the Army and Dujuv decides to become a professional slamball player.
Soon thereafter, their demmies join them, having accessed the databank after the boys reading their scores removed the privacy flags; Sesh says hello to Jak, but Myxenna plasters Dujuv against the backwall with a kiss. When Dujuv is allowed to come up for air, Myx states that she has made the cut, but Sesh says that she also missed the cutoff. When the boys tell them about their career ideas, Sesh surprises them by saying she is going to be a Social Parasite and just live off her family's money. Then they get down to the important things, like where to spend the evening, and find that Sesh has gotten tickets to the closing performance of Y4UB, the Slec group.
Jak returns home to exercise the Disciplines before getting ready to go to the concert. He discusses his career ideas with his Uncle Sibroillo and learns a little more about Uncle Sib's background. After he does his katas, a cord drops over his head and starts to strangle him, but he manages to get out of the cord, so his attacker kicks him in his armored cup over his groin. Uncle Sib has won again, but the score is beginning to be more even.
Jak meets the others at the ferry station to take the gripliner over to Centrifuge together. At .9 gees acceleration/deceleration, the trip takes about 22 minutes. As usual, Sesh gets them there before the line at the entrance is too long and they are soon floating through the huge sphere in micro gravity. After the show founds, Jak and company get into the sight/sound/motion of the Slec and then start doing stunts such as the double Immelmann, but Sesh is not there when Jak reaches for her hands. He looks around and sees Sesh being hauled off by four men. Immediately, he attacks the men and then Dujuv joins him, but the assailants have allies, who soon knock the boys unconscious while the others hustle Sesh out of the concert.
When Jak awakes fully, it has been four weeks since the kidnapping. However, Uncle Sib knows where and why Sesh has been taken. It seems that Sesh is really an Aerie princess named Shyf and has been taken to Fermi on Earth to convince her to marry the younger son of the Duke of Uranium. Jak is ready to leave immediately to rescue her, but Uncle Sib has a better plan.
This novel would drive serious, studious types up a wall and probably result in damage to the book. Jak is a sweathog, not because he lacks ability, but because he is incapable of taking school seriously and is likely to fall asleep during any and all lectures. Moreover, he plans on avoiding further schooling at all costs. If anyone cared, they would probably lament the loss of his considerable potential, but even his Uncle Sib believes him to be incapable of responsible behavior. His uncle's demmy, Gweshira, thinks he just might amount to something after his hormones cool down, but that is not the majority opinion.
This story is much like Hughes' Fool Errant and Fool Me Twice. The hero is an ignoramus and dilettante who naturally responds to danger in the best possible manner. He is courageous and wily, but makes many grievous errors in intercultural etiquette. His mouth runs ahead of his brain and he is solidly grounded in his own provincialism.
The author has created a well-fleshed future society with an evolved technology and language ... and an almost unfathomable adolescent slang. One anticipates numerous complaints about the slang, but it is fairly easy to assimilate; certainly no harder than the current, ever changing, teenage dialects. After all, one suspects that this series is intended for young adults, who will have little problems learning a few futuristic phrases.
This story, however, it is not limited in its appeal to the younger readers. It has enough meat to engage the attention of many adults as well. In fact, some of the humor may be enjoyed more by an experienced reader.
Recommended for Barnes fans and anyone else who enjoys light SF adventure stories with some sophistication.
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