Customer Reviews

Everfree

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

 

 

My copy is a little tattered because I took it with me everywhere, hoping I'd get a chance to read just one more chapter between the things I had to do during the day. I had a blast reading it -- it really puts you in the post-plague, post-cure world where communities should be happy but instead, they head straight toward war. Suspense, characterization, great voice, a riveting story -- it's all there. I especially felt a deeper bond with Halloween and surprisingly, Isaac and Sloane.

I loved the stories of the plague survivors -- like the guy who's wife sacrificed herself to save him from the plague and now he desperately needs to find out what happened to her. Or the chauffeur who impersonated his boss to save himself. Or the folks who believe Hal and his pals are angels fulfilling a biblical prophesy. I also loved the sprinkling of historical and cultural references made by the narrators. It really gave me the sense that the post-human creators did everything they could to instill the importance of history and continuity and a sense of loss for civilization.

I just finished the book and it feels like a good friend just moved out of town. I want another Halloween/post-human story.

If you're wondering whether to read Everfree, do it -- it's a great ride. If you're wondering whether to start the series, run and buy Idlewild. You're in for a treat.

Looking back in my mental trivia file, I'm struck by how prophetic Nick Sagan's first claim to fame turned out to be. No, I don't mean his being the son of the last century's most likeable astronomer, the late Carl Sagan. It's young Nick's voice saying, "Hello from the children of planet Earth" on a recording that is still traveling in distant space on NASA's Voyager 1.

Those simple, welcoming words connect so powerfully with Sagan's recent emergence from the often thankless role of a Hollywood script and screen writer to become one of the most exciting new voices in science fiction.

That's because in EVERFREE --- the latest in his "post humans" series, following IDLEWILD (2003) and EDENBORN (2004) --- the theme continues to be about children maturing in a vastly changed world, facing a future riddled with social, psychological and genetic booby traps.

Set on an Earth still barely recognizable after a devastating pandemic called Black Ep, the bioengineered super-children of EDENBORN have taken their place among the fragile remains of human society as cautious and often unwilling leaders who seek to avoid the administrative mistakes, power-games and excesses of conventional government.

They know better than to revisit the old utopian schemes of humanity's past, but the idea of Darwinian struggle and anarchy is equally repulsive. So as good kids must do, they work out a precarious compromise based partly on the original model of the commonwealth. Star Trek's Mr. Spock would be impressed at how closely the post-human pattern for life follows the Vulcan path of dynamic balance.

But as a loose-knit global family of wildly diverse personalities themselves, the young adults and their brilliant but aging and stressed parents soon face challenges that no amount of hard-science training could anticipate.

It was the advances of hard science that made the EVERFREE storyline possible, offering plague-ravaged humans at the end of EDENBORN the hope of future healthy lives through cryogenic preservation --- the old but appealing idea of deep-freezing the terminally ill until their ailments can be reversed or cured. Now armed with medical knowledge to save all but the most advanced plague cases, Sagan's gifted post humans are faced with myriad practical and ethical questions as they struggle to decide who should be revived first.

Of course, the technical issues are no longer in question. Instead, the colossal problem threatening to tear the fledgling new society apart is a very human one --- that of integrating newly "thawed" folks into an environment where their previous wealth and power are meaningless. The post humans' we-are-all-in-this-together philosophy runs smack into old-fashioned rugged individualism, and the two mindsets mix like oil and water.

And that's what EVERFREE is most memorably about. Sagan brilliantly treads the thin ice of futuristic ethical comment, daring to propose scenarios that show us at our all-too-human worst, even as we cling to the shreds of social idealism.

With his characteristic crazy-quilt juggling of points of view as each super-kid has his or her say, Sagan's EVERFREE brings us to the brink of new hope without quite getting there. Along the way he's introduced old-style real conflict with weapons that kill, as well as adventure, revelation, romance, a tantalizing brush with alien contact, and even new offspring.

And that's where the story just stops, leaving the reader on an unresolved chord of anticipation. So if this really was intended to conclude a trilogy, let's hope Sagan changes his mind. He may have become a victim of his own success, but there are far worse fates for a new author! Personally, I can't wait to hear more from his imaginative and quirky post humans.

--- Reviewed by Pauline Finch (paulinefinch@rogers.com)

In an excellent continuation of his first two books, Nick takes you through to the final phase of the battle for survival of the human race. The prespective of the narrative is somewhat different from the previous books and the challenges encountered by the heros of the previous books highlight the good and bad sides of human nature. Building a new society practically from scratch can be a source of an infinite number of different angles; Nick choses his own and keeps the story "human" with day-to-day issues as well as big-picture thinking. If you enjoyed the first two books, do read this one but don't just expect "more of the same"; keep an open mind and let the author guide you through his new world... enjoy!

The Black Ep pandemic epidemic (see IDLEWILD and EDENBORN) has left few humans still alive. No part of the earth was safe from the ravages of the disease. At the same time in Victory City the few Posthuman survivors argue about the future with most wanting to adhere to the Doctrine of working as a collective to survive while the recently unfrozen prefer a return to the class power system for instance what else can a de-iced senator from Texas do but use authority even as far away as the Green Mountains of Vermont. As the debate rages over how to promulgate the species and organize society, a mutation strain of Black Ep causes new havoc.

Finally science saves Homo sapiens from becoming extinct with the creation of a new organ that dramatically increases the immune system so that it can fight off the Black Ep and its various strains. However those still alive realize that the synthetic organ that wards off Black Ep is also a communication device that enables aliens to communicate with earthlings; aliens who brought Black Ep to the planet. Mankind has apparently past a morbid test, but the price still shakes those breathing; some want nothing to do with this ET superior; others want vengeance; while the remainder believes it is hopeless to do anything but continue to endure.

In his third futuristic thriller Nick Sagan has written a compelling work that will appeal to fans of speculative fiction and apocalyptic thrillers though this time society is breaking into factions over the way to remake the future. Readers will admire those trying to live as they refuse to allow humanity to become extinct even when the odds are overwhelmingly against them and they disagree on what kind of society to have. Speculative fiction and apocalyptic thriller fans will enjoy the final fight of the fittest for survival of the species.

Harriet Klausner

3.5 stars

The is the third and final installment in the story of the "Post Humans" people genetically engineered to survive and then defeat a plague that destorys the human race. Before the very end, many people, primarily the rich and powerful, were frozen in cryogenic pods.

It has now been almost 40 years since the Black Ep plague did its work. The PH's, with their super immune systems, did survive and have found a cure. Now they are in the process of recovering, re-animating and curing the frozen ones.

The problem though is that a group of such powerful egos - CEO's, politicians, the rich - is bound to create conflict. And it does. Everyone wants to lead: no one wants to follow. The PH's, led by Hal now, must come to grips with this and find a way to broker peace among the splintering remnants of the human race. Are we doomed to constant strife and cviolent conflict?

The ending is a bit of a letdown. The ghost in the machine - deus ex machina - a plot device mentioned for other reviewers, does indeed weaken the story.

I thought the book was better than the second. I enjoyed this trilogy, warts and all.

I've been anxiously awaiting the latest book in the series after devouring the first two. I found them to have excellent character development, thrilling plots, and fine pacing.

I am thoroughly disappointed in Everfree. Characterization? Totally non-existent. The only significant "voices" are Hal and Sloane. But we learn nothing new about Hal, and Sloane is nothing but a cardboard cutout. The characters from the first two books that we know and love - Vashti, Isaac, Champagne, and especially Pandora - operate offstage, for the most part, and could have honestly been completely cut out of the book, without affecting the plot at all. They have absolutely no depth whatsoever, in Everfree. Make no mistake: This book is about Hal, and Hal alone.

**** SPOILERS FOLLOW ****

The only other significant character, Fantasia, operates as a Deux Ex Machina - no more, no less. And that, really, is my biggest gripe; Sagan pulls a Deux Ex Machina resolution for every single major conflict of the book. Got some warring factions? Hey, isn't it convenient that we installed some satellite-controlled bombs in the skulls of the two guys who lead the warring factions. Humans start acting aggressive? Hey, let's have Fantasia come up with a magic potion to usher in the Age of Aquarius! Died of a horrible disease? Well, it just so happens that we can fix that, too... and so on.

It seems like Sagan just wanted to rush a resolution - ANY resolution - into place, as fast as possible, and without regard to fleshing out the world, as he did so ably in his previous books. Honestly, I would have been happy to wait even a few more years, if the end result could have met the same standards as Idlewild and Edenborn.

Everfree wasn't in the same ballpark as Idlewild and Edenborn. This book didn't flow like the other 2 and did not keep me wanting more.

I purchased this series blindly, not knowing anything but liking the concept. After reading the first 2 books I hemmed and hawed, not too impressed but entertained enough to want to finish the series. In fact the storyline is intriguing enough that I looked forward to picking up where I left off. Everfree is definitely made from the same cloth: not great, but definitely entertaining.

With Everfree we pick up where the posthumans, a la Hal and Pandora and so on, are resurrecting human society and thawing people out of cryogenic stations spread throughout the world. Sagan explores the what ifs of a post plague society and how the differing power struggles affect how each interacts. Seeing New Cambridge and Mount Weather, then Munich and so on was interesting and fun to follow.

The narrative was a little disjointed, jumping around for the most part with little short sections of a few pages each for each character. Fantasia was meant to be the mind of a crazy person, Hal was written in a stream of conscious sort of way, Sloane the tough and rebellious child. Each meant to add a unique set of characteristics and build layers to the story, but it worked sometimes and not in others. There were a good many storylines that were not resolved. Developed pretty thoroughly leading the reader down certain paths, just to suddenly have the book done.

I was entertained and I did enjoy finding out what Sagan would have the post plague society do. Seeing the PHs in action was fun, especially learning what applesauce was. Would I recommend? Not sure. It is a quick read, being 284 pages with larger than usual font. Mayhap a tentative recommend if you have no other books to read.

3.5 stars.

It's now almost 40 years after the initial Black Ep took over and wiped out all of humanity except those frozen in the hopes of rising again and the post humans lead by Halloween and co. Now Black Ep has been completely eradicated and now the daunting task of restoring humanity and unfreezing them is at hand. As the unthawing commences, many powerful/rich men&women are unthawed and naturally want to go back to their lavish and pampered lifestyles they had pre-Black Ep. This serves to create a fair amount of conflict as Halloween and Co. struggle to balance the egos of all the unthawed along with their plans to revive humanity and to help them thrive.

Overall, Everfree was a pretty satisfying ending to the series. The ending of the book was a little weak in terms of the solution to everyone's egos and what not, but overall a good book.

Nick Sagan has overcome his sophomore slump (Edenborn) in crafting a fast-paced conclusion to his trilogy that explores a future world where the only survivors of a plague are the rich and powerful who could afford to have themselves preserved. The new world populated by the power-hungry elite is not a pleasant one and the cast of the first two books, is faced with the difficult task of trying to shepherd wolves.

If there is a complaint to be had with this novel it's that for the most part the story is pretty downbeat. The ugliness and selfishness of human nature is highlighted. In the prior novels, the characters, mainly Halloween, were changed by the adversity they faced. There is much less change in this novel and the characters, while coping with their problems are left unaltered in their views perhaps because their outlooks, which tend to be pessimistic, are not disproven.

Overall, fans of the first two novels will not be dissapointed. Initiates to the series should begin with Idlewild as there is little in the way of introduction to the recurring characters and the events of the prior books are frequently referenced.