Customer Reviews

Fallen Angels

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Good entertaining speculative fiction with a surprising and unusual perspective!
OK, this book is not great Sci-Fi. It reads like an old StarTrek episode, or even more like Galaxy Quest! I was inspired to write because of the negative reviews about this book. A writer accused anyone who likes this book as being "Braindead" and a "Rush Limbaugh dittohead".
Yes, in this book, the environmentalists are the bad guys.
Unfortunately, most people in the environmentalist community act more on feelings than science. Worse yet, most of our environmental POLICY is shaped by feelings and not science.
This book is science fiction. It offers the scientifically sound POSSIBILITY that the environmentalists are wrong. In real life they often are. Many people are.

If your strong political feelings make you take offense at a work of fiction that even suggests that you might be wrong, then you are not a good candidate to read or criticize speculative fiction. In fact, interesting unexpected possible futures are what real science fiction fans are usually curious about.

To the writer who called Pournell fans (that's the rest of us reading this) braindead Rush Limbaugh dittoheads- what are your credentials?
Here are the credentials of Fallen Angels author Larry Pournelle (copied from the Science Fiction Book Club) - Pournelle boasts a fleet of degrees from the University of Washington: a B.S. in psychology and mathematics, an M.S. in experimental statistics and systems engineering, and PhD.s in both psychology and political science. An energetic proponent of technological progress, Pournelle serves as chairman of both the Citizen's Advisory Council on National Space Policy and the Lunar Society, Inc. He worked on human factors for the early space program, creating proposals that led to the development of on-board computers and more. The Air Force Academy still uses his nonfiction 1970 work, The Strategy of Technology (co-written with S.T. Possony), as a textbook. Always a trailblazer, Pournelle was one of the first authors to use a computer (as far back as the late 1970s) for his fiction and nonfiction writing; his first personal computer, EZEKIEL, is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. "Chaos Manor," his column of computer punditry, was a monthly mainstay in Byte until the magazine folded in 1998.

Over the years we've come to expect great things from Niven/Pournelle collaborations, their track record has been so good that you can't help but want more from each sucessive novel. But for some reason I had low expectations for this, the concept just didn't seem that interesting . . . in a nutshell two astronauts crashland into the middle of a future US where most technology has been outlawed in favor of an extremist form of environmentalism . . . without reading it my first reaction was "yawn" and I settled down to plug away at it and get it over with. Little did I know. This has to be one of the most entertaining SF experiences I've read in recent years . . . the authors (I'm not sure what Michael Flynn added to the affair, being that I'm not up on his work . . . but heck he could have just sat there and smiled for all I care) throw in all sorts of interesting stuff . . . their take on the environmentally friendly United States is both mildly amusing and utterly chilling, a world where science is seen as just another form of magic rammed down everyone's throat by "white, heterosexual males" (hey!) and superstition and "conservation" are the order of the day. You sit there and chuckle about the characters are acting so silly . . . until you go read the newspaper and hear the latest reaction to the latest research. It's scary. For kicks they throw in an upcoming Ice Age and blame it on the efforts to halt global warming and that adds a nice backdrop to the whole affair. But the cap to the already fine novel is the portrayal of the SF fan community . . . with science all but outlawed and SF seen as the "wrong" kind of reading, fans have to hold conventions in secret, pretend to have "mundane" jobs and basically go underground . . . the authors show the community as not only a closely knit group of utterly unique individuals who aren't nerds that sit around discussing which Star Trek captain was the greatest, but as resourceful and quick thinking. Apparently some of the characters are based on real people and this is probably SF's greatest love letter to the fans that make it all worthwhile, the authors definitely feel an affection for these people. The plot moves swiftly and turns in all the right places, even in the darkest hour everyone seems to be having a fine time and when you're done you'll fine you have little to complain about. So ignore the garish cover and lackluster writeup on the back cover, just get it and dive in, if you consider yourself in any way a "true" SF fan, you need to read this.

Alex MacLeod is flying what may be his last mission. Injured while rescuing Space Station Freedom from disaster, he is expendable, and as such sent on a mission to scoop some much needed nitrogen from Earth's atmosphere. But, when his ship is shot down over the United States, Alex finds himself on the run in a world vehemently opposed to everything he represents. The Earth is slipping into a new Ice Age, even while zealous Greens and "Eco-Fascists" put a stop to any technology that might lead to global warming. There's only one group to whom Alex can turn, one group still attached to the ideas of progress and science - Sci-Fi fans! But, what can these enthusiastic, but quirky, people do for Alex? You might be surprised!

While definitely polemical in nature, this is nonetheless a very good book! The authors, two titans of the Sci-Fi genre, have put together a very good book that makes for some interesting reading. As a long-time fan of Sci-Fi, I loved all of the references to other Sci-Fi books! I highly recommend this book!

Just wanted to comment, does anyone realize that this book was written before Al Gore, and the current Global Warming movement. The story takes an interesting hypothesis, and then tells a story. Nothing more or less. I read this book when it first came out and enjoyed it. I reference it when I talk about the "rule of unintended consequences". Enjoy.

Fallen Angels presents some interesting theories on global warming, global ice, and the results of anti-science stupidity. One of the primary distinctions between science fiction and fantasy fiction has always been the well developed science in science fiction. Instead of magic, sci-fi has to have some probable or at least possible explanation. Sci-fi allows the authors to explore the outcome of scientific choices. In Fallen Angles the Green Party and environmental wackos have taken over the earth and caused the next ice age, the greatest environmental disaster in human history. Science research is politically incorrect except for "appropriate technology" which doesn't include space travel or oil drilling or coal mining. People are prevented by the environmental police from finding ways to keep warm while massive ice sheets devour North America. The plot centers around two space jockeys who are shot down while scooping up some air for their fledgling secessionary space civilization. The evil incompetent NASA has been abandoned, that part which wasn't torn apart by a mob of screaming eco-nuts. A secret underground legion of Sci-fi fans rescue them and keep them out of the hands of the green police while finding a way to get them back to space. The green police have made sci-fi books illegal, and conventions get raided, so they have gone underground and formed secrete organizations. There were many references to the stupidity of NASA and its shuttle program, and I couldn't help wondering how the authors reacted when NASA crashed a shuttle by switching to environmentally friendly (green) insulation foam. Overall, Fallen Angel is an accolade for sci-fi fans and a cry of horror about anti-science "green" deliberate ignorance by the general public.

There are so many characters who come in and out before you get to know them that it's difficult to keep straight who they are. The action seems to go on and on in improbable ways with improbable coincidences and improbable characters. The civilization in some cities has fallen apart completely, an alderman uses slave labor to burn houses for heat and steals shipping. But the green police manage to have it together enough to track them down and are never more than a couple of steps behind. The chase goes on to long through too many improbable escapes for my taste, long enough to get boring. But then I would find myself laughing out loud at their opinions of feminists, NASA, Green Party, and other incompetent environmental wackos. It ends with some optimism for the future, maybe science will create a better life after all.

After eco-facists get control of most governments and shut down most fossil fuel consumption an ice-age quickly results. Politically correct ideas, appropriate (environmentally freindly) technology, and persecution of technophiles are the rule of the day as the U.S. descends into barbarism. When a scoopship from the isolated space community gets shot down and crash lands on a North Dakota glacier, the pilots are rescued by an underground organization of S.F. fans. The fans outmaneuver ineffectual government alphabet soup types (FBI, INS etc.) in a cross country man hunt. The book is full of references to to other S.F. books and the characters are said to be patterned after real people from the S.F. fan community. Criticism of many of the tenets and beliefs of the current green movement abound. I for one am happy that someone is taking a swipe at these sanctimonious mindless prophets of doom. If you like that sort of thing, (as I do), the book is a 9.

An amazing account of how Fandom really would react to spacemen crashing on Earth, Fallen Angels is wonderful. Many of the characters are based on actual Fans and authors. There are so many in-jokes that trufans can get, but that 'danes wouldn't be completely at a loss in the book. This would be my pick for best novel of all time. The characters are rich, and the premise all to possible. When news reports are saying stuff about pollution and enviromentalists, and the greenhouse effect and how it's all terrible, all I can say is that it's the only thing saving us from the next ice age. The twist at the end of the book is nice, too. Speaker-to-Seafood and the other two authors should be commended for their fine book. 'Tis a proud and lonely thing to be a Fan.

Fallen Angels is perhaps the most chilling dystopian tale of the future since Orwell's "1984"; but only if you're a pro-technology, pro-human creature. It portrays a future in which the objectivity of "materialist" science is "an invention of heterosexual, white males," and owning an unlicensed computer is a crime. While the anti-techology views are hyperbolized for dramatic purpose, the hyperbole is becoming closer to to reality as time goes by. The ice age portrayed in the story is not a result of measures taken to combat global warming, but is a result of the fact that global warming never happened. The dumbing down of the general populace, particularly among the civil service, will be familiar to anyone who's had to deal with the gov't in recent years. The story admirably demonstrates the silliness of political correctness, and the difference between tolerance and structured thinking. If you're still considering buying this book, buy two. Send the 2nd copy to a friend, a relative, or better yet, your Congressman.

And I've given four of them away to friends, who all liked it. You can get the story from other reviews.

While the Greens are the "enemy" in this story, it's really aimed at anyone who would rather follow an emotional cause than think for themselves. While the argument over global warming is far from settled (despite the popular press), the "dumbing-down" of our society is not in question. Science is a mystery to the vast majority of Americans, and nobody trusts anything mysterious for long....

This book is not about politics. It is about a small, intelligent, educated, and devoted group (of sci-fi fans)outsmarting a country of mindless followers (of environmental socialism). While the details are a departure, the basic theme is not new.

Frankly, my favorite parts of the book are the actions of the Greens, and how apparent they are in today's society: A Federal officer arguing how his gun is "appropriate technology"... the infighting on the committee in charge of finding the "Angels"... the focus on process over results throughout the pursuit.... I see this behavior more and more since first reading this book.

Final word: Don't let the word "politics" scare you from an enjoyable book. Read it and decide for yourself. If you're a sci-fi fan, you'll get the inside jokes and obscure references (some of which are explained). If not, there's plenty of material inside for you, too.

This book has a wonderful premise. After the US (and presumably other) governments are taken over by a coalition of radical Greens, kooky spiritualists, Christian fundamentalists and cheapskates, science and progress take a backseat to political and environmental correctness. Not realizing that global warming was the only thing preventing a new ice age, much of the Northern Hemisphere is faced by advancing glaciers. Only in the increasingly stressed habitats of the former Russian and American space stations does anyone have faith in science and progress.

There and in the dwindling legions of science fiction fans.

When a shuttle is shot down over the North American glacier, a rescue operation is mounted by attendees at a nearby science fiction convention. The "fallen angels" are moved around the country in an effort to avoid capture by the Green Police, various other technophobes (who blame the space stations for global cooling) and an Air Force security officer, whose motives (and gender) are not entirely clear.

The book is fun, and the premise is great. The problem is that to a large extent, it is a several hundred page long inside joke. Many of the characters are thinly disguised members of sci-fi fandom. If, like me, you have never knowingly been within 100 miles of a convention, you are missing a large part of the joke. But the many premises (environmental chicken littleism, technophobia, and even the idea that sci-fi fans might have something important to say) rings very true.