Firestar: An Epic of Science Fiction for the Twenty-First Century [Hardcover]

Michael Flynn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 1996

In a twenty-first-century America threatened by apathy, ignorance, and vast class and economic differences, Mariesa van Huyten, a great heiress, sets out to make a difference by creating a new educational system and a clandestine private space program.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

By 1999, well-meaning but misguided liberals, environmentalists and feminists have brought the U.S. economy to a near standstill. The space program is suffocating in red tape. The schools are collapsing. Technological innovation is virtually dead. All of this will change, however, because of one woman with vision, a capitalist with a heart of gold who has dedicated her life to reforming America's schools and to returning humanity to outer space. Over the past three years, a number of talented, politically conservative SF writers have turned their hands to scenarios much like this, among them Poul Anderson, Charles Sheffield and Larry Niven. Now Flynn (In the Country of the Blind, 1990) has produced one of the better books in this budding subgenre. His plot is complex, but it stays on track. His large cast of characters, particularly industrialist Mariesa van Huyten, are generally well drawn; even the villains have depth. Flynn's detailed description of new space technologies is entirely believable, too, though his solutions to current educational problems seem naive. This amalgam of ambitious SF and political agenda, the first in a projected series, may annoy some left-leaning readers, but it's likely to please most fans of thoughtful hard SF.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this first novel by a Hugo Award nominee, an idealistic heiress tries to reverse the decline of 21st-century American society.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 573 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (May 26, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312855257
• ISBN-13: 978-0312855253
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,184,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Proof Hard SF Isn't Hard to Read, November 1, 2000

By 

R. Cross "Slacker" (Pasadena, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Firestar (Firestar Saga) (Mass Market Paperback)

To a lot of folks, Firestar may look intimidating. It's 960 pages long. It's labelled "Hard SF." It has three pages of Dramatis Personae. The listed 1.5 inch thickness was certainly measured in a vise (mine was almost 3 inches thick by the time I finished with it). It's yet another story about the collision of the Earth with another heavenly body... are you yawning yet?

Wake up! That means nothing for Firestar. It sucks you in from the first page, where heiress Mariesa van Huyten witnesses a giant meteor hurtling through the daylight skies over the Rocky Mountains. The characters and plot threads of this riveting, complex epic all revolve around Mariesa, and her reaction to witnessing this event.

What if it had struck? Why don't we do something about it? Well, over the next 3000 pages of Firestar, Rogue Star, and Lodestar, Mariesa does. And she has to build everything from scratch, including her allies and experts. (The enemies, of course, don't need any help.)

For a while, I couldn't put my finger on what drew me back to this book so strongly. The science and speculation aren't very deep. The central conflict is at first nebulous and later, a bit counterintuitive. And Mariesa, the main character, is difficult for most of us to identify with. Mareisa and the other players are all very skillfully characterized, but few are compelling. But eventually, I realized it was the execution - like the way addictively good fresh bread can be made from simple ingredients. Each character has his or her own conflict, and the stories are entwined to relate each conflict to the central one.

I personally seek out complex novels with multiple threads and page counts in the thousands. I like getting lost in a story that's so big I can't see the boundaries. And Firestar has just raised my standards.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is science fiction for adults, August 21, 2001

By 

Michael Rossander (Westlake, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Firestar (Firestar Saga) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is easily one of the best novels I've read in a long time. Firestar has a good story filled with real people. It faces up to moral ambiguities. The characters struggle and in the process grow or sometimes fail. There were no stereotypical good guys or bad guys, just people.

I'll also say that Flynn is one of the few authors with a clue about business. The interplay that could lead to the commercialization of space is very well done. The obstacles and in-fighting are painfully realistic.

I thought this book had a perfect ending. Like life, there are lots of loose ends. I'm actually disappointed to hear that there's a sequel. It should have been left as is.

Overall, this is science fiction some real meat. Agree or disagree with the content - it makes you think.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The real space age..., February 2, 2000

By 

John Gilliam (nashville) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Firestar (Firestar Saga) (Mass Market Paperback)

Will begin when it becomes profitable to go into space. Period. Anything else is simply propaganda.

Having said this, Flynn does a pretty good job of describing how this transition is going to occur, although he is somewhat optimistic about the technical issues involved with SSTO flight. His books are very grand in scope, encompassing a vast number of issues that go far beyond simply putting a rocket in LEO. This obviously helps to account for the great length of his novels. Firestar is a great book because it takes an honest look at the state of society in America today and shows how fundamental changes are necessary to allow mankind to move to the next stage of history. This is something I find contemptibly lacking in contemporary modern literature.

BTW I started reading this book the first time around at 7 PM on a friday night, and was unable to sleep until I finished it nearly 30 hours later. I do not recommend reading 980 pages in a single sitting unless you have a bountiful supply of highly caffeinated substances, so stock up on Jolt cola and nacho chips before buying this one.