The possibility of life on other planets is the theme of this science fiction thriller which depicts through the experiences of a young telepath, the ingenious and sometimes terrifying means by which this "life" survives in hostile environments.
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More About the Author
Paul McAuley's first novel won the Philip K. Dick Award, and he has gone on to win almost all of the major awards in the field. For many years a research biologist, he now writes full-time. McAuley's novel The Quiet War made several "best of the year" lists, including SF Site's Reader's Choice Top 10 SF and Fantasy Books of 2009. He lives in London. Visit him online at unlikelyworlds.blogspot.com .
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An engaging study of human - alien interaction,
This review is from: 400 Billion Stars (Mass Market Paperback)
This is a highly imaginative novel. The first chapter is instantly enthralling. It draws you into the story with a mixture of high tech detail and immediate identification with the main character. From there things move with considerable pace into a world full of surprises. McAuley's background in biological research shows through very effectively in his assured depiction of wildlife on a world where nothing turns out to be as it at first appears. The setting for the story spans what feels like an entire ecosystem in a way that makes it almost tangibly alien.I have read only one other novel by this author (The Quiet War) which, I have to say, I did not enjoy as much. 400 Billion Stars is far more engaging and involves the reader more closely with the main characters. The arrival of humans, and one in particular, triggers a sequence of changes in the native fauna on a planet human leaders believe is key to a war they are in danger of losing. The plot is satisfyingly anti-establishment and anti-military. The author has ensured that the internal conflict in the mind of telepath Dorothy is realistically and sympathetically portrayed as she moves forward in both solving the riddle of the alien planet and towards her own self-realisation. Over the last 45 years I have seen a great deal of science fiction and I can say with the conviction of someone who also writes science fiction, this is a very enjoyable and compelling read.
0 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
the most boring book ever!!,
By Novel Girl (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: 400 Billion Stars (Mass Market Paperback)
I can't believe that I actually finished this book, it was very boring. I didn't enjoy it at all.
0 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Free SF Reader,
By Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Four Hundred Billion Stars (Hardcover)
Dorothy Yoshida is a telepath, and really a rather good one, at that. A scientist on top of that she is sent to investigate a small planet that appears to be more than what it seems. They suspect it of being artificially altered, but they only life they know about on the surface is not that far advanced from the animal.Mankind hopes to find something to help in the war they are fighting against aliens. When Dorothy arrives, she finds something very surprising indeed.
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