Customer Reviews

The Jupiter Theft

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

 

 

Donald Moffitt just can't write about tiny things. His ideas become huge engineering projects, of such massive scope that it boggles the mind. Using a whole gas planet as as fuel, taking it along and protecting your ships from the radiation by putting them behind a moon is something that NOBODY would of thought of before. Yet by making it seem simple, if not also a tad ruthless, he makes the Cygnans seem totally alien. The scope, the time, the very sweep of their plans and projects force the reader to see them as a totally alien culture.
In fact he did such a good job that Cygnans are in both Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials AND Clifford Pickover's The Science Of Aliens (along with a different artist's drawing of what a Cygnan looks like). The science of planet stealing might be questionable, but the design of the aliens, their history and their ways, in the book is a first class example of how to do it RIGHT.

An object the size of a large planet moves into the solar system at nearly the speed of light. Shortly after astronomers on the moon detect the object, however, it slows and shrinks. It seems to be entering a solar orbit when it suddenly changes course and begins to orbit Jupiter. Coincidentally, a planned scientific mission to a Jovian moon has been preparing for departure. A hastily assembled military force armed with nuclear weapons joins the team of scientists on its voyage. What they discover, of course, are aliens who appear to be moving into the neighborhood. It turns out that the aliens aren't interested in being good neighbors.

The Jupiter Theft is a plot-centered story that revolves around two alien species (with another playing a minor background role), although one of the species doesn't appear until the novel is nearing its end. Moffitt devoted considerable effort to alien building and ship building but gave less attention to character building -- a common enough failing in hard sf stories. Military characters are militaristic, government officials are bureaucratic, scientists are smart, and everyone else suffers from thought deficiency. If some of the loving care devoted to the novel's science had been diverted to character development, this would be a better book. Fortunately, the central idea (revealed about halfway through the story) is creative and the plot is entertaining.

Moffitt's prose style is less than scintillating and the dialog is wooden, sometimes silly. From time to time the story gives way to a science lecture -- another common failing of hard sf novels, but fortunately not a frequent occurrence in The Jupiter Theft. Some of the storyline is all too familiar, as when an alien tells a human: "You are too puny to interfere with our purpose." There's nothing very original about puny humans encountering (and being held captive by) technologically superior aliens. Moffitt's attempt to add a political dimension to the novel by commingling Americans and devoutly socialist Chinese in the crew adds unintended humor to the story.

Nonetheless, some aspects of the story are clever, some chapters are exciting, and most of the time the novel is sufficiently fast-paced to keep the reader soldiering on despite the novel's flaws. The ending is satisfying. There's enough fun here to entertain fans of alien cultures, hard sf, and fast action. I would give The Jupiter Theft 3 1/2 stars if that were possible.

The Jupiter Theft comes from an era when the conventions of science fiction involved the idealism of technology and the future. This book reflects that paradigm, placing emphasis on human ingenuity and the promise of future exploration. It's a welcome change to today's comparatively more cynical outlook on the human legacy, and when I closed the book I was satisfied with the hope and wonder expressed in the resolution.

But that reflection of the book's cultural heritage has a darker side as well. The inclusion of the "free love" concept only serves to make the human characters seem undisciplined and even idiotic at one point. I'm not sure exactly what the author intended with the subplot involving this beyond suggestive intentions, but the only thing I got out of it is that even though humanity has reached the stars it still doesn't understand the concepts of population control.

That is only a small quibble with the otherwise fascinating plot development, and I really enjoyed the balance of technological innovation and xenobiological attention. Very good read!

This book approaches the mechanics of writing with a 'good enough' attitude, and focuses instead on plot, setting, and interesting ideas. To my surprise, it worked very well. I inhaled this book in a weekend ten years ago, and I still remember it as a fun read. It would be an excellent book for less experienced readers who haven't developed their stylistic prejudices yet :)

I too found this book very interesting and fun to read. That's probably why I'm here looking for it when I read it almost 20 years ago. For some reason it came to mind. I myself am a Stephen King fan. Not being much of a reader I stepped outside Kings bounds and picked up Jupiter Theft and found it enjoyable & fun reading.