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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Science, Uneven Writing, October 3, 2002
This review is from: Moonseed (Mass Market Paperback)
I am an avid fan of "hard" science fiction - stories where accurate, highly detailed science is so integral to the plot that the book would not function without it. Moonseed places well in this category. Baxter is very adept at creating a boogeyman out of cutting-edge scientific theory, and his characters use science and modern technology in a complex, intellectual manner to solve the problem. His choice of a geologist as protagonist was interesting, and it worked; this is the first hard-SF novel I have read where an intimate knowledge of geology provided the key to resolving the plot's main conflicts. Baxter's handling of science reminds me of decorated hard-SF veteran Gregory Benford - and that is high praise. An even better point was Baxter's description of Earth-Moon travel. This is a must-read for anyone who has ever daydreamed of a successor to the Apollo program or of going back in time to plant a moon-boot in the regolith next to Neil Armstrong. I would venture to say that this book is really *about* returning to the moon, and that the Moonseed is merely there to provide an excuse to do so. Regardless, it is a fun vicarious journey. With all the above traits to recommend it, this book should have qualified for five stars. But it didn't. Baxter clearly loves and knows his science, but whenever he strays from it - say, into character development, or the more mundane details of life - his writing suffers. Characters sometimes do things that don't seem consistent with their personalities. Details are dropped or glossed over. For example, a man with badly cracked ribs can barely move in one scene, but only hours later is walking around with little hinderance. Astronauts forget some fairly basic elements of mission planning in a manner that is too obviously a plot device to set up a later scene. And too many characters decide to give up their lives in various suicidal endeavors, with no real development of _why_ the person no longer wishes to live. I don't advise you to avoid this book, because it has some unique good qualities. But limit your expectations.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The destruction of Earth told in loving detail ..., June 7, 1999
For some reason I've always enjoyed reading "end of the world" scenarios. Novels such as "Lucifer's Hammer" (Niven & Pournelle), "Mother of Storms" (John Barnes), and "The Forge of God" (Greg Bear) come to mind. In "Moonseed" (which I think is a somewhat cheesy title, perhaps befitting an old episode of Star Trek), Stephen Baxter envisions a "10-dimensional superstring nanovirus" gradually reducing Earth to molten rock before taking the planet apart completely. The first year or so of this 40-year process is told in exquisite, realistic and often horrifying detail ... and in this respect I was very satisfied with the book. Characters that you genuinely care about are well-developed, but there are some rather annoying lapses in the storyline (such as "Whatever became of that oil rig guy?" and "What about that volcano in Japan?" and "How exactly DID Jane get from Scotland to the U.S.?"). As for the remarkable exodus to the Moon, I guess when the chips are down and the future of the global economy is pretty much moot, you can accomplish anything. The very end of the book, in which the attitudes of the new Lunar generation toward the demolished Earth are considered, is provocative and a bit depressing. But overall I'm quite glad to have stumbled across "Moonseed."
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid and believable...well, most of it anyway, December 23, 2002
This review is from: Moonseed (Mass Market Paperback)
Moonseed is a SF drama documenting the release on Earth of a planet-devouring nanovirus. The "Moonseed" infection starts in Scotland and induces an extremely ancient volcano to erupt again. Then the Moonseed continues spreading, apparently unstoppable as it heads down through the Earth's crust and towards the mantle where it would wreak complete havoc. So begins the desperate race to save humanity. The geology and space travel aspects of this novel are thoroughly grounded in research, allowing Baxter to achieve tenability on top of the entertainment, unlike other sci-fi authors who are merely entertaining. Or even worse, unbelievable AND unentertaining (*cough* The Millennial Project *cough)! It's a hefty novel at over 650 pages, but it seemed much shorter to me due to the quick and continuous plot development. Being an engineer and amateur astronomer, my attention didn't wander during the more technical passages. In fact, I was captivated during Baxter's description of the voyage to the Moon and the sojourn there. If you're not technically inclined, perhaps 5-10% of the book may be heavy going. Fortunately, the other 90-95% is easily understood and enjoyed by the layman. Thanks to the novel's level of science, I somewhat believe now that we could return to the Moon for under $2 billion if need be. I have a much better grasp now of the power of "Act of God" disasters like volcanoes and earthquakes. Areas that did not seem convincing to me: politics (funding without adequate explanations), speed of infrastructure failure (far too rapid), harenodynamics (wacky alternate method of landing on the Moon), Henry's solution (I won't spoil it here), and a few others. Also the Moonseed itself is not satisfactorily researched during the course of the book, although the ending implies that humanity is on its way to discovering its secrets. The overall tone of the novel is somewhat pessimistic. I think the gloominess adds to the prose and makes it more believable; previous reviewers have construed it as evidence of Baxter's nihilism. Whether you appreciate the dark mood or not, there certainly are quite a few morbid scenes in the novel that are more for dramatic effect than enriching the plot. Characterization of the main players is decent (I really got to like Henry!) but there seems to be a bit of unnecessary quarreling. Geena seems to be in perpetual PMS. Minor characters are generally flat and underdeveloped. Overall, recommended for sci-fi buffs and readers with an interest in end-of-the-world scenarios.
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