Outpost [Paperback]

Scott Mackay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 1999

A story of time travel, aliens and alternate history from one of Canadas most celebrated SF writers. A group of human prisoners in a hi-tech alien prison escape, only to find themselves enmeshed in a war between two alien races for control of the human past. The key to the struggle lies back in the time of the Italian Renaissance. Scott Mackay lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Felicitas is a 17-year-old girl trapped in an automated prison on a remote planet with two suns and no name. The prison was created by aliens called "uominilupi", although no one has seen an "uomolupo" for years, except in dreams caused by the implants that are supposed to keep the prisoners passive. But the implants are breaking down--along with the rest of the prison--and as the inmates slowly recover from their artificially induced stupor, they realize they must escape before the food runs out. Those prisoners who can't shake the grip of their implants remain alien slaves, zombie-like automatons forced to try to stop their fellow humans from escaping. Eventually it falls to Felicitas not only to break out of the prison but also to uncover a plot that stretches through time and space all the way back to 15th century Italy. This is Scott Mackay's first SF novel and, while it's not without its flaws, it's certainly an intriguing and ambitious tale well worth reading. -- Craig Engler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Inmates in an alien prison begin to unravel the mysteries behind their confinement and stage a perilous escape into an unknown world. As her fragmented memories reappear, a young prisoner discovers evidence of temporal tampering in human history and searches for a means to alter the past in order to save the future. Mackay (A Friend in Barcelona, HarperCollins, 1991) deftly doles out bits and pieces of a puzzle in this fast-moving blend of mystery and sf adventure. Fans of Renaissance Italy will enjoy the cultural overtones that lend a unique atmosphere to a well-written and engrossing tale. Most libraries should own.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (September 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312868421
• ISBN-13: 978-0312868420
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,683,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious But Unconvincing, April 7, 2000

By 

J. Conrad Guest "J. Conrad Guest" (Northville, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Outpost (Paperback)

Felicitas is a 17-year-old girl imprisoned, for a crime shecan't recall having committed, in an automated prison created by aliens on a remote planet. None of the prisoners have seen these aliens for years, except in dreams caused by the implants and the drugs that keep them passive. But the prison's automation, along with the implants, are breaking down, and as the inmates recover from their stupor, they realize they must escape before the food runs out. Eventually Felicitas and a small band of inmates break out of the prison and uncover a plot that stretches through time and space.

As solid a premise for a sci-fi novel as this sounds, and as strong as the first third of the book is, the middle third begins to degenerate, and the final third serves to disappoint. To sum up, Felicitas must travel back in time to 15th century Italy to prevent the French from conquering Italy so that a surly Machiavelli will never be compelled to write a treatise called The Prince, which centuries later will be read by a fellow by the name of Reymont, the true protagonist of Outpost, who through his aggression is the reason The New Ones (an alien race) wish to annihilate all of humanity. Felicitas naturally succeeds with her mission, but to what end she changes history is never fully explored, other than Reymont is deprived of the seed from which his cosmic tyranny will grow. When the French failed to conquer Italy, surely there must have been a ripple effect that would have been felt for decades and perhaps even centuries. What effect would it have had on Napoleon and his efforts to conquer the world, or on Hitler's desire to create an empire that would last 1,000 years, or on the industrial revolution in England and America, etc., ad infinitum?

To change history in the matter Mackay suggests is akin to killing a mosquito with a sledgehammer. Would not traveling back in time to assassinate Reymont's maternal grandmother to be, thereby assuring his mother would never be born, be a more effective means to the end, and without any of the massive changes to the timeline that preventing the French from conquering Italy is sure to inflict?

Mackay is a deft enough writer - his storytelling will keep the reader turning pages - but the characters in Outpost are perhaps a trifle too well defined; the bad guys are definitely bad, and the good guys are good. The protagonist (Felicitas), the lone point of view character, contains no flaws, no frailties, which would have made her a more believable character.

Outpost is not a bad book, despite its over elaborate plot, but it could have been far better had Mackay employed the philosophy that sometimes less is better.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever, Exciting and Intriguing, July 6, 1998

By 

Roald Andresen (Skien Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Outpost (Hardcover)

It's been a while since I read a book in one session. I just couldn't leave "Outpost" untill I was done.

The book tells the tale of the great escape from a prison on a distant planet, where the brainwashed inmates' only crime is to be descendents of political prisoners from the past.

A very recommendable book, describing how people react on coming out of deep amnesia. The book also deals with as different issues as time- travel and what future impact Machiavelli's "The Prince" might have.

3.0 out of 5 stars Lost in Prison, December 1, 2008

By 

John OConnor "Hi!" (Malden, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outpost (Hardcover)

This is a pretty good read. It's probably easiest to describe this as a science fiction prison escape story, but that doesn't quite do it justice.

The main plot revolves around seventeen year old Felicitas as she slowly becomes consciously aware of her situation- trapped in a prison, kept captive by inscrutable alien robot guards and strange machines. The setting is pretty interesting, and it takes a while to really figure out what the heck is going on.

The characters in this book are not very deep, including the protagonist. This may be because of their circumstances, but many of the secondary characters seem sort of bland.

The main plot is very strange and somewhat convoluted, and I don't want to spoil it by giving away to much, but aliens and time travel are involved.

Still, I liked this book. It sort of reminded me of the TV show Lost in some ways. It's not the greatest thing I've ever read, but it was enjoyable enough that I stayed up late to finish it.