The Shores of Tomorrow (The Chronicles of Solace, Bk. 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Roger Macbride Allen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
The hefty conclusion to the Chronicles of Solace finds that planet more beset than ever. The universe is contracting quickly enough to endanger all humanity. Solace's artificial habitats just might be saved if a new source of solar heat and light can be created. That will be possible if the prospective saviors resort to time travel, which has been forbidden by the Chronologic Patrol for good and sufficient reasons, as readers of The Depth of Time (2000) and The Ocean of Years [BKL Jl 02] know. Furthermore, an alliance of former mortal enemies Oskar DeSilvio and Anton Koffield is the only hope of preventing a final catastrophe. Fortunately, such an ending is the outcome of a very tightly run race, which will leave readers with fond memories of brisk pacing and Allen's intelligent mixing of space opera, hard science, and the drama of human evolution throughout the trilogy. All the time traveling is memorable, too. Now for Allen's next readable saga! Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Praise for The Ocean of Years

"Thoroughly readable. Again Allen has mixed hard science, social science, and pure adventure effectively."
--Booklist

"[Allen] is one of those few writers that jump to the top of the stack almost of their own volition."
--Science Fiction Chronicle

-- Review

Praise for The Ocean of Years

"Thoroughly readable. Again Allen has mixed hard science, social science, and pure adventure effectively."
--Booklist

"[Allen] is one of those few writers that jump to the top of the stack almost of their own volition."
--Science Fiction Chronicle

--Review

Praise for The Ocean of Years

"Thoroughly readable. Again Allen has mixed hard science, social science, and pure adventure effectively."
--Booklist

"[Allen] is one of those few writers that jump to the top of the stack almost of their own volition."
--Science Fiction Chronicle



See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (December 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553583654
• ISBN-13: 978-0553583656
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #271,429 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, October 25, 2007

By	Martin Mueller "SciFiNut" (Eastern MA.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have enjoyed the entire series. Since this is the third book in the series I got a little tired of all the backtracking done to bring people up to speed on the previous story. I would have liked to see a note telling people to read the other books and then have this book get on with the story. The entire concept was great. I wish there had been a little more detail in the final Teraforming chapters. Overall, a good read.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Politics of Desperation, December 2, 2003

By	Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The Shores of Tomorrow is the third novel in the Chronicles of Solace series, following The Ocean of Years. In the previous novel, the Dom Pedro IV's crew have followed clues left by Oskar DeSilvo to Glister. There they fly the Cruzeiro do Sul down into a launch dome within a huge bullseye designed to attract their attention and find DeSilvo awaiting their arrival.

In the complex on Glister, DeSilvo explains his actions and shows the simulations that he has developed to test the contraction theories of Ulan Baskaw. He is mortified that the information discovered by Admiral Koffield seems to be confirmed by these simulations and subsequent events. He has realized that he needs external verification of his thinking and thus has lured them there. At this point, Yuri Sparten attacks DeSilvo and both are injured.

In this novel, Koffield and the crew of the Dom Pedro IV have verified DeSilvo's simulations using their own data. Now they are waiting for DeSilvo to explain his scheme for avoiding the contraction, but first he is waiting for his FTL data taps to relay the results of the Ignition of the NovaSpot over Greenhouse in the Lodestar system. Back in that system, Planetary Executive Neshobe Kalzant of Solace is also waiting for these results, watching the countdown to Ignition from the control room in the Lodestar VII.

On Mars, Kalani Temblar of the Chronologic Patrol is surveying the damage done to the Dark Museum, following the footsteps of Oskar DeSilvo and Admiral Koffield. When she is through recording the evidence, she wires explosives to the armored door of the tunnel and sets the timer. Then she returns to her lander and, despite the damage done by the omnipresent mold, takes off for orbit. In Mariner City, the explosives detonate, causing sympathetic detonation of the booby-trap demolition charges, resulting in the collapse of the entire length of DeSilvo's tunnel into the Dark Museum.

In this story, the rationale behind DeSilvo's later behavior becomes exceedingly and frighteningly clear. Koffield and his associates agree to help DeSilvo, but first Sparten has to sneak off to check out a diehard settlement about 700 kilometers to the south. During his flyby, the aircar comes under fire from the diehards.

The importance of the NovaSpot to make Greenhouse a waystation for the evacuation of Solace becomes clear to Elber Malloon and he becomes a player in system politics, first as an agent of Captain Sotales of the SCO Station Security Force and later as a liaison between the lowdowners and the uppers. His actions facilitate the evacuation of the lowdowners to Greenhouse, which in turn relieves pressures on Solace planetary resources and also provides essential manpower for DeSilvo's new plan.

Meanwhile, the Chronologic Patrol has learned the basics of DeSilvo's activities in the Solar System and has correctly interpreted the clues left for Koffield. Lieutenant Command Burl Chambers and Lieutenant Temblar are dispatched in a heavily armed and sensored CP intelligence ship to Glister to track down both DeSilvo and Koffield.

This is the final volume of the series. It interjects additional technology from the Dark Museum that expands upon the various fields and drives previously mentioned. It proposes another method of terraforming without the imbalances of the previously failed methods and suggests yet another approach. Furthermore, it introduces another model of timetravel within a multiverse of complex diverging and converging timelines.

Highly recommended for Allen fans and for anyone else who enjoys high tech suspense stories with political intrigue and interesting characters.

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Conclusion to an Interesting Trilogy, October 4, 2006

By	James C. Dascoli (Millburn, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Certainly the weakest of the three books. For starters, by now the continued repetitiveness of the storytelling becomes too much, especially at 450 pages that could have been wrapped up in about 150. Secondly, the series really revolves around Koffield and the somewhat kafkaesque like journey he goes through. Yet in the final book, the character is relegated to third tier status, and Allen ends up focusing on minor characters. After all the chaos and lives destroyed by DeSilvo, he basically gets off easy.

Within the framework of the story, the final solution to solving the problem of terraforming a planet long enough so it won't fail was interesting, but without giving away the solution, is too much a happy ending, "humanity wouldn't screw it up" answer.

Finally, any story with time travel requires a certain amount of suspension of belief, it is inevitable because no matter what path the author chooses there are bound to be contradictions. For two books Koffield comes across as a duty bound Admiral, I envisioned him like Captain Ramius in "The Hunt For Red October." To assume that Koffield would join forces and almost become friends with DeSilvo is pushing the limits of credibility.

Overall, a promising trilogy that fizzled out and would have been tighter and more enjoyable to read in two books.