Spider Star (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Without an atmosphere to create distortion, the stark crags of the Pindus range cast exceptionally sharp shadows across the plains of Charybdis..." (more)
Key Phrases: military hydras, spider monkey troop, planet movers, Dark Heart, Claude Martin, Gold Eye (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This hectic tale of ancient aliens on an artificial world orbits the star-sized egos of zealous archeologist Manuel Rusk and altruistic interstellar explorer Frank Klingston. After Rusk accidentally sets off a defense system left on colony world Argo by long-gone aliens, the two must travel to the near-mythical world called Spider Star in hopes of finding someone who can turn it off before it bombs the colony into oblivion. Upon arrival, Klingston and some of the crew are captured by spiderlike aliens and rushed through the corridors of the Star in scenes resembling the disjointed action of a video game, while Rusk takes to the air in a rather improbable balloon. The premise of an artificial environment and multiple alien races has potential, but the realization is incomplete and the characterization stereotypical, so readers will respond primarily to the story's strong and reliable pacing (though with a rather rushed denouement) and intriguing premise. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

PI John Justin Mallory’s back from Stalking the Unicorn (1987); it’s All Hallows’ Eve in the Manhattan “otherworld” of goblins, vampires, zombies, and such; and his trusted partner, Winnifred Carruthers, is pooped from the excitement and preparation for this Manhattan’s major annual holiday. Turns out her fatigue and paleness result from visiting nephew Rupert’s bite marks on her neck. Before you can say “Type A-positive, straight up,” Rupert’s found dead, and the hunt is on for his evil Maker, ancient vamp Aristotle Draconis. Aided by cat-woman Felina and vampire Bats McGuire, Mallory and Carruthers visit under-the-radar clubs and events like the annual zombies’ ball and encounter some otherworldly lairs and residents. Resnick’s off-kilter humor describes nightly appearances of troll toughs and gremlin girls who break into song à la West Side Story and conjures such excruciating torture as being tied to a slab to hear every word of Silas Marner without a potty break. A curiously satisfying update of Depression-era screwball comedies’ breezy, rapid-fire repartee that meshes well with both detective and vampire genres. --Whitney Scott

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765311259
• ISBN-13: 978-0765311252
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #619,659 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Flawed, but also smart and fun., July 26, 2008

By	M. Lindquist "ax23000" (Moscow, ID USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you can deal with the sometimes stiff writing and penciled in character relationships you'll find a book that has a lot to offer fans of hard science fiction.

One of the best aspects of the book is that it has a lot of heart, especially in the way that it handles the motivations of its main characters. For the most part these feel like real people making real mistakes and decisions in a very difficult situation. The relationships between these characters--in particular the romance sub-plots--aren't very well drawn though, which detracts from a number of the things that we are supposed to care about. There are also several questionable decisions made by characters in this book, but as I mentioned earlier I feel those decisions lend themselves to the reality of the characters. In fact decision making is one of the main themes running through the book (how do you make decisions when there is no rule book to follow? What is the right thing to do in an impossible situation).

Still there are some great themes of sacrifice and family that continued to pull me through the book.

Probably my other favorite aspect of the book was the science, which is very well laid out. Fans of physics will find a lot to enjoy in the setting of this book, which definitely pushes some boundaries. It's a pretty good mix of fiction theoretical physics that comes together to create a cohesive (if bizarre) setting. I was also impressed with the way the writer worked to incorporate other sciences. Often with hard sci-fi all you get is a lot of physics jargon, but this book mixed in archeology, medicine, military, linguistics, and computers.

The writing itself has some nice moments of humor, but can be occasionally too dry. There are some fantastic visuals in this book, but you'll have to use your imagination to conjure many of them as the descriptions tend to tell without showing very well.

All in all I actually quite enjoyed this book. I recommend you give it a try if you like hard sci-fi.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hobbit is teased and promised and surpassed, September 1, 2008

By	Philip J. Herman (NYC area) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I discovered this book in the new scifi section of my local library. I was slowly drawn in to care about the characters. The author mentions 'The Hobbit', 'There and back again', & 'You can't go home again' as if he is telling us what to expect. He is, and he surpasses my expectations. The science is exciting, the descriptions vivid, the imagery superb. The story moves along logically, in spite of a mind-boggling concept planet and alien aliens. The surprises are surprising, the reader is made aware of our humanity in a vast universe, and the resolutions are creative. The ultimate wrap-up of the story-arc made me weep. It is what I hoped for but did not expect. Bravo !

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Liked the characters and plot, August 30, 2008

By	Steiger (USA) - See all my reviews

One of the best I've read in a while. Character development is good. Action is weaved in nicely. Great sci-fi without going extreme.