Starfire [Hardcover]

Charles Sheffild (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1999

The year is 2053. As the inhabitants of Sky City struggle to complete the protective shield that will guard Earth against the coming sleet of particles from Alpha Centauri's 2026 supernova, Pres. Celine Tanaka receives shattering news. Incredibly, Alpha C's explosion was no accident. What's more, the lethal barrage of high-energy particles will enter Earth's atmosphere not 17 years hence, as anticipated - but in 2 months' time or less. Add to this a string of unsolved murders among Sky City's 80,000 inhabitants - all of the victims young girls - and an unsavory alliance between the CEO of the biotech Argos Group and the leader of the World Protection Federation, and the situation looks increasingly dire. What is the connection?

Product Details

• Hardcover: 401 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Spectra (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739407910
• ISBN-13: 978-0739407912
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,687,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Terrific hard SF intertwined with a good murder mystery, December 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Starfire (Bantam Spectra Book) (Paperback)

I read this book without realizing it is a second part of a series. It gives enough background information to stand on its own - and stand very tall indeed. "Star Fire" is both a good science and a good fiction fiction, with a scientifically plausible yet totally unexpected ending. At least one unexpected ending - I figured out the killer's identity about halfway through the book, but it does require careful attention to details. While it is hard to imagine detectives who would keep their mind on solving a murder while the world is about to end, Sheffield manages to make it believable. The most complex and interesting character in the book is one of two detectives - a Hannibal Lecter type genius serial killer enlisted to catch another serial killer, - but other characters are good also. The weakest point - indeed the reason I am giving the book 4 stars instead of 5, - is one major female character who starts out as an incredibly tough and ruthless "corporate Mata Hari", then suddenly falls in love and comes totally unglued. Considering the nature of organization she works for and the fact that she managed to reach Number 2 in it, this is pathetic.

I am looking forward to the sequel, but I don't think I will bother reading the first book in the series ("Aftermath"). It did not get very good reviews, and "Star Fire" seems to adequately summarize what happened before.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now this is cool SF, July 17, 2001

By 

Daniel P. Bond "DPB" (Rockville, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Starfire (Bantam Spectra) (Mass Market Paperback)

The most striking thing about this book is its exploration of emotional intelligence. Scheffield constantly plays with the stock images of the engineer, the polititian, and the business person, turning them upside down. Nothing is really what it seems...it seems. He takes the reader deeply into the motives, weaknesses and strengths of individuals who happen to have those roles. And that's just one of the threads deftly woven into the story. Scheffield makes a supernova cool (sorry 'bout that!).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid, old-fashioned, October 22, 2000

By 

Robert H. Nunnally Jr. "gurdonark" (Allen, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Starfire (Bantam Spectra) (Mass Market Paperback)

Sheffield's work reminds me of the hard-science multi-plot future history works of the writers of the 50s and early 60s. The work has very much the feel of a serialized sci fi mag piece from Astounding or some such. The usual ingredients are there--a collection of disparate characters enmeshed in a handful of subplots, the mildly dystopian but recognizable earth of fifty years hence, a global threat, eccentric yet capable minds that work to solve it, and, finally, not one but two little puzzle mysteries, with punch line endings to both inquiries. Sheffield's plotting is a real strength; the characterization is a bit pat. I recommend this one, though, as the central dilemma is compelling, and the book lacks the gratuitious glandular or violent juvenalia which infects so many more modern sci fis. This is a fun afternoon, rather than an epic voyage, but not every unmanned satellite can discover a new universe....