Customer Reviews

Sunborn (Chaos Chronicles)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I discovered Jeffrey Carver online and am so glad I did. It's been a long time since I've been excited by a new (to me) author. This guy writes a book that is enjoyable to read; not pretentious nor simplistic, in plot or character development. The characters in the Chaos Chronicles, John Bandicut and friends, are realistic and interesting.

Sunborn, fourth in the series, continues the adventure in a universe spanning series of "Chaos" events. You won't be disappointed in Carver's latest. Buy it and read it! :-)

I expected to enjoy this fourth volume of the "Chaos Chronicles" but "Sunborn" is more than a good story, it is a real achievement in science fiction writing. Unlike a lot of modern series that are fun to read but tend toward repetition, every "Chaos" book travels to exotic new places, introduces different characters and explores the latest real-science ideas. Proven human hero John Bandicut keeps the reader grounded - a grand feat since he's racing through space-time on all cylinders. As usual Bandie is accompanied by a stylish group of aliens some of whom are difficult - but not impossible - to imagine. Their challenge is to track down and defeat a threat to star life. As the plot unravels a variety of wonderful themes are explored including the tender relationship between John and the lovely Antares, the friendship and trust between Ik and Li-Jared and everyone's reliance on robots Copernicus and Napolean. Toss in the translator stones, the Charlie variations and new friends nicknamed Deep and Dark and you've got a cast of characters unlike any other in the genre. Additionally, John's old flame Julie Stone is following in his footsteps back in the Solar System! Jeffrey Carver employs cutting-edge science, speculation and old-fashioned, way-out imagination to create a gem of a novel.

Earthling John Bandicut is bone tired after being exiled from his home planet, saving his world and subsequently two others. World saving is a tiring vocation. He currently travels through interstellar space with other exiles including one residing inside his head; they are a band of aliens from all sorts of orbs. John looks forward to rest when they reach their destination, a space station in the Orion Nebula sector.

However, he and his cohorts soon learn of a pandemic conspiracy to eradicate the sentient stars residing in this part of space. Struggling with communicating with the intended victims, John and his friends put off R&R to prevent genocide at a time when his homeworld also faces a major threat.

This is a superb outer space thriller starring a misunderstood hero and his alien peers. The cast is vast so except for John none seem more than two dimensional yet those key players provide keen perspectives as point of view changes inside of the non-stop action. Jeffrey A. Carver returns to his Chaos Chronicles universe for the first in a decade with an exciting throw back science fiction thriller.

Harriet Klausner

This is my first time writing a review on Amazon (so forgive any rambling I may do). Normally, don't feel strongly enough about a book to bother with a review, or someone else has already written a review expressing my opinion. But this book is definitely worth the effort.

I got into reading the Chaos Chronicles years ago and would periodically check the author's website for any news on the next book. So I was thrilled when I heard Sunborn was to be released. The first chapter teaser offered on the site whetted my appetite, and the book definitely did not disappoint. The author's skill at weaving a compelling story have refined rather than faded in the years between the previous sequel and this one.

I have enjoyed science fiction books for many years and one of the things I love about Jeffery Carver's books is that they do indeed delve into the realm of "hard core" science fiction, with all of the science background that requires, without stifling the plot or making it overly cerebral. The descriptions written by Carver take previously unfathomable things, like sentient space entities such as stars and black holes, and make those characters feel as real and alive, though definitely alien, as any human character I've read about. I have enjoyed watching the character development of John Bandicut and his fellow travelers throughout the series, and Sunborn takes that to the next level.

Usually I prefer the POV of a book to focus only on the main character, with few detours. Sunborn alternately switches points of view to advance the story and make the reader feel they have a more complete picture of what's going on. Normally I hate switching POV b/c I find I don't care enough about the other characters in a story, as much as the main character, to care what they are thinking or what's going on with them. But Sunborn manages the switches while only building the interest and tension, rather than feeling like the story is losing steam or taking an unnecessary break from the main action.

Most books have certain lulls that tempt me to skim and skip pages to get back to "the good stuff" but I didn't find myself doing that in Sunborn. I found the secondary story, involving Julie and the translator launching their own mission, just as engaging as John's newest Shipworld mission.

The other "side kick" characters in the book became more vibrant and in the forefront, without pushing John Bandicut, the previous main character focus, into the background. Even the robots, which started off in the series just a few generations ahead of what could be created today, managed to blossom in their personalities and their sacrifices to achieve the goal of the book felt important and emotionally resonant. Also the romance between John and Antares deepened, without overtaking the science fiction feel of the book. And the conclusion of the book hinted as some interesting conflicts for the next book in the series, and I only hope it doesn't take as many years for the next installment to be published.

And if you haven't read the first three books in the Chaos Chronicles: Neptune Crossing (The Chaos Chronicles, Vol 1), Strange Attractors: Volume Two of the 'The Chaos Chronicles', & The Infinite Sea (Chaos Chronicles), you'll definitely want to check those out first.

Sunborn (2008) is the fourth SF novel in the Chaos Chronicles series, following The Infinite Sea. The initial work is this sequence is Neptune Crossing.

In the previous volume, Harding was appalled by the dying Neri. He voluntarily returned to the Astari, but they threw him back into the sea. Then Ik launched his translation stones into the abyss.

In this novel, John Bandicut is a Terran. He met the Translator and had a pair of translator stones set in his wrists. Now Bandie John is traveling through space in a star-spanner transport.

Charlie (Charlene) is a Quarx, the only known survivor of her species. She is an immaterial creature who dwells within John's brain and communicates with his mind.

Julie Stone is a Terran. She too has met the Translator and has two translator stones. Now she is working on the Triton mining station.

Li-Jared is a Karellian. He is a companion of Bandicut.

Ik is a Hraachee'an. He is a companion of Bandicut.

Antares is an empathic Thespi Third-female. She is a companion of Bandicut.

Delilah is a young shadow-person. She is a glowing ring that will eventually morph in a thing of multidimensional aspects.

Deeaab is a thick black cloud, who can shrink down to a small point. Deep had escaped from a dying universe into this one.

Daarooaack is also a thick black cloud, much like Deep. But Dark is native to this universe.

Jeaves is a robot. With that name, it must have come from Terra.

Ed is a multidimensional creature from a star deep within a nebula.

In this story, something rocks the star-spanner bubble and the force-fields turn transparent and luminous. Li-Jared asks what that was. Bandicut's translator stones announce that their bubble is entering a new flight regime as it approaches an interstellar waystation.

John sees a shadow ahead. Ik says it looks like some kind of channel. Antares asks how such a thing could be there in space. Suddenly they are flying through a tube glowing with a pale blue light.

They feel a series of soft jolts. Without any further warning, the bubble glides onto a platform and vanishes. Charlie says that they are about to meet someone.

A new robot -- or a hologram of one -- floats toward the bubble. The robot announces that it is Jeaves. It welcomes them to the Cloudminder Waystation. It also states that it is also a visitor on the station and has been asked to act as their host.

After a day and night of rest, Jeaves asks them to take on an urgent task. No one is happy with this request, bur a spacetime disturbance convinces them of the urgency. The station is experiencing hypergrav shockwaves.

After the gravity wave die down, Bandicut and his friends leave the storm shelter and return the public area. Napoleon and Copernicus meet them there. They bring a visitor, a being who looks like an enormous fried egg.

The being is making noises, which they believe to be speech. John touches the beings surface and his translation stones state that they are filtering and translating the speech. They eventually discover that the being is a hyperdimensional creature.

They learn that the being is named Ed and that it has come for help. Antares believe that these beings fear for their lives. One star is endangering the whole nebula.

Jeaves tells them that the nebula is a stellar nursery. Many stars are sentient and something is murdering them within the nebula. One star has already gone supernova and took several other stars with it,

Jeaves also explains that robots have investigated the incidents, but were not been able to handle the situation. John and his friends are the first living beings to visit the station since the killings began. They are needed to stop the killings.

Bandicut and his friends are reluctant to risk their lives again, but Antares points out that they are the only ones who can solve the problem. Ik agrees and convinces Li-Jared. Finally John decides to help.

Delilah gives them a tour of the ship. It is a n-space vessel that is larger inside than its external dimensions. Its hull is composed of n-space force-fields.

Flying toward the problem area, they notice a very small nebula ahead and coming toward them. Jeaves believes it to be alive. An artificial being is chasing Deeaab with the intent of killing it.

Deeaab turns on the thing and destroys it. Later, Deeaab finds his companion Daarooaack and introduces her to the group. They travel together toward the troubled star.

Meanwhile, Julie is sitting in her cabin listening to the translator stones. They are telling her that something is trying to kill her world. But the stones will not let her explain the risks to her bosses.

This tale takes Bandicut and his friends into the nebula among the dangerous machines. They find ways to talk with the stars. Julie departs the Solar System and travels onward to Shipworld.

This volume does not wrap up the storyline. Yet the next installment has not yet been announced on Amazon.

Recommended for Carver fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of interstellar adventures, alien cultures, and strange friends. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

I really love it. the only worrying factor is the question: when will we have the next one????? Let's hope ii won't be in some light years....

Early in the book, the idea of sentient stars was just a bit much for me... but I was in good company because the characters in the book had a hard time believing it, too. It's a good thing that I (and the characters in the book) were able to get past this because wow, the story takes off and never lets go. There are many characters in the book and each one plays a very important role. Not much more to say that isn't expressed in the other reviews.

We're finally reunited with John Bandicut and his co-horts in this long overdue continuation of the Chaos Chronicles. For all of you out there really appreciate science fiction done well, this is the stuff! Jeffrey Carver manages to do his usual excellent job of balancing the scientific goodies, the story and the characters. And what characters! Not only do we have your "garden variety" aliens that you'd expect to find in an alien cantina but you've got, artificial robotic life, multi-dimensional beings and oh yeah stars too. How can stars be characters you ask? Well for that one you're going to have to read the book. Even though the author does ask for you to stretch your mind around some pretty wild concepts he doesn't let it bog down the story, he keeps it moving at a frantic pace, in fact if I hadn't deliberately slowed myself down to savor this book I probably would've ended up feeling as exhausted as his characters must after all they've been through! The only bad part is that even slowing down my pace is eventually I did get to the end and now I have to wait for the next one, which i'm sure will be out a lot faster than it took to get this one out there. For those of you who are reading this series just a fyi for you, you may want to check out Jeff's books "From A Changeling Star" and "Down The Stream Of Stars" while they aren't officially part of the Chaos Chronicles they reside in the same universe and with "Sunborn" the author has made a connection to them.

In the mid-nineties Jeffrey Carver released the first three books of a planned six book series called "The Chaos Chronicles." As a friend noted at the time, in telling a story that spanned the galaxy, Carver finally had a canvas big enough for his imagination. Then for more than 10 years no more books. Finally the fourth book, "Sunborn" has arrived. It takes a while to get back into the series, and he realizes that, providing some background reminders without interfering with the present story.

The new plot has Earth facing two threats, one in the Solar System and one 1500 light years away. Both involve human characters interacting with an increasingly bizarre array of aliens. The vaguely humanoid aliens and robots are fun characters, but then Carver introduces characters like you've never seen: a hyperdimensional character seen as a cone in our space, thinking clouds from another universe, and most bizarre of all, sentient stars.

It's a great read leading to not one but two climaxes. The story is fully resolved, but the stage is now set for the bigger conflicts to come. Carver combines likable and all-too human characters (including some of the aliens with hard science and big adventure. If you read the first three books, you'll want this one. If you haven't, time to get started.

I am making the assumption in this review that if you are looking at this book, that you have read the other books in The Chaos Chronicles. They are: Neptune Crossing, Strange Attractors, and The Infinite Sea.

I have to say that while I really enjoyed Carver's first three books in this series, this one fell flat for me. This one seemed to drag along slowly. I really care more about the established characters of John, Ik, Li-Jared, Anteres, Julie and the "'norgs" than I do about Dark, Deep, Ed, and the other new characters. While they solved the problem that Carver devised for this plot, they failed to interest me. And they took up a lot of the story. I do not have any problem with the "speculative science" (Carver's words,) but it should not drag along as this book did.

Will I purchase the following books in the series? Of course. Was Sunborn as good as the first three in the series? Not by a long shot. I have great hope for the next book, The Reefs of Time. I really want to see how the potential conflict develops for John as his two girlfriends meet up. Will he be forced to choose one or will the Thespi Third female revert to her normal role. What about the conflict with the Mindaru? I hope that Carver gets Reefs finished soon.