Customer Reviews

Supernova

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

 

 

The book gives a very interesting view of what may happen if Sirus B goes Supernova. The star is within 10 light years of earth. The individual making the prediction is a young astronomer who just obtained his P.Hd. Due to his young age, he is not taken very seriously. More discriptions were needed within the book reguarding the atmospheric effects of the supernova. The only discriptions given about the changes in the weather patterm was the statement such as "Storms were the result of the Supernova." There were also brief mentions of the unusualy cool days in parts of California. Also, there was a brief mention of icemelt and snowstorms in Antarctica. Book also includes a rogue religious cult bent on distroying L.A. after it is blasted by a Electro Magnetic Pulse from the supernova. Good book if you like to see L.A. and Tokyo burn. I still recommend it. Need some science background to understand small parts of it

Wow! Science fiction that is full of science! The best kind! I actually had this book on my shelf for a long time before I read it, as I was sort of expecting another sordid disaster novel. When I did read it, however, I wondered why I had waited so long.

I don't know why I've waited so long to praise this book; its one of my favorite reads. I got it several years ago, for a buck at a book outlet store. Which shows that with books, what you pay has very little relation to how much you enjoy it. I re-read it at least once a year.
The story is about what happens around the unfolding event of a nearby star (Sirius) going supernova. I thought the astronomy was very clearly explained. But its also a very human story of the reactions of some of the people this event touches, from the astronomer who first raises the possibility that the supernova might happen (only to be laughed at by senior scientists-a very realistic scene), to a young Japanese technician who finds out that EMP from the event might destroy Earth, to a world-weary psychiatrist who joins a millenial group called the Christ-Riders (who see in the supernova a harbinger of the end times).
In the novel, the supernova's light appears at Earth right around the millenium (year 2000), but that doesn't make the story obsolete--I think an event of this "magnitude" would cause cultish reactions in any year it happened. The human relationships are as well drawn as the science. I can't do it justice in a short review, so I will recommend it to anyone interested in hard-science fiction, or novels with millenial scenarios.
As presented in the book, the possibility of Sirius being unstable enough to go supernova is so convincing, that after every time I read it, I go do some research to see if that star really has changed over time (i.e., whether the premise could be true). And after reading it, for the next several days I'll look into the night sky and wonder if catastrophes have already happened out there, but their effects have yet to reach us here on Earth. In other words, the book causes you to think, for a long time after you read it. And thats my definition of a good book!

This global catastrophe was apparently not big enough for a book so the authors add extraneous silly filler. For example, the "secondary plot" involves big bad biker holy rollers. Characters are thoroughly humdrum as is the action leaving a run-of-the-mill yawn. The authors commit the ultimate literary sin - they bore the reader.

It's utterly formulaic. We're in academia (apparently the only profession known to scifi writers) and our protagonist is a dull, lonely fellow who's just lost his gal pal and whose office and apartment are the pits. In one of the most absurd forced plots ever our hero-student's thesis just happens to be on supernovas from binary systems and guess what? Out of the 400 billions stars in our galaxy, a perfect example resides only 9 light years from Earth (Sirius A and Sirius B). And wouldn't you know it? After billions of years it decides to go nova just in time to validate his paper

Reflecting the general opinion of the time (Japan as main rival) our hero works with Japanese scientists. They begin preaching the gospel of supernova and sure enough, the star goes boom. The rather haphazard reporting on its effects (mainly EMP) leaves much to be desired. We read a snippet on India who aggravates the situation by exchanging hundreds of nukes with Pakistan. Los Angeles is hit as is India but not a word about the 1.5 billion folks in China, Indonesia, Korea and south Asia. In the end, things get "back to normal" despite cities of millions left without food, water or power. The army rescues LA from the Christian motorcycle gang (snicker) and the reader learns that the Earth has 100 years to prepare for deadly followup rays.

The scariest thought is that this portends a sequel. My grade: D+ for the science info. If you're looking for intrigue, logical action, character growth or drama, fuggetaboutit.