5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Politics of Desperation, December 2, 2003
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.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
I read them all, November 24, 2011
I'm not sure what to say about this trilogy. Ok. wait. I'm sure now. lol
I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the first book although it seemed to focus on the demise of Sayad. I kept envisioning him giving up all he'd done to go back in time violating the laws of the Chronologic Patrol just to save her from undeserved death! To bad that didn't happen :-)
What I enjoyed was the first book, it had the era of creativity and excitement to it, mystery. The problem came with the second novel. It felt abit to short for my tastes and as if it skipped over alot of potential character developments which could've helped a fourth book along. What we're left with is a seemingly short book without much going on IMO followed by this one. I did enjoy his solution but then he adapted it to future planets and I felt abit cheated, as if DeSilvo or Kofield wouldn't have considered such an obvious idea?!
I can't exactly suspend my belief long enough to buy into the idea of a ring around a planet. And suddenly the Patrol has sensors that will detect FTL because why? They explained how? I'm not buying it...... they barely understood FTL the machines built the damn drives from schematics!
Wow the Dark Museum, brilliant idea surely and I have to tell you the stupid fungus that invaded everything on Mars made me laugh and then gasp, how the hell was it GROWING so fast anyway :?
Also I can't believe those idiots that were following Kofield would knowingly destroy their one chance to save humanity, it made no sense, damn duty or whatever. And sadly their change of minds later was to quick for my tastes.
You know what? I felt like this was meant to be a much longer and drawn out series that compromised around ten novels instead of three. It would've been far more entertaining to see more character development instead of just having it suddenly end with Norla and him having a child! LOL
Also I think the DeSilvo is EVIL angle was played to much, exactly what was so bad? Sure he was terrible but it got out of hand IMO and they did things too that although not spanning a world weren't so great either.
It needed more novels and character development then it would've been truly amazing. As it stands the first is GOLDEN, the second is BORING and the third is FUN BUT BORING later near it's end.
I'd suggest you read them though because it's interesting to see the decisions he makes in these books and what he might've been thinking at the time.
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