The Trigger [Import] [Paperback]

Arthur C Clarke & Michael Kube McDowell (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers; New Ed edition (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006483836
• ISBN-13: 978-0006483830
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,325,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, but no Emprise., December 9, 1999

By 

Taed Wynnell (Sunnyvale, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Trigger (Hardcover)

[As someone who does not judge a book by the back of its dustjacket, this review has no spoilers whatsoever.]

I've been a devoted reader of Michael Kube-McDowell since his first book, _Emprise_, which is on my personal top 10 list, having read it 3 or 4 times now.

_The Trigger_ aspires to be another _Emprise_. In fact, when I first started reading _The Trigger_, I was quite excited since it seemed to be telling the story of the prolog to _Emprise_, wherein an "antidote" for nuclear reactions is discovered, which throws the world into chaos following the political and energy ramifications.

Unfortunately, _The Trigger_ is not as far-reaching, and I think it could have explored its premise much more than it did. Mind you, it follows the plot on a larger scale more than most novels, which is one of the things that I like about it.

It is an addicting read, and, like the previous Amazone reviewer, I "could not put it down". However, I also felt the ending was weak and uninspired, not following the premise far enough.

As far as the collaboration with Clarke goes, I have to admit that I didn't see any "Clarke" in this book. So, if you're an Arthur C. Clarke fan, I can't say you should read it on that basis alone.

In summary, I recommend _The Trigger_. But if you like it even a little, I suggest you try to track down some of Kube-McDowell's better books, such as _Emprise_, or _Alternities_.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars For the politicos or lawyers...not for the sci-fi fan, July 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Trigger (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm in agreement with some of the other readers...spends way too much time describing politics and not enough with the technology. In addition, in trying to describe the sociological effects of this "trigger" device (which is used to explode munitions containing nitrates) the author seems to overlook the fact that humans have been killing each other with edged weapons for thousands of years. This kind of lapse makes the story rather laughable as this component is not offered to display effects the trigger has on societies. In addition, it is offensive to see the gun lobby portrayed the way it is in this book. This book is clearly anti-gun and anti-American in the way it portrays our government and our established laws. Mr. Clarke, quit lending your name to works that don't deserve it!

23 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Polemic posing as sci-fi, December 24, 1999

By 

Matthew P Moore (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Trigger (Hardcover)

... a fantasy where techo-magic can uninvent firearms and, when the Great and the Good wave that wand, people decide to love each other and study war no more. The gun controllers get all the good lines and the Other Side is composed of scary, evil leaders and ordinary gun owners who are their useful idiots. The book is set in the near future with electronic technologies that are somewhat plausible, but without the personality alteration technology that would be needed to actually make it work.

To review, researchers accidentally discover a device which can detonate explosives and ammunition remotely (the Trigger). Later on, they discover that this is only one aspect of a more powerful technology that allows them to change the chemical structure of matter from a distance and with precision.

The immediate application that they seize on is to disable firearms and explosives. Much ink is expended on the political fallout from this, and how it will make the world a better place. What is glaring to me is what is missed: these supposedly smart people don't notice that firearms and explosives can still work with minor redesign. They focus on the more capable technology only as a way to uninvent the gun even more thoroughly (the Jammer) - no one notices that it makes weapons possible that are far more deadly than guns. For example, if you can turn nitrocellulose back into inert cotton by pointing a ray emitter at it, why can't you turn all the proteins in a man's body back into individual amino acids? Answer, you can, and the victim would collapse instantly into a puddle of goo. This occurs to none of the characters. Instead, they reinvent Medeival weaponcraft - the crossbow and the quarterstaff - but somehow forget about the sword, the mace, and the halbard. This allows the Good Guys to win battles without spilling blood - luckily, they don't have to fight anyone who actually knows how. Plus, there are far too many long, preachy passages that would fit better into a Handgun Control Inc broadsheet than into a sci-fi novel people are expected to pay their own money for and then read for entertainment.

Bottom line, some people will like this book, some will hate it, and most will find it boring. If you know someone who has a "Beyond War" bumpersticker and wants Charles Schumer to run for President, then this book would make a great gift. If you value the right to self-defense, this book will not be good for your blood pressure. If you are looking for good sci-fi, where the initial premise is worked out carefully and logically and with respect for the reader's intelligence, look somewhere else.