Customer Reviews

Warp Speed

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Someone once said that if you want to be a good writer you should write what you know. "Warp Speed" by Travis S. Taylor shows that not only does he have a good eye for story telling, but also that he knows a lot! The book is written in the first person perspective following Dr. Neil Anson Clemons, Physicist, Engineer and a University Professor. Anson, as his friends call him, is working on developing alternative propulsion systems for the space program. In other words he's trying to find a way to make space travel more practical than strapping people to giant rockets and shooting them into the sky. Specifically he is working on developing a warp drive to allow faster than light travel.

The book takes a lot of interesting turns. In most science fiction that I've read the technologies are more of a back drop that facilitates the plot. "I want my character to fly like Superman so he has the Dyson 3000 anti-gravity belt", or even more simply, "my character has a sword made of energy, never mind how, he just does". In Taylor's book, the technology he uses starts almost with where we are today. It's set a few years in the future, but nothing seems extraordinarily out of place, no ray guns or teleportation. As Anson's work on the warp drive progresses a number of new technologies are brought into play besides the warp drive but the reader is not asked to simply accept them, rather, they become a part of their logical development. In fact it all was introduced so realistically that I'm surprised we haven't already developed many of the things Anson and his team discover.

The focus on the technology in "Warp Speed" doesn't mean the characters are skipped or glossed over. The character of Anson Clemons is brought into very clear focus as a "renaissance man" with a number of talents and interests that blend together to complement each other and help explain his motives and thought processes. The other characters are well rounded, but they are seen through Anson's eyes which colors them more to how he perceives them. One does pick up on an endearing bit of absentmindedness from Anson, as he "forgets" to mention significant developments in his life, only to have them pop up in the story with an "oh yeah, did I mention that...".

Don't let me fool you, "Warp Speed" isn't just a book about the development of a new propulsion technology. This is good science fiction with plenty of action to keep the reader hooked. In fact, at times the action comes so fast you almost can't get your breath as the characters are thrust from one situation to another with no breaks. One minute they are in space, then they are in a forest with tornadoes, then they are facing terrorists, it almost makes a person dizzy, but it still manages to flow well.

I recommend "Warp Speed" by Travis S. Taylor. It is a real page turner that makes some of the science behind science fiction come alive. This is the first in a series with the second book "The Quantum Connection" due out in paperback soon. To quote author John Ringo "Flubells away!" which will make much more sense if you read the book. Check it out!

I seldom buy first books by new authors in hardback, but elected to do so in this case based upon the sample chapters I'd read at Baen's webpage. It hooked me enough on the story I was willing to spend the money NOW to buy the hardback, rather than waiting a year for the paperback edition. In my opinion, it was worth the money. Imagine - an SF book with Science in it. (Remember, guys? used to be that's what the S in SF was for.) Note to others - if you're not sure about this, go read the sample chapters at baen.com first, then buy if you like it.

I bought this on the strength of the short story that appeared in the anthology "Cosmic Tales". Taylor wrote a story and contributed an essay with science to back up the story. It reminded me of what Charles Sheffield did with his "McAndrew" stories.

A fun first novel. I read it in two nights; stayed up into the wee hours last night to finish it. I look forward to seeing more from him and seeing how he matures as a writer.

I was very strongly reminded of the style of writing that 'Doc' Smith used writing his Skylark series. The main characters would get along famously with Dr. Richard Seaton, the main difference that the female leads are permitted somewhat bolder roles then was permitted when the Skylark books were written (though even back then they were hardly the type of hapless female who would inhabit a bodice-ripper of a romance novel).

The plot does have a couple small holes in it (though they don't ruin the story), but these could well be due to the fact that there are things going on (ie that we will learn in the sequal) that we do not have total understanding of.

If you are a fan of Smith and Heinlein's short stories.. I definately say this book is for you.

Though often choppy at time, Warp Speed is a true SF story without the classic scifi blunders and irritation that Taylor admitted that he hates himself. Fast paced, with enough technology in it for you to say "huh? What in the...?" Taylor's novel of a karate expert/mountain biker/physicist who discovers how to break the speed of light (sort of) is mixed with enough political intirgue (though I wonder how a Chinese national gets... well, nevermind. Read the book) to satisfy anyone, Warp Speed is a great first effort.

Dr. Neil Anson Clemons, our hero invents a warp drive, after getting the crap beat out of him winning a marshal arts contest and from there the story takes off.

Things are moving along nicely till Clemons and his female of choice Colonel Tabitha Ames are the only survivers when the space shuttle blows up in orbit. Soon America is under attack by the Chinese and Russians who have warp missiles of their own. Colorado gets smashed, litterly. But Clemons and crew save the day with a trick of their own and win the Warp War.

I do have some problems with this book even though it was an enjoyable read. First everything seems just a little to cut and dried. Victory came seemingly to easy... I don't real many spelling/gramatical errors but there where a number of sentances that should have been re-written. On the other hand it is a enjoyable little story, enjoy it for what it is, science fiction.

The author is a real life physicist and rocket scientist. He also tells a darned good story. Warp Speed reminds me strongly of many of my favorite "Golden Age" novels from greats like Smith, and Simak and Heinlein. The science checks out, the story moves along nicely, and the people are perhaps a smidge larger than life. Yes, it probably could stand a bit more polish and some greater depth of characterization, but this is a truly amazing first novel, and I expect to see as good or better in the future.

Pity that so many other reviewers have to trash a book in retaliation for their inability to recognize that it's just not their cup of tea.

I have read science fiction for quite a few decades, and I cannot recall a book that was more of a disappointment to me than Warp Speed.

The author's solid background in science (PhD in optical science, Masters in physics, aerospace and astronomy) and collaborations with John Ringo had me looking forward to a true science fiction book (with emphasis on science). The science side is the most solid part of the book... and yet one is asked to believe that creating a warp drive is a matter of Dr. Anson (the male lead - smarter than Einstein, amazing martial artist and wannabe astronaut whose grating first person narration is at delivered using a 8th to 10th grade level vocabulary and style) having a revolutionary insight during a painkiller induced blackout during which his mumbling about miniature pistons is heard by one of his PhD students who goes into the lab with another PhD candidate and within 36 hours have the theory solved AND a prototype of a perpetual energy generator ready for testing...or that this radical new 10 nanometer wide component which explodes with catastrophic results when not perfect is outsourced for scale-up production to a clumsy "local printed circuit board company" with weak quality control and processes - because that how DARPA would have you manufacture an energy source that generates 10 to the power of 20 joules (more energy than everybody on earth generates in an year).

I am willing to suspend some disbelief when reading a SF book - but the plot and the character development are also atrocious. The characters work on this technology which can change the world and completely turn the world economy on its head in "secret", but bring in random PhD candidates and hire random admin people off the street... the main male character becomes a NASA payload specialist for no particular reason other than that his girlfriend is the shuttle commander...falls asleep and snores for hours during the preflight checks, but nobody wakes him up until he needs to confirm that he is a "go" at 9 minutes before take-off... his shuttle commander girlfriend either romances him or is ordering him around during the flight in a random fashion... etc.

The book bottoms out at page 264, when the Dr. Anson's first meeting with the president in the wake of a warp weapon attack that destroyed Colorado and killed 50 million US civilians starts with the following line from the president: "This is a fine damn mess you've caused, fellows! There are over 50 million people estimated dead and what am I to tell the public?" Believing that the president of the USA would bring the egg-head that bungled creating the technology so badly that the Chinese easily got everything and are using it to secretly destroy parts of US at will to ask him for advice on how to handle that kind of crisis... and on the same page just agree to keep this whole thing secret by blaming it on an asteroid strike and just engage in a "secret war" with the Chinese in order to destroy the evil leaders, ruin their economy then bring the joy of capitalism to them in the form of economic aid does not require suspension of disbelief - it requires one to completely turn their brain off. Oh... the page ends with the president of the USA remarking saying "Jesus, son. I'm glad you are on your side.", then handing over full power (including control over the army) over handling this political crisis to Dr. Anson, then presumably going to Amazon.com to buy a copy of this book to see if he did the right thing... On the bright side, all the nonsense that follows in the remaining 110 pages seems less painful by comparison - thank God for small blessings.

To summarize - the author starts with an interesting premise but wastes it with a poorly designed, lazily written book that seems written as a stream of consciousness dictation with essentially no review or editing, clumsy dialogue, cartoonish single dimensional characters and a plot relying on one person to stumble from one crisis to another and promptly solve them through its genius, sheer awesomeness and magnificent redneckness. Did I mention that by the end of the book he gets the girl and casually discovers life on a planet around a nearby star? And in just one paragraph, he wonders how come that the vegetation pollinates without insects... but promptly figures out that the wind must be good enough. The author seems to believe that this kind of reasoning is more proof of Dr. Anson`s genius. It also is the reason why I will pass on buying another one of Mr. Taylor's books.

Fast easy read. I stayed up late two nights getting through it. Fun fast paced Wish fulfillment. 'If only I had an ultimate power source I could do `X `with my gizmo -'Y' ~ and then he does, over and over . Constantly thinking of new things to do with it that always seem to work and in super-fast, record time, no matter what. And he does it all in a `suspend-your-disbelief-and-you'll-have-fun' flair that he is so good at. Recommended. Something like Ringo's "live free or die" on a smaller, more human scale.
I liked it.

Warp Speed (2004) is a standalone SF novel. It takes place in the near future, when NASA has funded a low cost program on warp drives under the Breakthrough Physics Propulsion program. Contractors are exploring the concept and conducting experiments.

In this novel, Neil Anson Clemons is a professor within the Physics Department at the University of Alabama at Huntsville and founder of a company working on the warp drive. Two Physics PhD candidates work for his company. Anson is also a mountain biker and holds a black belt in karate.

Jim Daniels is one of the graduate students working for Anson on the warp drive. Jim is also Anson's best friend. He is working on his brown belt at the same studio as Anson.

Rebecca Jean Townes is the other graduate student working on the warp drive. 'Becca is an orphan and has worked her way through college and graduate school. She is also working on her brown belt.

Tabitha Ames is a Lieutenant Colonel, USAF, and a NASA astronaut. She is well known in the space industry and among space fans.

In this story, Anson wins a karate tournament, but at the cost of two broken ribs. His ribs are taped and he is taking pain killers, but it hurts when he sneezes or laughs. He is self-medicating with beer on the flight to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Luckily he has enough frequent flyer miles to upgrade to first class.

He vaguely recognizes his seatmate and finally realizes that she is Tabitha Ames. She also recognizes him for some reason. They are both going to the BPP workshop.

When he reaches the conference, he discovers that Tabitha is the new BPP program director and that the schedule has been rearranged. He now has the first presentation of the day. After the scheduled talks are finished, Tabitha announces that BPP is being redirected toward more immediate research. Apparently the change is mandated by executives higher than the NASA hierarchy.

Anson is still not feeling well and the disappointing news convinces him to leave early. He flies back to Huntsville on the first available flight. When he reaches his house, he has seven messages on the answering machine. Two are from his mother and one is from Tabitha. He starts to call Tabitha, but the phone rings and Jim fills him in on recent developments in the lab.

Jim and 'Becca have made significant progress on a power supply for the warp drive. Anson approves of their work, but the Casimir effect cells are still too big and too weak for the drive. They brainstorm on the design and come up with an improved version.

Tabitha is in Huntsville and Anson invites her over to the lab to see their newest design. Then Anson, Jim and 'Becca investigate a puzzle in their warp experiments. The electrons are disappearing from the experiment and they don't know where they are going.

Jim and 'Becca add cameras to the test sphere and they try again. Now they notice that the electrons are emitting Cerenkov radiation during the experiment, indicating that they are traveling faster than light. Apparently they have demonstrated FTL travel without knowing it.

Later 'Becca has an accident while constructing power cells for the drive. After rushing her to the hospital, Anson and Jim study the wreckage and consider possible causes for an explosion. They discover an inherent instability in the energy cells.

This tale is much like an early space opera. Not in the space voyages, but in the quickness of new discoveries. Within a few months, they have a working warp drive and then the possibilities increase almost exponentially.

The story starts with a karate match and then ramps up the action from there. By chapter five, the action becomes increasingly frantic. Read and enjoy!

Recommended for Taylor fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of experimental science, wholesale destruction, and a touch of romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin