The Trigger (Hardcover)

by Arthur C. Clarke (Author), Michael P. Kube-Mcdowell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The early 21st century ushers in a revolution in unified field theory, and free-thinking physicist Jeffrey Horton and his team are pushing the cutting edge. Sequestered on a maximum-security research campus, the scientists are testing "Baby," a device they hope will create "a laser for gravity," a tractor beam. But during an early run, every gun in the area (and even a secret stash of fireworks) simultaneously explodes. Follow-up tests soon prove their device was responsible--that it can in fact neutralize every conventional gun, bomb, and explosive--and that's when Baby becomes the "Trigger."

This speculative novel by sci-fi legend Arthur C. Clarke and genre workman Michael Kube-McDowell follows the vast sea changes such an invention would bring, reading as part thriller, part social tract. Horton and his Trigger follow a course not unlike that of Einstein and the A-bomb, but ratcheted up by an order of magnitude--idealistic scientists, overwhelmed politicians, rabid lobbyists, and entrenched generals must deal with the device's deployment and consequences, both political and social, in a gun-rich, gun-dependent culture. A well-researched, plausible plot line keeps The Trigger not just readable but downright engrossing, despite its sometimes distracting lack of subtlety. All in all, a worthwhile, entertaining meditation on how technological progress always proves as unpredictable as it is inevitable. --Paul Hughes

From Publishers Weekly
One of the grand old men of SF has teamed up with Kube-McDowell (Tyrant's Test, etc.) to imagine a near-future in which all traditional weapons that use gunpowder are rendered obsolete. Out of the blue, young physicist Jeffrey Horton has been chosen to join Nobelist Karl Brohier at a laboratory named Terabyte. While Horton pursues the "stimulated emission of gravitons," a number of detonations rock the lab one day. Is this yet another terrorist attack in an America racked by violence? But it's gun clips and fireworks that exploded when Horton activated his experimental machine. After some experimentation, the lab team realizes that the device, shortly named the Trigger, causes virtually every traditional explosive within range to self-destruct. What follows is a detailed exploration of the effects of the Trigger on domestic America. Should it be made public? Who should be told first: the army, the president, the international community? To prevent being silenced by those whose power may be threatened, Brohier and Horton contact Grover Wilman, an iconoclastic U.S. senator with a strong antigun record. Wilman in turn leads them to President Mark Breland, and the full complexity of negotiating among the many factions invested in guns begins. Clarke and Kube-McDowell work through the pro and con arguments over the possession of guns and other gunpowder-based weapons, with care and research evident in every debate as they skillfully assess the tricky territory between individualism and collective trust. The authors are savvy enough never to choose easy answers, and though this political SF thriller occasionally slows down to depict detailed governmental negotiations and private deliberations, the unpredictable effects of the Trigger lend the familiar issue of gun control new urgency and excitement. (Dec.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Spectra; First Edition edition (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553104586
• ISBN-13: 978-0553104585
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,778,669 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 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)

[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_.

3 of 3 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

... 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.