Lodestar (Firestar) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Michael Flynn (Author) "They were called the Five Fingers, but never in public..." (more)
Key Phrases: phat stoopid, screen morph, slag attack, Jimmy Poole, Adam van Huyten, Billie Whistle (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
An asteroid threatens to stomp the glitzy high-tech Earth of the 21st century into so much interstellar road kill in this sturdy follow-up to Flynn's Firestar and Rogue Star. Flynn populates his brave new world with a wide array of characters. There's cripped Billie Whistle, who earns her living through virtual shady deals; Leland Hobart, the African-American Nobel candidate who remains just this side of a major breakthrough in semi-conductor technology; and spunky, sexy Jacinta Rosario, space cadet at the Glenn Academy. Of greatest interest, though, is Mariesa van Huyten. The heiress and former CEO is haunted by the fear of asteroids and will personally spend millions to finance the "Skywatch" group and its planetary defense system. Although van Huyten suffers from obsessesion, her fear isn't misplaced: a satellite dispatched to observe an incoming asteroid is destroyed once it watches the rock changing its trajectory, apparently at will. While Flynn intertwines his main narrative line with tales of corporate and political intrigue, the novel ends with the news that an asteroid is definitely on a collision course with Earth. Impact will occur within the next six years. Flynn's fans will enjoy this well-crafted outing, and can rest assured that the story's big questions (Who is lobbing these rocks at Earth? And why?) leave plenty of room for a sequel.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Older and wiser, the fierce Mariesa van Huyten returns in this sequel to Firestar (1996) and Rogue Star (1998). She has no more luck than before in persuading presidents of the threat asteroids pose and must humbly ask her successor at Van Huyten Industries for money to keep the sky watch alive. The book darts about Earth and near-space to chart the politics of mounting a defense against the possible end of the world. Then, through the crusading efforts of Phil Albright, the world learns that a rock big enough to obliterate Manhattan is six years from impact. Interestingly, this rock hasn't wobbled off from the Asteroid Belt but seems to have been aimed. And there may be more rocks behind it. Hope lies with black chemist Leland Hobart, whose advanced experiments with high-temperature semiconductors point to the possibility of antigravity devices. Flynn's is a good series, though so intricately plotted and beset with characters that readers may be better off starting at the beginning. John Mort --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Tor Science Fiction; 1st edition (April 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812542967
• ISBN-13: 978-0812542967
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #695,370 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lodestar...good for fans of the series, April 19, 2000

By	[e-mail] (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lodestar (Firestar Saga) (Hardcover)

After constructing a magnificent, progressive universe with a cast of dozens of well-rounded, genuine characters in Firestar and Roguestar, Michael Flynn apparently has forgotten how the first two books were written. This book simply takes a sharp left turn, with regard to style, characterization, and plot. Whereas previous books had a sense of awe and suspense at first about Mariesa's Plan and then about the struggle to get the FarTrip expedition off the ground, the plot here is simplistic at best. Old characters make convenient cameos but are sorely underutilized. Simply put, this book feels rushed, written solely in order to meet a publisher's deadline and shows little of the depth or emotional power of the previous two titles in the series. LET IT BE SAID HOWEVER, THAT THE PREVIOUS RANT WAS WRITTEN ONLY BECAUSE THE FIRST TWO BOOKS WERE SO GOOD THAT THIS FEELS LIKE A DEFINITE STEP DOWN! Overall, the story, though somewhat lukewarm, is a good one, and fans of the series will enjoy seeing the children of Mariesa's program taking the most prominent roles. So check out Firestar and Roguestar, and perhaps by then you'll be as hooked as me. One last comment, someone really needs to tell Michael Flynn that for the next book to get a different cover artist. The circa-1940s fish bowl space suits make the novel's very serious and at times wrenching story look sophomoric and silly. Put that in your next contract, Mr. Flynn.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SFRevu: Rogue Star, Firestar...Lodestar., March 8, 2000

By	Ernest Lilley (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lodestar (Firestar Saga) (Hardcover)

Rogue Star, Firestar...Lodestar. Is this the big payoff to Michael Flynn's near future saga of an obsessed woman's crusade to get mankind back into space in order to protect Earth from falling rocks? Well, let's just say the story continues entertainingly. Last time we took a deep space trip to the asteroids and found that somebody was nudging them our way. This time we try to talk the world into doing something about it. Dealing with people, Flynn demonstrates, is always the toughest problem; past, present, or near future.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Left turn into Cyberspace, February 26, 2002

By	Wood Hughes (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After enjoying the first two books in this series, I eagerly awaited Lodestar. Now that I've finished it, I still eagerly await anything that resembles the first two books.

If you take the Jimmy Poole at the virtual OK Corral story arc out of this book, the remainder of plot progress takes up no more than a hundred pages. Jimmy on a virtual gambling boat, Jimmy fighting virtual attacks, Jimmy fighting not to be a jerk and read his wifes book. Geez! Nuke Jimmy and get back to the plot.