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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Science Fiction, August 13, 2002
By A Customer
Ivan Cat's new novel "The Burning Heart of Night" is a masterful exercise in world-building, combining a delightful story, interesting characters, and an exciting plot that kept me page-turning late into the night. While I agree with some other reviewers who pointed out that the conclusion is maybe a little too pat and idealized, this did not detract from the overall fun I had with the book.This is one of those science fiction works that keeps you thinking about it after the last page is read. What would happen if human "seeding" of colonies, at sub light speeds, became a high priority? Would the pace of human innovation be drastically slowed when it takes decades or centuries to transfer information between colonies? And what would happen if some humans (pilots) spent most of their lives in "fugue" time, spanning thousands of "real" years? What would they be like, and what would happen if they suddenly found themselves having to interact with "normal" people? And what would happen on a planet like "New Ascension" where unforeseen planet biology forces tough choices on the colonists? How would human society evolve? And how would the colony leaders react? Only towards the end of the novel do we begin to understand why the New Ascension colonists behave the way they do. I found myself pondering all these questions and more after finishing the book. However, I do not want to leave the impression that this novel is simply an intellectual exercise. There is action and excitement apace. The hero falls in and out of dire straights more often than Indiana Jones. There were a few times when I thought he was toast, and it was only by noting that several hundred pages were left in the book that I could foresee his escape ... and escape he does, in unexpected yet logical ways! The novel is not flawless. I noted a few lapses of science and logic that slightly mar the overall ambience. Also the dialog is a little clunky in a few places, awkwardness that is not completely explained to me by the circumstances and setting. But these are minor cavils by an anal-retentive perfectionist (me) and detract little from the book. The fact that I read the entire 591 page story in three days (and I am not a particularly fast reader) will attest to that point. In summary, I would unreservedly recommend this book to science fiction fans, and to anyone else who likes exciting, well plotted books with interesting stories that also provide food for thought.
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