ALOBAM

December 2012 Update

Posted by Travis Gerhardt on December 7, 2012
Posted in: ALOBAM, Travis's Tuesday Tidbit. Leave a Comment

Dear Readers,

Over the past six months, my blog has featured two main series: ALOBAM (At Least One Book A Month) and Travis’s Tuesday Tidbit. I’m announcing the end of both, at least in some ways. Before I get into that, let me explain why I started both.

I started the ALOBAM series in June after I started reading science fiction again. I really enjoy reading and I wanted to remember what I read, so I decided to write a summary of the story with my personal take. I also wanted to encourage myself, perhaps artificially, to read more stories as it’s something I missed. ALOBAM solved both these problems. However, I began to realize that my initial format wasn’t ideal as it forced me to split the story into parts with the idea of relaying information as someone read through the book, trying to avoid spoilers as they went. In hindsight, I should have put the entire review inside one spoiler tag and not worried about capturing all my thoughts about the book in the correct order.

Travis’s Tuesday Tidbit started in July when I stumbled across the weird tradition of women trying to “catch” men in leap years. Some of my friends commented on my obscure knowledge, so I decided to start the web series.  This allowed me to recap a lot of the bizarre things I had learnt and practice my writing skills, both of which it did well. I noticed by my fourth article that my passion for the subject matter had waned, mainly because there was no overall topic for the series. I was merely grabbing interesting things I had heard and recounting them. I continued writing every week until October when I took two weeks off while my girlfriend was in town and I presented my Ignite talk. Resuming the weekly tidbits was no longer enjoyable because they didn’t give me a reason to continue; there was nothing to tie them together. I wanted more than that.

Which brings me to what I’m doing now. In November I resumed working on my science podcast with my friends Dana Harrison and Jonathan Fritz. Titled The Wonder of Reality, the podcast covers what science is, what we’re discovering with it, and a lot of what fascinates us with the world around us. We’ll be launching our first episode on January 1st, 2013 and continuing every two weeks from there. In order to do this show, I’m reading a lot of science literature and writing the equivalent of six Tuesday Tidbits every two weeks.

Where does that leave these series? As I’m reading a lot of different publications and articles, I’ll definitely learn new things that I want to remember for later. As a result I’m starting a new, irregular series called “Segmented Science“. Whenever I have something science related I want to remember, I’ll quickly jot down the main points and publish it with links and files. Most likely these posts will later be used in the podcast, but it’s entirely possible that they’ll be thrown away, so think of this series as more of a link farm than anything else.

And just in case you’re a long time reader, you’ll notice that I’ve excluded “Play Smarter” in this discussion. Play Smarter was never a regular series and it’s actually the largest source of traffic to the site despite only having one post. I’m still very excited about it as I love games and analyzing things. Definitely don’t expect something soon, but do expect the series to continue.

Thanks for reading,
Travis

ALOBAM: Nightfall

Posted by Travis Gerhardt on November 5, 2012
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Nightfall is based on a short story that Isaac Asimov wrote in 1941 and which was then expanded into a novel by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg in 1990. It chronicles the experiences of an alien civilization on a planet with six suns, completely illuminating the surface at all times. That is, except for once every 2049 years when the suns disappear and the stars come out. The story is broken into three parts: Twilight (before the darkness), Nightfall (the period of darkness), and Daybreak (everything that happens afterwards). The characters were a good cross-section of different societal views, though the number of non-scientists and females were under represented (yes, there is a correlation between the two even in this alien society). The book forgoes alien terminology such as vorks in place of miles, making it more accessible to the general public. Overall I found that while the story fell into some predictable trappings, it kept me wanting more making its 7.5/10 well earned. A word of caution though: after reading most of the book in one sitting at night, I started to believe that it would not be light again. This is one of the few times I advocate that you take a break at the end of each section.

General Information:

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The first thing to discuss is the Tunnel of Mystery which is  a long enclosure resulting in sensory deprivation for 15 “minutes”. It’s described as completely dark and without sound of movement or any wind. This is similar to what astronauts are put through to test how they cope with solitude, and from our human experiences we find that we start to hallucinate and focus on anything that makes sound, such as our own heartbeat and breathing. Without external stimulation it can be a traumatic experience, which is exactly what happens to most of the aliens who take the ride. However, most people can handle sensory deprivation tanks for more than 15 minutes; it’s likely that the constant sunlight on this alien world caused its inhabitants to have a more extreme reaction. The only thing that bugs me about the description of the ride is how it can accommodate multiple people, yet anyone can exit the ride and lights will come on. Wouldn’t that ruin the experience for everyone else?

Then there’s the excavation of the ruins. It’s true that the desert can obscure great swaths of history, and right now we’re using satellites to try and see the outlines of completely buried pyramids in Egypt. I liked hearing how they found a historical record of a great cataclysmic every 2000 years or so because it was in perfect contrast to the mysticism of the Apostles of Flame who said the same thing. I feel that the authors gave a good depiction of how archaeology is done (how many fires were there?) and especially of how science and religion intermingle without trying to agree.

Which brings us to the discovery of Kalgash Two. When Beenay 25 first realized that there was something wrong with his measurements or theory, he tried to recalculate everything from scratch and then asked someone else to help him with the calculations. This just confirmed that he had done everything correctly, so he then approached his advisor and explained the situation. I thought they might have stumbled onto the theory of relativity, but it turns out there was another massive body in the system on a highly elliptical orbit; an orbit that would have it eclipse the single sun in the sky and plunge half the world into darkness for at least 9 hours.

I was disappointed in the small-world nature of the story. Beenay 25 discovers the new planet and works under Athor 77, the person who originally created the theory of gravitation. Beenay also knows Theremon 762, a highly prolific reporter who’s been assigned a story on the Apostles of Flame. Then again, Beenay also knows Sheerin 501 (the psychologist who investigated the Tunnel of Mystery) as he’s living with Sheerin’s niece and they both are professors at the same university. Finally, Beenay also knows Siferra 89, the leading archaeologist on the Beklimot dig, because they met five years ago at an inner-departmental meeting and became friends. The fact that everyone works for the same university, and that Beenay knows everyone except the Apostles of Flame, seems a little far-fetched  (especially when you consider that all the important work each of them is conducting is related and happens within a year of each other).

Midpoint Discussion:

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Now Nightfall is coming and the situation has changed. Athor has talked to Folimun 66 (the representative for the Apostles of Flame) and Theremon has changed from believing that darkness will come to strongly feeling that the scientists are over-reacting and buying into what the Apostles of Flame are spewing. I liked how the two students (Faro 24 and Yimot 70) tried to replicate the star experience by buying an apartment and poking holes in a sheet. It didn’t make a lot of sense that the Apostles of Flame would attack the observatory after they helped verify their predictions, but for some reason they didn’t want the eclipse to be recorded (more on this later).

Let me quickly touch on the science that’s been presented in the story thus far. Could they have detected a large planet that they can’t see using the theory of graviation? Yes, and it was by observing anomalies in Uranus’ orbit that astronomers hypothesized that Neptune existed and later observed it. Could a planet be invisible to our telescopes due to its colouration? This is less likely but still possible, as it’s hard for us to see planets on a brightly lit day and there are certain wavelengths of light that are harder to see through the atmosphere.

Would they really have been driven mad? By darkness, no, because that’s something that was scary but could be explained and was something they had experience with. In fact, the scientists had a very simple solution for combating that, which was using torches. And where darkness would have been scary, stars would have been terrifying. It’s no longer the darkness they prepared themselves for, but something completely alien and unexpected. (As an aside, I was slightly annoyed at how Sheerin’s explanation of the stars was postponed twice and then didn’t amount to much.)

Final Thoughts:

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Too many important people survived. It’s not surprising that Folimun survived, but having Theremon, Beenay, Sheerin, Siferra, and Yimot make it through means that 75% of the main characters in the observatory survived. This is very surprising given how we hear that there are bodies everywhere, equipment was being wrecked, and fires started all over. Of course, I understand that most of the main characters survived so they could have different experiences in the post-apocalyptic world, and both Yimot and Sheerin die shortly after. But still, 75% survival rate for an onslaught is a little extreme.

Then there’s how Theremon luckily meets up with almost everyone who survives. He randomly bumps into Sheerin and is told that everyone is heading to Amgando Park and that Yimot is dead. This is followed by meeting Siferra after trying to start a fire for the first time (she’s part of the Fire Patrol, so this is only marginally more sensible than the first encounter). Having Siferra and Theremon take the same same road as Beenay is reasonable, but having Beenay at the first checkpoint was very luckily. It made sense that they would be able to only get through a few sections on the highway, but it was convenient that near the end of their authorized trip, they stumble on Folimun to  wrap up the story.

I expected there to be a big twist with Mondior since we never met him but he played a large role in the story. Most of the time, hidden people turn out to be people we already met, and in this case it was simply a cover for Folimun which was an elegant solution. I didn’t like why Folimun attacked the university though; he says he was pretending to be a wild-eyed fanatic and just trying to convince the scientists to leave, but why didn’t he say that? The scientists had confirmed everything he knew and while they distanced themselves from the Apostles of Flame, they were on speaking terms and able to help each other out. Their conflict feels contrived.

My other big issue is Siferra’s character. In the first third of the story she’s pegged as completely uninterested in physical relationships, which is a reasonable characterization for a career-focused woman in a male dominated workforce. However, it still feels stereotypical, especially when she slowly falls for the womanizer Theremon who realizes that he has a softer side and that he loves Siferra. On the positive side, this is at most a subplot so its predictability isn’t much of an issue.

The story was well written and I enjoyed the characters and their interactions. I loved the idea of the stars only coming out every 2049 years and causing mass panic, combined with trying to fight the coming storm. It was a very enjoyable read. And to the people of Kalgash, may there always been a sun in your sky.

ALOBAM: Nemesis

Posted by Travis Gerhardt on September 30, 2012
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Nemesis by Isaac Asimov was an enjoyable tale about how a small self-contained settlement leaves the Solar System to orbit another star. The story has two timelines that alternate, one in the present and another from fifteen years ago that slowly approaches the present. The intersection is well done and I enjoyed the story for the most part. However, there are a few scientific things that bugged me, so inside of doing a review I’m going to deal with the science concepts discussed in the book from a present day perspective.

General Information:

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The biggest issue I had with the story was the name. As soon as I saw the title was Nemesis, I immediately jumped to the Nemisis theory which posits that there exists a rogue star which enters into our solar system at a set interval. Knowing that it’s rumoured to take millions of years per orbit, that it would have to be more massive than Jupiter to sustain nuclear fusion (and thus make it a star), and that the closest star is roughly 4.3 light years away, it all seemed rather unlikely. Why? First, Nemisis would have to be on a highly elliptical orbit, passing inside our solar system at its closest point yet be very far away otherwise to maintain its million year orbit. Next, it would have to stay gravitationally bound in order to have this periodic orbit. Third, it would need to go unnoticed to the point that present day astronomy has not detected it.

Asimov drops almost all of these problems by the wayside. It’s named Nemesis because it’s found to be closer than Alpha Centauri, not because it’s going to destroy Earth. It’s discovery still bothers me though. This is a star that’s two light years away from us, yet no one has measured it’s parallax before. The first successful stellar parallax measurement was in 1838 of a star more than 10 light years away. Granted, the star is hidden behind a dust cloud which dims the already dim star further which might make it so that people overlooked it, but it’s so close that people would have had to see it’s annual parallax movement. Did they mistake it for an asteroid? Maybe, but then they would have seen it return to its original position at the end of the year, removing that possibility. No matter how you look at it, we should have seen it before now.

I  have to praise Asimov for some things though. Nemesis does not orbit our Sun but instead is haphazardly moving through the Milky Way and will just happen to intersect our solar system this one time. In making the name and purpose of Nemesis work he’s done two things right, though I still dislike that no one discovered the star for so long.

Midpoint Discussion:

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What about the solar system that Asimov describes? As we’ve studied solar systems besides our own, we continue to find more and more with large gas giants orbiting closer than Earth orbits the Sun, which is in sharp contrast to our own solar system. This is partly due to selection bias (it’s easier to detect large planets than small ones), but it still shows a predominance for large, close planets due to the sheer number of them.

Further, moons will become tidally locked with planets, just like our moon is tidally locked with Earth, and planets will become tidally locked with their stars, just like Mercury is tidally locked with the Sun. The orbital period of roughly one Earth day is also in line with our solar system, as Jupiter has at least four moons that orbit it in less than a day. However, Jupiter’s largest moon is only 40% as wide as Earth, unlike Erythro which is larger than Earth. Besides this last point, everything else has a president and seems plausible.

The last point to touch on is how habitable the planet would be. Earth varies by roughly 5 million km over its entire orbit, and the larger temperature variation we feel is not from distance but from our axial tilt which cause the seasons. Nemesis is dimmer than the Sun so Erythro cannot vary as much in it’s orbit, but because it has no axial tilt then this isn’t much of an issue. It seems quite plausible that Erythro would be habitable and stay that way.

Final Thoughts:

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This brings us to hyper-assistance. First off, I have no great issue with exceeding the speed of light. There have been a lot of discussions over the years as to how it might be possible, and there are some theories that look similar to Star Trek’s Warp Drive. I also like how the first version of hyper-assistance requires that your overall trip not exceed the speed of light while the final version allows you to forgo this restriction.

Hyperspace is a little stranger. It’s quite possible that hyperspace has different laws than normal space and that they didn’t know of these rules when they first set to work. Perhaps even the first tests didn’t show them, and there was no obvious proof until the first human flight. But then why did Chao-Li Wu find something that everyone else missed for over a year? It’s just like how Einstein discovered relativity because he was annoyed by a lack of explanation of various phenomena; Wu may also have been bothered by the lack of a path in hyperspace, causing him to develop his own theory that better explained all of hyperspace theory, just like Einstein better described gravity.

Now should hyperspace have negative gravity? Maybe. Here I think Asimov is drawing on antimatter. One idea behind antimatter is that it’s negative energy travelling backwards in time, like matter is positive energy travelling forwards in time. In order to make antimatter work we have to flip two things to negative, and the same idea is applied to hyperspace.

And that’s it! Overall the science is within reasonable bounds, though the time it took to discover Nemesis still bothers me. Now that I’ve gotten all that off my chest, I can go read something else.

ALOBAM: The Stars, Like Dust

Posted by Travis Gerhardt on September 7, 2012
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I picked up The Stars, Like Dust by Isaac Asimov on a whim, as it was one of the few Asimov books the library had at the moment and I needed something to read. I didn’t realize it was an adventure/mystery set in space, nor that it was written as well as it was. The mystery had multiple layers (as all good tales must) and had a very intriguing plot along the way. It wasn’t until I researched the book afterwards that I realized it was the earliest book in the Galactic Empire trilogy and the second one written (which means I have two more books to read).

I’d recommend trying to solve the mystery as you’re reading because it doesn’t involve any complex science and it’s well thought out enough that it’s a worthy challenge. The characters all have different motives, there’s more than just one mystery at work, and it all comes together beautifully by the end. Overall, I’d give it a 9 out of 10, earning high marks in plot, characters, world building, and mystery but losing a little bit from how the characters interacted and a slightly off-beat end (I’ll cover more of that later). It left me wanting more, so I’m eagerly diving into the rest of the trilogy.

General Information:

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I loved how the first chapter was written, as it quickly grabbed my attention, gave me a small but deadly mystery, only to launch into a cosmic battle full of assassination and a plan to overthrow galactic rule. Biron is saved by Jonti, told of the imminent danger, and sent away for safety. Throughout all of this we get pieces of how there’s another layer to what’s going on, something about a way to escape the tyrannical rein of the (gasp) Tyranni, and that Jonti is planning something big though his motives are unclear. Further, we find out that a member of the Tyranni, Simok Aratap, is aware of most of what’s going on which adds an element of danger. Interestingly, Biron makes it through his trip unscathed and follows Jonti’s plan when he reaches Rhodia, where we quickly learn about the three main players on the planet and each of their plans.

These first 80 pages are all so tied up in different people, assassination attempts, multiple plans, and a huge conspiracy that I sympathized with Biron as I was tossed into the middle of it just like him. Despite this, he still has his wits about him and quickly sees why he was moved on the ship, and that there’s something important about his watch. We’re given a lot to hear and play with, all delivered at a quick pace and while there isn’t as much plot development as I’d like, we do get a sense of how controlled everything is (though by Jonti or Aratap we don’t know). Then on reaching Rhodia, three more people enter the fray, all with their own plans, thus complicating the whole endeavour. Who killed the Rancher of Widemos? Who is really controlling the situation? What was Biron looking for? And most of all, what’s the next move?

The entirety of this first third is well delivered, though I did feel a little overwhelmed at this point. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, but I quickly lost sight of all the different things going on and how they fit together, mainly because I was so eager to read more. I’d highly suggest pausing for a moment and reflecting on everything you’ve discovered so far because this mystery can withstand scrutiny. Every time something seems a little off, there is a reason for it and it will be answered in this book, so take your time. We’re already a third done, and though we have yet to solve any of the mysteries, answers will start coming soon.

Midpoint Discussion:

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The titles of all of these chapters are beautifully tongue-in-cheek. Each time you think the story will go one way, the title says otherwise without giving too much away, and you’re left to enjoy how “An Overlord’s Trousers” are securely fastened. Then there’s the matter of how Gilbert has been listening in on the Tyranni, how Aratap seems to be in control, and how Jonti still sounds like he has most everything planned. Having the three groups working against each other, yet wondering if they are or not, is thrilling. Then we’re told of a resistance planet that no one knows about, and things get really crazy.

It’s at this point we hit the halfway mark of the book and it starts to fall back in on itself. We see how Biron’s father starts fits into the resistance, meet a powerful leader of a planet who turns out to be Jonti in disguise, and then hear about Rizzett who is the only named assistant to Jonti. And then it starts to unravel, as so much snaps apart and falls into place. It was only here after Biron’s revelation about Jonti that I really started to savour the story. The rebellion world was at hand and everyone should go so that the meeting would be a success. Finally, we get the murder of the Rancher of Widemos tossed at Artemisia’s feet and we’re left with a lot of drama and a new plot line to follow into the final third.

Final Thoughts:

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And what a conclusion it is! Not only are we given the answer to a mystery we didn’t know existed, but we learn just how much the Autarch had planned and that Biron had again outsmarted everyone else. At least for a time. Quickly they get surrounded on the planet and Aratap comes out victorious, revealing how Gilbert is really delusional for the most part and yet still knows about the rebellion world that no one has yet found. With one planet left, he even sabotages everything to protect the world, only to be stopped by Biron. It’s here again that you should pause and try to piece everything together before reading on, for there’s another brilliant reveal coming up.

With that mystery solved, we turn to the paper Biron was searching for, and here I will announce the final twist: it’s the US Constitution. In essence, the Tyranni can be overthrown by a properly organized democracy, and the US as envisioned by its founders is the perfect way to doing so. There’s some truth in that as the settlers escaped the rule of the monarchy, but the Constitution served as a way to unite the states after the war had been fought, not a call to arms to overthrow the empire that held them.

Despite my feelings about the ending, I’m still very excited about the next book in the series as I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Time to exit the nebula; onto the rebellion world!

ALOBAM: Glory Road

Posted by Travis Gerhardt on August 5, 2012
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Glory Road is a fantasy novel written by science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein and stands as his only full foray into the genre. This novel was written around the same time as A Stranger in a Strange Land and there is quite a bit of overlap between them in terms of philosophical views. The novel itself is well done overall and I could easily tell that it was written by the science fiction pioneer, though it doesn’t feel as completed as some of his other work. The copy I had was just under 300 pages and I enjoyed the first two-thirds, as they balanced the lecturing, adventure, and wonderful writing that I’ve come to enjoy from his books. But new readers to Heinlein need to understand that many of his novels don’t involve protagonists and great battles, so if you’re looking for an epic quest this isn’t it. In fact, I would say that the last third of the book is lacklustre and becomes more lecture than anything else, and an uninteresting one at that. I give the novel a 5 out of 10, losing large points for an ending that lacked the climax and resolution I desired.

General Information:

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The first third of the novel is interesting and diverse. First we meet the main character and learn about his exploits in a war he isn’t enjoying. This quickly leads to him recounting being wounded in battle and leaving the war as a veteran, with a trip through Europe planned. He catches a flight to Signapore where we learn that he can sense direction with ease and that he’s won a lot of Irish Sweepstakes tickets. However, we also discover that even though he’s a war veteran he won’t get any benefits for his service, and that his winning ticket is actually a fake. His plan turns to just surviving in France for a while when he spots a beautiful woman, they chat for hours, and then she leaves without him getting her name. (Fellow readers of Heinlein will quickly spot the similarities between this woman and many others he’s described in other novels.)

What comes next is a jump to the fantastic as he gets multiple notices of an ad in a newspaper for a job that fits him near perfectly. He attends and quickly passes the test put before him, landing him in front of the lovely lady he meet before who turns out to know medicine and gives him a thorough examination. The pair then transit to another world with a third individual tagging along. It’s here that they all gain their names for the rest of the novel: Oscar the soldier, Star the mage and physician, and Rufo the groom. We also learn that Oscar’s sense of direction also works flawlessly when transported somewhere else and he is unconscious; this really sets the stage for his ability and pushes it into the realm of fantasy.

A few things happen here that are important in hindsight. First, Oscar can use a bow incredibly well even though he said he was lousy at archery. Second, the entire situation fits exactly with standard fantasy fare: a female mage, a male knight, and a bumbling sidekick make for a delightful romantic romp. Third, we learn that they must deal with someone named Igli, there’s an egg to retrieve, and Oscar is the chosen one. All of these things seem to fall too perfectly into place, and there’s a good reason for that. However, I didn’t like how quickly Igli was defeated, nor how. We had a very nice build up for his directional powers, but his ability to suddenly warp space, time, and matter came out of nowhere and seem contrived. Despite this, I took that it might just be a literary misstep and only the first in a series of events.

Midpoint Discussion:

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The middle part of the novel was my favourite section. Oscar started integrating himself into a new society, learnt a new language, stumbled a bit with social mores, Heinlien got to explain his views of sexuality (I always enjoy his lecturing style), and there were a lot of clever solutions to battles. Oscar marries Star after fighting internally, the stakes get raised, there’s something hidden between the trio, and we get ever closer to the egg. All of this was a lot of fun and didn’t drag too much, propelling us forward to the tower containing the egg. They get in after fighting dragons, Oscar solves the riddle of the paths, and we get a beautiful sword fight and battle of tactics. They get the egg and… I’ll leave the rest for the third spoiler.

At this point I really liked the logic of the story. Too often I find that fantasy novels don’t have enough explanation about the rules behind the magic, but there was a beautiful balance here. Heinlein made most of the magic scientific by saying it was highly advanced technology. I was a little confused about firearms not working in the first world, but I enjoyed the idea of a set time limit in the tower due to the conditions of the world (though they’re left unstated, I assumed that it was radiation of a sort). I enjoyed the way the wards were set up, how they worked, that they didn’t deflect fire (and perhaps a reason for that), and especially the biology behind fire-breathing dragons. The gravity shifts on the tower world were just icing on the sci-fi/fantasy cake.

One part that was missing was how the map was created. Did these sixty-three men have some sort of GPS on them? They lost their lives, so surely they didn’t exit and explain their movements, and they were able to report their true positions which was something that Star and Rufo were unable to do. Further, how did they know where the egg was if there was such a man/beast guarding it? I’d like answers to these questions, but they’re minor overall and the story is good enough here that I didn’t dwell on them.

Final Thoughts:

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Here’s a summary of the last third: Star is “in charge” of twenty universes, the egg contains the knowledge of all the previous rulers so that the current ruler can learn from their mistakes, Oscar gets multiple marriage proposals, he doesn’t enjoy sitting around in the castle all day doing nothing, and then he realizes that he can’t stay with Star as a “gigolo” so he roams around trying to find himself before realizing that he’s a warrior and should go on another quest. My issue is the whole story built to getting the egg, and then Star’s true identity just tacked on another 100 pages that brought the pace to a crawl. Yes, Oscar needed to learn who he was but he had partly done that on the quest to find the egg. So why is this part here?

One reason is learning about the egg and getting Heinlein’s view on politics, something which I enjoyed reading. Yet it also comes with a lecture on sexuality again, this time done in small parts multiple times, but covering much of what we already heard at Jocko’s home, now with an “I’m married” twist. We learn about alien cultures but this is brief and merely serves to emphasize Oscar’s position, one he’s uncomfortable with. Luckily, we also hear why the quest itself was so contrived and fit so well with what we expected: Star designed it that way. And perhaps she even helped Oscar at archery.

The reason I felt so let down by Star’s position was because there was no follow up on the quest. These people spent all this time and effort to take the egg, yet they were just defeated afterwards? I wanted the palace to be found in ruins and the egg be used to restore order, or there be some additional quest followup to resolve. Could it have been done better? Yes! Give me all that revelation on Oscar’s part with a bit more action. Let him use his crazy time, space, matter warping skills more than once in the story, make Star use her egg knowledge to solve a tricky problem, and let Rufo help both of them deal with their future. As it is, Star doesn’t change much besides going through mood swings, and Oscar just mopes.

It’s this final third of the book that brings down the score so much. It was about a 7 before here and went downhill from there. Would I read it again? For the first 200 pages, sure, but I don’t think I’d touch the last hundred. For now I’m heading back to sci-fi; take me home Star.

ALOBAM: Triggers

Posted by Travis Gerhardt on June 16, 2012
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As this is the inaugural post in the ALOBAM series, I wanted to explain a few things. First, ALOBAM stands for “At Least One Book A Month”, meaning that each month I want to review at least one book. Second, most of the books I’ll read are science fiction, because that’s where my interests lie. I may include some non-fiction books in the future, but we’ll see how this goes first. Finally, my reviews will be broken into stages of various spoiler levels, allowing people to read a review at their comfort level, perhaps even reading it in parallel with the book.

Triggers is the 21st book written by Robert J. Sawyer, a highly acclaimed and multiple award winning speculative fiction author. I’ve read all of his works and enjoyed them all, so fans of the great Canadian writer will not be disappointed. It also provides a very fast-paced and thrilling story, which is different from what he usually writes, but is done beautifully. Further, the book deals with present day (or given the context of the story, November 2012 after the most recent presidential election) so there’s no spaceships, aliens, or much else to overcome. The only science that’s touched on is a bit of quantum physics and how the brain works, but it’s explained well enough that it’s easy to pick up. All in all, I give it an 8 out of 10.

General Information:

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The inside cover says the president is shot and that a terrorist bomb detonates while he’s in surgery; what it doesn’t say is these events happen within one day. The entirety of the book spans only three days, with the majority transpiring on the first day, making for a much faster pace than I initially realized. Further, the chapters are small with 51 chapters spanning 338 pages, which is a marked change from other SF books with 20 page chapters. It’s a good meld of the science fiction and thriller genres.

As a Robert J. Sawyer fan, I was very pleased with his newest book. Every time I get one of his books, it’s very hard to put it down and I’ll often read them in a day, staying up into the night. The same was true of this book, but there were still two things that I was disappointed by coming as a long time reader.

First, the novel strongly overlapped with his other novel Mindscan in regards to the science he used because both dealt with conciousness transfer and quantum entanglement. One of the things I always look forward to in science fiction is learning new science, and this is the only time I’ve read one of his novels and not had that craving satisfied.

Second, I had an idea of what was going to happen at the end of the novel by about page 60, and this suspicion only grew as I read more. The build to the finale was beautiful to experience though, and it went in a slightly different way than I thought, but the core idea was still there. I was a bit let down by the lack of a twist, something I thoroughly enjoyed at the end of his WWW Trilogy, Golden Fleece, or many of his other novels. Still, even knowing where it was headed, I loved the journey.

Midpoint Discussion:

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The characters are very well developed and have their own stories, which they need because we’re reading their minds, all 21 of them. Some characters are only mentioned briefly as we track down the chain of the affected, but the ones that stay are the most interesting. I loved seeing how everyone interacted and began understanding how other people see the world, slowly building bonds between each other and working together. I really enjoyed seeing people use the mind links as a tactical advantage, asking people to read each other to find out if there were a threat to national security, what they were planning to do with the link, or even just scoring a date.

One thing I noticed in Sawyer’s WWW Trilogy was how he started with multiple unrelated threads and then wove them together in the end (with one notable exception I’ll comment on some other time). Triggers follows a similar pattern, because even though we discard some of the characters as the story progresses, the ones we stay with continue to be important in surprising ways.

Final Thoughts:

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I didn’t like the anticlimatic nature of learning about CounterPunch. In any other Sawyer novel, I feel that discovery would have warranted more serious contemplation, but here it felt lighter than what Kadeem Adams witnessed in Iraq with the dead babies. That was given a lot of weight, and when the President is once again addressed with the question of if he should go through with CounterPunch, he uses the argument in reverse. Instead of saying “I can’t let any more babies die in war,” he instead concludes “I can’t let any more US soldiers put their lives in risk, to see such atrocities like that. As a superpower, I have to crush this rebellion completely.” I can understand both sides, but I am surprised it didn’t weaken his resolve at any point.

I did enjoy the final solution to CounterPunch though, and how the situation increased in intensity. The whole story arc of the connected minds and how they changed was very well executed, and although I knew the connections would grow to more than first order and probably end in a group mind, I loved hearing the story. Sometimes it’s not about a twist ending but enjoying the journey, and on that I applaud Robert J. Sawyer. It was a wonderful ride.