Tribute to Arthur C. Clarke

I believe this to be a tribute to Clarke by Sawyer. It is written in a similar style to Clarke and Sawyer even mentions one of Clarke's biggest books, Childhood's End. I like all six of the Sawyer books I have read, but if he was trying to write like Clarke, I do not believe he captured Clarke's ability to show the wonder of space. That being said it is still a good book. I believe I am a hard customer to please, but Sawyer has yet to produce something I could give less then four stars to.

There is lots of science in this, especially physics. There is lots of explaining science in this that might turn some people off, but I was not bothered by it. The story includes, Green Stars, Dark Matter, Time Travel, Gateways, Space Biology, Macro Life, a glass man and the word Billions is often used to describe.

A very small part of the book deals with an aging man going through a middle age crisis and how it effects his marriage. Another bigger part is a kind of a "Make Love Not War" theme which I found a little annoying. Bad guys who try to kill you are forgiven and become your buddy. There is also a part of the book where scientist fight a military with makeshift weapons and the scientist come out on top. I found that I little hard to swallow.

If you like this, you will want to read Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. My favorite Sawyer books are Terminal Experiment, Flash Forward and Calculating God. As mentioned before no Sawyer book has disappointed me yet.

18 people found this helpful

The synopsis is misleading

Slight Spoiler alert!

Not a great book. The story is mostly told in a non-linear fashion, jumping from time to time. The majority of it being told by the main character to a being on an alien ship. The alien ship actually has nothing to do with any conflict in the books universe.

13 people found this helpful

Worth it

Took a little while to get going, but then it was worth it. Nice listen.

5 people found this helpful

At least as much science as fiction

If you could sum up Starplex in three words, what would they be?

Very thought provoking

What did you like best about this story?

The inclusion of pretty accurate physics mixed into a good story. The part about how to learn to communicate with a whole different species was worth the price of admission.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

This would never make a decent film. The technical physics would be left out.

4 people found this helpful

Great SciFi listen

Without giving away the plot, the book is a little confusing at the outset. However, stick with it and all will become clear. I thought the author could have provided more details regarding his description of futuristic objects and events. I found it difficult to visualize some of the things in the book. However, the shortcoming was more than offset by the imagination of the author and the flow of the action. A good listen.

3 people found this helpful

A symphony for the mind

This was truly an incredible book. Starplex was a rare exploration of the Space Opera sub-genre, and as Robert J. Sawyer intended, did not focus on a military plot as the central theme, but rather, a peaceful group of scientists who's mission was to make peaceful contact with other races via a vast network of 'shortcuts' or stargate type devices. Yes, there is certainly space combat and battles, but what makes this book so different is the anchoring in real science fiction roots -- at it's core it's about science, and the extrapolation and exploration of 'what-if' scenarios. It seeks to tease apart answers to current scientific knowledge.

To say this book was riveting was an understatement. I read it in 24 hours, and wished there was a whole series like it. But alas, this book is, and must be, fully self-contained. Starplex plucks the most melodious strings of science fiction, and turns them into a symphony for the mind.

The various races described in the novel were also fascinating, each with distinct cultures and idiosyncrasies. Sawyer is a man with an incredible imagination.

Almost 20 years after publication this book remains singular and utterly engaging.

2 people found this helpful

could been great!

This is the best sf novel story I've heard in 20 years. Dune is always #1 , this could easily have been #2 but... The author chose the wrong exclamation/curse words to use throughout the story which greatly offended my religion. The author is not very smart to alienate (pun intended) a few billion Christians at the expense of a few score curse words. The story would have been just as good without any cursing whatsoever. The Dolphin-thing was very juvenile as well. I'm sure having talking, spaceship flying dolphins appeals to every eight year old little girl that hears this story (sarcasm intended) but, otherwise, this is one of the best stories to come along in many years. GREAT NARRATION at 0.85 speed. Seriously. -CPO US Navy Retired

1 person found this helpful

Mental thrill ride

I've read most of Robert J Sawyer's books and this is by far my favorite. What made it so interesting is how the author took very big ideas and weave them into a story. Being a student of many science-fiction books he truly brings up some unique concepts and the added to the mental candy.

1 person found this helpful

One of the best!

Sawyer does what he does best; captivates me from page 1 and never let go for a single paragraph.

1 person found this helpful

If your into self hate this book is for you.

Not even five minutes into the story the main character is complaining about being a bigot. How does a person with zero self esteem become director of a science ship. This is the most unrealistic sci fi novel I have ever read. Glad I didn’t waste a credit on it. Pacifism will get you killed.