Paints a realistic picture of the future solar system. Two interesting main characters. Fresh SciFi ideas. Plenty of action. Average prose style. 8/10
A very good SciFi book with fresh ideas and interesting, well-developed characters. Several hundred years in the future, Earth-dwellers are largely idle and on benefits. A few super-rich control the big system-wide corporations. Martians are more go-ahead, with a national terraforming project & an efficient military.
Out in `The Belt' almost 10 generations have grown up on the larger asteroids & the moons of Jupiter. The `Belters' have partly evolved away from standard humans. They have longer arms & bodies adapted to low gravity, and a more positive attitude to risk-taking and group cooperation. Continually at the mercy of large corporations for air & water, they have also grown to hate all authority and those from the `Inner Planets'; i.e. Earth & Mars. Although small in number, highly dependent, and lacking resources, there is always the threat that a few Belters will `Throw Rocks'; i.e. divert an asteroid towards Earth or Mars.
Suddenly, this unstable scenerio is threatened by the discovery of a mysterious, contagious, and lethal organic substance called the `Protomolecule' in the outer solar system.
The two main characters in the book are Miller, a sloppy 50ish cop from Ceres, who's asked to look into the disappearance of a rich girl from Earth, and Holden, an early 30s former Earth naval officer, who charges around the solar system in a fast 5-man ship, trying to stop the spread of the deadly Protomolecule. Miller has lost his zest for life, but finds new interest in the girl he's sent to find.
The book is told in alternate chapters, one for Holden, followed by one for Miller. Holden and his diverse Scooby gang have a ridiculous amount of luck, escaping from one disaster and lurching into another. He becomes a system-wide cult fugure after broadcasting some half-founded allegations which put everyone on a war footing.
The main positives of the book are a realistic future picture of the solar system, two interesting main characters, some fresh SciFi ideas, plenty of action, an intriguing opening, and a dramatic finale. The main downside is the rather average prose style. 8/10
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Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
