The Stasis Option

Rating:
Summary: Something A Bit Different
Review: A book worth reading. The Stasis Option seems to hark back to the early traditions of serious science-fiction, concerning itself with a social problem and its solution through technology. Unlike many scifi novels written in that vein, the author spends little time in "preaching", but instead lets his characters and the story speak for itself. The plotting, action, and dialogue remind me of Dashiell Hammett and Robert Heinlein, an odd combination, but immensely enjoyable anyway. The "heavier" more serious parts of the story are generously interladed with humour, some of it, I am sure, unintended. The motivations and thoughts of the two main characters are transparently examined in empathic detail, showing perhaps the author's own identification with these characters. As in any good scifi novel, there are non-human characters, one probably predictable, an awakening sentient computer, and the other, absolutely unpredictable, a sapient horse who thinks he's human. I recommend The Stasis Option to any reader who is jaded by the sometimes incomprehensibly verbose science-fiction fare of the past few years. This author has a knack of saying a lot with a few words and making his story genuinely entertaining.