Rating: 
Summary: A quick, entertaining read with some neat SF ideas.
Review: "Probability Moon" is an easy read, much less challenging than Kress's "Beggars in Spain." The story takes place mainly in two settings: in orbit of the alien planet aboard a human starship with a military crew sent to examine the ancient artificial moon of the planet, and a scientific team on the planet's surface sent to keep good relations with the native race.My favorite aspect of the novel was the "head pain" that the natives experience whenever they encounter information or experiences that do not jive with their preconceived notion of "reality." Such a trait has encouraged their society to be very homogeneous and peaceful. However, if the humans among them prove to be "unreal" they may be killed. Kress's eventual explanation of the evolution of this head pain is creative, but perhaps not so believable. Many rituals of the society of the native population revolve around the adoration and exchange of flowers; their "god" is called the "First Flower." Some of their customs are quite beautiful. The main native character (whose name escapes me at the moment) who befriends the humans is quite lovable, and her struggle with the "unreality" of the humans among her people is fascinating. There is something of a parallel phenomenon among some of the human characters, who daily take a drug regimen to get them in the appropriate mental and physical state for the day's activities. Although, to us, the humans are indeed "real," are they true to themselves? Okay enough philosophizing. The secondary plot, in which the humans in orbit study the ancient machine moon and vie for control of it against the advanced alien Fallers, converges with the planet-bound plot in an intricate way towards the end of the novel. Nancy Kress has written an entertaining adventure. I'll surely pick up the sequel, "Probability Sun," some day soon.
Rating:
Summary: A quick, entertaining read with some neat SF ideas.
Review: "Probability Moon" is an easy read, much less challenging than Kress's "Beggars in Spain." The story takes place mainly in two settings: in orbit of the alien planet aboard a human starship with a military crew sent to examine the ancient artificial moon of the planet, and a scientific team on the planet's surface sent to keep good relations with the native race. My favorite aspect of the novel was the "head pain" that the natives experience whenever they encounter information or experiences that do not jive with their preconceived notion of "reality." Such a trait has encouraged their society to be very homogeneous and peaceful. However, if the humans among them prove to be "unreal" they may be killed. Kress's eventual explanation of the evolution of this head pain is creative, but perhaps not so believable. Many rituals of the society of the native population revolve around the adoration and exchange of flowers; their "god" is called the "First Flower." Some of their customs are quite beautiful. The main native character (whose name escapes me at the moment) who befriends the humans is quite lovable, and her struggle with the "unreality" of the humans among her people is fascinating. There is something of a parallel phenomenon among some of the human characters, who daily take a drug regimen to get them in the appropriate mental and physical state for the day's activities. Although, to us, the humans are indeed "real," are they true to themselves? Okay enough philosophizing. The secondary plot, in which the humans in orbit study the ancient machine moon and vie for control of it against the advanced alien Fallers, converges with the planet-bound plot in an intricate way towards the end of the novel. Nancy Kress has written an entertaining adventure. I'll surely pick up the sequel, "Probability Sun," some day soon.
Rating: 
Summary: A Surprisingly Disappointing Book
Review: A whole world where all people share the same beliefs or reality together - without question. This fantastic premise could have generated a number of intriguing scenarios. But the author tried to spice it up with the hackneyed themes of interstellar warfare, supersmart ancient aliens, technologically challenged natives and come up with a novel that leaves you totally unsatisfied. On top of that the Physics described is juvenile fanatsy. The author 's talents lie in divining how genetic engineering can alter society and people. Stick to that larger theme. Wonder if Mr. Nancy Kress wrote the novel and passed it on as his wife's.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointment from a great author
Review: After the "Beggars" series, and her short stories, which I loved, I found this book to be second-rate Kress. There are a lot of intriguing elements here, none of which are fully developed, and all of which are looking for a story to be part of. There is a lot of noodling about in the general vicinity of the question of "What is (subjective/objective/collective) reality?" but the novel "bounces harmlessly off the surface" of that question. The society of the World is sketchily drawn, and beyond the fact that it causes big headaches, the way "shared reality" really affects the culture and its development is left vague. The characters are also vague and two-dimensional. I wondered if the author wasn't teasing us, when an important plot point revolved around whether the Terrans were "unreal" to the Worlders - they certainly seemed unreal to me! And I won't even get started on the whole subplot about the Fallers and the devices that can alter quantum probability. The book tries to raise questions about what it is we believe, and why, and what is true, or "real", and how we can lie to ourselves and others. And questions like these have been rich ground for centuries. But this story only provides half-hearted attempts to rake over that ground, leaving a confused, fairly boring tale that is ultimately unsatisfying.
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining read
Review: Although the plot of Probability Moon had elements in it that have been done before in science fiction, they were brought together in a way that I found to be fresh and engaging through the different points of view of the various characters --- including the alien characters. Kress' writing style is clear and her prose does not get in the way of the story and the characters, though not all totally three dimensional, were, for the most part, fleshed out nicely. I especially enjoyed the character of Enli, the Worlder who has to spy on the humans in order to atone for her crime and become "real" again so she can again truly be an insider in her culture. I also liked the fact that the plot was driven by a combination of physics and anthropology, a usually uneasy marriage of disciplines. Many previous reviewers obviously did not care for the book, but I liked it and will read more of her work, including the sequel Probability Sun. So there.
Rating:
Summary: Flower power
Review: Hugo and Nebula Award winner Nancy Kress (the "Beggars" trilogy and "Maximum Light") sets "Probability Moon" in a distant future in which humans colonize space through a series of star gates, technological remnants of an ancient civilization. This vanished race also seems to have seeded the galaxy with humans - planetary populations who differ solely because of evolutionary isolation. The newest discovery is a flower loving race who commune in planet-wide "shared reality," a universal inability to lie, even by omission. Although shared universal empathy hardly seems an evolutionary advantage to the visiting humans, deviation from shared reality causes unbearable head pain. Those who cannot share reality - the mentally impaired - are killed at an early age. Others are excluded from shared reality - shunned -as punishment for their crimes. Enli, punished for her brother's death, is one of these. Assigned to spy on the human scientists to determine if they are "real," she gets involved beyond her sorriest imaginings. Meanwhile, the real mission, unbeknownst to the scientists, is a military study of an ancient artifact masquerading as one of the planet's moons. The military, engaged in an escalating, mysterious war, hopes it's a doomsday weapon. Naturally all this is moving toward an explosive climax which Kress resolves handily in this volume while leaving plenty of intriguing questions for a future novel or two. Her characters and the planetary setting are well developed and the story moves at a brisk, suspenseful pace.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the other reviews lead you to believe
Review: I am glad that I bought this book and read it before reading the other reviews here on Amazon.com. I found both this and Probability Sun to be very engaging volumes. To me, they were more readable than the critically acclaimed Beggars series, which I also enjoyed. Perhaps this is a result of Ms. Kress venturing away from her scientific specialty, genetics, and into a field where she is less knowledgeable, physics. The character development is certainly the strongest feature of the book. Enli, an outcast in her own civilization, makes an ideal bridge between human and Worlder cultures. The concept of shared reality is well explored and thought-provoking. The writing is strong throughout and pulls the reader from start to finish. If you were tempted to read this book until you read the reviews here, ignore them and read it anyway. I predict that you will not be disappointed. While some of the objections in the reviews here are valid, this book is still a strong effort by a Hugo and Nebula award winner, and it shows.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the other reviews lead you to believe
Review: I am glad that I bought this book and read it before reading the other reviews here on Amazon.com. I found both this and Probability Sun to be very engaging volumes. To me, they were more readable than the critically acclaimed Beggars series, which I also enjoyed. Perhaps this is a result of Ms. Kress venturing away from her scientific specialty, genetics, and into a field where she is less knowledgeable, physics. The character development is certainly the strongest feature of the book. Enli, an outcast in her own civilization, makes an ideal bridge between human and Worlder cultures. The concept of shared reality is well explored and thought-provoking. The writing is strong throughout and pulls the reader from start to finish. If you were tempted to read this book until you read the reviews here, ignore them and read it anyway. I predict that you will not be disappointed. While some of the objections in the reviews here are valid, this book is still a strong effort by a Hugo and Nebula award winner, and it shows.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely worth reading
Review: I slightly prefer Kress' Beggars trilogy, but this has strong characterization, interesting science, plot twists, a plausible almost-human society - you could do quite a bit worse As for others' critiques, well - Not all plausible characters are cultured well-balanced people. Not all strong storylines have a solitary focus or fit neatly in a market niche. Demonstrating trust in a nearly-human, pacifist society by bringing kids along is both entirely plausible -and a phenomenal opportunity to study such a society in all age groups- The physics, biology, psychology and anthropology are actually plausibly worked out. Physics and biology I know something about. I checked references for the rest. Both Kress and Charles Sheffield - her husband who happens to be a well-respected scientist, hard science fiction author, and almost certainly read drafts of this - are not exactly novices at writing about science-related topics
Rating:
Summary: Interesting hard science sf novel should win new fans
Review: More accessible than the Beggar's series, Kress' latest series of novels deals with a number of difficult concepts. She manages to deal with the idea of shared or collective reality and how we define it in ways that Phil Dick would have imagined. She also brings a hard science edge to her writing that has, until recently, been on the back burner and secondary to her literary skills. Probability Moon is the first in a trilogy that deals with a number of common themes in a fresh way--first contact and humankind's responsibilities role in the universe. Well writen and with a quick pace, Probability Moon isn't as powerful as her best work (Beggar's in Spain) but still manages to inject new life into a number of older sf themes. One of her strengths has always been character and narrative and, while both are important in this novel, they seem to be secondary to the hard sf setting and scientific details. Nevertheless, Kress' book is better written and thought out than most of her contemporaries. She's still one of the best writers working in a medium and genre that has fallen on cliches and formulas in the post Star Wars world.
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