Rating: Summary: Dominique Francon in space Review: A model for how corporate invasiveness in the educational system might prove Ayn Rand right. This book demonstrates in can't-put-it-down fiction how rational billionaires might choose to finally ditch NASA and really get mankind into space. Any objectivist would love this book (but I liked it too.)
Rating: Summary: Well written but not really enjoyable Review: Although I'm a long-time sf reader, I've been paying less attention to current sf in the last decade or so, and I'd never heard of Michael Flynn until I happened to read his short story "The Forest of Time" in May 1999. I was so impressed that I immediately ordered all of his books that Amazon had in stock.The good news is that Flynn is an intelligent man and a highly competent writer, who can handle characters, story, history, science, and combat with consistent skill. His characterization, in particular, is more varied and complex than we usually find in the field of sf. The bad news comes in two categories. 1. Although it has a spaceship on the cover and is all about one woman's attempt to get her own company into space, "Firestar" is basically a contemporary novel with not much sf feel to it. It's set in the very near future and uses only a slight extrapolation of contemporary society and technology. Space activists may be satisfied with it; people who read sf to experience something other than contemporary life may not be satisfied with it. 2. "Firestar" paints a rather depressing picture of modern American society. Although the characters are well drawn and few of them are wholly bad, most of them are curiously unlovable and their relations with each other are almost uniformly unsuccessful. Flynn himself seems likeable, as far as I can tell, but I feel sorry for him if he's surrounded by people who are as unhappy and as unsuccessful at coping with each other as the characters in his novels. "Firestar" is a very long book to plod through if you're not really enjoying it. I read all of it, but I can't say that I really enjoyed it. I reread my favourite books because there are scenes and images and emotions there that I want to return to again and again. This book is worthy, it has its heart in the right place, but I'm not sure that it contains anything that I'll want to go back to and reread in future. I have the sequel, "Rogue Star", and I skimmed through it to see what happened, but I'm not sure if I'll ever read it properly. Apparently "Rogue Star" isn't the end of the matter, and we can expect a third book in the series. Given the length of each book, this trilogy is a huge project. I can only hope that, having finally got it out of his system, Michael Flynn will turn his considerable talents to some new project that I'll find more enjoyable. He seems to be good at alternate history: I wish he'd do more of it. His earlier novel "In the Country of the Blind" contains more violence than I'm really happy with, but the concept is quite interesting and I enjoyed it more than "Firestar".
Rating: Summary: Really good read, realistic Review: As a fan of realistic sci-fi that doesn't just involve humans and aliens shooting at each other, I thought this book was excellent. It displays an alternative vision of how humanity can reach for the stars in spite of our flaws. Also a well-written critique of the current establishment, it offers suggestions as to how we can recreate education and business to serve the human species, rather than the wealthy and powerful.
Rating: Summary: First Winner of the Heinlein Award! Review: As many writers that have been compared to Robert Heinlein only to fall short of The Master's works, Michael Flynn is the ONLY one to actually have the credentials to claim this exaulted place in Sci-Fi, having received the FIRST Heinlein Award for writings in hard Sci-Fi, voted this new honor by a panel of judges including some of the greatest authorial names in modern Sci-Fi Literature!(See at www.heinleinsociety.org) I recall having seen Firestar(along with the other tomes in the quadrilogy) on the bookstore shelves for years, and am at a loss that I waited until learning of Flynn' Award to finally try his work. As Heinlein did, and all too few have done since, Michael Flynn has written about the near future as if he had his own Time Machine and is returning with reports of what he has seen himself! To quote Dr. Charles Sheffield(nationally famous astro-physicist and author in his own right)"This is the best book ever written on the science, people, and politics needed to move us into space-to stay." This is a REALLY BIG book, not only in physical size, but in scope and entertainment, as well! It, far more than others, SHOULD have won an award, as it's author has!
Rating: Summary: Top notch near future novel that makes one wish it were true Review: FIRESTAR is a very near future novel about an extremely wealthy business woman who believes that we need to be in space. She launches a very complicated, expensive, and VERY BELIEVABLE plan to get us there. There are good guys, bad guys, flawed heroes and heroines, action, "police action," intrigue, great science, and extremely believable characters and situations. If you want a book that will make you think as well as challenge your assumptions in a lot of different areas you will love it. If however, you are a doctrinaire Liberal, Libertarian, or Conservative you will hate this book. Flynn has a deep respect for Robert Heinlein. A number of writers over the years have been acclaimed as the next Heinlein only to falter. Flynn is the first I have seen that has a real chance of truly deserving that type of honorific. This novel fares very favorably with Heinlein at his best and is head and shoulders above 90% of what passes for SF. Mike
Rating: Summary: A Paean to Individual Initiative and Innovation Review: Firestar is the first novel in the Firestar Saga series. Mariesa Gorley van Huyten is the teenage heiress of an old and very rich family. She is eager to take over the management of the family business from her grandfather and has decided to obtain a degree at Chicago to learn the basics of administration and management. During the summer before leaving for college, however, she has a vivid vision of a large meteor strike and resulting destruction which haunts her for the rest of her life. In the following years, Mariesa concludes that the only protection against human extinction from meteor strikes is an active and prosperous space industry throughout the solar system, providing both defense capabilities and dispersal of the population in self-sufficient habitats. Since very few others are concerned with the meteor risk, she determines to promote such industry by means of Van Huyten Industries. Christian van Huyten III had begun naming his companies after mythological characters in 1873, so the space initiative adopted by Mariesa shortly after she takes over is named the Prometheus Project. She recruits several of the VHI executives into the Prometheus Steering Committee. Development of a single-stage to orbit prototype for the project is performed by Daedalus Corporation, a Brazilian subsidiary, with materiel and expertise provided by other VHI companies. Daedalus hires Ned DuBois and Forrest Calhoun as test pilots for the new "Plank" SSTOs. Mariesa also sees better education as a necessity to support Prometheus, so she acquires Mentor Academies, a private education concern, and expands it to manage public schools, under contract with the states and local school districts. One of the first managed public school districts is North Orange, New Jersey, near her home. Barry Fast, a teacher within the North Orange district, becomes a Mentor Institute Fellow and confidante of Mariesa. As Mariesa begins to build an autonomous space industry within VHI, she finds both supporters and opponents within VHI, in the other aerospace companies and in government. She also finds herself developing a special relationship with a group of students within the North Orange district. This novel spends a great deal of time attacking the current education establishment. It doesn't take any position on the dogmatic issues, but rather supports an eclectic approach that enables teachers to control their own presentations and relegates much of the administration to the managerial staff. Success is measured by the degree to which the student body achieves stated objectives. As someone who has been exposed to the education curriculum, I tend to agree the author in that the style of teaching must vary according to the student, but current public education thinking seems to consider such an approach to be too expensive. However, my reading in psychology suggests that the evidence tends to support the author's position: lockstep teaching is too expensive as well as also ineffectual. This novel lays the foundation for a provocative series. It has been much compared to Heinlein's works -- i.e., The Man Who Sold the Moon -- but it is much longer and thus more detailed. Moreover, it has more room for character development and uses it aggressively. Highly recommended for Flynn and Heinlein fans and for anyone else who enjoys hard science fiction with believable characters and excellent plot development.
Rating: Summary: A Paean to Individual Initiative and Innovation Review: Firestar is the first novel in the Firestar Saga series. Mariesa Gorley van Huyten is the teenage heiress of an old and very rich family. She is eager to take over the management of the family business from her grandfather and has decided to obtain a degree at Chicago to learn the basics of administration and management. During the summer before leaving for college, however, she has a vivid vision of a large meteor strike and resulting destruction which haunts her for the rest of her life. In the following years, Mariesa concludes that the only protection against human extinction from meteor strikes is an active and prosperous space industry throughout the solar system, providing both defense capabilities and dispersal of the population in self-sufficient habitats. Since very few others are concerned with the meteor risk, she determines to promote such industry by means of Van Huyten Industries. Christian van Huyten III had begun naming his companies after mythological characters in 1873, so the space initiative adopted by Mariesa shortly after she takes over is named the Prometheus Project. She recruits several of the VHI executives into the Prometheus Steering Committee. Development of a single-stage to orbit prototype for the project is performed by Daedalus Corporation, a Brazilian subsidiary, with materiel and expertise provided by other VHI companies. Daedalus hires Ned DuBois and Forrest Calhoun as test pilots for the new "Plank" SSTOs. Mariesa also sees better education as a necessity to support Prometheus, so she acquires Mentor Academies, a private education concern, and expands it to manage public schools, under contract with the states and local school districts. One of the first managed public school districts is North Orange, New Jersey, near her home. Barry Fast, a teacher within the North Orange district, becomes a Mentor Institute Fellow and confidante of Mariesa. As Mariesa begins to build an autonomous space industry within VHI, she finds both supporters and opponents within VHI, in the other aerospace companies and in government. She also finds herself developing a special relationship with a group of students within the North Orange district. This novel spends a great deal of time attacking the current education establishment. It doesn't take any position on the dogmatic issues, but rather supports an eclectic approach that enables teachers to control their own presentations and relegates much of the administration to the managerial staff. Success is measured by the degree to which the student body achieves stated objectives. As someone who has been exposed to the education curriculum, I tend to agree the author in that the style of teaching must vary according to the student, but current public education thinking seems to consider such an approach to be too expensive. However, my reading in psychology suggests that the evidence tends to support the author's position: lockstep teaching is too expensive as well as also ineffectual. This novel lays the foundation for a provocative series. It has been much compared to Heinlein's works -- i.e., The Man Who Sold the Moon -- but it is much longer and thus more detailed. Moreover, it has more room for character development and uses it aggressively. Highly recommended for Flynn and Heinlein fans and for anyone else who enjoys hard science fiction with believable characters and excellent plot development.
Rating: Summary: Distressingly dull How-to-save-the-world manifesto. Review: Flynn's exposition of a Rand-esque privatization of the US education system and space program reads like a Libertarian Party position paper -- it is interesting only to other Libertarians. The characterizations would be laughable if they weren't so trite. Rich young idealistic heiress finds love and destiny with old, poor, burned-out teacher, incidentally solving the crisis in the American educational system and putting the American space program back on track. Feh. A disappointing rehash of themes Rand and Heinlein have already championed with far more style.
Rating: Summary: Workmanlike Science Fiction Review: I first read this book several years ago, when it was originally released in hardback, and enjoyed it enough that I eventually bought the other books in the series as they came out. But recently, I began reading this book aloud to my wife, and we've both found it to be an enjoyable experience. Flynn does the science part better than almost all of his contemporaries, and he does the fiction part well, too. His characters are some of the most well-fleshed-out I've come across in a long time. And the plot is enjoyable, particularly if you're a space enthusiast. I've read the critiques that knock Flynn for having some seemingly important events happen "off stage," and for having his characters remember one another a year or more after meeting only briefly. The critiques are right; those things really do happen. But, I've yet to find a perfect book, so these things don't bother me overmuch. Instead, my wife and I have enjoyed learning about the characters and organizations in the book. By the end of this satisfyingly long book, you feel like you actually know the characters, and you almost expect to see the company names on the Nasdaq exchange. If you like near-future hard sci-fi, do yourself a favor and read this book.
Rating: Summary: Gripping Review: I have been a fan of Michael Flynn since I read his first story in Analog. Firestar did not disappoint me. I found it hard to put down. Flynn made me care about his characters and share in their triumphs and disappointments. I gave this book to my wife to read. She is not a big sf fan, but tolerates the odd book if she considers them well written. She cursed me for inflicting it on her. She likes to read herself to sleep at night, but Firestar was too gripping for her to nod off. I have been told to buy the sequel.
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