Rating: 
Summary: The stars are the limit
Review: A great novel mixing the best elements of a little comedy, romance, action/suspense, mystery, and of course, SCI-FI! Frank Robinson really outdid himself, and created a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: One of the more enjoyable sci-fi reads
Review: DBTS is one of the more fascinating sci-fi novels I've ever read (and I've read hundreds). One of the things I love most about it is that in a very short novel, Robinson manages to develop a really well-rounded protagonist, while still leaving plenty for you to think about on your own. The story line is great and while there are many interesting and unexpected plot turns, they all end up making sense and furthering the story (unlike some plot devices used as red-herrings). Another thing about this book that's so fabulous is that it plays with alternate lifestyles and human relationships very convincingly. I can't give many details without possibly ruining your pleaseure, so just get a copy of this great novel and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: One of the more enjoyable sci-fi reads
Review: DBTS is one of the more fascinating sci-fi novels I've ever read (and I've read hundreds). One of the things I love most about it is that in a very short novel, Robinson manages to develop a really well-rounded protagonist, while still leaving plenty for you to think about on your own. The story line is great and while there are many interesting and unexpected plot turns, they all end up making sense and furthering the story (unlike some plot devices used as red-herrings). Another thing about this book that's so fabulous is that it plays with alternate lifestyles and human relationships very convincingly. I can't give many details without possibly ruining your pleaseure, so just get a copy of this great novel and enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Incredibly tedious.
Review: First person narrative consisting mainly of the uninformed scheming and random thoughts of the protagonist. Very little action or description. Annoying inconsistencies (at one point the author forgets it's a weightless environment). Almost all the characters are kids, and act like it. Great cover art.
Rating:
Summary: Dark Is Illuminating
Review: Frank Robinson has crafted a true science fiction novel marvel. From the slam-
bang beginning, the reader and our hero is turned upside and dazed. Frank will
take you along for the ride as our multi-generational space ship is searching
out life. If you can pick this title up used...get it. Thankfully, Frank is still
writing and is even now finishing up his latest novel.
John Gunnison
Adventure House
In Tandem Publications
Rating:
Summary: "The Dark" is illuminating
Review: Highly recommended. Robinson combines the best of hard core intergalactic science fiction with a probing examination of what it means to be human. Obsession, interstellar travel, the search for alien life -- and an ending that will leave you thinking long after the book is finished.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: I enjoyed this book immensely. The Dark Beyond The Stars made me think about what it means to have LIFE. This is a beautiful book whose ending brought tears to my eyes. It is a book not just about life, but also about death. I enjoyed the first person narration as well as the author's pacing and resolution. I love books that make you think and this was one whose primary question I will think about perhaps for the rest of my life. The Dark Beyond The Stars made an impact on me and I think that any authors greatest achievement. Simply a powerful novel. It is ashame that works like this share the same genre with campy sciece fiction "thrillers". Robinson's Sparrow was as good for me as Zelazny's Corwin (Amber) or Wolfe's Severian (Shadow). The story stays with Sparrow and never drifts so you can latch onto Sparrow and enjoy the read.
Rating: 
Summary: Mutiny on the Astron
Review: I first found Frank M. Robinson from the movie "The Power" with Michael Rene of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" fame. Later I read the book by the same name with a theme of struggle by superior people. Next I read "Waiting" surprise it was an anthropological theme about superior people. You guessed it; this is a sci-fi story that contains superior people. I am not saying that Frank is stuck in a rut; just that he seems to stick to his theme.Sparrow is a victim of amnesia and can not remember anything before the accident. Naturally he has friends and unseen enemies with a few overt antagonists. He also finds himself on the Astron. The Astron is an ancient spaceship that is in need of repair. The Captain that seems like a nice guy, with one thought (find extra terrestrial life), is about to take the Astron on a journey through the dark beyond the stars. A journey that will exhaust the ship before reaching the other side. Some of the crew rather turn back to the point of mutiny. Who is Sparrow and who will he side with? More important why? We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
--from "Little Gidding,"
T.S. Eliot
Rating:
Summary: An unforgetable read
Review: I read "The Dark Beyond the Stars" shortly after its original publication in 1991 and was blown away by it at the time. I lost track of both the name and the author, but the plot stayed with me. Thanks to Google, I've rediscovered the bibliographic details and plan to reread the book in the near future. This book is an engrossing piece of SF that blends many disparate elements into a coherent whole. It takes place on a decaying generations ship whose mission has been to search for sentient life. Robinson ably depicts the necessities of life in such a closed environment, but he also uses them as a backdrop against which to spin out other themes--the protagonist's search for identity, the captain's obsession with the mission and his endangerment of the crew, plus portrayals of love, friendship, rivalry, competition, and above all, loneliness. The many plot twists and reversals make "The Dark Beyond the Stars" an exciting read, but what lingers afterwards is the humanity of its characters and their sense of aloneness in a big, dark universe.
Rating:
Summary: An unforgetable read
Review: I read "The Dark Beyond the Stars" shortly after its original publication in 1991 and was blown away by it at the time. I lost track of both the name and the author, but the plot stayed with me. Thanks to Google, I've rediscovered the bibliographic details and plan to reread the book in the near future. This book is an engrossing piece of SF that blends many disparate elements into a coherent whole. It takes place on a decaying generations ship whose mission has been to search for sentient life. Robinson ably depicts the necessities of life in such a closed environment, but he also uses them as a backdrop against which to spin out other themes--the protagonist's search for identity, the captain's obsession with the mission and his endangerment of the crew, plus portrayals of love, friendship, rivalry, competition, and above all, loneliness. The many plot twists and reversals make "The Dark Beyond the Stars" an exciting read, but what lingers afterwards is the humanity of its characters and their sense of aloneness in a big, dark universe.
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