Time for the Stars

Rating:
Summary: Telepathic twins go their separate ways - earth & the stars!
Review: Time for the stars

This is a genuine science fiction story, where science has made something possible (interstellar travel, in this case) and the consequences on people is explored. Science fiction isn't often too thoughtful about that side of things, but this book goes some way to redressing that. It's an attractive book, one you'll want to read again. The characters are well developed and have depth, and the storyline is interesting.

And here it is: the Long-range Foundation is an outfit that specialises in long range projects, surprise, surprise. And their latest venture is interstellar exploration and colonisation. But how to maintain contact? Radio is no good, since the signal from a ship which has travelled fifty light years will take fifty years to get back. But, the Long-range Foundation has discovered that twins are often telepathic, the "reception" doesn't fade with distance, and best of all, it is instantaneous! So, leave one behind, put one on the ship, and you have the perfect communication service!

Or do you? Our heroes are Tom and Pat, to young twins who are tested and are discovered to be telepathic. So one goes, the other stays. The real story is ho they get on, where once they were inseparable, now they are divided by distance and time. Worse than that, the laws of relativity means that the earthbound one grows older faster - in the end, one is an old man, while the other has aged only a few years. How do they cope with a terrible wrench like that?

But don't worry! This is not just a thoughtful consideration of a human problem, there's plenty of technology, alien worlds and aliens, tragedy, love even! You get to see earth society develop over fifty years or so, with all the changes that that brings about. This is a very enjoyable and readable book, and one that I would highly recommend.