Jeffrey A. Carver (1949–2026)

John Bandicut is on a grand adventure. After being pressed into service to save the Earth by the mysterious Translator in Neptune Crossing, he's been hurdled out of the galaxy to an immense ship-world where he faces a threat as great as a killer asteroid but with an intelligence behind it. Along with the alien consciousness that lives in his head, Bandicut and his company of new friends risk it all to save the strange world where they've been stranded.

Carver has a knack for writing extended show more action scenes that make me feel like I'm on a runaway roller coaster ride. This book was no exception in that area. I thoroughly enjoyed Strange Attractors and I'm already reading book three, The Infinite Sea.

On a side note, I see a possible solution to the issue I had with the ending of Neptune Crossing. As I read the final pages of Strange Attractors, I had to pump my fist in the air and shout, "Yes!" show less

One of the most fabulous efforts at Science Fiction ever to hit the airwaves, this show helped breathe life back into the genre after a much too long absence. Everyone has seen the show or at least knows the basic premise, so I won’t rehash it here. Even the opening of the show, with a theme sung in a dead language, suggested how great this one was going to be. And it was.

To me, the book is well written and exciting, Carver doing an excellent job of giving fans of the show a chance to show more revisit it in a different medium. One of the complaints, of course, is that it is exactly that — a retelling of the show’s fabulous beginning. While it is true that nothing new is proffered here by Carver — no new insights or background to beloved characters is even remotely given — that’s why I liked it. When you look at some of the complaints, you realize they perhaps read the book too close to the ending of the series — or even while it was on the air in some places.

I think enough time has now passed that I really appreciated that aspect of the book when I read this. It was everything I remembered. It was nostalgic in a way, allowing me to once again get lost in Battlestar with all its many and varied story-lines and mythos only just beginning to emerge. I do understand that people were disappointed at what this book wasn’t, but I think at this juncture, it’s much more fun to read than it might have been during the show.

Now War and Peace this ain’t, but it’s not supposed to be. For those who loved the show, however, and just want to spend a little more time with friends, because it hurt to let them go, this is great fun. I thought Carver did a great job on this one. Considering how lackluster the books that followed it were, it makes it all the more special if you can track down a copy. So say we all... show less

Bizarrely psychological Space Opera. But an interesting premise fairly well carried out.

John Bandicut is a nethead and a pilot. When a freak accident and poor nanotech destroys his nethead links, he's demoted to shuttle driver for the mining company he works for. They are searching (and finding) the ice of Triton (Neptune's moon) for remnants of alien metallurgy. However losing his nethead links has left John a little spaced out at times - lost in remorse for his missing universe, and show more without any family or personal ties to keep him grounded. So far he's managed to avoid the authorities finding out about his problem. Until it manifests mid survey, and he comes round, several miles off route, with his rover about to sink through Triton's ice into a cavern underneath. Here John meets the Translator. An odd super advanced alien machine capable of many localised miracles. It's purpose is to provide help to upcoming sentients in case of major crisis. John finds he has about fifty days to try and save Earth from an impact with a really major comet. And he's gained more mental problems from the encounter - Charlie, also alien now speaks to him inside his head.

The pacing was pretty slow with a rushed conclusion, but all the psychological conversations allowed little time for much world building. I'd have liked to know a bit more about John's world, and technologies, especially the 'net. Instead a very slow beginning expands with all John's debates with Charlie, before a quick clunky romance and a decision - stay with the new crush or fly and save the world. The duex et machina of a really powerful alien artefact seems to be handled quite well. Although it's never explained why it didn't act earlier.

Unfortunetly we also don't get much interaction with the other characters, it's all about John, his thoughts feelings and problems. And while I like single viewpoint narratives, it is possible to develop other characters too. The formatting works very well for distinguishing Charlie's mental voice from John's.

You do eventually start to build some empathy with John who never asked to be a hero. The ending neatly sets up the sequel, which I will read. The author has the books available for free download from his website. It’s worth a donation. show less

Earth is involved in an interstellar war, and almost no one knows it.

High-level politicians know, of course, and the upper levels of the McConwell Corporation, which owns the gnostic system which is actually running the war. What no one wants to tell the public is not just that Earth is at war with an alien species, but that it's a war over the planet Argus--where Earth's colonial fleet is headed, intending to colonize.

The colonial fleet has FTL drive, but relatively slow; they've been en show more route for years, while technology has advanced. Earth--or, more accurately, the gnostic core--has sent robot ships using stargate technology, to further explore the Argus system, and those ships have encountered the aliens.

We eventually discover that the aliens call themselves the El, and they believe Argus is their lost homeworld. They are not inclined to risk loss of their newly-rediscovered homeworld to the Outsiders (humans.) And, severely crippling any efforts at peaceful resolution, the El, unable to translate the signals they are getting from Earth's robot ships, believe that their only possible response is to treat those signals as challenges--and respond accordingly.

Meanwhile, on Earth, policy-makers have decided that given the complete failure to communicate with the aliens, the only possible course is to win the war quickly, so that the colony fleet will be safe when it arrives.

The gnostic core sees that this approach isn't working, and wants to try a different approach. It can't override its orders from the government--so it recruits some help.

Ramo, an artist, and Sage, a gnostic designer, are completely out of their depth in the dangerous waters of planetary politics, and they don't even like each other, but the Core has in its own way befriended each of them. Sage has a personal interest in the safety of the colony fleet; his brother Tony is on it. Ramo is seduced by the Core's need and the opportunity to use his talent in new ways.

What they, the Core, and all their friends don't know is that life, politics, and war are all about to get completely out of hand, and far more complicated than they ever imagined.

The plotting is solid, the characters are solid, and there's a grand imagination of the future here. Carver always delivers, and this book is no exception.

Recommended.

I borrowed this book from a friend. show less