Spinneret
by Timothy Zahn
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Description
A "brisk and entertaining" novel of a barren, mysterious planet that may save humanity--or destroy it--by the author of Star Wars: Heir to the Empire (Publishers Weekly). Chasing a new frontier, humankind sends a manned starship into the universe and away from the overpopulated Earth in hopes of finding a new planet to colonize. But every Earthlike world they discover is already inhabited. As it turns out, the universe is a very crowded place. An alien council offers to lease the one show more remaining uninhabited world: Astra, a bleak and barren but serviceable planet. The new settlement, though, quickly experiences serious problems, from dying crops to the mysterious disappearance of anything and everything that is made of metal. And then Astra reveals a secret neither the aliens nor the human governments could ever have imagined. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Reminiscent of Clarke's "Rendezvous with Rama", Zahn does some interesting world-building despite the quasi magical premise and a cast of aliens who behave suspiciously like squabbling humans. But it hits a low point with a tired old "good guys vs bad guys" scenario: the good guys headed by a military "Mary Sue" in the form of an American colonel (clap! clap!) and the bad guys led by an evil autocratic United Nations representative (boo! hiss!). Whatever.
I didn't realize this book was first published in 1985 when I grabbed the eARC from NetGalley! Apparently it's being republished, along with a bunch of other Zahn books. I really enjoyed this book. It never feels dated, and I kept thinking I knew where it was going, and that I was close to the end. Then it kept going places I didn't expect it to go! That, to me, is the mark of a good book - at least, if the story goes to unexpected places in a good way. Spinneret definitely did. Grab the republished version now!
Ridiculous from the start
What is it with modern story tellers that they seem completely unable to make their plots believable? I'm not referring to the opening scenes that are background, but basic flaws that make no sense. Like paying large amounts to LEASE a planet that's got serious flaws...what would you do with it? Put a bunch of your own planets' strained resources which you CANNOT RECOVER into attempt to make it habitable, and start populating it? Then what when your lease is up? DNF
What is it with modern story tellers that they seem completely unable to make their plots believable? I'm not referring to the opening scenes that are background, but basic flaws that make no sense. Like paying large amounts to LEASE a planet that's got serious flaws...what would you do with it? Put a bunch of your own planets' strained resources which you CANNOT RECOVER into attempt to make it habitable, and start populating it? Then what when your lease is up? DNF
Apr11:
Characters: Exactly like all of Zahn's characters. I mean, in his future, everyone might as well have a PhD in physics. They're just conduits.
Plot: It's a mystery. Basically "Rama" with a little more action. And yet, that hint of mystery and the unknown keeps me turning the pages.
Style: Utilitarian without actually being boring. He does nothing wrong and has just a touch of pizzazz.
Characters: Exactly like all of Zahn's characters. I mean, in his future, everyone might as well have a PhD in physics. They're just conduits.
Plot: It's a mystery. Basically "Rama" with a little more action. And yet, that hint of mystery and the unknown keeps me turning the pages.
Style: Utilitarian without actually being boring. He does nothing wrong and has just a touch of pizzazz.
Lively book - it's not one of the great classics with weighty ideas or anything, but it's a good, fun, lively read with well-drawn characters and an engaging plot.
Though the novel predates it, the story reminds me a lot of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the way it's about what was supposed to be a backwater colony that gains importance as a new hub of commerce when an alien artifact is discovered. This could have used some Ferenghi though, as it mostly focuses on humans, most of whom are pretty bland. It's funny as well since this is supposed to take place in 2016 when not only do we have starships but warp drive! There's also some misplaced Cold War-isms in the book too.
2001 Review:
typical cool alien ideas, slow action
2006 Review:
humans join the galaxy, loaned a bad planet, find a supermachine from a long lost alien race. Mainly about politics[among humans coming to the world and aliens as they juggle how to keep them from taking over], but not bad.
typical cool alien ideas, slow action
2006 Review:
humans join the galaxy, loaned a bad planet, find a supermachine from a long lost alien race. Mainly about politics[among humans coming to the world and aliens as they juggle how to keep them from taking over], but not bad.
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Timothy Zahn was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 1, 1951. He received a B.S. degree in physics from Michigan State University in East Lansing in 1973 and a M.S. degree in physics from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in 1975. In 1975, Zahn began writing science fiction as a hobby. When his thesis advisor died in 1979, show more effectively wiping out three years of work, he decided to try making a living at writing. Since then, Zahn has published short stories, novelettes, novels, and short fiction collections. He is best known for writing the Star Wars the Thrawn Trilogy: Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command. The novella, Cascade Point (1984) won a Hugo Award. He also writes numerous series including Cobra, Blackcollar, Dragonback, and Conquerors' Trilogy. Zahn co-authored with David Weber A Call To Duty, the first book in the Manticore Ascendant Series, which made the New York Times bestseller list in October 2014. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Lloyd Meredith (Colonel); Allerton (US President); Radford (Captain); Peter Hafner (Scientist); Cristobal Perez (Colonist); Carmen Olivero
- Important places
- Astra
- First words
- Prologue: His only regret, Captain Carl Stewart thought as he stood on the bridge of America's first starship, was that there was no bottle of champagne available to smash against the U.S.S. Aurora's side.
Text: From orbit Astra resembled nothing so much as a giant mudball on which someone had thoughtlessly spilled a bucket or two of pale blue paint. - Last words*
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Jetzt werde ich mich wahrscheinlich mit echten Sternen begnügen müssen."
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Popularity
- 91,405
- Reviews
- 7
- Rating
- (3.57)
- Languages
- English, German, Polish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 1
