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Loading... The Centre Cannot Hold (1990)by Brian Stableford
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Belongs to SeriesAsgard (3)
"Acclaimed science fiction author Brian Stableford (Year Zero, Designer Genes) returns with Asgard's Heart, the final book in his trilogy about a planet that contains thousands of worlds inside it-and the one man who will do anything to penetrate its secrets. The conflict between the Isthomi and Scarid races and the surface dwellers of Asgard had come to a halt-but not to an end. Forces are at work on all sides to attempt to gain the upper hand in the struggle to control Asgard, an artificial planet consisting of hundreds of different individual habitats. For control of Asgard's heart could mean total power over the planet itself, and all who live in it. Otherwise, it could mean the planet's complete and total destruction. At the middle of this multi-sided struggle is Michael Rousseau, an adventurer who was the first to unlock the way to Asgard's lower levels, now caught in the subtle conflict of different alien races, each with their own agendas, not to mention the ever-present Susarma Lear of the Star Force, who wants to make sure that no one gains too much of an advantage. But the different factions are already making their moves, and Rousseau must penetrate the very core of the planet itself-both in reality and in another dimension altogether-to save Asgard and all who dwell in it, before it's too late." No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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For all that Rousseau has been a cynical protagonist who prefers to live by his wits, the denouement is rather out of character and not particularly climactic; the best bits of the plot's climax actually occur a couple of chapters early and turn out to be red herrings. Indeed, Stableford has used the chapter end cliff-hanger throughout the trilogy, and so he had to keep raising the stakes in cliff-hanger peril in the full knowledge that our protagonist has always managed to escape in some way or other up to now. Translating one copy of Rousseau into a virtual world only enables the peril to be ratcheted up, but with the same outcome.
Overall, I found this unsatisfying. ( )