Think of Robert A. Heinlein's Podkayne of Mars young adult novel, and you've got a pretty good idea what the young heroine is like. Something of a go-getter with an unshakeable optimism (in spite of all the things that happen.) And that's not accidental. Varley is quite deliberate about following Heinlein's footsteps here.
You'll have fun with this one!
You'll have fun with this one!
The third book in the "Martian" series, and just as good as the other two. John Varlely reminds me so much of Robert A. Heinline. I am well on the way to reading everything he has written. Any SF nut will really love this one.
It's really hard to review this one without spoiling it, but I'll give it a shot...
Rolling Thunder is a strong third novel in the Thunder and Lightning series, with a wonderful, powerful protagonist in the narrator Podkayne. She's resourceful, energetic, and capable of doing what needs to be done.
The plot devices in the latter half of the book, though, are a bit much. The grand threat the human race faces is unlikely in the extreme (though that's not necessarily a bad thing in science fiction), but the way our heroes deal with it is ultimately unsatisfying.
Extremely unsatisfying.
Days later, I'm glad I read this book---it was good---but those plot resolutions really drag the whole effort down. I almost wonder if Varley had written himself into a corner and just didn't have a good way out.
4 of 5 stars.
Rolling Thunder is a strong third novel in the Thunder and Lightning series, with a wonderful, powerful protagonist in the narrator Podkayne. She's resourceful, energetic, and capable of doing what needs to be done.
The plot devices in the latter half of the book, though, are a bit much. The grand threat the human race faces is unlikely in the extreme (though that's not necessarily a bad thing in science fiction), but the way our heroes deal with it is ultimately unsatisfying.
Extremely unsatisfying.
Days later, I'm glad I read this book---it was good---but those plot resolutions really drag the whole effort down. I almost wonder if Varley had written himself into a corner and just didn't have a good way out.
4 of 5 stars.
