Hestia

ISBN: 0-87997-488-5 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com

This novel with a harried, distressed outsider having few choices and faced with hard responsibilities is all the more satisfying for the persistent tension.

Reviewed by David on May 07, 2000

Genre: Science Fiction (Aliens)

Synopsis: The colony of Hestia is failing. A small population, low technology base, poor harvests, and hard weather is slowly eroding its viability. Without an unlikely amount of aid—or a wholesale evactuation—the colony is not likely to survive.

Sam Merritt, an engineer, visits the colony to assess flood mitigation. The reality is depressing. However, the natives are desperate to survive, and Sam reluctantly tries to help them.

However, he finds that the major obstacle to the colony's survival is not the weather or the soil...

Full Review: This short book features the author's hallmark harried outsider, with little power but enormous responsibility. The conflicts are all human, even the ones with inhuman adversaries.

Nothing is easy: the space travel is expensive and takes decades; colony travel is slow and mostly non-technological; and the angers and fears are well-founded and deep-seated.

The conclusion is satisfying, largely due to the hardship faced on the way. While not breaking any ground, the novel has a thoughful treatment of complex problems, and solid, three-dimensional characters and societies.

Overall: 5.5; Plot: 6; Characters: 5.5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 6.5; Originality: 5.5;

ISBN: 0-87997-488-5 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com