Firstborn
Ratings10
Average rating2.7
The Firstborn–the mysterious race of aliens who first became known to science fiction fans as the builders of the iconic black monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey–have inhabited legendary master of science fiction Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s writing for decades. With Time’s Eye and Sunstorm, the first two books in their acclaimed Time Odyssey series, Clarke and his brilliant co-author Stephen Baxter imagined a near-future in which the Firstborn seek to stop the advance of human civilization by employing a technology indistinguishable from magic. Their first act was the Discontinuity, in which Earth was carved into sections from different eras of history, restitched into a patchwork world, and renamed Mir. Mir’s inhabitants included such notables as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and United Nations peacekeeper Bisesa Dutt. For reasons unknown to her, Bisesa entered into communication with an alien artifact of inscrutable purpose and godlike power–a power that eventually returned her to Earth. There, she played an instrumental role in humanity’s race against time to stop a doomsday event: a massive solar storm triggered by the alien Firstborn designed to eradicate all life from the planet. That fate was averted at an inconceivable price. Now, twenty-seven years later, the Firstborn are back. This time, they are pulling no punches: They have sent a “quantum bomb.” Speeding toward Earth, it is a device that human scientists can barely comprehend, that cannot be stopped or destroyed–and one that will obliterate Earth. Bisesa’s desperate quest for answers sends her first to Mars and then to Mir, which is itself threatened with extinction. The end seems inevitable. But as shocking new insights emerge into the nature of the Firstborn and their chilling plans for mankind, an unexpected ally appears from light-years away.
Series
Featured Series
3 primary books#3 in A Time Odyssey
A Time Odyssey is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2003 with contributions by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter.
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Oh my. I'm not a fan of Stephen Baxter's writing, and this series has convinced me to never again read a collaboration between a legendary and a lesser author, unless I already like the work of the lesser author on its own. I'm ashamed to admit I speed read parts of the book, that was how bad it was. Take my review with a grain of salt because it might not be impartial.
If you're reading the review of the third book, I'm confident to speak about things that might be spoilers. If you haven't read the previous two books, please don't read further unless you don't mind mild spoilers.
So, where do I start? Space Odyssey was a great trilogy, and I naively expected Time Odyssey to be another trilogy. What a fool I was, this is written to make a long series and thus no concrete answers were gained.
First, the science part of scifi feels off. The previous book made more sense, in this AIs vary wildly its hardware requirements, contradicting their massive needs stated on the second book; solar sails become combat ships; and a few other nitpicks.
Second, the plot moves glacially, dragging its feet with unnecessary frequent descriptions of clothing, environment, climate, buildings, people, etc., only to forget about it almost immediately. Authors get paid by the word, I get it, but I don't enjoy when words are there without purpose.
Third, plot holes made evident by the books themselves. For example, it was discovered that Mars suffered the same fate as Earth, Sunstorm and later Q bomb, yet the Mars of Mir seems to be timesliced during the Q Bomb, while Mir was timesliced before the Sunstorm. Why? Because that Martian is there to implausibly save the day, that's why. If her Mars was before the Sunstorm, she wouldn't be of use.
Fourth, the twin narration of Mir and Earth's timelines is done by alternating a chapter on Mir and a chapter on Earth. This come and go can become jarring because the final chapters are short and surprisingly bereft of content.
In conclusion: this series is not Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey trilogy, it should be thought as an independent work by Stephen Baxter, related only by accident.
