Review - Vernon Vinge's "Marooned in Realtime"

Why did I read this book?
I read the comic Unshelved. On Sundays they publish synopses of books. One such book was Marooned in Realtime. A science fiction mystery? I was there.

Yes, the name is stupid and the cover of the edition that I read was really unattractive. One day I will rant on No Blasters about science fiction and book covers. But I digress.

What is it about? Check out the Unshelved synopsis.

Why you should read this book:
I like reading science fiction because the people who write it are usually a lot smarter and more imaginative than I am. The ideas presented in this book are intriguing. The description of Earth millions of years from now is interesting. The characters are sympathetic and their motivations and actions are believable. I was not bored reading this book.

Why you should pass:
I was disappointed in the answers given to the main question of who murdered Marta. I did not feel that there was sufficient development of the characters for me to guess who the murderer was. Characters disappeared for pages at a time. Also, other questions remained unanswered. I kept on wondering had I read the prequel if I would be able to understand what was going on better.

Also, I found some relationships unbelievable. The narrator and the person who he ends up with just did not make any sense. Further, why is there a lesbian relationship in the story when there is no chance of artificial wombs? It seemed to me that the author was just trying to be politically correct.

I believe that the author needed to expand on the motivations and choices that the survivors would have to make. It would have made a better novel.

More stuff:
Instapundit and Dr. Helen interviewed the author recently but I have not listened to it yet.

No Blasters rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.