[.ca] Starplex (ISBN 229005366X)

Starplex:
Starplex is good as Hawking, Wheeler, and Thorne. Rob Sawyer's gedanken experiments on dark matter, wormholes, black holes, time travel, etc. are as good as those of any theoretical physicist alive today. And he writes the best science fiction there is today, to explain things we may never truly understand, but shall forever enjoy thinking about.

Creative realities:
Robert J. Sawyer's book "Starplex" was one of the most entertaining, thought-provoking, and mind-twisting books I've read in a long time. To begin, Sawyer is an excellent writer. Plotting, dialogue, and human drama aspects are all well-represented here. He also never loses sight of using humor, awe (in its truest sense), human limitations, and philosophical twists to create realities that are at once far, far away, yet understandable. I'm sure Robert J. Sawyer has his critics - every writer does. Bottom line here, though, is that Sawyer has created his own voice with which to tell great stories (science fiction and otherwise), and Starplex is one of his best.

An Enjoyable but Uneven Space Opera:
Sawyer's foray into space opera and space adventure is a fun book to read, but lacks the depth of (human) characterization and philosophical thought that are the strengths of his later works. The book's strengths include 1. the Ib Race -- a brilliant construct 2. the dark matter entities 3. the enigmatic glass man 4. the tightly woven plot threads 5. an interesting twist on the gateway concept The book's weaknesses include 1. a weak protagonist 2. too many "Star Trek"-like devices (tractor beams, force fields) 3. uneven treatment of the human-Walhal (the pig creatures) dynamics. Unlike many of the (harsh) negative critics below, I found the book quite enjoyable, even if there is some hand-waving here and there. It's not like that hasn't been done before in SF. And just to set the matter straight, Sawyer does NOT imply that laser beams are visible (he clearly states that the computer animated the laser fire in a holographic display) and he does not say that a spaceship swerves to avoid direct laser fire; what he does say is that a spaceship maneuvers to avoid another, spinning spaceship which happens to be firing a laser. The book is enjoyable science fiction. The key word in this phrase is fiction.

Another intelligent SF novel from Sawyer...:
Upon reaching the stars, mankind discovered wormholes. Artificially generated, these tunnels allowed transport from one part of space to areas light-years away. Their creators are unknown. In Sawyer's "Starplex," a human and alien crew set out to explore the wormholes, finds that something is coming through the wormhole back to meet them. The age of discovery may be over, and it may be war. As always, Sawyer's characters are the strength of this work. Kieth Lansing comes alive on the page, and internal struggles against bigotry and other human failings are sharp enough to draw blood. The alien races are very well developed, especially the "Ibs," (Integrated beings, of which individuals are made up of various living organisms that bond symbiotically). What I could have done without, however, was the Dolphins. Over-cute and just a little out of place in this novel, we find that Dolphins have always been intelligent, and it just took us a while to clue in. It's somewhat clunky. The plot itself is well thought out and puts the notion of an Alien "Culture Clash" to new heights. The scientific mysteries of the story also set a high simmer, and the outcomes of the various interwoven plots (another strength of Sawyer) are all very satisfying. Though the inclusion of the dolphins made me wince, I'd still reccommend this one with no real regrets. It's enjoyable, the characters are solid, and the plot is formidable. Canada's king of SF does it again. 'Nathan

...:
At first glance, it may seem like a hard SF reformulation of Star Trek. Then you realize the tachyon beams, warp speed, subspace disturbances, ... pseudo-science, and deus ex machina-based plots of Star Trek are actually better than this piece of junk. Sawyer attempts to create a grand space opera and in the process falls flat on his face. The science is miserable, in the league of such travesties as the aforementioned Star Trek: Voyager. It seems like Sawyer read a book on theoretical physics and completely misunderstood it. E.E. Smith's space operas seem like hard SF compared to this. Aside from the ludicrous science, the book is terrible. The characters are flat and one-dimensional, particularly the lead. The protagonist is constantly whining and more than a little annoying, and as a result the reader cares little for him. The plot is trite and predictable, and has been done dozens of times before. In short, avoid it like the plague.