| | Firstborn |  | Authors: Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Baxter
Publisher: Gollancz
Category: Book
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  17 reviews
Format: Import
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1
ISBN: 0575083395
EAN: 9780575083394
ASIN: 0575083395
Publication Date: May 15, 2008
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 Firstborn is far from Arthur C. Clarke's best; but still worthwhile December 31, 2007
21 out of 22 found this review helpful
Firstborn is the concluding volume in Sir Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter's Time Odyssey trilogy. The preceding two books in this science-fiction series are Time's Eye (2003) and Sunstorm (2005). Each prior novel was vivid, innovative, and compelling. I cannot say the same thing about Firstborn. The final installment is a disappointing capstone.
Without spoiling the story, Firstborn leaves us with as many questions as it answers. It lacks finality. Readers are left wanting more. Yet there is nothing more for Clarke and Baxter to give, after they seem to write themselves into a corner.
The concluding chapters of the book are increasingly ambiguous. Clarke and Baxter seem distracted by their own storyline. It becomes ever more complex as Firstborn unravels. As the end nears, Firstborn becomes tenuous and unconvincing.
This is in contrast to most of Clarke's writing over the past 60 years. I credit Clarke and author Robert Heinlein (1907-1988) as being the best at weaving science, engineering, physics, and futurism into their works of science fiction. Unfortunately, in Firstborn, the concepts Baxter and Clarke select - particularly the theoretical physics they invoke - are simply unrealistic. To the extent that any of it is credible, the writers fail to properly explain core principals. Unlike Clarke and Baxter's former works, the technology in Firstborn does not buttress the narrative. It detracts from it.
I concede that there is lengthy discussion in the book of space elevators and anti-matter rocket motors. As to the first, it is a rehash of a concept Clarke wrote about 25 years ago in The Fountains of Paradise (1979). As to the second - anti-matter rockets - the discussion of this technology is pedestrian and under-developed. Clarke and Baxter seem to know as much/little about it as some sophisticated readers know. It makes the technological application and discussion in Firstborn seem far-fetched and contrived.
Character development in Firstborn is also disappointing. There are several strong female characters. We met some of them before in Sunstorm and Time's Eye. In Firstborn, however, they are not easy to warm up to. Their demeanors, amid massive catastrophes and suffering, are measured and stiff. Certain male protagonists exhibit the opposite problem: they are caricatures and impossible to identify with. Many lesser characters are unmemorable. This is despite excellent creative opportunities which could have been leveraged in the "Mir" universe.
The writing in Firstborn simply does not compare with Clarke's past work. In other books he easily and vividly communicated joy, pain, courage, and suffering. He was at his best, for example, in Songs of Distant Earth (1986) and Childhood's End (1953), which better explore love, friendship, family and a range of human emotions in the context of a space-faring society. Firstborn falls far short of his own standards.
Please do not let this review dissuade you from reading other Arthur C. Clarke novels. He is one of my favorite writers of all time. It is in fact difficult for me to write this less-than-favorable review of Firstborn. Clarke ties Heinlein in my mind for being the best science fiction writer in history. Significantly, Clarke's vision, including early work on geostationary satellites, transcends science fiction. He is legitimately celebrated for contributions to "science fact."
It is therefore not my opinion that Firstborn is a poorly-written book; it is only lacking when compared to Clarke (and Baxter's) prior works.
J. Christopher Robbins
Aviation & Space Law Department
Robbins Equitas, P.A.
 He did better alone... July 3, 2008
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
As a lifelong fan of Sir Arthur, I admit to having lost my taste for his work since he collaborated with others. In one of his earlier collaborations, I could easily figure out what lines Clarke wrote, into the story written, obviously, by the other.
This book just didn't...catch me! I tried, I really did. But the first in this series of three struck me as a cross between the themes of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the old "Time Tunnel" television series. The ideas weren't engaging, and the story not really worth the time it took to read it.
This went downhill from there.
Maybe when I get some time--yeah, that's likely to occur--I'll read all three of them and, wow, I'll have an insight and change my reviews. But for now, I'm awaiting Sir Arthur's last collaboration, of which I read in his Washington Post obituary (and I've ordered but it won't be here for another month or so). And I hope to the heavens that it's better than the last few.
Rest in Peace, Arthur. I'll always remember you for your better work.
Lacking in Scope, Cohesion, and Resolution January 8, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Firstborn is the continuation, and supposed, conclusion to the Time Odyssey trilogy. The book floats between several settings, including Mars, Earth, and Mir (the alternate world created in Time's Eye). This book attempts to tie in all of the previous elements of Time's Eye and Sunstorm. Once again, we follow Bisea Dutt between space and between universes, all the way back to Mir. The Firstborn are on the attack again. This time, they are lobbing a "Q bomb" at the Earth. The Q bomb will wipe out the whole of Earth, if it hits.
I can see what Clarke and Baxter were trying to accomplish with this novel. However, the ideas and writing are underdeveloped and lacking in cohesion. The novel starts out promisingly enough, with Bisea Dutt waking from suspended animation and running away from authorities. However the novel quickly loses its focus and edge by indulging in half-plots and contrived conflicts.
Much of the novel is focused on humanity's attempts to defeat the Q bomb. Without spoiling the story, the novel focuses on the conventional, government lead attempts to stop the bomb and a less conventional attempt, involving Mir.
At every step in the plot, it seems Clarke is a few pages from a great concept, chapter and book. However, he falls short - consistently. The world he initially creates is, seemingly, supposed to be more paranoid, authoritative and divided, but that is barely conveyed with the simple technical devices he creates (ex. a mandatory ident tattoo on everyone's cheek). Close to the novel's resolution, the sweeping changes in society are empty and uninspiring.
To the dismay of those who enjoyed Time's Eye, Alexander is reduced to a shell of what he could be and the Babylonian court is barely touched on. This exhibits none of the wonderful counter-factual history Time's Eye exhibited. At the same time, it does not explore any ground breaking scientific material (the Q bomb is never truly explored), nor does it give a sense of human drama as Sunstorm did.
Though it's far from out of character for Clarke, the conclusion of the book leaves another open ending and feels very unsatisfying for a true end of a trilogy. I sat puzzled and had to reread the last sentences a couple times, just to make sure I read them correctly. Sometimes needing to reread the last few sentences of a book is very satisfying, but this was not the case for Firstborn.
Lastly, in terms of the trilogy as a whole, I thoroughly enjoyed the first two installments in the series. Yet, when taken holistically with this last installment, I can't help but think there could have been a better job done of interwoven story lines, resolution and character development throughout the trilogy itself. The first two novels were excellent on their own merits, but this third installment seems as though it's trying to weave together two incompatible stories.
If you've read the two previous novels, I'd still recommend you read Firstborn, but don't get your hopes up, and wait for the paperback.
 Not quite the end ? April 20, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The Three books of the Time Odyssey Series are both very satisfying and very frustrating. The first book - Time's Eye - with the fractured history on a recreated earth - is mind boggling. The Second one - Sunstorm - with earth working together to ward off the effects of an artificially induced solar flare - is amazing, in a more techincal way. The last book - Firstborn - also presents us with a peril that must be deflected - a quantum bomb. It is not a spoiler to say that in the end the problem is solved with great ingenuity. In addition, new allies are brought in to help in the fight against the Firstborn. What is disappointing is that the cover says "The Conclusion of a Time Odyssey" but the end of the novel is about as open ended as a book can be. The war goes on - and now that Sir Arthur Clarke has died - any conclusion must be strictly that of Stephen Baxter.
Firstborn is a welcome companion to the earlier books but readers should by all means read the books in the order they are written and not start with Firstborn.
Firstborn (A Time Odyssey)
Good ideas, flawed execution January 3, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is the 3rd book in the series, the collaboration between Clarke and Baxter further explores both authors interests in god-like aliens and the Fermi paradox. Unfortunately for me, it was a disappointment.
As in the previous Sunstorm, earth is threatened with extinction, this time by an "unstoppable" cosmological bomb. This is the device to keep the plot moving along, which it does, although ultinmtely the solution is poorly thought out and unsatisfying.
The better points of the book are the trademark descriptions of technology. Unfortunately we have read about them before. The space elevator, now updated from the Fountains of Paradise, are exactly as envisaged by Brad Edwards "The Space Elevator". The solar sail spacecraft are updated from Clarke's "The Wind from the sun" written over 40 years ago, but are essentially the same. We have anti-matter spaceships, not that dissimilar from Baxter's steam punk "Anti-Ice". The AIs are domesticated and benevolent HAL 9000s. Other ideas, such as the inflatable Martian habitats are current Nasa models and the re-wilding of the US is lifted in whole cloth from a SciAm article.
The bad points of the book are the poor plot and unnecessary events. We are given glimpses of a dying alien world around Procyon and hints that the Firstborn are systematically wiping out other races. We return our heroine, Bisesa Dutt to Mir again, but for no real reason as she plays little part in the resolution of the threat to earth, so the events are more of a distraction from where the real action is taking place. The bomb is unstoppable except that luckily the Last Martian in the Mir universe is contacted in a roundabout way, and using almost no information, correctly determines a course of action that fortuitously results in the bomb not destroying earth, but Mars instead. Very convenient, almost Deus ex Machina.
So we are left with more questions unanswered. Who are the Firstborn? Why do they really want to destroy technological life (a hint is given)? Why is Bisesa Dutt so special that she can travel between the 2 universes and why is her phone allowed to communicate between the worlds? Why was Mir created, yet for an apparently short lifetime? Are we going to get answers, or will they just remain plot devices, and for what real purpose?
Overall the ideas and plot are a mish-mash of ideas and plots that Clarke and Baxter have explored before, in better works. The space elevator journey is almost boring here, as is the solar sail space craft journey. Mir is conceptually similar to Manifold: Origins, yet the events are almost prosaic.
The book ends on a cliff-hanger. Let me guess, the next book will be entitled "Lastborn"?
It is a shame that this book feels so cobbled together. Clarke and Baxter are both great writers, but Clarke's age (and loss of control?) and Baxter's prolific output, have resulted in a relatively poor quality product. I hope the next novel does not disappoint.
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