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SCIENCE FICTION WRITER  ROBERT J. SAWYER  Best Novel Hugo and Nebula Award Winner SFWRITER.COM > Novels > Starplex > Review Excerpts Review Excerpts   Robert J. Sawyer's Starplex   About Books: "Very, very cool. This is a book not to be missed." Asimov's Science Fiction: "Sawyer's latest should gladden the hearts of readers who complain that nobody's writing real science fiction anymore, the kind of story that has faster-than-light spaceships and far-off planets and interstellar combat and all the neat things they gobbled up so greedily when `Doc' Smith was dealing them out. Here's a story with plenty of slam-bang action but no shortage of material to attract thinking readers, either. Sawyer deftly juggles half a dozen sweeping questions of cosmology (not to mention everyday ethics and morality) while keeping the story moving ahead full speed. His scientific ideas are nicely integrated into the plot, yet they also hint at larger metaphorical levels. Enjoy." Analog Science Fiction and Fact: "Mind-boggling. A complaint often heard these days is that there's not enough `sense of wonder' in today's science fiction. Robert J. Sawyer's Starplex ought to lay that complaint to rest for quite a while." Bakka Books: "Big-Screen SF. Sawyer's new book is a fine example of the unlimited scope a good writer can show. He goes after nothing less than the origin of the universe, and comes away with as good a piece of speculation as you'll get in the genre." Gregory Benford, author of Furious Gulf: "Complex but swift, inventive but real-feeling, with ideas coming thick and fast. For big-time interstellar adventure, look no farther." Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi, Foothill College, co-author of Voyages Through the Universe: "Complex hard-science novel by a Canadian amateur astronomer with intriguing ideas about the nature of dark matter and even dark matter life forms. Includes more cosmological concepts than any novel we have seen." The Halifax Chronicle-Herald: "Starplex appears to be traditional science fiction — it takes place aboard a spaceship, and several characters are extraterrestrial — but it's actually a rumination on several very deep questions, including: Where did we come from? Where are we going? And the deepest of the deep, Is there a God?" Library Journal: "An epic hard-science adventure tempered by human concerns. Highly recommended." Jack McDevitt, author of Ancient Shores: "Starplex takes us on the ultimate grand tour: an elegant intergalactic ride with Sawyer's signature mix of cosmic concepts and solid characterization. This one is a treat for the mind; I enjoyed it thoroughly." The New York Review of Science Fiction: "An enormous grab bag of ideas — and a whole lot of fun." Quill & Quire: "A swift, inventive, enjoyable book. Unexpected twists keep the plot moving briskly, but Sawyer is able to do this while raising intriguing philosophical issues." James Schellenberg from the Crystalline Sphere web page: "Starplex is an astonishing novel, hard science fiction with heart, with a grand overarching vision. This book contains many of Sawyer's trademarks — addictive readability, a frank engagement with ethical questions, and a fondness for Canadiana. The grand sweep of the story and Sawyer's graceful manipulation of the reader's sympathies combine to make this a fine book. Starplex outdoes any book in Sawyer's oeuvre, and the majority in the field of science fiction. Sawyer uses a heady mix of big ideas and crafty storytelling, and he challenges the reader intellectually while grabbing their emotional sympathy. Quite the accomplishment." Science Fiction Chronicle: "Excellent hard SF, with Sawyer tossing stars, people and time travel around with reckless abandon. One of the best SF novels of 1996." Sci-Fi Weekly: "An audacious engineering effort that makes Larry Niven's Ringworld look like a high-school science project." The Toronto Star: "Here, at last, is an ambitious attempt to exploit the possibilities that the genre is capable of." Andrew Weiner, author of Station Gehenna: "Mind-blowing! Who says there are no more big ideas?"   More Good Reading   More About Starplex Starplex novel excerpt Robert J. Sawyer's awards and honors What's a Rob Sawyer novel like? Review index

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