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polarcubby's review against another edition
Frustrating. In the end it was not my type of book. My excitement kept diminishing as I read. It didn't tell the story I wanted to read. It focused on ideas, human nature, philosophizing... I didn't want that. I wanted plot and characters. I didn't want the stuttering pacing; didn't want everything to stop right after each exciting incident or tense event. Didn't want the protagonist to go groping blindly every which way. Didn't want the last part to be so dull. Definitely didn't want that last paragraph.
tome15's review against another edition
4.0
Robinson, Frank M. The Dark Beyond the Stars. Tor, 1991.
Sparrow, a crewmember on a generation starship, wakes in the medical bay with partial amnesia and vague memories of a serious fall during a planetary exploration. All his crewmates, except the captain, have names drawn from birds, the Bible, or Shakespeare. He has no clear memories of any of them, but they all seem to expect something from him. As his memory slowly returns, he finds himself more and more embroiled in the complex politics onboard. The ship is 100-generations out from Sol on a mission to discover another communicating intelligence. So far, they have found no hint of life of any kind. It seems that the solution to Frank Drake’s 1961 equation identifying the unknowns in estimating the chances of meeting other intelligent life is as uncertain as ever. Every compartment in the ship is a kind of holodeck that allows the crew to ignore the ship’s dilapidated condition. Is the mission a fool’s errand, or is there an alien civilization at the next star along the way? Some readers found the book a bit slow, but the character drama kept me engaged.
Sparrow, a crewmember on a generation starship, wakes in the medical bay with partial amnesia and vague memories of a serious fall during a planetary exploration. All his crewmates, except the captain, have names drawn from birds, the Bible, or Shakespeare. He has no clear memories of any of them, but they all seem to expect something from him. As his memory slowly returns, he finds himself more and more embroiled in the complex politics onboard. The ship is 100-generations out from Sol on a mission to discover another communicating intelligence. So far, they have found no hint of life of any kind. It seems that the solution to Frank Drake’s 1961 equation identifying the unknowns in estimating the chances of meeting other intelligent life is as uncertain as ever. Every compartment in the ship is a kind of holodeck that allows the crew to ignore the ship’s dilapidated condition. Is the mission a fool’s errand, or is there an alien civilization at the next star along the way? Some readers found the book a bit slow, but the character drama kept me engaged.
brekah's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book. My hang-ups included two rape scenes (one aftermath and one short yet overt scene) and a weird reproduction ritual. Nevertheless the author investigated/viewed these in a way I did not expect from 1990s sci fi. The book was also incredibly inclusive, especially for being written in 1991.
Also I'm now thinking about belief in a whole new way, and the overall adventure and mystery of this book was superb. Still not sure how I feel about the ending, but hey, I'm definitely thinking about it.
Also I'm now thinking about belief in a whole new way, and the overall adventure and mystery of this book was superb. Still not sure how I feel about the ending, but hey, I'm definitely thinking about it.
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