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A review by corymojojojo
Red Thunder by John Varley
4.0
This is a good book. That being said, it is also BY FAR the most “normal” thing I’ve ever read by John Varley, like… by a lot. That isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing, but it’s certainly notable, because if you’re used to Varley’s work this might come across as pretty… bland?
Red Thunder is set in the present and is essentially about a group of young adult friends (which is no coincidence considering this book is Varley’s first YA novel) who—upon discovering a new technology that allows infinite fuel/energy/power—try to build their own spaceship and beat China (and the US) to be the first people on Mars. It’s full of heart and has a wonderful sense of adventure but, most notably as a big Varley fan, lacks any of his usual “out there” ideas. Again though, I don’t think that’s an issue for the book itself, merely with my own expectations.
The only real trouble I had with Red Thunder is that it takes soooo long to pick up the pace. The first 1/3rd of the book is entirely focused on characterization, they don’t even kick off the actual plot until 150 pages in. That’s not to say the first part of the book is bad, but it’s pretty unnecessary; he probably could have removed 90% of the first 1/3rd and it would have improved the pacing a lot.
It’s certainly not my favorite Varley novel, but it’s still a Varley novel and with that comes a guarantee of a good time, and this is no exception. Nobody infects me with the excitement of science fiction quite like Varley.
Red Thunder is set in the present and is essentially about a group of young adult friends (which is no coincidence considering this book is Varley’s first YA novel) who—upon discovering a new technology that allows infinite fuel/energy/power—try to build their own spaceship and beat China (and the US) to be the first people on Mars. It’s full of heart and has a wonderful sense of adventure but, most notably as a big Varley fan, lacks any of his usual “out there” ideas. Again though, I don’t think that’s an issue for the book itself, merely with my own expectations.
The only real trouble I had with Red Thunder is that it takes soooo long to pick up the pace. The first 1/3rd of the book is entirely focused on characterization, they don’t even kick off the actual plot until 150 pages in. That’s not to say the first part of the book is bad, but it’s pretty unnecessary; he probably could have removed 90% of the first 1/3rd and it would have improved the pacing a lot.
It’s certainly not my favorite Varley novel, but it’s still a Varley novel and with that comes a guarantee of a good time, and this is no exception. Nobody infects me with the excitement of science fiction quite like Varley.