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Title details for The Sunborn by Gregory Benford - Available

The Sunborn

#2 in series

by Gregory Benford
Gabrielle de Cuir
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

The award-winning author of Timescape and Eater returns with a gripping new novel set in the same dynamic future as his wildly popular The Martian Race.

Their historic mission to Mars made Julia and Victor the most famous astronauts of all time. Now, decades later, they are ordered by the Consortium to Pluto, where they will rendezvous with another starship led by the brilliant, arrogant Captain Shanna Axelrod. Here, on the frozen ammonia shore of Pluto's methane sea, Shanna has discovered intelligent creatures thriving in the -300┬░ degree temperatures. But even as their findings shift from the amazing to the inconceivable, the two crews must overcome their own intense rivalry to work together, for the most remote reaches of the solar system are filled with unimaginable wonders ... and countless forces that will crush all human life.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Adventures of Viktor & Julia

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 10, 2015

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781481505673
      • File size: 422148 KB
      • Duration: 14:39:28

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 14, 2005
      In this unexceptional and somewhat slow-moving follow-up to The Martian Race
      (1999), Benford sends Julia and Viktor, the first astronauts to land on Mars, off to Pluto to investigate a number of strange phenomena. The solar system's coldest, most distant planet appears to be heating up and developing an atmosphere. Stranger still, another expedition has discovered life on Pluto, in an environment where it shouldn't exist. Benford has always been fascinated by the possibilities inherent in extraterrestrial life, and he takes advantage of his own scientific specialty, plasma physics, to create some extraordinary creatures. The competently constructed plot details the unraveling of a series of mysteries via the application of scientific method spiced with credible intuitive leaps. What fails to satisfy, however, are the characters. Julia seems too perfect, while her husband, Viktor, is little more than a nice guy with a funny accent. The second exploratory ship's captain, the daughter of the billionaire who financed Julia and Viktor's original Mars trip, comes across as a Paris Hilton with an advanced degree in biology. Her scenes with Julia, which involve stereotypical assumptions about how powerful women must interact, can be painful. Hard SF fans will find this an adequate read, but Benford has done far better work in the past. Agent, Ralph Vicinanza.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      With multiple storylines told from different perspectives, this complex novel keeps the listener guessing at every turn. Gabrielle de Cuir opens the narrative with the voices of astronauts Julia, an Australian, and her husband, Victor, a Russian, who have succeeded in creating a life for themselves on Mars. De Cuir succeeds beautifully in keeping both accents distinct and accurate and in giving the characters added dimension. Stefan Rudnicki's rumbling tones seem to convey the majesty and expanse of deep space, which Richard Gilliland echoes with his own low timbre. Susan Hanfield rounds out the cast with a clipped, authoritative voice for Captain Axelrod, who's leading another ambitious expedition to explore life found on frigid Pluto. This stellar ensemble cohesively enlivens the slower parts of the plot and makes the action sequences positively shine. E.E. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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