The Sky So Big and Black - John Barnes Book Review

Enter a review
of your own!

Other books by
author John Barnes

"The Sky So Big and Black"
Message Board

John Barnes Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR: PJ

SCHOLARS: Eric Terrell Lowell Berman

Would you like to be a scholar and make five dollars per review? Click here to submit a review!

Review Summaries

" Tor, Aug 2002, 24.95, 315 pp. ISBN: 0765303035 In 2095, the One True controls humanity at least those living on the earth in a hive like collective intelligence. Mars is one of the few locales in which mankind retains free will though the environment still requires terraforming to make it more habitable. On Mars, Teri Murray informs her father Telemachus that she wants to drop out and marry her boyfriend Perry, but needs her dad's permission, as she is legally a minor. Her father opposes both ideas so Teri remains in school when she learns that her beloved Perry is already married. Teri accompanies her dad escorting a group of youngsters on a special training trip. However due to a sunburst, communications die. Not longer afterward, many of her companions including her dad die. Teri takes charge of the survivors and begins the journey to safety only to find weary despondent gene-engineered humans and conclude that someone sentient attacked Mars with the sunburst. THE SKY SO BIG AND BLACK is science fiction at its most exciting and thought provoking best. The story line first appears as a futuristic coming of age tale, but quickly expands into several varying layers to include the survivalist trek, the sunburst attack, and the starving Marsformed genetically engineered mutants. John Barnes writes a triumphant story that keeps readers wondering what next and how did the author successfully tie everything back into a cohesive interesting story worth re-reading to grasp all the nuances. Harriet Klausner

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout. "
Harriet Klausner, Resident John Barnes Scholar

Click above for the new Obama Girl Parody video!

Overall Review

Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.

Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Coming of age Yes
Youngster becomes - an adult (general)
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Plotlets: - surviving natural elements on planet
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - student
Age: - a teen
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - an entire race
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters

Setting
Which planet? - Mars
Not Earth, in Solar System? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - an average amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript

Most similar books by Gordonator ranking
Time For The Stars by Robert A. Heinlein
The Integral Trees by Larry Niven
Renegade the Hunter by C.L. Rossman
The Fifth Man by John B. Olson and Randall Ingermanson
Savage Land of Jur by Tom Johnson

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

Try our new Star Wars & Star Trek puzzle pictures! Click here

Advertise with us
Feedback
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith plot spoilers
Hobbits
The politics game
The lawyer game

3 Book search options!
1) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
2) Detailed book search
(click here) or

3) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion

Games:
Trivia Masters!

Rescue your favorite
scifi characters from
slavery!

Talk to your favorite
scifi characters!

Eating New Yorkers
Computer Game

Pomeranians

Most recent TV & Movie discussions:

Star Trek Enterprise: T'Pol shows her nude butt on Enterprise! 9/2/2008 3:20:24 AM

Star Trek Enterprise: Jolene Blalock on T'Pol and Star Trek Enterprise 9/2/2008 3:12:39 AM

Star Trek Enterprise: Is T'Pol supposed to be a Vulcan lesbian? 9/2/2008 3:02:45 AM

Blade Runner: Blade Runner 9/1/2008 4:20:35 PM

A Boy and His Dog: A Boy and His Dog 8/31/2008 1:47:59 AM

Charmed: How can Phoebe Halliwell get an abortion? 8/29/2008 10:02:34 PM

Alien Hunter : Alien Hunter 8/28/2008 1:25:23 PM

Charmed: What's wrong with Rose McGowan's chin? 8/26/2008 8:21:36 AM

Charmed: What kind of name is Piper for a girl? 8/20/2008 5:34:24 PM

The Mask: The Mask 8/14/2008 11:06:36 PM

Newest slaves:
Heather Graham 11:09:36 AM
Beka Valentine 10:46:02 AM
Starbutch 10:45:17 AM
Chellina 10:43:18 AM
Aeryn Sun 10:42:27 AM
John Crichton clone 10:41:49 AM
John Crichton 10:41:21 AM
Sicko-zoo 10:40:39 AM
Dargo 10:40:01 AM
Darth Vader 10:39:21 AM
All slaves
(click here)

Celebrity interviews:
President George W. Bush 6:32:00 PM
Jan-Michael Vincent 2:16:51 PM
Captain Kathryn Janeway 3:47:46 PM
Jack ONeill (Richard Dean Anderson) 1:39:22 PM
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:01:07 PM
All celebrities
(click here)