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The Burning Heart of Night - Ivan Cat Book Review

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Review Summary


Daw, Jul 2002, 6.99, 591 pp.
ISBN: 0886777895

Interstellar Captain Lindal Karr transports humans from Sheldon's World to Evermore when a stowaway claiming to be Lindal's guardian angel Bob begins killing the passengers while they sleep in a fugue state. Lindal who is immune to fugue sleep is helpless to stop Bob who perseveres in a normal state that enables him to live with an incredibly faster metabolism that also makes him seem invisible to Lindal. Bob forces the Long Reach to crash into the ocean of the remote planet of New Ascension.

The colonists on New Ascension struggle with a deadly local microbe. They barely survive a little longer by draining the immunity serum of the native sentient population the Khafra, an action that kills the Khafra.. Civil war is imminent with Jenette Tesla, daughter of the human leader, desperately trying to find peace and stop the genocide. Lindal with fugue might be the miracle if the colonists let him live long enough to help, but who to trust among the planetary colonists, the victimized Khafra, or the mysterious angel Bob?

THE BURNING HEART OF NIGHT contains an interesting look at the cost of survival that humans will pay for a few extra years of life. Though Bob is cloaked in mystique, the identity of the being is obvious early on. Lindal understands being different while Jenette represents the good in mankind with her willingness to do what she believes is the right thing. Albeit solutions to extremely complex interspecies issues are overly simplified, science fiction readers will relish this exciting futuristic other world tale.

Harriet Klausner

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar


Detailed literary breakdown of The Burning Heart of Night
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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
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Plotlets: - fighting a disease/illness affecting everyone
Political power play Yes
Political plotlets - preventing/managing clash/war between govts/kingdoms
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Cultural problems, alien culture Yes
Culture clash- - one culture tries to impose its culture on another group
Intense exploration of society's culture? Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - fighter (air/space) pilot
Age: - 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a futuristic society - very controlled society
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a fair amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to The Burning Heart of Night
Zelerod's Doom by Jacqueline Lichtenberg
Empire Of Bones by Liz Williams
Contact Imminent by Kristine Smith
Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
Absolution Gap by Alastair Reynolds




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