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Sister Alice - Robert Reed Book Review

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Review Summary


Tor, Oct 2003, 25.95, 320 pp.
ISBN: 076530225X

While earthlings have voyaged to the stars, nations remain on the brink of war on the home planet. Desperate for peace, the world's leaders conclude that a super group must be formed if humanity is to survive. An elite thousand is chosen to make up the selected Families, earth's greatest gene pool that continuously will improve generation after generation.

The all but immortal members of the Families have ensured a Ten Million Year Peace. However, brilliant terraformer scientist Alice, the twelfth generation of the Chamberlain Family, now hides in her ancestral home. Distraught, bordering on suicidal, the millennium old Alice eventually informs her young relative Ord that she and her peers tried to build a new galaxy that has begun exploding killing billions. The Nuyens see this misfortune as a chance to gain supreme power by getting the Chamberlains and their allies outlawed for the genocide caused by Alice. Only Ord, secretly endowed with Alice's powers, is the hope the universe has to halt and hopefully reverse the destruction of the galaxy.

Fans of epic science fiction adventures will fully appreciate SISTER ALICE. The story line is action packed yet makes sure that the key characters are genuine and the laws of physics especially pertaining to the Families and Alice's experiment are consistent and feel scientifically based. The plot also provides cautionary themes that absolute power and unchecked science will turn arrogant and corrupt. If you have to choose one futuristic outer space adventure, Robert Reed's latest thriller should be on the short list as one of the year's best.

Harriet Klausner


Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar


Detailed literary breakdown of Sister Alice
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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 - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 40%




Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Plotlets: - preventing an ecological disaster
Political power play Yes
Political plotlets - factions fight within govt for control
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Age: - long lived adults
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: - long-lived adults
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Earth setting: - medium future 22-24th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to Sister Alice
The Precipice by Ben Bova
Saturn by Ben Bova
Crucible by Nancy Kress
Vulcan's Hammer by Philip K. Dick
Probability Space - Probability Trilogy 3 by Nancy Kress




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