Asgard's Secret - Brian Stableford Book Review

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Review Summary

Five Star, Oct 2004, 25.95, 271 pp.
ISBN: 1594142114

Asgard is not a planet, but instead is a man made edifice consisting of a series of shells with spaces called levels between them. Each level contains habitats with their own ecosystem, but no one has found a way to traverse past level five. Levels one through five are for practical purposes dead and no portal to go beyond has been found though various species from across the galaxy have come here seeking the way in to the legendary treasure supposedly at level six and beyond.

Mike Rosseau has been on Asgard for more than twenty-five years seeking the access beyond the known levels. Mike's friend Saul has found the key to level six, but before he can mount an expedition he is killed and the newcomer Myrlin he was mentoring has vanished. Star Forces convince Mike to travel through the levels using Saul's book as a guide. They seek the death of Myrlin, an android, who, if not stopped, could end human civilization.

Asgard is a fascinating place with worlds within worlds and by book's end the exciting story line has barely scratched the surface of the artifact. There is plenty action that in some ways will remind readers of Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Harriet Klausner

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Detailed literary breakdown of Asgard's Secret

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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 - 40%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 30%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Plotlets: - exploring a wondrous planet or phenomena
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - archaeologist
Age: - 40's-50's
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - government investigator
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 - 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
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript

Most similar books to Asgard's Secret
Wasteland of Flint by Thomas Harlan
Jur: A Story of Pre-dawn Earth by Tom Johnson
Chindi by Jack McDevitt
Time For The Stars by Robert A. Heinlein
Titan by John Varley

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

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