The Winds of Altair (Audible Audio Edition) Ben Bova Stefan Rudnicki Inc Blackstone Audio Books
Download As PDF : The Winds of Altair (Audible Audio Edition) Ben Bova Stefan Rudnicki Inc Blackstone Audio Books
Earth is an old planet, and her teeming masses are running out of resources - and time. It is up to men such as Jeff Holman to discover a haven for Earth's millions. Altair VI is one such planet, and Holman is determined to transform this world into one where the human race can survive.
Star probes long ago informed Earth that Altair VI had a flourishing ecology with one very tough beast at the top of the food chain, one that will have to be dealt with before the human colony ships arrive. The beast is not only tough, it is as smart as a man.
Holman is faced with a soul-wrenching decision - for to make Altair VI habitable for humans, all native life must die.
The Winds of Altair (Audible Audio Edition) Ben Bova Stefan Rudnicki Inc Blackstone Audio Books
...and the wolfcats of Altair VI - aka Windsong. I first read this novel while in college in the 70s and I am glad I re-read it again recently because there were a lot of subtle nuances to this book I hadn't noticed before. It just proves that sometimes an old "friendship", like fine wine, only gets better with age. And while "The Winds of Altair" isn't exactly like the plot of James Cameron's "Avatar" there are enough similarities between the two to make me appreciate both of them a lot more.Product details
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The Winds of Altair (Audible Audio Edition) Ben Bova Stefan Rudnicki Inc Blackstone Audio Books Reviews
First I'd like to say I did enjoy the audio book, which entertained me during a long drive. I'd probably give it three and a half stars, but that's not an option. The ending came a bit abruptly, but since the 'solution' was one I'd already figured out, it was a bit satisfying for me. It seems pretty obvious to me that James Cameron found some inspiration in this, because there are a great many similarities to the movie "Avatar," which is one of my favorites a polluted, over populated Earth, the six legged creatures, the poisonous atmosphere on Altair 6, the ugly earth men exploiting the planet and fully willing to kill off the indigenous species, the earth man who goes native... even the tidal wave seems to be the planet striking back against the earth men.
There was as much fantasy as science in this, such as the idea of reducing earth's over population of 19 billion by sending a few thousand, and eventually a few million to Altair 6. But the thing that bothered me most was the oxygen generating machines humans used to terraform the planet. Simple chemistry says you can't produce oxygen and nitrogen from methane, which is composed of hydrogen and carbon, two entirely different elements. I mean... earth's atmosphere weighs about 5 quadrillion (5×10^15) tons. If humans could transmute matter like that, earth wouldn't be in the trouble it was. So where was an entire planetary atmosphere of oxygen and nitrogen supposed to come from? Second, even if they COULD produce oxygen, releasing it into a methane atmosphere probably would be a bit like leaving all the Bunsen burners on in the lab, or a gas leak in the house. A spark could ignite it. In fact, in a methane atmosphere, any Bunsen burner would have to supply the oxygen, sort of backwards from what we do, releasing methane into an oxygen atmosphere. And as for poisonous, methane is not all that toxic. It would asphyxiate you, but that's more lack of oxygen. Helium would do the same although not be flammable. Carbon dioxide is much more toxic.
I love Ben Bova's books, but for someone who says he writes "hard science fiction" (i.e., science fiction based mostly on scientific reality) this one falls short. In his own words, "The rule of thumb for a writer of “hard” science fiction is that the writer is free to use anything his or her imagination can invent and depict — so long as no one can show that it contradicts the tenets of known science." Still, it was an enjoyable way to occupy my time while driving.
I liked this book. It's not great, but it's enjoyable. It grabbed me pretty quickly but then never really took off - reading it on my iPad, I didn't even realize I was at the end until I was on the last page. It does stay interesting, but once it gets to the climax and resolution, rather than the characters actually resolving the core issue (as part of the story), they just TELL you how they are going to resolve it, and then it ends - but not before also introducing another possible story line that doesn't go anywhere since the book ends. I still give the boom 4 stars (3.5 if I could) because I did like it and wish there had been a follow up.
A disappointing book by an accomplished writer.
"The Winds of Altair" portrays a future where the Earth teems with 17 billion mainly poor inhabitants. Crime and vice are rife on a world running out of resources. After making the leap to local space travel, humans discover a mechanism for faster-than-light travel A search begins for planets in other star systems that can be terraformed to allow some of the Earth's masses to be transported elsewhere, thereby alleviating terrestrial crowding. An expedition to the 6th planet surrounding the star Altair sponsored by a strict doctrinaire church and sanctioned by the World Government begins the preliminaries to terraforming a world that is occupied by alien life forms. The church leaders of the expedition see no problem with exterminating the existing life forms that could not survive in an earth-like atmosphere. The problem is complicated by the discovery that one of the species there may be intelligent.
The writing style is surprisingly simplistic for someone like Bova. The prose and structure is more appropriate for a "juvenile" level work than an adult novel. The characters are not well developed and appear shallow. For instance, the protagonist is a member of the church that sponsored the mission. The church has no black members, although it preaches racial tolerance. On meeting an African female member of the scientific team, he is initially perturbed by her black skin and exotic appearance. Soon, he comes to feel that she is beautiful despite being black. She is kind and friendly to him, and he then comes to believe that he is in love with her. Nothing is wrong with this evolution of events. The problem is that the development is sophomoric. A more fundamental problem that strains credibility is the idea sending Earth's unwanted away to terraformed planets at enormous expense. A few thousand or a few million people transported to another planet will not help when the problem is billions of poor. A flawed plot combined with puerile writing makes for an uninspiring novel.
...and the wolfcats of Altair VI - aka Windsong. I first read this novel while in college in the 70s and I am glad I re-read it again recently because there were a lot of subtle nuances to this book I hadn't noticed before. It just proves that sometimes an old "friendship", like fine wine, only gets better with age. And while "The Winds of Altair" isn't exactly like the plot of James Cameron's "Avatar" there are enough similarities between the two to make me appreciate both of them a lot more.
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