The Holmes-Watson interactions are great, especially their first meeting. The lengthy digression through Utah in the second part of the book is incredThe Holmes-Watson interactions are great, especially their first meeting. The lengthy digression through Utah in the second part of the book is incredibly dull, though. It ties into the mystery plot eventually, but there are quicker and better ways to convey the necessary information to the reader.
I wasn't impressed with the mystery, either. Holmes's final conclusion makes sense, but there's no "aha!" moment. In fact, Holmes gathers most of the necessary evidence "offscreen," so that it's impossible for the reader to speculate upon the solution in advance of the reveal.
If you're interested in the beginnings of Holmes's and Watson's partnership and/or Holmes's relationships with Inspectors Gregson and Lestrade, then definitely read the first seven chapters. I'd recommend skipping the rest of the book....more
I loved this book when I was younger, and on reread it's obvious why. A crew of four is sent on a rescue mission to an apparently hostile solar systemI loved this book when I was younger, and on reread it's obvious why. A crew of four is sent on a rescue mission to an apparently hostile solar system where a previous exploratory team ran into trouble and lost contact with Earth. This rescue team includes a female astronaut raised by aliens though she's human herself, her alien adoptive brother-sister who's part of a collective consciousness and who loves eating all manner of oils including shaving cream and engine grease, and the protagonist: a male astronaut whose primary interest is saving his older brother, who was the leader of the previous team.
There's danger and adventure and science, and a fascinating alien solar system, and first contact with an even more fascinating alien species (view spoiler)[that lives in an atmosphereless solar ring rather than on a planet, and has detachable and reattachable tentacles(hide spoiler)].
I was also pleasantly surprised by the amount of racial diversity among the characters. The leader of the rescue team is a Black man, the female astronaut is Puerto Rican, and a number of the book's minor characters are POC. (Of course, the protagonist is a white man, and combined with the fact that the team leader is unconscious for half the story and the female astronaut is relegated to a combination translator-and-support-staff role, the overall impact of this diversity is somewhat muted.)
But despite the above enticements, I'm afraid this book just doesn't have a natural audience anymore. It's too dated--both technologically and in its depiction of women--to appeal to children of today. And the prose, plot, and characterizations are too simplistic to appeal to most adults (even ones, like me, who are reading the book with a strong accompanying dose of nostalgia)....more
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