Cauldron is the latest in a series of books where McDevitt pursues an unsettling theme, at variance with common sentiment in many science fiction novels that posit a faster than light drive. Invariably, those describe a mass...
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Cauldron is the latest in a series of books where McDevitt pursues an unsettling theme, at variance with common sentiment in many science fiction novels that posit a faster than light drive. Invariably, those describe a mass migration of humans to other habitable worlds. Along the lines of the Europeans coming to the Americas, say. What McDevitt's series suggests is that something else will come to pass, at least thus far in the books. No large scale colonies will be established. While the economics, or lack thereof, will cause a retrenching and mothballing of even existing starships. In this sense, at least the books make you think. To possibly re-examine your beliefs. So one should be fair to the scenario, even or especially if you disagree. Leaving aside the vastly faster hyperdrive in Cauldron, the situation does not seem plausible. Earlier books described worlds where humans could live, as well as the ability for small groups to go there and explore. It is a small step to imagine that some colonies would be established. Certainly initially small. But there would surely be those on Earth willing to emigrate. The book describes, in the style of news headlines, various events on Earth. A world not too different in strife from ours. With many nations and groups of people. This very diversity clashes with the postulate that none are willing to try new worlds. Sadly, the events in Cauldron are also rather tepid. Fans of McDevitt do not expect a David Weber-style narrative of interstellar conflicts. But this book is more dull and lacking than earlier ones, of which there have been complaints of this nature. The descent onto new worlds and the experiences of the explorers were better described in those books. The Cauldron episodes are like taking a tea bag and reusing it too often. Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)
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