Venus Prime Volume One is a science fiction thriller/crime drama that borrows so many elements from other genres that it feels disjointed, but that doesn't make it any less intense, philosophical, or intriguing. The author, Paul Preusss borrows heavily from an Arthur C. Clarke short story called "Breaking Strain," and the rest of the stories in the Venus Prime series similarly borrow from Clarke's fiction. The idea behind Clarke's original stories was to imagine human life on Venus, and in writing his stories he discovered challenges he had not originally imagined. Venus, for one, is too hot for human life and it's covered in acid, so people would need to invent special technology to survive there. But there may be some good reasons for people to want to go there - particularly for resources. Preuss's version of Clarke's original stories is an admirable work because of what Preuss adds to it himself, particularly the character of Sparta.The woman, Sparta, was part of a secret project that sought to enhance human beings using biotechnology. This project failed and Sparta's memory was wiped, but she has since been subject to experimentation and examination by the government agency that started the project. That is, until her doctor decides, out of a sudden act of compassion, to reawaken her memories (minus the past three years or so). She escapes in dramatic fashion by flying a helicopter. Despite her lengthy containment away from the public, she seems to know exactly what to say and what to do to get what she wants. She is able to hack into any computer system using a USB-like device that extends from the tip of her finger. She is also able to break into a car in order to steal the sliver (credit card) from it and buy herself some food and other essentials.After her escape the story turns to a plot with a wealthy woman named Sondra Sylvester who owns a mining corporation. She has purchased some robots capable of mining on the surface of Venus and wants them shipped there as soon as possible. The trouble is, the next ship to depart, the Star Queen, is still under repairs and the owners are scrambling to get it ready in time. Meanwhile, Sylvester is enjoying her time with her immature, but apparently alluring, partner, Nancybeth. She also has her eyes on a book, a one-of-a-kind item that is only the second-known copy to exist. It's called The Seven Pillars of Wisdom and is worth a good fortune. However, Sylvester is outbid by an old lover, which, frankly, pisses her off. The book becomes entwined in the plot when it is placed on the Star Queen in time for the voyage to Venus.This stretch of plot is lengthy, and less interesting than Sparta's, and for some time I wondered if Preuss had forgotten about his star character. Fortunately, this is not the case. Sparta makes a life for herself and becomes involved in an investigation that, you might guess, is involved with the Star Queen. The second half of the book takes place on Venus, in Port Hesperus, though I won't reveal much what happens there, except that it turns into an intense police mystery, sort of a buddy cop kind of thing. It's easy to get lost in the details, but Sparta keeps things moving at a brisk pace, always several steps ahead of the audience - but even she makes her mistakes.What starts out as a Bourne Identity-esque book, with a hero unsure of her identity but having no trouble with her enhanced training/powers, quickly turns into a business drama, and then a philosophical space thriller, and finally a mystery thriller. The best part of this is the third. This takes place on the Star Queen, where only two crew members were placed aboard, despite the customary rule of three. An accident happens, one that makes it impossible for the crew to survive the remainder of the trip. Preuss watches, with fascination, what these two men begin to think and how they behave. We see things from the perspective of the captain, Peter Grant, who makes assumptions about his crewmate, McNeil, that may or may not be wrong. Preuss wonders how a man, one who considers himself morally sound, would begin to act and think when his life is at stake. Two men, with the available oxygen supply, couldn't make the trip. But one - one would survive. How this plays out is intriguing.But Sparta truly is the star of the show. Here is a woman who is a strong character, not just through technological enhancements, but through her confidence and her personality. It is fun to watch the way she asserts her authority over the case in Venus, making sure the man assigned to her, Viktor Proboda, knows she is in charge. Not that Proboda is your typical macho man; he realizes her competence and grows to admire her. Not only is Sparta competent in times of pressure, she is also very smart, much smarter than most everybody else. It's true she has some unfair advantages due to her tools and gifts, but the kinds of smarts she has come from more than enhanced technology. I enjoyed seeing Sparta's story unfold. She is the perfect sci-fi heroine, and she is the lead character of what has begun as an amazingly entertaining sci-fi series.
Un libro en principio menor de Clarke (aunque escrito a pachas con Paul Press), e inicio de una serie de 6 libros con el mismo protagonista. Y digo en principio menor, porque no ha sido reeditado desde hace años y no tiene la fama de otras novelas del autor. Sin embargo, a mi entender, es un magnífico libro. No sólo de ciencia ficción, sino policiaco. En la parte de ciencia ficción los autores imaginan un futuro en el que la raza humana ha colonizado los planetas del sistema solar, pero basándose en hechos científicos de su época. Esa "manía" de Clarke ha hecho que muchas fantasías se hayan convertido, con el paso del tiempo, en realidades.Y luego la trama policiaca muy bien resuelta, muy al estilo de Agatha Christie, pero con más chispa y ayudándose de la protagonista, una mujer biónica.Por cierto, que la idea del principio del libro, mujer con cualidades y aptitudes extraordinarias, que no recuerda parte de su pasado, ni porqué tiene esos "poderes" y que busca quién es, es clavada a la trama de la serie de películas del "Mito Bourne", sustiyendo a la chica por Matt Damon y sus implantes electrónicos por un entrenamiento especial en la CIA.
What do You think about Breaking Strain (2004)?
If I understood the author's notes correctly, Preuss originally started adapting a novella of Clarke's called "Breaking Strain" to be an RPG. The game didn't pan out, so he was encouraged to reroute everything to be a novel series instead. The ideas behind it - a girl altered cybernetically for a secret government agency, then having her memory wiped for whatever dark reasons - has been done to death in recent years, but obviously Clarke's idea predates most of them ("Breaking Strain" was published in 1949). The book would have been more enjoyable had Preuss stayed primarily in Sparta's head, but his POV-hopping made the mystery less interesting and garbled the flow of the book. This may have been written in pieces instead of as a coherent whole, and as the later tales were supposed to be written as books (not intended as games or adapted from short stories), then hopefully they'll have a better flow.
—S.A. Parham
I am slowly learning that just because I start a book, that doesn't mean I have to finish it. Even though I am only 50 pages away I've decided not to finish Breaking Strain. Don't misunderstand me, it was a good book, but it drew me in with a backstory that wasn't continued and then expanded into a series of story webs that I couldn't always follow. I 'hopefully' finished the one strand I was interested in and decided to stop, part of the reason being that I don't want to get drawn in to the series.the book was well written Scifi, I think my only error was that I read it in bits and prices over a few months time and I lost the plot. This is a book to be read in a timely manner.
—Yvonne
Actually, I'd give this 3.5 stars.The beginning starts off very interesting and then "BAM" it goes AWOL! It takes, I am guessing, about 2/3 of the way in, maybe more, before we come back to the main character SPARTA. It's basically 3 stories which come together... eventually. At first I was not liking that fact, but then, I was won over. I still think this would have been a bit better had the story about SPARTA not ended so abruptly and seemingly disappear, until MUCH later in the book. All in all it kept my interest, after the initial "what the frack" moment. Some parts moved a little slow, while others quickly flew by.Conspiracy theories, Government secrets, military, sanatorium, helicopter to spaceships, mystery, intrigue, auctions, antiques, books, museums, off world mining, off world living, learning who to trust, and murder.
—pdarnold
