Like Heinlein's juveniles before it, and also like pal Nathan Lowell's excellent Solar Clipper series, Brand Gamblin's TUMBLER is not so much an action tale as a story of a young person learning her place in the world -- or in this case, in the Solar System. Libby Carter comes out to the Asteroid Belt to make her fortune as a miner, but is quickly disillusioned as to how easy it is *not* to go about doing so. Quickly exiled to a tiny shack on a tiny asteroid that spins so rapidly that her home life becomes a never-ending merry-go-round (hence the derogatory nickname she gets, Tumbler), her first thought is to just knuckle down to what amounts to indentured servitude until she's earned enough money to pay her way back home, where she will have to start over again at zero. Still, better than being the Tumbler, she thinks. But she has another think coming. How she learns of this is a big part of this novel's charm; a turning point about halfway through, in which Libby finds herself struggling to keep a little girl alive and conscious, leads her to realize there's more than one way to look at her situation, and that the life of a Tumbler has as much opportunity as hardship -- especially if, as Libby is, one is imaginative, willing to work, and willing to accept friendship. I think this would be a GREAT book for any young readers on your holiday gift list, whether they typically go for science fiction or not. I cannot recommend it enough!(Cross-posted from my Amazon review) Tumbler is a scifi novel that is very Heinlein-esque. Small time main character works through struggles and makes good encapsulates the plot. But the story itself, while excellent, is not as exciting as watching the characters. Libby, the heroine, is a young girl who has no idea how the world works. She loses her mother and then jumps head long into a deep space mining conglomerate hoping to somehow make good through hard work alone. Unfortunately, what she doesn't know just might kill her. If the locals don't do it first. Most scifi books are heavy reading and usually just not my cup of tea. However, Tumbler is fast paced while maintaining believability and a delicious sense of the ironic. With such a wonderful combo, the reader cannot help but be swept along. I would note that this novel is considered "Young Adult", but anyone can jump in and enjoy it. I am thrilled to see this piece on Amazon as I feel that Brand Gamblin's next work will be even more full of wit than Tumbler itself was.
What do You think about Tumbler (2009)?
fun juvenile space adventure. Too bad my kids don't enjoy science fiction as I do.
—Ghiz
Two chapters in, and I can't stand the narrator. Nor the main character. Abandoned.
—babygrl74
