27 December 2007

Book Log 2007 #58: Millenium by Ben Bova

The year is 1999. Tensions on Earth have the US and USSR at the brink of war, fueled by each country's near completion of a spaced-based ABM system that would make the other side's nuclear arsenal useless. This situation is starting to spill over to the moon base whose international population belies its nominal separation into American and Soviet sectors. The leader of the base's US sector sees how war would ruin the moon community, and comes up with a plan to avoid war.

Written in the mid 1970s, it's about as inaccurate as to what 1999 would be like as you'd expect. That's not necessarily a problem, as I don't think anyone would reasonably expect Bova's vision of 1999 to conform to reality. But I didn't find the story particularly interesting, either, which is obviously a problem. The characters are all either war hawks or moon-based flower children, and the solution to the problem is pretty obvious. I also thought the ending was telegraphed a bit too much, but I may have just guessed right.

I'd not really recommend this, though I'd like to hear the opinion of someone more conversant with traditional sci-fi.

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