Sub-category: This novel
picks up 8 years after where Bright Messengers
finished. Johann is now raising the bastard child of his
beloved Beatrice and Yasin alone on an island. Suddenly
new terrors arise and their existance on the island becomes
threatened by a new species. Johann and Maria, the daughter,
decide to try and cross the ocean and find the others members
of their party. However, once re-united with their friends,
their existance is constantly being challenged by one alien
species after another. But nothing is as dangereous as the
possible 'Double Full Moon Night' they face on the planet
the mysterious white 'ribbon beings' have placed them on.
Comment: From indulging
his whims about the ugly side of the human race, Lee now
decides to focus on deluging the reader with zillions of
different aliens and the way they interact. From this novel,
I would have to say that Mr. Clarke did not have as much
to do with writing the Rama
sequels as having his name attached to those novels would
imply... Anyway, a lot of this novel is rambling interactions
with alien species, and sometimes, one wonders if Mr. Lee
is totally focused on what the aliens actually do - especially
the 'nozzlers' who change from purposeless murderers, to
prison-camp wardens to eventual saviours of the little party
of human beings.
Return to top
 |
BRIGHT
MESSENGERS (1995) |
Sub-category: Future
Earth History
The plot: This novel
is set in the Chaos Years that followed after the first
Rama spaceship left the solar system (click
here to read reviews of the Rama novels). In this
novel, Sister Beatrice, a priestess of the global Order
of St Michael, and Johann Eberhardt, a sceptical German
Systems Engineer, are united on Mars by a ribbon comprising
little white lights. Fate brings them together and places
them and some co-workers into a situation as strange as
that encountered in the Rama spaceship.
Comment: After reading
the Rama sequel novels, one has to assume that Mr. Lee
has a rather pessimistic outlook on the human race, and
this novel, once again dwells on the best and the worst
of our species... That aside, Lee keeps the reader turning
pages as you wonder what the next development will bring.
Return to top
