By the year 2057 worldwide corporations, under the aegis of the United Earth Entities, are mining the outer solar system. One mining ship called Rockhopper.....
.....captained by Bella Lind, extracts ice from comets.
Rockhopper is going about its business when Janus, an ice moon circling Saturn, abandons its orbit and heads for outer space.
As the ice sloughs off Janus's surface it's clear the 'moon' is an alien craft, perhaps put in place to spy on our solar system.
Rockhopper's corporate owners instruct Captain Lind to follow Janus as far as is practicable, sending back reports along the way. To accomplish this Bella must determine how much fuel Rockhopper has, so she knows when to terminate surveillance and return home.
There's a fly in the ointment however. Chief Engineer Svetlana Barseghian thinks the corporation is digitally finagling the fuel data, so Rockhopper will follow Janus for a longer time and send back more valuable data.
Rockhopper would then be stranded in outer space, with insufficient fuel to get back to Earth.
This situation turns into a major conflict between Bella - who wants to continue the mission, and Svetlana - who wants Rockhopper to turn back immediately.
Bella and Svetlana have a HUGE falling out over this, and the women - who were once good friends - become bitter enemies. The resulting conflict is threaded through the remainder of the novel.
As things play out Rockhopper gets caught in Janus's 'slipstream' and CAN'T turn around. The mining ship therefore lands on Janus, and the crew tucks in for the long haul as Janus heads for the star Spica.
I don't want to say more about the plot because it's fun to see the story unfold bit by bit.
Skirting spoilers, there are still some things I can divulge.
♦ A Chinese spaceship also sets out to follow Janus.
♦ A large black cube inscribed with Leonardo DaVinci's 'Vetruvian Man' is found in outer space.
♦ Various alien species make an appearance, including 'Fountainheads' - who can rejuvenate living creatures and make them younger; 'Whisperers' - invisible creatures who make their presence known by manipulating objects; the 'Uncontained' - malevolent beings who cause chaos and death; and 'Musk Dogs' - creatures that look like assemblages of misshapen canines. They urinate and slobber everywhere they go.
The novel is essentially about establishing a society in hostile surroundings with no advance preparation and minimal supplies.
The book contains an array of interesting, but somewhat two-dimensional characters.
Reynolds does better with depictions of technology, and the narrative contains imaginative descriptions of spaceships; ice mining; alien habitats; exotic machinery; light speed space travel; cryostasis; and more.
On the downside, the story has abrupt shifts in time, which are confusing, and a murky finale that doesn't quite satisfy. Still it's a good tale, recommended to fans of hard science fiction.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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