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Review
"A wonderful science fiction novel, better than the movie" 2001"."--"The Globe and Mail "(Toronto)
"The prose, characterization, pacing, speculation, and storyline are so assured, it's hard to believe that this is a first effort."--Charles de Lint, "Science Fiction Review"
"The prose, characterization, pacing, speculation, and storyline are so assured, it's hard to believe that this is a first effort."--Charles de Lint, "Science Fiction Review"
Product Description
Aboard A"rgo," a colonization ship bound for Eta Cephei IV, people are very close--there's no other choice. So when Aaron Rossman's ex-wife dies in what seems to be a bizarre accident, everyone offers their sympathy, politely keeping their suspicions of suicide to themselves. But Aaron cannot simply accept her death. He must know the truth: Was it an accident, or did she commit suicide? When Aaron discovers the truth behind her death, he is faced with a terrible secret--a secret that could cost him his life.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
He really does write good books, Robert Sawyer. He's something a bit different in the SF world that he concentrates on people as well as stories and always has characters that you really feel for.
The book's described as a whodunnit in space, but to me it's more of a whathappened in space. It's fairly obvious who's covering up from early on in the book, but the story unfolds revealing a shocking conclusion. The exchange between Jason, the ship board computer and Aaron towards the end of the book is superb.
If I have one critism of Sawyer's books it's that the endings seem a little rushed, and this is no exception.
But it would be churlish to complain too much about such a wonderful writer.
Format:Paperback
The Argo is a colonization ship on its way to Eta Cephei IV with more than ten thousand humans aboard. But this is no sleeper ship. Everyone is awake and engaged in a variety of tasks, mission-related and otherwise. All of this activity is coordinated by JASON, the artificial intelligence that runs everything on the Argo.
The story begins as JASON murders crew member Diana Chandler and is nearly successful in making it look like suicide. Diana's ex-husband Aaron Rossman believes that Diana has killed herself because of his actions. His affair during the final months of their marriage was not a secret as he believed. Aaron gradually sees past his grief and deduces that Diana was murdered. Eventually we all learn the secret she was murdered to protect.
JASON is a bit like HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but has more humans to talk with. And lie to. Sawyer gives us a consistent and intriguing portrayal of an advanced AI program with nearly unlimited observational data about human beings and limited experience with which to interpret it. Telling the story from JASON's point of view was a good decision and is well executed.
This is a good story, well told. Like some of Sawyer's other books, this one was written to explore an idea--artificial intelligence, in this case--as well as to entertain. It does both well. It is interesting to compare JASON's malevolent influence in this book to Heinlein's more benevolent but equally secretive Mike that controls Luna City in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Both have similar spans of control and are naïve in their understanding of humans. But they act quite differently.
The story begins as JASON murders crew member Diana Chandler and is nearly successful in making it look like suicide. Diana's ex-husband Aaron Rossman believes that Diana has killed herself because of his actions. His affair during the final months of their marriage was not a secret as he believed. Aaron gradually sees past his grief and deduces that Diana was murdered. Eventually we all learn the secret she was murdered to protect.
JASON is a bit like HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but has more humans to talk with. And lie to. Sawyer gives us a consistent and intriguing portrayal of an advanced AI program with nearly unlimited observational data about human beings and limited experience with which to interpret it. Telling the story from JASON's point of view was a good decision and is well executed.
This is a good story, well told. Like some of Sawyer's other books, this one was written to explore an idea--artificial intelligence, in this case--as well as to entertain. It does both well. It is interesting to compare JASON's malevolent influence in this book to Heinlein's more benevolent but equally secretive Mike that controls Luna City in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Both have similar spans of control and are naïve in their understanding of humans. But they act quite differently.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
15 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Been waiting for years for this one!
22 Oct 1999
Format:Paperback
This is the only Robt. J. Sawyer book I didn't have. It's been Out Of Print for many years, but now it's back--hooray! I read it in one sitting and enjoyed it 100%. On the cover it Charles deLint is quoted as saying, "It's hard to believe this was Sawyer's first effort," and that's true. It reads just as well as his more recent books. A great combo of mystery and sci-fi, and a really good (and not at all dated) book abt artificial intelligence (AI).
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Not the best Sawyer, but pretty good
14 May 2002
Format:Paperback
This is one of Sawyer's earlier novels. While it is not quite up to the standards of later works, (like THE TERMINAL EXPERIMENT), it has a great premise and is superior to most science fiction on the shelves today.
Golden Fleece is a murder mystery - but the mystery is not who, we know that right away, it's the "why?" and "will they be caught?" The untangling of these two questions - aboard a generational ship, making it a locked room mystery for the passengers - has the backdrop of the psychology of a generational ship and how man deals with Artificial Intelligence.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Wonderful mix of sci-fi and mystery
17 Nov 1999
Format:Paperback
I thought this was a terrific book, really well done with good characters and good plot, and lots of nifty speculations about A.I. Sawyer has clearly read Minsky and other A.I. theorists, and does a great job creating his thinking computer, JASON.
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