Permanence [Hardcover]

The tale is jagged, confusing, jumbled. Its characters do what they do because Mr. Schroeder wants them to, not from any sort of internal motivation--at least none discernible to me. The science is dippy: tool-making species, intones Michael's boss, Professor Herat, in a plot stopping interlude, are doomed because their tool making is a compensation for their failure to adopt to their environment (duh). There's FTL, but it doesn't work everywhere and not everybody has it (but they all want it), but everybody bops around free of the problems of time dilation, etc. etc. (eh?).

There's a villain, of course, Admiral Crisler, who used to be a scientist (oh please!) and he does everything but twirl his cape and go bwaa haa haa. (Anyone? Anyone? Whiplash? Whiplash?)

You'll probably stay till the end; there's some good space opera here and the final invasion of Crisler's domain is well-done. But maybe you'll feel exhausted rather than elated when you reach the final page.

This book is so unfocused (especially compared with the author's debut novel) that you may wonder how it came to be. I have an idea. I think that Mr. Schroeder's editor asked him if he had anything else in the pipeline post-"Ventus." Voila! Mr. Schroeder pulled this out of his drawer (or out of his computer?) and the editor set to work trying to make something coherent of it. But there was just no way.

Ah well, maybe next time Mr. Schroeder will deliver a winner. For sure he's capable of it.

"Permanence" is both the name of a space-age religion and the desire of a space-faring humanity, in a universe where no civilization is truly permanent. The protagonist is a young girl, Rue, who escapes from her abusive brother, discovers an alien spaceship, and goes on to have world-shaking adventures involving the ship and its alien technology. The author's use of high technology in his stories is easy and natural, for example, shared virtual reality (inscapes) and nanotechnology are seamlessly integrated into the way of life for Rue and her contemporaries.

The plot of "Permanence" revolves around a clash between the Cycler Compact (worlds united by spaceships capable only of slower-than light travel) and the Rights Economy (worlds united by faster-than light spaceship travel). The scope of the plot spans numerous planets and living environments, with aliens and alien cultures and concepts. The plot involves a clash of cultures, economies, politics, philosophies, and religions. The book is chock full of new ideas and concepts.

I read "Permanence" straight through from start to finish. It was a thoroughly engaging read with a satisfying ending. The only reason I am giving this book 4 stars and not 5 is that the author's characterization still needs a bit of work, as the emotions and thoughts of some of the characters are slightly juvenile. Nonetheless, it was a very enjoyable read, and I hope the author continues to put out excellent hard Science Fiction, well into the future.

There's something annoyingly artificial about the way the characters are written. They go along with mad ideas just because the plot requires a crew for the protagonist's quest. The events that litter the book seem dangerous on the surface, but feel like book-padding, and are never really engaging.

One example is Max, the protagonist's cousin. He somehow shows up at the start of the novel, and conveniently turns out to be very rich, which conveniently solves the heroine's problems. Not only is he rich, but he also conveniently won the lottery, so there's nothing to explain about it. Such events occur at a maddening frequency, painfully linking what certainly sounded like good plot points in a synopsis.

I hate to downright bash a novel, but this one should have been reworked and re-edited before it hit the shelves.