Moonseed (Paperback)

And there is more again: the disaster is not all. Another aspect of 'Moonseed' is space. Space: the exploration of it, and the journeying into it. Space is of huge importance to 'Moonseed', because from space comes the disaster, and to space travels a scientist in an attempt to provide a solution. Baxter draws up (via careful real-life research) an audacious, rough-and-ready, and highly dangerous mission to the Moon, twenty or more years after the Moon missions have ended. A combination of Space Shuttle missions, Soyuz missions, and International Space Station stop-offs provide the framework - and a little bit of gaffer tape, and very short-notice planning, does the rest. Reading 'Moonseed' now, after the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia, is an odd experience, because on the one hand it confirms the dangers involved in all space travel, and on the other hand it confirms that there is a good and wise reason to be trying, no matter what the problems and potential perils. But like Baxter's novel 'Voyage', 'Moonseed' evokes a hair-prickling sense-of-wonder through its descriptions of space travel, and that will appeal to many sf readers.

Then, when you think one novel can contain no more, Baxter ends 'Moonseed' with a mind-bogglingly described scenario in which the cause of the disasters on Earth offers, in a truly unexpected way, a solution to the damage and destruction caused. The destroyer becomes the rescuer.

But even that doesn't fully communicate the amount of action and drama and narrative contained within 'Moonseed': it is a huge novel, overflowing with ideas. Baxter clearly has a passion for what he writes about. Let us be thankful that he carried on writing, when he was unable to become an astronaut.

The idea of the book, Earth being destroyed by the introduction of an exterestrial bacteria, is truly scary. The way Baxter handles the destruction and fear in the population is beautiful.

So, your wondering why only the four stars. The answer is simple. The end is a let down which leaves a sour taste in your mouth just when you should feel great. It's not that what happens is bad, just that it's not given its full justice. It's rushed, nothing more. More description and explanation would have been welcome.

But don't let this put you off too much. this is still a great book using great science and is well worth reading.

Baxter's problem is that he tries too hard - you can *feel* the thought processes chugging along behind his writing, and suspension of disbelief is impossible. He's just not a natural writer. As will any good sci-fi author, he takes up an interesting concept (in this case, the destructive potential of alien nanotech) and pads it out with a story, but where he falls down is in turning this into a good yarn. As in 'Raft', his characterisation is dreadful - the main protagonists are hopelessly two-dimensional and totally fail to engage our sympathies. Then there's his hidden agenda - about as hidden as an exploding Venus on a cloudless night, that is. OK, OK, so Stephen Baxter wants a return to the moon and thinks it could be done on the cheap. Great. But does he have to lay it on with a trowel? Come on - Iain Banks would obviously like us all to live in a socialist paradise but at least his Culture novels still let us have some fun with the idea.

A final criticism which may weigh with some potential readers: one gets the very strong impression that Baxter is writing for an exclusively American audience. OK, the US may be the biggest market for English-language sci-fi; OK, Baxter may be aiming to win over US hearts and minds with his plea for a return to the moon (let's face it, they're the only ones who will bankroll it); but then why didn't he just make do and set his novel in the US? As one reads, one can almost see him on a research trip to Edinburgh wandering around with a guidebook thinking, how am I going to describe this street/castle/person/lump of Scottish granite in a way that will be understood by the average American? Clue: the answer is not to plonk a cardboard cut-out American scientist in the Waverley Shopping Centre and describe the place through his "oh so foreign" eyes. Just tell it like it is; give your American readership some credit. After all, sci-fi readers are supposed to have an imagination! It can be done: Ken Macleod and Peter F. Hamilton are British sci-fi writers who have set novels in Britain, with a purpose, and to great effect. In 'Moonseed', Baxter really fails match the high standards set by his compatriates.

I give it one star for the interesting idea and another for the fact that I made it to the end - but that's generous.