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Wheelers (Paperback)

by Ian Stewart (Author), Jack S. Cohen (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Earthlight; New Ed edition (4 Nov 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0743429028
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743429023
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 742,224 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Novels written in tandem can often be somewhat faceless but this is assuredly not the case in Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen's' admirable SF epic Wheelers, an ambitious and galaxy-spanning piece that is crammed full of character. In the 23rd century, civilization is recovering from a massive freeze that has decimated the population of the earth. The Moon and the asteroids are under the control of a Tibetan Zen Buddhist sect, and the task of exploring the planets is the province of a motley group of outcasts. This is the background for Stewart and Cohen's high-concept thriller. The authors are scientists, and (as so often when this is the case) they're best at the technology--but, nevertheless, the characters here have infinitely more solidity than is customary. And how confidently the concepts are delivered here! This is high-flying stuff.

The best aspects of the book are the monstrously powerful (and truly grotesque) aliens that somehow survive in Jupiter's inhospitable atmosphere and appear bent on conflict with the inhabitants of our planet; Stewart and Cohen's heroine Prudence Odingo is forced to discover why they have declared war on the earth--and her determination leads to some terrifying physical challenges. Despite some flaws, this is vigorous, richly imagined stuff, with passages of genuine wonder:

Outside the control complex the world had gone mad. Pele's normal fountainlike jets had quadrupled in volume, now subject to wild bursts of activity as millions of tons of liquid silicates spurted into space ... Jupiter was growing a new ring, a ring of sulfur-silca dust...
--Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Synopsis

Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen - internationally popular scientists - present a richly-imagined novel of high adventure and earthshaking concepts, in the tradition of Arthur C. Clarke and Greg Bear Twenty-third-century civilisation is recovering from a decades-long anti-technology freeze that has left the world underpopulated, the Moon and asteroids controlled by a Tibetan Zen Buddhist sect from a deep-space habitat, and interplanetary exploration in the hands of a few eccentric outcasts. One such loner - Prudence Odingo - returns to Earth to report that she has recovered 100,00-year-old wheeled artifacts, from under the ice of Callisto, a moon of Jupiter. She is arrested, and about to be convicted on criminal fraud when the 'wheelers' abruptly come to life - and several of Jupiter's moons change their orbits, ready to propel a vast planet-destroying comet towards Earth. The unimaginable and incredibly powerful creatures that live in Jupiter's hellish atmosphere have apparently declared war on humanity. Prudence must somehow discover why - with the help of her Zen Buddhist friends, and the archenemy pedant who once destroyed her career.
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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A splendid SF yarn, but falls short of classic status, 8 Jan 2007
By W. Robinson "Big Bill Robinson" (Slough, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Wheelers (Hardcover)
Wheelers is an original, entertaining, well-written and reasonably enjoyable SF novel, set about 200 years in the future.

The story contains some very disparate threads, which appear to have no connection, but are very skilfully woven together by the authors. We have an archaeological discovery in Egypt, a transatlantic voyage done without modern technology, a Buddhist sect controlling the asteroids, and a brillian young African lad with an uncanny ability to communicate with animals.

A determined young lady takes her own private spaceship to one of the moons of Jupiter - and makes a stunning discovery. She brings back items to Earth, claiming that they are alien artefacts. But no-one believes her! That is, until an unexpected incident which leaves no room for doubt.

Where are the aliens who made these artefacts? And why have they apparently aimed a comet directly at Earth, in an act of open cosmic warfare? You will have to read it to find out.

My slight criticism of this novel is that it is, at times, a bit corny. The climax is good but I sometimes thought it was a bit like a B-movie - thrilling maybe, but not very deep. Also the book does tend to labour certain points a bit too much. All SF fans will be aware that our environment is likely to be poisonous to aliens, but that's no excuse for the corny names that the aliens give their planets!

All in all, a good, enjoyable read. It is unlikely to appeal to those uninterested in space, the future etc, but for SF afficionados it is well worth a look.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Tomorrow's Horse Whisperer?, 23 Nov 2005
By Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Wheelers (Paperback)
Moses Odinga, raised in an animal shelter in central Africa, is bracketed by a loving mother and a freebooting aunt. Charity and Prudence, divergent personalities, logically follow dissimilar life paths. Prudence's has led her from Egyptology to Europa the Jovian Satellite. In her travels, she's stumbled on artifacts indicating, finally, that human beings are not alone in the universe. The results of that discovery reach beyond nearly anyone's imagination. While Prudence struggles for recognition, and income, from her discoveries, Moses has been kidnapped, resulting in a life among vicious street children and even more vicious animals. But Moses has a talent - he can communicate with nearly everything but humans. This skill is honed as he faces increasingly difficult challenges. He develops other skills as well - notably very efficient killing ones. How useful will this secretive street urchin be in preventing a comet from doing to humanity what another did to the dinosaurs?

Building on their writings as scientists merged with their collaboration with Terry Pratchett, Stewart and Cohen have produced a gripping story. Wandering comets and near-Earth asteroids are much in the news these days. What if there's more involved than "simple" celestial mechanics? Applying their respective sciences to the fullest, the authors propose life forms in the Jovian atmosphere and unimaginable forces applied to stars, planets and moons. Comets, long considered "debris of creation" might be cast aside as thoughtlessly as any other trash. As with other rubbish tossed aside, where it lands is rarely given much thought. Cohen and Stewart use this foundation to build a structure of many aspects, each neatly supporting the others until reaching a off-beat conclusion.

In presenting their story, they indulge in what can only be labelled "post-modern' [ugh!] characterization. Charity and Prudence are distinctly different, despite being twins. Charles Dunmore is the archetypal politically successful academic. The authors spare him a formula end, but the means seems a bit thin. Angie Carver, who becomes a prop for Prudence and Moses, has built a fortune from seven husbands. While she claims to have loved them all, she mourns for none. Of all the characters, Moses, so important to the story, is constructed of implausibilities. Even the aliens are more realistically portrayed. In fact, the Elders might have been lifted straight from Pratchett's Discworld wizards. The story's scope, however, relegates most of the human characters to near-irrelevance. It is the aliens who dominate, both in assertive physical power and in personality.

There are other minor problems with this book. While the authors are strong scientists and use their experience to explain the forces involved, their retention of Imperial measurement [miles, feet] in the twenty-third century is pretty depressing. It reflects, one hopes, only current marketing realities and not future forecasting. The concept of "intelligent" atomic particles or forces is neither new nor adequately explained. A good course in cognitive studies might have helped here. This aspect of the science of the book left the ending rather limp. However, this same ending is a clarion call for a sequel to Wheelers. Look forward to it. It is likely to be rewarding. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Good intelligent Sci-Fi - what the doctor ordered", 1 Oct 2004
By Mr. K. J. Santi "Kevin The Raven" (South England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
It's about 200 years into the future, and mankind is able to travel to the planets of the solar system. The main character in the novel, Prudence Odingo, a smuggler, returns to Earth carrying in her ship a cargo of strange artefacts found on one of Jupiters moons.

These artefacts are the Wheelers of the books title (if you think of K-9 from Dr Who on wheels then you should be able to picture them!). A few pages into the book the main story threads kickoff - The main character is ridiculed by her peers, the Wheelers come to life and start to move around, a new comet is detected heading towards the Earth, and Jupiter's moons have changed their orbits- are these events linked?

A team of boffins is sent to Jupiter to investigate, and ultimately find out the cause of these events and how they are all interrelated. This main story thread is cleverly brought together with a couple of interesting side-storys to create what is a satisfying climax to the story.

Whilst the main thread of the book is well developed and stands up to any other Sci-fi story, the joy in this book is found in the sidestorys. These are given the time they deserve by the author. One focuses on a young boy who has a quite unusual upbringing that makes him a key character towards the end of the book. The other thread, which focuses on the aliens that created the wheelers, is a refreshing take on the notion of aliens being exactly just that - Alien. I won't describe then in detail, but suffice to say they are not your regular aliens, and they are given a good background culture and environment to explain there ways and means.

This book is what many readers will be after, an intelligently written Sci-Fi book that has touches of drama, comedy, enough techno-babble to keep you interested, and a strong story and characters to make it a riveting read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Something New
I didn't actually get a copy of 'Wheelers' until early this year, but when I did, I couldn't put it down! Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2003 by generalblob

4.0 out of 5 stars Good effort
My main gripe with the majority of sci-fi is the apparent glut of carbon based, oxygen breathing bi/tri-peds which will be stalking our galaxy when we eventually get round to... Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2001 by kidpants

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