Like the original Star Trek series, the Daedalus is on a multi-year mission to visit remote planets and check on previous colonization attempts. But the intricate plots and scientific detail go far beyond anything in Star Trek. Each planet visited has a unique ecosystem and evolutionary history which Stableford (a biologist himself) brings vividly to life. Alternate evolutionary paths provide fascinating turning-points for plots, and the problems encountered by the Daedalus's crew make exciting stories.
Not a bad book; narration could be better
Overall, the story was quite good, and the conclusion of the novel proved to be rather unexpected. . The basic conflict is predictable, but I really l..Show More »iked how it wasn't entirely clear which side was 'good.' The novel is paced well, too. Too many authors try to fatten up a book by unnecessarily delaying the critical 'revelations' which lead to the conclusion of the conflict; here, it all flows nicely. My only real problem with the book was the narrator. At the beginning of the book, the narrator's cadence was a little off. He seemed to pause in odd spots, and skip pauses in more natural places. I can't really say whether it got better as the book progressed, or if my ear just became accustomed to it, but I eventually found myself enjoying the book, and the narrator simply slipped into the background.
The planet called Dendra seemed too good to be true: one vast forest world, marvelous climate, few dangerous beasts, a balanced hospitable ecology -- all should have speed out a good place for a human colony.