Harvest of Stars

Harvest of Stars, Book 1

De: Poul Anderson

Narrado por: James Fouhey

The virtual persona of a long-dead visionary entrepreneur threatens to incite a revolution from space that could topple Earth's powerful and repressive religious-technological dictatorship in this ingenious science-fiction classic.

In the future, individual freedom is a thing of the past. North America is a police state controlled by the Avantist government, a despotic, techno-religious ruling order that promises an impending transcendence for the oppressed. Space, however, remains free, thanks to Anson Guthrie's powerful Fireball Corporation. Guthrie's corporeal self died many generations ago, but his essence lives on, preserved forever in a computerized state that enables him to inspire his loyal employees and adherents to keep reaching for the farthest stars. But now the totalitarian enemy, led by sadistic secret policeman Enrique Sayre, has gained possession of a Guthrie download, intending to subvert it to the Avantist cause, thereby breaking Fireball's hold on the cosmos. The corporation is doomed unless ace pilot Kyra Davis can smuggle a still-unreconstructed version of Guthrie out of enslaved America and rocket him to the moon and beyond, where Fireball's virtual creator can attempt to stoke the flames of revolution - and change the direction of his world.

©1993 Poul Anderson (P)2021 Tantor

Ponderous, bloated space opera

Poul Anderson’s Harvest of Stars is the first installment in a four-volume series. The premise is an Avantist (a left-wing fascist totalitarian state) Earth pitted against Fireball, a libertarian megacorporation that controls nearly all technology as well as the rest of the solar system. Fireball’s CEO is a downloaded digital entity. When the Avantists released a hacked copy, a Fireball pilot spirits away the original CEO, heads to the moon where the CEO succeeds in coercing the gang to head to Demeter, the only habitable planet (in another star system) around.

Anderson has generated a bloated storyline that spends much time on political musings on both sides. The decision to travel to and settle Demeter turns the story into a colonization effort about two-thirds of the way through. Most of the action simply comes to the conclusion that no form of government (or lack thereof), seems to work for humans.

The narration is acceptable with decent character distinction. Pacing is a tad slow.

decent story dry reading

narrator was hard to listen to. very monotone. struggled to stay focued on the voice.
story was good though.

entertaining

the repetitive political speeches feel too much like "Atlas Shrugged" sometimes, but the story is still really entertaining - it features another one of Poul Anderson's entrepreneurial rebels, but this time he's stuck in a computer box. Poul really brings out some humor.