Red Lightning

The Thunder and Lightning Series, Book 2

By: John Varley

Narrated by: Eddie Lopez

It doesn’t matter that Ray Garcia-Strickland’s father was one of the first men on Mars. The now overdeveloped planet has lost its hip factor, its luxurious hotels - like the one Ray’s father manages - overrun with gravity-dependent tourists from Earth. Ray is over the Red Planet.

Soon he gets his own chance at interplanetary adventure when an unknown object hits Earth and causes a massive tsunami. Ray heads back to Florida to help family and friends who’ve survived the devastation - and soon learns the so-called natural disaster could have unnatural consequences.

©2004 John Varley (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

Red Lightening Book 2

I enjoyed Red Lightning, though it felt different from Red Thunder. The story gets much bigger this time, moving away from the scrappy, garage-built excitement of the first book and into politics, power, and who gets to control humanity’s future in space.

The science is still interesting without being overwhelming, and the characters feel like they’re growing up and facing real consequences. Some parts slowed down a bit with planning and explanation, but the ideas kept me engaged.

Overall, it’s a solid second book that trades some charm for depth, and it left me curious about where the series would go next.

Another Great Story

Great sequel to a great original story. One of my favorite authors. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

It was pretty good

I appreciate Varley's subtle and less violent stories. So many Sci-fi books are nothing but that now. It was a bit naive, but it was written 15 years ago.