FEATURED AUTHOR - Austen Rodgers is a science fiction and fantasy author living his best (and only) life in Waterloo, Iowa. He spends his free time painting miniatures for D&D and dabbles with fantasy maps of his own creation. In 2015 he published his apocalyptic novel The Book of a Few, and earned his BFA in Creative Writing from Full Sail University in 2016. In 2019 he launched the first two books in my fantasy series, The Flame Seer and The Fire’s Scar, and completed the Crystal Mythos trilogy with The…
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Wayne Goode’s book reviews
This is a good introduction to Wodehouse.
I think the part, early in the book, where he sees “the girl in the brown dress” is one of the funniest things I’ve ever read.
This book was changed greatly and made into a film will Burns & Allen. I think the book is better.
Great for Wodehouse fans. For non-Wodehouse fans, I would suggest starting with another book: Something Fresh & A Damsel in Distress are two good ones.
Much of the science is wrong, but that is understandable in a book this old. In particular the part about spacecraft trajectories shows a lack of knowledge of orbital mechanics. But most people wouldn't notice.
Overall, a good light-hearted space adventure.
If you like survival novels, you might like this. Otherwise, I think you will find it a disappointment.
Also the writing is poor. The plot is typical bad pulp fiction. It is weak, contrived and far-fetched (not in a good sci-fi way, either). Details of the plot are just unreasonable. I have read worse, but not often.
The characters are one dimensional and contrived. People don't act that way. A lot of the science is wrong also.
Overall, if you like badly-written survival fiction, this is what you are looking for.
Its main theme is similar to that of an episode of Star Trek DS9 in which three eccentric people with very special talents make predictions about the future of the federation in its war with one of its mortal enemies whose name escapes me at the moment.
It also reminded me of Asimov's Foundation series which used of the science "psychohistory" to predict the future. However, in Talents the predictions are much more short term and based more in the paranormal than in science.
If you like this book, try the Foundation series which is much better.
The book's one non-typical aspect is it's exploration of what space adventure would be like if it was conducted by PR people & TV producers instead of scientists. (Be sure to get some good film to keep the sponsors happy.)