Star Child

by James P. Hogan and Ben Hogan

Book Overview

Star Child This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671878786
• ISBN13: 9780671878788
• Release Date: May 1998
• Publisher: Baen Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 2.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Surprising, to say the least...

I just now finished the last page, heh heh. I wasn't sure I would like this book, after reading some of the reviews, but I bought it anyway. Right from the start the story seems to be about Taya as the main character, with Kort playing a supportive role. Hogan leads us on a merry journey of deception, misleading you into thinking that the main plot is about this young girl growing up, about the discoveries made on the planet Azure, the redevelopment of a long lost human culture. I fell into that masterful weaving of misdirection, just as others have. I fully expected the story to conclude in similar fashion to Echoes of an Alien Sky, with confirmation that the ancients had built the ship and machines with the sole purpose of resurrecting the human race, which in fact was true. BUT, it isn't 'til the last ten pages or so that you realize that the main story wasn't about the continuation of the human race at all. The real story all along is about the awakening of the machines, and Kort in particular, the evolution taking place in his mechanical being. I was totally taken by surprise at the ending... While the huge time line gaps in the storyline does seem tedious, and the detail is missing in spots, this book by James P. Hogan is a definite must read! You will be surprised at the real depth of character that surfaces...

Wonderful!

One of the best books ever written!When Taya was eight, she discovered that she wasn't like the machines around her. Her robot friend, Kort, no matter how kind, couldn't tell the difference between a pretty shape and a not pretty shape. Kort then showed her the bio-bodies that had been engineered after her. When they are brought to life, they call her "queen". Ten years later, the robots and their charges land on Azure, a planet similar to our earth. Here, they meet with violence and destruction, foreign behaviors to them. For the most part, the story is about the "Star Children" and their influence on the planet.

Thinking Book!

I was wandering in the library and saw this book in the new books shelf. I read the back and said, "Huh, interesting." I've never read any books by Hogan before and I mainly read light Sci-fi and fantasy, most of which have "action". (Quest, mission, guns, swords, etc.) This is a "thinking book", not that I mean it's boring, it just makes you think, think about creators, machines and evolution and all that deep stuff. Usually, that sort of stuff doesn't interest me, but Hogan has created characters that make the whole thing interesting, especially Kort. Kort is cool, he's a machine, but has a enough "humaness" to make him likable. Anyway, read this book, it's good for rainy days.

This is one of James P. Hogan's best works.

This novel is light reading that carries a nice and innocent story line and concludes with a beautiful ending. Marvelous introduction of secondary players in mechanical entities that serve as analysts of the main character, Taya. It was easy to get into and I wasn't able to put the book down until I finished it.

Excellent book by an excellent writer.

I could be accused of being biased, since I have been a BIG fan of James P. Hogan ever since I first picked up "Inherit the Stars" over ten years ago, but I would have to say that "Star Child" is one of the best books I have read in some time. It is a collection of four linked stories about Taya and her robot mentor Kort. The first Story, "Silver Shoes for a Princess" was originally published in 1979. In that story, Taya is 9 years old and travelling through space aboard a mysterious spacecraft called Merkon, headed toward a star called Vaxis. I don't want to give away too much of the story, but in the second story, Taya is 19 and they are just landing on the planet they call Azure. In the third story, she is in her 40's, and we learn more about the mystery of Merkon. In the final story, she is an old woman and Kort must face what will happen to him when she dies. Hogan is adept at presenting us with a puzzle, which is gradually unravelled in a logical manner. Even aspects that might otherwise be thought of as spiritual or mystical are examined in a rational way. If you are a Hogan fan, as I am, you should run, not walk, to your favorite bookstore and snap this one up! If you have read a few, or even none, of his previous works, I would urge you to do likewise, then look for his other books. Either way, you are in for a treat.