Red Thunder (A Thunder and Lightning Novel)

by John Varley

Book Overview

As Chinese and US spacecraft compete to be the first to land on Mars, a former astronaut, his cousin, and four teens from Florida decide to take matters into their own hands. If they can quickly build... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0441011624
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Ace
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.7" x 1.1" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Nice Departure.

In this stirring tribute to Heinlein, the space program, US ingenuity, the power of family, and everything in between, John Varley has won back a reader. I read and enjoyed the 'Titan' series years and years ago, but... what happened since then - autopilot? But here he is again, the master in top form. Red Thunder is everything a novel should be - funny, moving, tense, and ultimately, fufilling. The science is not 'hard science', but that merely improves an already outstanding story, in my opinion. Long-winded and scientifically rigorous science would have only slowed down this fast-paced story. Brilliant characterization - it's been a good long while since a cast of characters has come alive so well for me. The ending is stirring and cynical all at the same time, and I closed the book with a satisfied grin on my face - the best compliment I can pay to any author, I think. Here's hoping Varley decides to write a sequel - long live the crew of the Red Thunder!

What an Entertaning Read!!!

I really enjoyed this book. It is the first book by Mr. Varley that I have ever read. It makes me want to go and check out some of his previous stuff. This flat out for me was a good entertaining read. I could really relate with the characters, as they remind me of the group I ran with in high school. Being a SF fan, I can honestly say I have thought about what it might be like to build your own craft and fly off to another world, and I get to enjoy that feeling with this book. It had romance, comedy, and drama, and yes it may have been a bit predictable, but if you take it for what its worth, thats ok. I thought the plot was reasonable, the characters were entertaining, and if you are looking for a nice read just to escape, I would highly reccomend this one. I am reading it again right now, and enjoying it just as much as the first time I opened it.

John Varley's "Rocketship Galileo"

I've always loved Robert Heinlein's "Rocketship Galileo". Sure, it's the weakest of his juveniles, since he was just learning to write for that market. But it is the first Heinlein novel I ever read at the tender age of seven and for my money it is still the best damned Atomic Nazi's on the Moon SF novel ever written. So it was with great pleasure that I read John Varley's "Red Thunder". "Red Thunder" is set in the near future, our protagonists are Manny, Dak, Kelly, Travis, Alicia and Jubal who manage to take a breakthrough in physics discovered by the brilliant but wildly impractical Jubal and turn it into a working space ship. The book reads like an updated "Rocketship Galileo" except the characters drink, get laid and deal with a far more realistic world and problems than Heinlein's foursome ever did. Buy this book, sit back and enjoy the ride, it will make you wish that Varley were a more prolific writer.

Far too good to leave to the kids.

Based on the dust jacket blurb I would not have cracked the spine had not the name John Varley been on the cover. The description just does not sound interesting. But because it was a Varley book I sought out the book immediately, and was not disappointed; for it is this very fact that the plot does not thrill that makes you appreciate how masterful Varley is at telling a story. Unlike his other novels, which are set in exotic locales, such as Saturn's rings or Luna's underground disneylands, that have an attraction all their own, Varley has chosen to set RT largely in Florida's redneck country. It is as if he is intentionally breaking form with his other locales. Although, on the surface, it may seem mundane this book gives nothing away to his other, more ostentatious, efforts, such as his Gaea trilogy, or the baroque Eight Worlds stories. It just doesn't seem to matter what the subject, Varley is able to engage the reader sublimely. Despite my ambivalence to the plot, I found myself, in the midst of reading, marveling at how enthralled I was by a novel that did not contain what I have come to regard as essential Varley elements. RT showcases his knack for characterization without any distractions. For this reason RT may be his most accomplished performance, demonstrating that his typical shock and awe techniques are just so much window dressing disguising the fact that he is a supreme storyteller. The characters are so expertly drawn that the reader finds himself becoming pulled into the story regardless of the initial appeal of the story line. One finds himself empathizing with the characters and then, by association, becoming involved in the sequence of events simply because the characters care about what is happening. Told in first person narrative, from the perspective of Manny Garcia, the reader first becomes attached to the protagonist through just a few key scenes that anyone with a childhood fondness for the power and the glory of manned space flight will immediately succumb. Manny is a likable guy that underachievers everywhere will relate to. Once that has been accomplished it is inevitable that his close friends will become your friends, and then their passion for the project becomes infectious, and you find yourself suddenly and unexpectedly rooting for the cast of characters, working with them on the project, and wishing you could be a part of the adventure yourself. It is really quite an event; to watch disconnectedly as you are transformed from a skeptic to a fan in the course of a few written pages. I try to be mindful of this as I recommend this book to others, avoiding plot synopses in favor of an emphasis upon the characterization and wit.Then, of course, there is Varley's trademark humor; another way that Varley pulls you in, makes you a part of the story. You know how, in life, you are drawn to the people that can make you laugh through the hard times. When life gives you lemons you make lemon-aid, or in Varley terms, when

I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long time

This book is a departure for John Varley, which he pulls off impressively. It has the feel of the later (non-juvenile)Heinlein "juveniles" (particularly Tunnel In the Sky), and this is obviously not an accident -- a number of references to Heinlein's work are scattered throughout, and I'm not sure I found them all. As in "Jubal, this is Manny my best friend."The story is simple and outrageous -- 4 diverse twenty-year-olds stumble across a drunkard ex-astronaut, who just happens to have an eccentric genius cousin, who just happens to have invented the perfect space drive (an energy-producing device seemingly of infinite efficiency). For a number of reasons, it seems like a good plan for them to surreptitiously build a spaceship and go to Mars, hoping to beat the competing Chinese and American missions already on the way.Of course, it's never that simple, and several varieties of black hats and paranoia impede their attempt, things go wrong, people need rescuing, but all is right, and more than right, in the end.If you're looking for deep meaning or angst, look elsewhere. If you want a book to ENJOY they way you did when you were reading "Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" or "Double Star", go buy this book.A fine book for hopeful people of all ages.