Summertide by Charles Sheffield

Charles Sheffield first appeared on the science fiction scene in 1977.  I read many of his short works in numerous magazines including Analog, Galaxy, Destinies, Amazing and others.  He produced quality traditional science fiction stories.  In spite of liking his short fiction, I never picked up any of his novels.  


Before we went to the beach this summer, I wanted to pick up a paperback book.  I did not want to take my e-reader to the ocean.  While looking over the books at a used book store, I spotted this one.  Seeing it brought back memories of reading his short fiction.  So I decided to pick it up and see if his novel length work was as good as I remember his short fiction.

A Short, Sharp Shock by Kim Stanley Robinson

This is one of the hardest books I have read and reviewed.  I have not read much of Kim Stanley Robinson's work.  A friend (I might as well list him as "creative consultant"-Terry Kissinger) is a big fan of Robinson's Mars books.    I did not want to start another series until I finished one that I already started. So I thought this short book would be a good one to try.  Normally, Terry and I have similar tastes in science fiction and comic books.  Imagine my surprise when I did not like this book.

It started good enough with a man with no memores waking up on a beach.  The language and style of writing reminded me of Roger Zelazny's writing.  Starting a story with the protagonist having no memories is very similar to Zelazny's "Nine Prnces in Amber".

The main character goes with the flow. He rarely makes decisions.  Most of the chances in the book are forced on him or just happen and he goes along with them.  In Zelazny's book, the character made choices and tried to accomplish goals.  Robinson's protagonist seems to have no ambition.  He is perfectly content just letting things happen to him.  This does serious damage to the story.

Is the story all bad?  No.  Robinson shows off his vivid imagination and descriptive skills.  He just needed to work out a story to go with the basic idea he set up.  With a solid story being the frame work, this could have been a very good book.

Based on other reviews I have seen, this is a style that Robinson only used on this story.  I will be reading more Robinson in the future to see if I like his regular style.

I would recommend skipping this one.