Review by bibimahkh1960 -- Shield Down by William de Berg
Posted: 13 Dec 2020, 12:29
[Following is a volunteer review of "Shield Down" by William de Berg.]
William de Berg's Shield Down is a classic hard science fiction novel. Set in the very near future, it has good plausibility based on currently known science and some speculation.
I rate it 4 stars out of 4 as I thoroughly enjoyed my read over a single weekend. Readers who enjoy science, in particular astronomy, astrophysics, and other sciences, would welcome this addition to the genre. Each paragraph drew me to the next, and each chapter led me naturally to the next.
The novel begins with the detection of a soft gamma repeater (SGD) by scientists. SGDs are magnetars (neutron stars) whose starquakes send out flares with enormous amounts of electromagnetic energy in the form of gamma rays and X-rays, flooding the galaxy with a trail of charged particles.
The nearest known magnetar to Earth is 9000 light-years away and the novel asks the question "What if there's one that much closer to us and what would be the impact if Earth was bombarded by these deadly gamma rays?
There are copious footnotes with details of the scientific sources that make the storyline more believable and exciting. Interested readers will want to check out these sources for themselves to better understand the science behind the plot. I did look up some of the sources and am likely to do the rest too. The scientific content makes compelling reading and the personalities of the characters are well developed. This is a powerful combination that gives the reader a sense of awe and wonder. The thought that all these could well happen is sobering and fascinating at the same time.
The story centers around the scientists who discovered this particular galactic phenomenon, their efforts to predict its behavior, and their challenges in communicating the seriousness of the implied threat to planetary life. The issue of convincing the scientific community and the authorities of the need to accept the possibility of a global disaster and the urgency in doing something about it.
The main characters are well developed in the first half of the novel and we see and feel from their personal viewpoints. The various arguments for and against the interpretation of the scientific data and, perhaps more importantly, what should be done to prepare for various doomsday scenarios, are well expressed through these characters.
Overall, I find this novel to be a little too short. The storyline has a lot of potential and many themes to explore in greater detail. The last fifth of the novel read more like an abridgment and gave me the impression of a rather abrupt ending of the book. The later generations of characters deserve more space and more elaborate treatment. I would love to have another 150 or more pages to savor and explore these and other themes.
Shield Down's plot and storyline are intriguing and worthy of a saga of 400 or more pages. I would welcome further novels from de Berg that explore these ideas further.
******
Shield Down
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
William de Berg's Shield Down is a classic hard science fiction novel. Set in the very near future, it has good plausibility based on currently known science and some speculation.
I rate it 4 stars out of 4 as I thoroughly enjoyed my read over a single weekend. Readers who enjoy science, in particular astronomy, astrophysics, and other sciences, would welcome this addition to the genre. Each paragraph drew me to the next, and each chapter led me naturally to the next.
The novel begins with the detection of a soft gamma repeater (SGD) by scientists. SGDs are magnetars (neutron stars) whose starquakes send out flares with enormous amounts of electromagnetic energy in the form of gamma rays and X-rays, flooding the galaxy with a trail of charged particles.
The nearest known magnetar to Earth is 9000 light-years away and the novel asks the question "What if there's one that much closer to us and what would be the impact if Earth was bombarded by these deadly gamma rays?
There are copious footnotes with details of the scientific sources that make the storyline more believable and exciting. Interested readers will want to check out these sources for themselves to better understand the science behind the plot. I did look up some of the sources and am likely to do the rest too. The scientific content makes compelling reading and the personalities of the characters are well developed. This is a powerful combination that gives the reader a sense of awe and wonder. The thought that all these could well happen is sobering and fascinating at the same time.
The story centers around the scientists who discovered this particular galactic phenomenon, their efforts to predict its behavior, and their challenges in communicating the seriousness of the implied threat to planetary life. The issue of convincing the scientific community and the authorities of the need to accept the possibility of a global disaster and the urgency in doing something about it.
The main characters are well developed in the first half of the novel and we see and feel from their personal viewpoints. The various arguments for and against the interpretation of the scientific data and, perhaps more importantly, what should be done to prepare for various doomsday scenarios, are well expressed through these characters.
Overall, I find this novel to be a little too short. The storyline has a lot of potential and many themes to explore in greater detail. The last fifth of the novel read more like an abridgment and gave me the impression of a rather abrupt ending of the book. The later generations of characters deserve more space and more elaborate treatment. I would love to have another 150 or more pages to savor and explore these and other themes.
Shield Down's plot and storyline are intriguing and worthy of a saga of 400 or more pages. I would welcome further novels from de Berg that explore these ideas further.
******
Shield Down
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon