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A review by culuriel
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
4.0
I think this works best as a manual of a possible escape/resettlement of Earth’s population during and after an extinction event. There’s a story attached, and Stephenson does a great job on the characters, they really drive the story within the catastrophe manual. Stephenson also introduces The Purpose, which could lead to future stories within this premise.
The parts where Stephenson explains the science behind what’s about to happen in the story is well done, even if it’s obvious while one is reading it. It enables Stephenson to concentrate on the action in intense parts because the reader should already know why/how they’re happening.
Do I buy that the human race could be in 7 distinct Genetic groups with little to no mixing in 5000 years? He’s not positing that they wouldn’t be human, just genetically different enough for whatever advantage their Eve planned. But they seem so purposely different and it’s hard not to buy that there isn’t enough intermarriage to blend these groups back together.
Do I buy that humanity could survive a lunar catastrophe like the Hard Rain? Yes, if we had just enough of the people Stephenson has in his book. It’s hard not to see a lot of unselected people just launching themselves into space and expecting to join the Cloud Ark and be accepted. It’s hard to accept that people would abandon their Earthly loyalties once the Hard Rain hits. And people certainly brought their flaws into space with them, which Stephenson shows in detail with two characters in particular.
None of this detracts from the way this becomes an inspiring read, especially when survivors of the Hard Rain are found where least expected...
The parts where Stephenson explains the science behind what’s about to happen in the story is well done, even if it’s obvious while one is reading it. It enables Stephenson to concentrate on the action in intense parts because the reader should already know why/how they’re happening.
Do I buy that the human race could be in 7 distinct Genetic groups with little to no mixing in 5000 years? He’s not positing that they wouldn’t be human, just genetically different enough for whatever advantage their Eve planned. But they seem so purposely different and it’s hard not to buy that there isn’t enough intermarriage to blend these groups back together.
Do I buy that humanity could survive a lunar catastrophe like the Hard Rain? Yes, if we had just enough of the people Stephenson has in his book. It’s hard not to see a lot of unselected people just launching themselves into space and expecting to join the Cloud Ark and be accepted. It’s hard to accept that people would abandon their Earthly loyalties once the Hard Rain hits. And people certainly brought their flaws into space with them, which Stephenson shows in detail with two characters in particular.
None of this detracts from the way this becomes an inspiring read, especially when survivors of the Hard Rain are found where least expected...