An audio version of the book is available for free download:
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/children-old-stars
The "Cluster" is a
group of spheres that has been seen at various locations in the galaxy and on a
number of occasions has destroyed starships (of human and non-human
affiliation). Most star-faring races have come to think of the Cluster as an
enemy that must be eliminated. Two of our human characters, John Mark Ellis
and Clyde McClintlock, think they have experienced some sort of mental
communication with the Cluster which has left them inclined to think the
Cluster is not an enemy.
The description at Podiobooks
says: "The Cluster is a vast alien machine that destroys starships
indiscriminately in its quest for something or someone. [Ellis] believes the
key to stopping the Cluster is communication." The actual book has
references to ships encountering the Cluster, but that's not what makes up most
of the book. The book is more for those who feel the journey is more important
than the destination. It follows Ellis and two others who wish to seek out the
Cluster for one reason or another.
Ellis experiences a
dream-like image which he believes was from the Cluster. He then returns to
Earth, tries to figure out how it might be possible to contact the Cluster
again. He talks to a whale he knows, who suggests he contact a certain alien
on another planet. He doesn't have a way to contact that individual, but he
has an acquaintance who is an alien on that planet. He goes to that planet and
gets help finding his acquaintance. The acquaintance helps him meet the other
alien. The alien says Ellis must get to know himself, and is vague about some
things. After a while, they make plans for how they can be in a position to
get out in space where they might meet the Cluster. They get jobs on a
starship that maps the gravitational landscape of the galaxy. We have various interactions
with members of the crew. And so on, eventually having a brief encounter with
the Cluster which essentially amounts to overhearing it / them, as opposed to
having a dialog with the Cluster.
We actually learn some more
about the past of the Cluster through the investigations of other characters.
At the end of the book, we are also given an ominous fact that Earth is out of
communications contact with starships. That is basically where Children Of The
Old Stars ends. It indicates there is a sequel. Perhaps, the next book is
more enlightening, or perhaps it is also more about the journey. The sequel is
also available as a free audiobook from Podiobooks.
The central thread of the
book is the question of what the Cluster is and why it is doing what it is
doing. Throughout most of the book it is an unknown and some of the characters
are intent on finding the answer. In this sense it has something in common
with mysteries. However, unlike those, we don't have any puzzle-solving experts
involved and we don't have the sense of the mystery being gradually peeled away
layer by layer. Although Ellis' wanderings are his attempts to track down the
Cluster, much of it is traveling, interaction with members of the ship's crew
and other things that are not of an investigative nature and do not lead to an
incidental "eureka" moment. So, the book not only gave me limited
satisfaction from an SF point of view, it didn't give me much as a mystery
either.
By my tastes / preferences,
this was a book full of lead-up and not enough result to justify so much build
up. I am not a reader who considers the journey more important than the destination.
Audiobook Notes
I listened to the Podiobooks
audio version of the book. I found the writing style seemed to be substandard
- then realized it may have been at least partly the audio narration. Some of
the time the narration seemed melodramatic - but I can't say whether reading
the text myself would have left me feeling the text was melodramatic. I think
there were also times when the cadence / rhythm of the audio narration left a
feeling of it being awkwardly worded, although that may have been just an
artifact of the narration. (The audio version is read by the author, not a
professional actor or reader.) Although these factors did not go away, I did
get used to it.
Science Notes
As readers of this site may
know, "mind powers" and the like are something I dislike in SF. This
book has another example of the sort of thing that makes me especially unhappy
with it. We have two humans who receive some sort of mental communication from
the Cluster. In effect, we are talking about telepathy between members of
species that evolved separately. Even assuming telepathy between members of
the same species existed, it would be very unlikely to work in a useful way
between species from different planets. In this case, it's all the more
improbable since this communication was supposed to take place over a long
distance and through the hull and other protections of a military spaceship.
Warning: Spoilers
It turns out the Cluster is
looking for a race of beings that used to be in one sense or another like
slaves to the Cluster. The slaves left and do not want to be found by the
Cluster - they want to be free. Considering the fact the Cluster wants
compliant slaves, it did not seem that convincing to me that the Cluster would
consider replacing them with another species that the Cluster considered to be
independently-minded.
.