A review by wade117
Stranger Suns by George Zebrowski

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This hard science fiction story from the 1990s is a brooding reflection on the essential nature and flaws of humanity and the inadequacy of scientific advancement to overcome them. With the 20th century, its wars and atrocities, came the realization that science and rationality would not be humanity’s savior. In this story, the protagonist Juan Obrion, serves as a stand-in for humanity. His character initially places his hopes in a scientific breakthrough to save the earth from pollution, climate change, scarce resources, etc. After discovering an apparently abandoned alien spaceship, Juan and his colleagues embark on an adventure to learn that this ship contains the technology to solve the problems of resource scarcity and entrapment on a dying planet. However, through the course of the story Juan is faced with the depressing realization that this technology would likely only serve to amplify humanity’s worst impulses. Despite solving the problem of scarce resources, humanity’s utopia would not be found because humanity is fundamentally flawed. What then, is the hope for humanity? Are we doomed to destroy ourselves? Is that what happened to the aliens who built this technology? Or did they eventually transcend this flawed reality to find salvation? Written in a style reminiscent of Journey to the Center of the Earth, this story tackles some of the great questions of the 20th century. 

I loved the themes of this story. The internal journey that Juan takes to tackle the questions of humanity’s flaws, it’s potential, and destiny was done well. However, the tone was dark, despairing, and sometimes downright depressing. Considering the plot events of discovering an alien spaceship and the mystery of finding those aliens, I would have preferred a more energetic, adventurous tone to the story. The supporting characters were lacking in personality and the romance plot was a hard sell. While Juan was well characterized, the others seemed flat and there was no chemistry in the love interest. Additionally, the descriptions of the settings and characters were sparse and sometimes confusing. I found myself struggling to picture the locations and characters which made for a frustrating read at times. 

There’s not too much to say here. It was a decent hard sci-fi novel that posed some interesting questions about the relationship between humanity and scientific advancement, but I found that I did not enjoy the story as much as I wanted to.
 

“Was any mind born of nature protean enough to transcend its prison? All human societies had fallen. Totalitarian system, both secular and religious, had failed at control; more representative systems had sought a stability that could assimilate change, and had still shackled the mind. Jehovah had warred with human nature and nearly wiped it out but to no avail. The true myth of humanity was not the story of Sisyphus embracing the burden of his rock, but the tale of Jacob’s night struggle with the angel.”