Philosophical '90s Hard Sci-Fi

Very much of its time, sharing the zeitgeist with Titanic, Jurassic Park, and Contact.
If you're willing to put up with the lengthy exploration of certain themes and over-reliance on the real-life Titanic as an allegory, you'll enjoy a visceral dive into an optimistic near-future and its brutal destruction.

It's hard to keep pace with, and crushingly dark at times, but not totally without hope or closure. The action scenes are very descriptive and tightly laid out.

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mixed views

The novel struggles to build on its elemental premise, I.e, a space fairing human race is a threat to other civilisations and must be eliminated. Most of the book is ham fisted thrusting of this viewpoint which does little to aid the plot. The authors constantly reiterate the importance of the relativistic bomb in a manner which implies they are proud of it and terribly clever. Such character development as exists consists of long winded anecdotes which serve as little more than mouthpieces for the authors views. I don't buy the absorption bomb idea which is crucial to one plot line. There is a general lack of conclusion but that is acceptable in the context of the story arc. Having said all this the book is still worth reading and raises some interesting questions.

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A thesis that became a novel

I had hoped TKS might be a sci-fi cult classic created from an apocalyptic interspecies war between humans and non-humanoid aliens intent on exterminating every last one of us for reasons that are mysterious until the very last chapter.

The story is set in the late twenty first century, but numerous references to the wreck of the Titanic and the film Jurassic Park in the early chapters anchor the story in the late twentieth century, giving it an oddly dated, yet charming premise.

The action all moves along at a decent pace and is not shy in challenging contemporary issues. The examination of moral relativism between different species made some very effective points, albeit a little clumsily. And the discourse regarding earth's religions and its prophets was interesting, though reminded me of The Hitchhikers Guide at times, and brought a wry smile :)

So is TKS a cult classic? It is a novel somewhat short on the action I was expecting. It reads more like an academic thesis that has morphed into a docu-drama populated with a cast of characters given hasty back stories, sometimes resembling an attempt to complete a jigsaw puzzle without a picture to refer to.

But TKS does have other strengths, it is top-heavy with ideas and hits the mark if you enjoy searching questions to mull over or just happen to be partial to 1990s sci-fi nostalgia. It is worth a read.

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Interesting, but not gripping.

It's essentially an essay on a possible doomsday scenario. Not a happy novel, but some interesting ideas on how and why an alien intelligence might exterminate us.

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Not enough actual story

Great premise executed poorly. There is just not enough story and dialogue without the characters and narrator going off on tangents about earths history. Fine for a multi series 1000 page book but not for this.

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What an amazing story!

Listened to this after seeing Quinn’s Ideas on YouTube talk about the book. What an amazing tale! The story is really good and the philosophy behind all the actions is so well written and thought of! Just try this book; you wil certainly not regret it.

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good story

it is an overall good story, not commenting on the narator, the dude is always on point. 4 stars because it just feels like a huge chunk of the story ain't there. but you should get it anyway, because that is just me being me. i always want more.

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Excellent all round

The plot was intensely dark, sad, and gripping. While some parts weren't as strong, none were boring. All the story threads converge in a way that is between the lines, but not too difficult to discern. You see humanity's collective grief progress in real-time as the human race goes from 99, to 99.5, to 99.9, to 99.99% extinct, but also its hardening resolve, and the beginnings of its descent into a race not-so-different from the Intruders. Very good.

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Terrific Story, superb delivery

Strong performance of a compelling narrative. A deep and complex consideration of “are we alone/why are we alone?”

Powerful and thought-provoking, the author makes no mis-steps or decent into hyperbole.

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Great Start - Not-So-Great End

Would you try another book written by George Zebrowski and Charles Pellegrino or narrated by Jay Snyder?

If other books were longer or more complete- then yep

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Flesh it out more - beyond an intriguing premise, it whittles out to nothing. Aliens come - destroy man. Some of man survives. The end.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Opening Scene

Any additional comments?

The story flows well but ends abruptly and without a sequel - feels as if it is simply constructed from one idea - the first chapter, where humanity is destroyed. The rest of the book leads up to the reason why and leaves it at that. Quite disappointing.

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1 person found this helpful