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4.0 out of 5 stars
Good sci-fi, Sep 9 2003
People like to divide Science fiction in many genres: hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, alien sci-fi, whatever. I don't even know what each one means. All I care is if it's good sci-fi or not. "The exiles trilogy", though not a masterpiece, is one very enjoyable story. Ben Bova wrote the three parts of his trilogy between 1971 and 1975. The first part, "Exiled from Earth", set in the near future, tells about how the World government decides to cast away all the top-most genetic scientists and people working with them, least they un-balance the already precarious staquos quo of the overpopulated planet. This first part is the most action packed and has little science fiction in its lines, and is in fact the least likeable part of the trilogy. But what I noticed is that Bova's style is very similar to some of Asimov's stories, the ones featuring Lucky Starr, Elijah Bailey and Hari Seldon in the prequels to the "Foundation" series (books that I constantly re-read). Full of little plots that get together in the end, shallow but likeable characters, fast-paced reading. The second and third parts, "Flight of the exiles" and "End of exile" are set aboard the sattelite/spaceship that becomes home to the exiles. These two parts have little or no connection between themselves or the first part of the trilogy, except for the fact of the earlier exile. They're darker, better written and the main plots are much more interesting. I won't say anything because I don't want to spoil the fun of reading them. But my two comments on "The exiles trilogy" are: 1) Although the three parts were written in separate and were meant to be standalones, I think they must be read back-to-back. They'll be better enjoyed this way. 2) There are many things that happened between the three parts of the trilogy, but Bova hardly explains what happens. I was left with the feeling that I wanted something more, and I kept looking for it till the end, but those explanations never came. Maybe Bova could write new books about the Exiles. The story is very good and has potential for further development. Grade 8.1/10
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