| The Confederation of Worlds is a united state of affairs, complete with several allied civilizations and dozens of colonies on several planets. But a 'new' alien race called the Thrakies pops up and requests to be allowed settling in the Confederation's space. Unknown to the Confederation, the Thrakies have been pursued for centuries by a fleet of machines programmed to destroy them. These machines are known as the Sheen, and threaten Confederation. A Captain Booly is called in to investigate with his Confederate Army comrades the conflict between the Thrakies and Sheen. The Sheen fleet is controlled by a calculating AI that has everything planned and subverts the Confederation's inferior attempts at halting the invasion. The Thrakies are questioned as to why they are pursued and a slight distrust emerges. The Sheen's primary AI is called the Hoon, which uses a disillusioned former preacher to decept the humans. The Hoon and Confederation stand off while the Thrakies conceal a hidden weapon capabale of destroying both fleets. The Hoon actually makes a gamble of its own to achieve victory and makes some very human attempts at conquest. Booly combines forces with the Thrakies and his other allies to outsmart the Hoon. To everyone's surprise, the attempt is inconclusive, but the Hoon is deactivated from inside by one of its hostages (really, REALLY long story). | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story Political power play Yes Political plotlets - preventing/managing clash/war between govts/kingdoms Robots, Computers, VR Yes Robot, PC, VR Plotlets: Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Descript. of chases or violence - 20 % planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 30 % Main Character Identity: - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Main Adversary Identity: - Computer Profession/status: How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - throughout most of the book. How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Genius (really!) Setting Terrain Spaceship setting: - futuristic human warship - alien spaceship Takes place in spaceship? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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