≡ Libro Birth of Fire Jerry Pournelle 9780671656492 Books

Birth of Fire Jerry Pournelle 9780671656492 Books

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Birth of Fire Jerry Pournelle 9780671656492 Books

Birth of Fire presents a dystopic view of the near future where large percentages of the population are locked into degrading poverty and hopelessness by a socialist welfare state which "doesn't quite let them starve, but doesn't let them get ahead either." While theoretically democratic, the Government exists strictly to line the pockets of the ruling class comprised of bureaucrats and industrialists. Garret Pittson, the protagonist, is a convict sentenced to transportation to a colony on Mars where he faces a probably short life of hard labor for slave wages. Fortunately for him and the human race, not everything on Mars is as it seems. He arrives just in time to join the revolution.

I first enjoyed this book when it came out back in the 1970's. When I saw the Kindle version, I immediately clicked "buy" to see if it stood the test of time. The answer is an emphatic yes. Pournelle's vision of a once-proud nation sinking into stagnation, as briefly but poignantly sketched through the relationship between the protagonist and his father, is eerily prescient. The clash between individualists and tyrannical Government in the colony is presented in a crisp, entertaining fashion through a few anecdotes. There is a scene where the new colonial governor holds a town hall meeting which, with a change of setting, could have been on CNN last night. The main action then unfolds.

Don't let me leave you with the impression this is primarily a political book. I've emphasized what amounts to the backdrop for the story because I'm astonished at how much came true in the decades since it was written. Feel free to ignore all of that and enjoy the book as a fast-moving adventure story about the timeless themes of courage, freedom and independence.


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Birth of Fire Jerry Pournelle 9780671656492 Books Reviews

I should preface this review with the fact that I'm a huge fan of Jerry Pournelle's future history regarding the co-dominion, and I believe I've read them all from High Justice through the Gripping Hand. That being said, this particular story isn't part of that, and some of the ideas that form the plot of this story just put it on the wrong path for me, and it never really recovered.

Without giving to much away, this is the story of Garrett Pittson, who despite the time this was written, fits the mold of the disappointed gen-x types who can't see the challenge in being just another cog in the system. He joins a gang, gets arrested, and then is faced with the option of prison or forced deportation to Mars. That's where this story lost me. The idea that space travel had got to the point where it was inexpensive enough to shoot somebody into the void to become indentured labor to some corporation, rather than just throwing them in a hole someplace on earth (by the time the Dr. Pournelle got around to thinking about Oath of Fealty, his book on arcologies, maybe Garrett would have ended up in a massive earth prison).

Garrett gets to Mars, hijinks in sue as he discovers what its like to become a mars man (think homesteader fighting the government, without air to fall back on). Through in a terraforming plot line and you get the major gist of this book.

If you get past some of the more obvious absurdities, its not a bad story, and I pick it up from time to time when I want a read that doesn't require a lot of concentration on my part (think of it as having the stereo playing in the background). The price is right as well, but if you're looking for something that's more fun and less absurd, I would aim you at "King David's Space Ship", "The Moat in God's Eye" or any of the prince of Sparta books (which by that point make the forced deportation concept a little more palatable when you combine in the macguffin of the "Alderson Drive").
I've read most of Dr. Pournelle's work (strangely, I've never gotten around to Falkenberg's Legion and related, which may be his most famous work without Larry Niven as a coauthor). So when I saw this book was available on , I clicked Buy It Now without even looking at the price. A new Pournelle book is a must-read for me.

What I didn't expect was a new Heinlein book; but if you had filed Pournelle's name off it, I would've guessed that I accidentally stumbled upon an undiscovered Heinlein classic. And I do mean classic all the elements of Heinlein's best stories of individuals against tyranny are here. The stubbornly self-reliant protagonist, his more stubborn fiancee, and the bull-headed mentors and neighbors who band together to liberate Mars felt like old friends. I would easily shelve this next to Orphans of the Sky,Red Planet,Space Cadet, and Revolt in 2100 & Methuselah's Children. But most of all, I would shelve it cover-to-cover with The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress for having similar themes and similarly tense action.

And the book I would shelve on the other side is Pournelle and Sheffield's Higher Education (Jupiter Novel), which I also highly recommend. I thought that the beginning of this book was somewhat derivative of Higher Education. Then I got to Dr. Pournelle's afterword, and I learned this book was originally published in 1973 for a never-published series of stories commemorating the American Bicentennial (the same series that gave us Asimov's Bicentennial Man). So I had my causality arrow backward, as it were.

And the fact that this book was written in 1973 makes it even more impressive. It feels so fresh and relevant today, I have trouble believing it wasn't written this year!

Wow! Four paragraphs of review, and they're all about my reaction to the book, not the book itself! Really, though, I liked it that much. But as for the book... It's the story of Garrett, a smart but directionless youth who gets in trouble with the law and who chooses exile to Mars in place of prison. He has to learn to survive in this new environment, where the ever-present government is as much of a threat as the planet itself. He falls in with a crowd of freedom fighters who are soon forced to choose "Give me liberty, or give me death!" But the price Garrett may pay for liberty is more precious than his own life.

For a space nut like me, this book has everything space exploration, terraforming, tense action, planet-spanning adventure, realistic science, believable technology, relevant social commentary, realistic romance... and a tribute to the Master.
Birth of Fire presents a dystopic view of the near future where large percentages of the population are locked into degrading poverty and hopelessness by a socialist welfare state which "doesn't quite let them starve, but doesn't let them get ahead either." While theoretically democratic, the Government exists strictly to line the pockets of the ruling class comprised of bureaucrats and industrialists. Garret Pittson, the protagonist, is a convict sentenced to transportation to a colony on Mars where he faces a probably short life of hard labor for slave wages. Fortunately for him and the human race, not everything on Mars is as it seems. He arrives just in time to join the revolution.

I first enjoyed this book when it came out back in the 1970's. When I saw the version, I immediately clicked "buy" to see if it stood the test of time. The answer is an emphatic yes. Pournelle's vision of a once-proud nation sinking into stagnation, as briefly but poignantly sketched through the relationship between the protagonist and his father, is eerily prescient. The clash between individualists and tyrannical Government in the colony is presented in a crisp, entertaining fashion through a few anecdotes. There is a scene where the new colonial governor holds a town hall meeting which, with a change of setting, could have been on CNN last night. The main action then unfolds.

Don't let me leave you with the impression this is primarily a political book. I've emphasized what amounts to the backdrop for the story because I'm astonished at how much came true in the decades since it was written. Feel free to ignore all of that and enjoy the book as a fast-moving adventure story about the timeless themes of courage, freedom and independence.