Review: unanswered question
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 21, 2013
I appreciate the attempt to create a "crisis" that could compel millions of humans to leave Earth. Melting ice caps caused by those who wouldn't listen or accept mans complicity in the demise of Earth wouldn't have be my choice, for the author however, it provides the groundwork to support the premise that humanity is and will continue to be self destructive. The despair represented by senior citizens slogging their walkers through ankle deep water on their way to air fields, only to be denied seats on the space shuttle helps to reinforce the degradation of humanity and the imminent passing of Earth as life supporting planet.Of course, all is not lost. There are those who will try to save humanity from itself and the bad guys (who have not really been identified) the ones instrumental in building the space stations and setting the rules governing admission to and life on the station. Humanities saviors, the good guys, are two friends who have been extraordinarily lucky "surviving" conditions where others perished to, at some point, become the ones who provoke the fight to restore human rights to the masses.It was an ok plot but there was too much missing information. The "luck" of the main characters is too remarkable to be left unexplained. Their absence from much of the story doesn't make them the sort of memorable characters they should be and for the most part they are detached and void of emotion. The large time/place gaps in the story segments were disruptive and made them seem like a collection of side stories. The scene with Emil and Gretchen was touching and brought some much needed warmth to the story but it seemed out of place as did the other random and infrequent acts of kindness.The potential to build a case against the lack of forethought and or foresight in establishing the social structure of each station was there but little information was offered to justify that position.  The social evolution that motivates revolution was never demonstrated.  At one point it was even implied things were looking up for humanity right before the "plunge" represented by the experimental social plan of Argus. Inescapable oppression ferments rebellion.  The people signed up for the life they were offered on Argus and it seemed many came from the still trying to die Earth, so it would take some time for dissatisfaction to truly take root and support an uprising.I liked some of the pieces the author offered but the overall story did not have enough to bind those pieces together. Maybe all this information will be found in future installments but for me, it was a struggle to to get through this one and feel that the entire story was plausible.