Review: Details about Quincy 2116
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 28, 2013
I have a good friend named Quincy, so when I was given Quincy 2116 free in exchange for my honest review, I immediately was interested. When I found out it was sci-fi, included a trip to one of Saturn's moons, and the main character was a lady - I was hooked. And it was an interesting read, I was very entertained. In fact, it was captivating enough for me to think about the characters once or twice after finishing the book.Kira, the heroine, is a Simian (a product of highly controversial stem cell research); she is a perfect specimen of a woman, given all the characteristics she would need to handle the leadership of the spaceship Orion. Every one of her crew members is also a Simian, each endowed with the specific skills they would need to fulfill their duty. The spaceship is, of course, going to find a place that could be easily modified to be inhabitable for the humans of Earth, and establish a colony. The whole situation slowly gets more complicated as Captain Kira soon develops a strong dislike for Eckhart, the director of the whole project. (Justifiably, since he made it clear she was simply the product of an experiment and could be "eliminated" at any time if she became insubordinate). Another complication is the crew's discovery of beings already living on the planet - beings who would not survive if the atmosphere were modified to accommodate humans, beings who will fight to defend their world, and who take the arrival of the spaceship as a sign of aggression. Captain Kira and her crew must decide what their new plan of action will be.While the overall impression I got from the book was very positive, there are a few gaps that disappointed me. The first couple of chapters were confusing since we are introduced to a different group of characters in each one and they don't seem to be related until quite a bit later in the book. As far as I'm concerned, the whole first chapter could be dispensed with, the book wouldn't suffer in the least. It is one of the few areas of the book that I didn't find fascinating. It distractedly meanders around a field and a barn with no apparent purpose, though after finishing the novel, it clicked that the first chapter showed what happened after the end of the book. The second chapter of the book would be a great beginning:The Cape Canaveral Space Center was unusually busy for this time of year.Public funding had long since dried up and the space center stood as a relic of aLost age. It was mostly used to house government administration offices; at least,That was what the public had been told. The parking garages were normally vacant,But today they were filled to capacity with unregistered cars and trucks.The tourist museum still received funding but was closed for six months out of theYear. A string of failed endeavors left the door wide open for deep budget cutsThat stripped the museum down to a few mock ships and wax figurines. Today, theMuseum lot was overflowed with government personnel. Military guards were postedat every turn and the parking attendants looked on with curiosity as the black sedanspiled in, one after another. (Page 7, paragraph I, II)And the author cleverly plays upon this exact scene later, at the beginning of another chapter. That was  immensely enjoyable.The main characters, the Simians, were interesting to study and get to know. They were likable and easy to read about. Even the director and his unscrupulous assistant were more than cardboard cutouts inserted to fill out the storyline. My only complaint about the characters is that every once in a while, their interaction would suddenly make no sense. It only happened about three times, but it was unsettling to have one of these characters, that I felt I was so familiar with, react to a conversation in such an uncharacteristic way.The book had a hopeful note the whole way through it, in spite of humanity's carelessness and lack of consideration. I thought it was interesting that even though the Simians were always conscious that they were aboard a ship that would kill them at a signal from earth, though the humans obviously lacked scruples, though Earth was threatened with a powerful invasion, the book never gets too dark. Even the book's odd and sudden ending (which is somewhat clarified by that disjointed first chapter) looks toward a bright future.It felt to me that the author had not quite found his writing style. At times the author went suddenly from pleasant imagery to rough, almost distasteful description. The following two sentences are an example:"The reflection from the flashing bulb send occasional shards of light through the glasspaperweights and they cast eerie shadows across the surface of the table."(Page 10, paragraph III)"The uncharacteristic display of emotion actually took her off guard, and she nearlychoked on her own spit." (Page 11, paragraph I)It was distracting at the beginning, but as the story got more and more  interesting, those swings in style were not as bothersome.There you have it - a review of John Black's Quincy 2116.Interesting.A little disjointed.Surprisingly hopeful