Procyon's Promise

The Makers Series #2

by Michael McCollum

Trade paperback version of science fiction novel. Originally published by Del Rey. Book is large format, printed on bright white paper, perfect bound, with full color, plastic laminated covers. Books are autographed by the author.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Religion, Artificial Intelligence

283 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published July 12, 1985

About the author

Michael McCollum was born in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1946, and is a graduate of Arizona State University, where he majored in aerospace propulsion and minored in nuclear engineering. He is employed at Honeywell in Tempe, Arizona, where he is Chief Engineer in the valve product line. In his career, Mr. McCollum has worked on the precursor to the Space Shuttle Main Engine, a nuclear valve to replace the one that failed at Three Mile Island, several guided missiles, Space Station Freedom, and virtually every aircraft in production today. He is currently involved in an effort to create a joint venture company with a major Russian aerospace engine manufacturer and has traveled extensively to Russia in the last several years. In addition to his engineering, Mr. McCollum is a successful professional writer in the field of science fiction. He is the author of a dozen pieces of short fiction and has appeared in magazines such as Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, Amazing, and Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Mr. McCollum is married to a lovely lady named Catherine, and has three children: Robert, Michael, and Elizabeth.

Reviews

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the sequel to Life Probe and although it does "end" it certainly seems like a sequel could easily be developed. This one takes place ~300 years after the end of the previous book and so there is an entirely new cast of characters. Unfortunately, those characters seemed a bit wooden to me, probably because the author packs so much plot into relatively few pages. In essence this is a homecoming novel (humans sent out from Earth to explore and now returning after a couple of centuries). It is fun to see how life/culture, etc. has changed since they left. But then McCollum transitions the novel into another "first contact" novel, like its predecessor novel. He tries to put too much into it and the result seems like we are skimming over too much. McCollum's real strength is his physics and he does a great job of explaining some pretty complex concepts in laymen's terms here. Overall, I'm glad I read it but it won't make my "10 books to get stranded on a deserted island with" list.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is classic SciFy so I am judging it in the context of it's time (the 1980s). Were I judging it by today's standards (2019) it would lose a star because the story is too short and the characters are entirely too trusting.

The Story: It is over 300 years after the first encounter with the Life Probe, an artificial intelligence (AI) sent from the Makers to seek out help with faster-than-light (FTL) travel. Earth had promised to help the Life Probe reach it's target star system, Procyon. Now, that expedition is well overdue... like 150 years overdue. It is considered lost... until it finally shows up. The name of the ship is Procyon's Promise, an FTL-capable ship, and even though human beings man the controls, it is considered a danger to Earth.

Any problems with the story? The captain of Procyon's Promise is a combination of healthy suspicion and child-like innocence. He is not a total fool though, and the Earth government acts every bit as foolish as one might expect.

Any modesty issues? Yes. The captain is a happily married man, yet his daughter's new-found-friend is trying to hit on him. The "friend" and the captain's daughter discuss this infatuation although not about wanting to have sex with him. (Apparently that is a given.) Regarding vulgar language, the S-word is used once which makes me wonder why the author used it at all. However he throws around the word "d-mn" quite a bit. Nothing terrible from my point of view. Your mileage may vary.

The ending is good, but the book itself is too short. It leaves an obvious opening for a sequel that has never materialized.

If you'd like something similar I suggest the movie "Mission to Mars" (2000) starring Tim Robbins, and Gary Sinise. Also, in reading, the book "Seeker" by Jack McDevitt.

[Katie Nissen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great (and underrated, given how unknown it seems to be) hard science fiction novel. Interesting themes, good character development, well-developed plot. I’m a big fan of any hard science fiction novel like this that deals with the geopolitics of space exploration.

My non-Goodreads rating would probably be more like a 3.75 overall, but a 4.25 up until the last 20 pages. I think it missed the mark on the ending by not leaving adequate time to develop a more satisfying conclusion to the huge mystery built up over the novel (i.e., the ending is rushed). It ends in an oxymoron; the author uses a bunch of weedy hard science to hand wave away the core mysteries of the novel. The characters have interesting reactions to this, but they’re presented in just a couple of pages and not fleshed out.

Besides the rushed ending, the rest of the novel is excellent. It’s well-written and intelligent. Definitely left me wanting more!

[Question Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was generally a great book to get into. I recommend getting into Life Probe first before this book because Procyon's Promise is a sequel. This was slightly confusing to me because I didn't read the first book, but it was still relatively easy to pick up! I hope you have as much fun as me if you read this book.

[Sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good action-driven space story. I wonder why I haven't read them earlier, enjoying McCollums Antares series more than a decade ago. But I guess I haven't outgrown my adventurous, younger self who would like to go to the stars himself. Next comes the Gibraltar series...

[Earl Truss · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very slow. After the first hundred pages, I skimmed through the rest to get to the end.

[Conal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun read science fiction novel by Michael McCollum, this one a continuation of the novel Life Probe set 300 years after the events told in the first book.

Recommended for all science fiction fans.

[Mawgojzeta · Rating 3 out of 5]

The nice thing about this book is that I read it not knowing it was a sequel and the author managed to give me a totally satisfying back story without that forced sequel fill-in feel. Not many authors can pull that off. This book could truly be a stand alone.

[Vikarti · Rating 4 out of 5]

sequel to Life Probe.
Now we knew about origins of Star Travellers, who Maker's solar system actually look and minor details like why I-masses doesn't explode due Hawking radiation, why it's so difficult to grasp FTL
and why there are no Makers in their home solar system

[Fumijo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still a good book. This was one of the first adult science fiction books I read (meaning it wasn't marketed to teens or younger), and I still enjoy it.

[Foxtower · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this and the prequel "Life Probe".

[Gwern · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unentertaining and bizarrely unsuspenseful. When you compare this to, say, Vinge's _A Deepness in the Sky_ which has a somewhat similar superior-colonizer theme, you see just how much is lacking.

[Benrix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the first book (Life Probe) IMO.

[Conal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick re-read of an old favorite. I still really enjoy the the story told within these pages.

4 Stars for a really fun read.

[Kurt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt this book was a very well thought out exploration of the "what if there were an elder race" idea.

[Clinton Sheppard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good clean space science fiction.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good.