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Probability Trilogy #2
Probability Sun
Salvation or Annihilation?
A strange artifact has been discovered on a distant planet, an artifact that may be the key to humanity's salvation. For we at war with the Fallers, an alien race bent on nothing short of genocide, and this is a war we are losing. The artifact is not only a powerful weapon, but possibly the rosetta stone to a lost superscience . . . a superscience that the Fallers may have already decoded. Or it may be a doomsday machine that could destroy the very fabric of space.
A strange artifact has been discovered on a distant planet, an artifact that may be the key to humanity's salvation. For we at war with the Fallers, an alien race bent on nothing short of genocide, and this is a war we are losing. The artifact is not only a powerful weapon, but possibly the rosetta stone to a lost superscience . . . a superscience that the Fallers may have already decoded. Or it may be a doomsday machine that could destroy the very fabric of space.
348 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
22 people are currently reading
445 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Kress
451 books905 followersNancy Kress is an American science fiction writer. She began writing in 1976 but has achieved her greatest notice since the publication of her Hugo and Nebula-winning 1991 novella
Beggars in Spain
which was later expanded into a novel with the same title. In addition to her novels, Kress has written numerous short stories and is a regular columnist for Writer's Digest. She is a regular at Clarion writing workshops and at The Writers Center in Bethesda, Maryland. During the Winter of 2008/09, Nancy Kress is the Picador Guest Professor for Literature at the University of Leipzig's Institute for American Studies in Leipzig, Germany.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
September 1, 2011
One day I hope to read a Nancy Kress novel full of amazing, deep, complex characters who manage to transcend the stereotypes often demanded by plot and story. Alas, that day has not yet come.
Probability Moon ended on a bittersweet note. The Zeus and its crew was destroyed when Orbital Object #7 exploded rather than go through the space tunnel. The anthropological team left on World was rescued—just in time, from their perspective, because the Worlders had declared them “unreal” and therefore condemned to death. But in the end, the people of World rescind this label when it becomes clear that one of the expedition members, David Allen, died to warn the Worlders about deadly radiation from the sky. So when humans return to World in Probability Sun, they find they are not unreal, as they first feared, but extremely welcome.
So naturally, they decide to rape the planet.
As we discovered in the previous book, there is another artifact on World, a smaller sphere of similar construction to Orbital Object #7 buried in the Neury Mountains. This expedition’s priority is to study the object and, if it might prove useful, extract it and return it to the Sol system. Of course, after stealing a moon in the last book, perhaps liberating a 25-metre sphere is small change in comparison—indeed, the leader of the expedition, Lyle Kaufman, calls it “ridiculously easy”. However, whereas the theft and subsequent destruction of Orbital Object #7 was wrong, it did not seem to damage World or its inhabitants in any tangible way. As the Ann discovers, the same can’t be said if humanity steals this second device: it will destroy the Worlders’ conception of shared reality, and with it, civlization As World Knows It. If you thought humans were the bad guys in Probability Moon, watch out, because we are all kinds of bastards in Probability Sun.
The culture clash between humans and the people of World, as well as the mechanism of shared reality itself, is much less central to Probability Sun. I don’t miss it; as interesting as shared reality was, Kress explored it fully in the first book, and I think she made the right decision to treat it as backstory and focus on new developments. Instead we get to learn more about the Fallers, with whom humans are at all-out war for our existence. The human military manages to capture a Faller alive—no small feat, for Fallers never allow themselves or their ships to be taken prisoner—and deliver it to Kaufman’s team. Kaufman assigns Marbet Grant to open communication with the Faller. Marbet is a Sensitive, someone with an increased level of empathy and awareness for body language. This makes her a “freak” in the eyes of her contemporary society, so it is a talent she strives to keep hidden. This ostracism is reminiscient of the treatment of the Sleepless in Kress’ series of the same name; it also reminds me of Arlen’s children, from her Hugo-nominated novella Act One .
Marbet slowly develops a rapport with the Faller captive, eventually teaching it the rudiments of sign language. Before she can progress much further, matters go awry and she ends up arrested for treason, although later in the novel we do learn a little more about the Fallers’ knowledge of the artifact Kaufman and his team are studying. Although there is much that could be said about the moral dilemmas Kress poses when it comes to the treatment of the Faller prisoner, to the extraction of the artifact from World, etc., what I really enjoy about this subplot is learning more about the Fallers themselves. The war is part of this trilogy’s backstory, but in Probability Moon the Fallers are essentially a faceless enemy. Now I know more about them (although it’s disappointing that we might be heading toward a climactic genocide dilemma) (TVTropes).
The final main character is civilian physicist Tom Capelo. Unlike the military physicist of Probability Moon, Tom is neither reasonable nor level-headed; in fact, he is a jerk (except to his two daughters). He is the typical “brilliant yet eccentric” scientist du jour, the only one who has a hope in hell of uncovering the physics behind these artifacts. And, of course, his wife was killed by a Faller attack on a civilian colony, so you can guess what happens he finds out Kaufman has been keeping a Faller around on the ship….
I know Kress is striving for Big Moral Dilemmas in this book. There’s the tension between Kaufman and Marbet over the treatment of the Faller, who might be the source of valuable intelligence to the war effort. There’s tension between Kaufman and Tom over whether Tom can figure out how the artifact works and maybe even duplicate it. And there’s the tension between Kaufman and Ann when it comes to the latter’s refusal to endorse the destruction of World’s civilization. Amidst all this, we learn that Lyle Kaufman is not a bad guy, that he hates making these decisions and carrying them out, but that he believes this is genuinely the only way to win the war.
I also know I have harped quite a bit on my dissatisfaction with Kress’ characters in other books, from my experience with the Sleepless trilogy all the way to Probability Moon. Actually, Nancy Kress is beginning to remind me a lot of Robert J. Sawyer: excellent use of plausible physics and technology, but really weak characterization. Nevertheless, I can’t stop reading either of them, because they still write great stories with fascinating themes about society-changing advances in science and technology.
I’m an avid science/technology geek, of course, so Probability Sun’s focus on the physics behind these artifacts is right up my alley. In jumping into our future, Kress has chosen to endorse string theory as the theory-of-everything candidate that wins out in the end, unifying our understanding of quantum mechanics with relativity. Even armed with this knowledge, however, we still don’t know how the alien space tunnels can do what they do—a convenient way for Kress to insert them into her story without having to make the science behind them plausible.
The focus of the science in this book isn’t the physics behind the space tunnels but rather that of their cousin artifacts, the probability weapons that affect whether an atom is going to decay and emit radiation. The scientific speculation gets really heavy in this book, especially compared to Probability Moon. I am able to follow along just, enough to recognize the nods to existing theories—Kress mentions “Calabi-Yau spaces”, which are real things. You’d have to consult a real physicist (or student of physics) to point out where Kress starts to stretch the fabric of the theories (to my knowledge, no one has yet hypothesized the existence of a probability-carrying boson, or “probon” yet), but it’s clear that Kress has done her research and striven for a balance between plausible physics and interesting science fiction. Sometimes the dialogue and exposition is a little heavy—it could have stood being broken up into smaller chunks—but in general I think she gets it right.
Although the colonial dilemma on World and the moral dilemma regarding the Fallers are important parts of Probability Sun, the scientific and philosophical results of Kress’ look at the role of probability in physics is the centrepiece of this story. Always with the human interest angle, Kress reminds us that consciousness is a quantum phenomenon, that the release of neurotransmitters in the brain takes place on a small enough scale that quantum effects become important. And at the quantum level, probability—or more specifically, the probability amplitude—dominates. Quantum effects are indeterministic and uncertain, and hence we express them as probabilities. But what conveys those probabilities? Is there some kind of messenger particle, much as photons convey the electromagnetic force, for “probability” force? (Or is our conception of “probability” entirely model-dependent?)
These are big questions and big ideas, and yeah, it makes me head hurt. But I have to give Kress kudos for managing to wrap them in an entertaining story about humanity exploring space and defending itself against an implacable threat. Probability Sun is no less and no more interesting than Probability Moon; the books are remarkably similar, and I expect much the same from Probability Space. But they are definitely “the good stuff” if you are a science lover like me.
My reviews of the Probability trilogy:
← Probability Moon | Probability Space → (forthcoming)
Probability Moon ended on a bittersweet note. The Zeus and its crew was destroyed when Orbital Object #7 exploded rather than go through the space tunnel. The anthropological team left on World was rescued—just in time, from their perspective, because the Worlders had declared them “unreal” and therefore condemned to death. But in the end, the people of World rescind this label when it becomes clear that one of the expedition members, David Allen, died to warn the Worlders about deadly radiation from the sky. So when humans return to World in Probability Sun, they find they are not unreal, as they first feared, but extremely welcome.
So naturally, they decide to rape the planet.
As we discovered in the previous book, there is another artifact on World, a smaller sphere of similar construction to Orbital Object #7 buried in the Neury Mountains. This expedition’s priority is to study the object and, if it might prove useful, extract it and return it to the Sol system. Of course, after stealing a moon in the last book, perhaps liberating a 25-metre sphere is small change in comparison—indeed, the leader of the expedition, Lyle Kaufman, calls it “ridiculously easy”. However, whereas the theft and subsequent destruction of Orbital Object #7 was wrong, it did not seem to damage World or its inhabitants in any tangible way. As the Ann discovers, the same can’t be said if humanity steals this second device: it will destroy the Worlders’ conception of shared reality, and with it, civlization As World Knows It. If you thought humans were the bad guys in Probability Moon, watch out, because we are all kinds of bastards in Probability Sun.
The culture clash between humans and the people of World, as well as the mechanism of shared reality itself, is much less central to Probability Sun. I don’t miss it; as interesting as shared reality was, Kress explored it fully in the first book, and I think she made the right decision to treat it as backstory and focus on new developments. Instead we get to learn more about the Fallers, with whom humans are at all-out war for our existence. The human military manages to capture a Faller alive—no small feat, for Fallers never allow themselves or their ships to be taken prisoner—and deliver it to Kaufman’s team. Kaufman assigns Marbet Grant to open communication with the Faller. Marbet is a Sensitive, someone with an increased level of empathy and awareness for body language. This makes her a “freak” in the eyes of her contemporary society, so it is a talent she strives to keep hidden. This ostracism is reminiscient of the treatment of the Sleepless in Kress’ series of the same name; it also reminds me of Arlen’s children, from her Hugo-nominated novella Act One .
Marbet slowly develops a rapport with the Faller captive, eventually teaching it the rudiments of sign language. Before she can progress much further, matters go awry and she ends up arrested for treason, although later in the novel we do learn a little more about the Fallers’ knowledge of the artifact Kaufman and his team are studying. Although there is much that could be said about the moral dilemmas Kress poses when it comes to the treatment of the Faller prisoner, to the extraction of the artifact from World, etc., what I really enjoy about this subplot is learning more about the Fallers themselves. The war is part of this trilogy’s backstory, but in Probability Moon the Fallers are essentially a faceless enemy. Now I know more about them (although it’s disappointing that we might be heading toward a climactic genocide dilemma) (TVTropes).
The final main character is civilian physicist Tom Capelo. Unlike the military physicist of Probability Moon, Tom is neither reasonable nor level-headed; in fact, he is a jerk (except to his two daughters). He is the typical “brilliant yet eccentric” scientist du jour, the only one who has a hope in hell of uncovering the physics behind these artifacts. And, of course, his wife was killed by a Faller attack on a civilian colony, so you can guess what happens he finds out Kaufman has been keeping a Faller around on the ship….
I know Kress is striving for Big Moral Dilemmas in this book. There’s the tension between Kaufman and Marbet over the treatment of the Faller, who might be the source of valuable intelligence to the war effort. There’s tension between Kaufman and Tom over whether Tom can figure out how the artifact works and maybe even duplicate it. And there’s the tension between Kaufman and Ann when it comes to the latter’s refusal to endorse the destruction of World’s civilization. Amidst all this, we learn that Lyle Kaufman is not a bad guy, that he hates making these decisions and carrying them out, but that he believes this is genuinely the only way to win the war.
I also know I have harped quite a bit on my dissatisfaction with Kress’ characters in other books, from my experience with the Sleepless trilogy all the way to Probability Moon. Actually, Nancy Kress is beginning to remind me a lot of Robert J. Sawyer: excellent use of plausible physics and technology, but really weak characterization. Nevertheless, I can’t stop reading either of them, because they still write great stories with fascinating themes about society-changing advances in science and technology.
I’m an avid science/technology geek, of course, so Probability Sun’s focus on the physics behind these artifacts is right up my alley. In jumping into our future, Kress has chosen to endorse string theory as the theory-of-everything candidate that wins out in the end, unifying our understanding of quantum mechanics with relativity. Even armed with this knowledge, however, we still don’t know how the alien space tunnels can do what they do—a convenient way for Kress to insert them into her story without having to make the science behind them plausible.
The focus of the science in this book isn’t the physics behind the space tunnels but rather that of their cousin artifacts, the probability weapons that affect whether an atom is going to decay and emit radiation. The scientific speculation gets really heavy in this book, especially compared to Probability Moon. I am able to follow along just, enough to recognize the nods to existing theories—Kress mentions “Calabi-Yau spaces”, which are real things. You’d have to consult a real physicist (or student of physics) to point out where Kress starts to stretch the fabric of the theories (to my knowledge, no one has yet hypothesized the existence of a probability-carrying boson, or “probon” yet), but it’s clear that Kress has done her research and striven for a balance between plausible physics and interesting science fiction. Sometimes the dialogue and exposition is a little heavy—it could have stood being broken up into smaller chunks—but in general I think she gets it right.
Although the colonial dilemma on World and the moral dilemma regarding the Fallers are important parts of Probability Sun, the scientific and philosophical results of Kress’ look at the role of probability in physics is the centrepiece of this story. Always with the human interest angle, Kress reminds us that consciousness is a quantum phenomenon, that the release of neurotransmitters in the brain takes place on a small enough scale that quantum effects become important. And at the quantum level, probability—or more specifically, the probability amplitude—dominates. Quantum effects are indeterministic and uncertain, and hence we express them as probabilities. But what conveys those probabilities? Is there some kind of messenger particle, much as photons convey the electromagnetic force, for “probability” force? (Or is our conception of “probability” entirely model-dependent?)
These are big questions and big ideas, and yeah, it makes me head hurt. But I have to give Kress kudos for managing to wrap them in an entertaining story about humanity exploring space and defending itself against an implacable threat. Probability Sun is no less and no more interesting than Probability Moon; the books are remarkably similar, and I expect much the same from Probability Space. But they are definitely “the good stuff” if you are a science lover like me.
My reviews of the Probability trilogy:
← Probability Moon | Probability Space → (forthcoming)
July 15, 2011
You know what I hate? When I bring a book with me, and only realize when I start reading it that it's the middle volume of a trilogy. It's really only fair that publishers but that info in a reasonably prominent place (or at least somewhere) on the cover.
Read it anyway, cause I didn't have anything else with me...
The book was ok for light entertainment, but not exceptional. A group of humans go to a planet inhabited by peaceful, pre-industrial natives. On this planet is a mysterious alien artifact which could be used as a powerful weapon in the war Earth is currently involved in. The complication is that the native culture depends on some kind of emanations from the artifact which give them a mild kind of telepathy that they refer to as "shared reality," which results in anti-social behavior giving them terrible headaches, meaning that everyone is cooperative and non-violent.
Of course, the military wants to take the artifact, regardless of its meaning to the natives.
Problems I had with it: all the characters were very "stock" - I didn't get a real sense of individuality from any of them. There were typical 'military types,' typical 'research scientist' types, and typical 'peaceful natives,' generic children, etc.
The physicist character was unconvincing as a brilliant scientist. He kept acting closed-minded to theories, and never came off as very smart. Too much of the "scientists are eccentric crazies" stereotype.
The artifact worked in such a simplistic way (pushing a series of buttons to activate a sensible series of settings) that it seemed ridiculous to have to have a physicist figure it out. From the observed behavior of the artifact, and even the clues provided by a prisoner-of-war, I wasn't convinced that a scientific breakthrough could have been made.
I saw no logical connection between the functions of the artifact and the effect that it had on the native population.
I didn't like the whole implied theory that punishment is the impetus for cooperative behavior, and that without the constant threat of punishment, individuals will commit whatever crimes they can think of, even in a society that has been peaceful for 50,000 years. In the scenario Kress proposes, I believe the confusion, fear, and chaos - but not the sudden shift toward violent crime. I believe that generally, people refrain from committing violent crimes simply because they aren't psychopaths, and don't have a strong urge to murder others randomly.
Read it anyway, cause I didn't have anything else with me...
The book was ok for light entertainment, but not exceptional. A group of humans go to a planet inhabited by peaceful, pre-industrial natives. On this planet is a mysterious alien artifact which could be used as a powerful weapon in the war Earth is currently involved in. The complication is that the native culture depends on some kind of emanations from the artifact which give them a mild kind of telepathy that they refer to as "shared reality," which results in anti-social behavior giving them terrible headaches, meaning that everyone is cooperative and non-violent.
Of course, the military wants to take the artifact, regardless of its meaning to the natives.
Problems I had with it: all the characters were very "stock" - I didn't get a real sense of individuality from any of them. There were typical 'military types,' typical 'research scientist' types, and typical 'peaceful natives,' generic children, etc.
The physicist character was unconvincing as a brilliant scientist. He kept acting closed-minded to theories, and never came off as very smart. Too much of the "scientists are eccentric crazies" stereotype.
The artifact worked in such a simplistic way (pushing a series of buttons to activate a sensible series of settings) that it seemed ridiculous to have to have a physicist figure it out. From the observed behavior of the artifact, and even the clues provided by a prisoner-of-war, I wasn't convinced that a scientific breakthrough could have been made.
I saw no logical connection between the functions of the artifact and the effect that it had on the native population.
I didn't like the whole implied theory that punishment is the impetus for cooperative behavior, and that without the constant threat of punishment, individuals will commit whatever crimes they can think of, even in a society that has been peaceful for 50,000 years. In the scenario Kress proposes, I believe the confusion, fear, and chaos - but not the sudden shift toward violent crime. I believe that generally, people refrain from committing violent crimes simply because they aren't psychopaths, and don't have a strong urge to murder others randomly.
March 7, 2026
The Terrans are coming back and what do ya know, they plan to steal Shared Reality from the Worlders. Well, that's a likely result of what they actually plan to steal, but it's not about to stop the bastards.
Another good story, I liked it a little more even than book one. The constant referencing of Shared Reality can be a bit of a drone at times. On the other hand, the botanically inspired greetings and salutations are an unceasing delight.
May your blossoms perfume the air for many seasons.
Another good story, I liked it a little more even than book one. The constant referencing of Shared Reality can be a bit of a drone at times. On the other hand, the botanically inspired greetings and salutations are an unceasing delight.
May your blossoms perfume the air for many seasons.
January 12, 2009
Après les explorations ethnologiques de Réalité partagée, qu’on pourrait comparer d’une certaine manière à celles de Parade nuptiale, ce tome se recentre vers le coeur de la hard-science : physique théorique, étude des super-cordes et des dimensions enroulées de l’espace à onze dimensions, et tutti quanti. Bien sûr, il y a autour de ça toutes les distractions habituelles dans ce genre de roman : des extra-terrestres, des discussions, un peu d’aventure, et des conséquences incaluclables. Mais, à mon avis, ça n’est pas là le point focal de ce roman. Le point clé, à mon avis, tient dans le cheminement des découvertes, qu’il s’agisse de l’explication des phénomènes de complexification des ondes de probabilité(1), ou des débuts de la communication entre humains et faucheurs.
Dans les deux cas, on suit pas à pas les avancées, les frustrations, et, surtout, l’espèce de mur d’incompréhension entre le chercheur et son environnement. C’est à mon avis tout à fait fascinant. Ca met également en valeur d’une manière similaire deux personnages totallement opposés : le physicien, égocentrique, totallement hermétique à son environnement(2), et la Sensitive, capable de lire les émotions de ses interlocuteurs comme un livre ouvert. Cette dernière est sans aucun doute la meilleure idée de ce roman. Pas seulement en termes d’intrigue, même si elle apporte une intrigue secondaire assez intéressante, apportant une nouvelle déclinaison au thème de l’altérité, qui doit sans doute être un fil directeur de cette série. Cette Sensitive est surtout un merveilleux moyen permettant l’auteur de nous faire passer énormément d’informations sur les différents personnages du roman sans nous donner une position omnisciente(3). Et, dans le contexte d’un roman de science-fiction, où la création d’un background digne de ce nom impose toujours une part, généralement laborieuse, de descriptions plus ou moins bien faites sur les technologies plausibles, c’est très utile de disposer d’un point d’accès aux personnages n’entravant pas la fluidité du récit.
Bien sûr, on retrouve aussi dans ce tome quelques défauts déja vus dans le premier : des personnages souvent transparents pour les seconds rôles (ça peut aussi être un avantage, évitant ce qu’on pourrait appeler l’effet Aube de la nuit), une position humaine assez difficilement tenable(4) qui est sans doute une critique, mais assez pauvre (quoique d’après l’épilogue, le troisième tome risque fort de développer fortement cet aspect). Il n’y a toutefois pas là assez de points négatifs pour ôter à ce roman son caractère essentiel pour la SF. Sans être un chef-d’oeuvre absolu, il forme à mon avis un membre évident de toute bonne bibliothèque.
(1) Trois pages jouissives (pour les "scientifiques" du dimanche comme moi) de physique quantique incompréhensible expliquée "avec les mains", comme disait un de mes profs.
(2) Il m’a un peu fait penser à moi, même si je ne suis pas tout à fait un génie de la physique quantique.
(3) celle-ci ayant un très net inconvénient : elle tue l’intrigue dans l’oeuf.
(4) qui m’a fortement rappelé l’ère joyeuse du colonialisme.
Dans les deux cas, on suit pas à pas les avancées, les frustrations, et, surtout, l’espèce de mur d’incompréhension entre le chercheur et son environnement. C’est à mon avis tout à fait fascinant. Ca met également en valeur d’une manière similaire deux personnages totallement opposés : le physicien, égocentrique, totallement hermétique à son environnement(2), et la Sensitive, capable de lire les émotions de ses interlocuteurs comme un livre ouvert. Cette dernière est sans aucun doute la meilleure idée de ce roman. Pas seulement en termes d’intrigue, même si elle apporte une intrigue secondaire assez intéressante, apportant une nouvelle déclinaison au thème de l’altérité, qui doit sans doute être un fil directeur de cette série. Cette Sensitive est surtout un merveilleux moyen permettant l’auteur de nous faire passer énormément d’informations sur les différents personnages du roman sans nous donner une position omnisciente(3). Et, dans le contexte d’un roman de science-fiction, où la création d’un background digne de ce nom impose toujours une part, généralement laborieuse, de descriptions plus ou moins bien faites sur les technologies plausibles, c’est très utile de disposer d’un point d’accès aux personnages n’entravant pas la fluidité du récit.
Bien sûr, on retrouve aussi dans ce tome quelques défauts déja vus dans le premier : des personnages souvent transparents pour les seconds rôles (ça peut aussi être un avantage, évitant ce qu’on pourrait appeler l’effet Aube de la nuit), une position humaine assez difficilement tenable(4) qui est sans doute une critique, mais assez pauvre (quoique d’après l’épilogue, le troisième tome risque fort de développer fortement cet aspect). Il n’y a toutefois pas là assez de points négatifs pour ôter à ce roman son caractère essentiel pour la SF. Sans être un chef-d’oeuvre absolu, il forme à mon avis un membre évident de toute bonne bibliothèque.
(1) Trois pages jouissives (pour les "scientifiques" du dimanche comme moi) de physique quantique incompréhensible expliquée "avec les mains", comme disait un de mes profs.
(2) Il m’a un peu fait penser à moi, même si je ne suis pas tout à fait un génie de la physique quantique.
(3) celle-ci ayant un très net inconvénient : elle tue l’intrigue dans l’oeuf.
(4) qui m’a fortement rappelé l’ère joyeuse du colonialisme.
August 8, 2016
A sequel, in my mind, would continue a story that was finished to an appreciable degree, but still left overarching themes in a built world up for exploration. After reading Probability Sun, sequel to the exciting and thought-provoking Probability Moon, I would say Nancy Kress capably expanded on the fictional universe developed in the original. The sequel brought back the right mix of original characters, blending them together in a social interplay with new (and most importantly deep) characters. These new players reflected the themes and ethics of Probability Sun with aplomb.
Kress is fast becoming a new favorite of mine. I was only aware of her works in passing, whether it be from her exhibit at the Science Fiction museum in Seattle, or mentions of her works from other favorites of mine. Engorging on the Beggars books and now the Probability sequel has shown me an author who cares to balance elements of science fact alongside character development and the interactions of disparate sociologies. It is a balance I care about in my own works, for veering too much towards hard sci-fi turns many novels into chores, while veering too much towards melodrama turns many novels into eye rollers. After four of her books, I have yet to see Kress suffer from either. She’s skilled at distilling people, places, and crazy new technologies into taut thrillers set in fantastical venues/backdrops. Probability Sun continues that trend effortlessly; somehow Kress is able to compact
In retrospect, I found Kress developed her male characters more deeply than her female. Two returning ladies, one human and one worlder, barely evolved their personas. The new main lady was a borderline caricature of a seductress (part of a future seductress class). But the new men, while at face value are a career military man and an eccentric physicist, are explored thoroughly. By the last page, they both question stereotypes and defy their expected roles in society.
At times Sun feels very much like a muddled middle chapter in a saga normally does. Should we fault authors for slicing a full cake and giving readers a middle with no strawberries? I think so. Many Part 2s of trilogies, especially in the realm of science fiction, create slices that can stand alone. It behooves authors to focus the scope of each individual novel, to in a sense divorce it from fitting into aspects of the end parts.
That doesn’t detract much from Probability Sun. Kress makes a valiant effort to make the middle part of the trilogy stand out, steeping it with intrigue, personal interplay, and high stakes for World and humanity’s intergalactic civilization. Cliché to say so, but I’ll say it regardless: Sun is a page-turner. It is taut, compelling, and should make any reader not okay with a ‘might makes right’ mentality feel conflicted. Highly recommended, especially for newer Kress fans like I.
Kress is fast becoming a new favorite of mine. I was only aware of her works in passing, whether it be from her exhibit at the Science Fiction museum in Seattle, or mentions of her works from other favorites of mine. Engorging on the Beggars books and now the Probability sequel has shown me an author who cares to balance elements of science fact alongside character development and the interactions of disparate sociologies. It is a balance I care about in my own works, for veering too much towards hard sci-fi turns many novels into chores, while veering too much towards melodrama turns many novels into eye rollers. After four of her books, I have yet to see Kress suffer from either. She’s skilled at distilling people, places, and crazy new technologies into taut thrillers set in fantastical venues/backdrops. Probability Sun continues that trend effortlessly; somehow Kress is able to compact
In retrospect, I found Kress developed her male characters more deeply than her female. Two returning ladies, one human and one worlder, barely evolved their personas. The new main lady was a borderline caricature of a seductress (part of a future seductress class). But the new men, while at face value are a career military man and an eccentric physicist, are explored thoroughly. By the last page, they both question stereotypes and defy their expected roles in society.
At times Sun feels very much like a muddled middle chapter in a saga normally does. Should we fault authors for slicing a full cake and giving readers a middle with no strawberries? I think so. Many Part 2s of trilogies, especially in the realm of science fiction, create slices that can stand alone. It behooves authors to focus the scope of each individual novel, to in a sense divorce it from fitting into aspects of the end parts.
That doesn’t detract much from Probability Sun. Kress makes a valiant effort to make the middle part of the trilogy stand out, steeping it with intrigue, personal interplay, and high stakes for World and humanity’s intergalactic civilization. Cliché to say so, but I’ll say it regardless: Sun is a page-turner. It is taut, compelling, and should make any reader not okay with a ‘might makes right’ mentality feel conflicted. Highly recommended, especially for newer Kress fans like I.
August 16, 2023
The book has several interwoven threads. There's an alien species, Fallers, with an evolved hierarchical social norm, and it does its best to annihilate any other intelligent species. It has been attacking humans in the galaxy, and any time humans are in a position to capture an alien or their tech they kill / destroy them first. They have tech that can protect them from our weapons.
Travel through the galaxy is done via gateways left by some long-lost alien civilization. There's a scientific / military project in a star system where a space artifact left by the long-lost aliens was found a few years ago. Because that artifact seemed to show promise for the current interstellar war, the military had tried taking it through an interstellar gateway, but the artifact blow up and had disastrous effects throughout the star system, indicating it involved physics beyond human understanding. Somehow, it didn't harm a planet with a pre-industrial society. Apparently, that was because of another (smaller) alien artifact on the planet, and the military has returned with scientists for that.
The head physicist on the ship is known for his ego. He also has a hatred for the Fallers because his wife died in an attack. His presence on the ship is also complicated by the fact he insisted on bringing his 2 daughters along.
The pre-industrial people on the planet have "shared reality" - they get headaches if they disagree / see differently. Their religion says this is how it should be and it is taken for granted. They find it strange that humans are not like this. There are hints, and then evidence, that the artifact causes this and it is related to the theory that thought involves quantum physics.
Therefore, the testing of the artifact has risks of disaster, the natives losing "shared reality" and other possible results of its unknown physics.
Meanwhile, one Faller is captured and brought to the military starship in this star system. A woman with exceptional skills at interpreting body language, behavior, etc. is put in charge of trying to communicate with this alien. Initially, the alien is kept tied up and force-fed because it would otherwise commit suicide. Eventually, one of its arms is untied to allow communication by gestures. When a model of the artifact is shown to the Faller, it's body language seems to suggest a greater concern than simply military.
In the last 20% there is a part with an extended bunch of physics jargon (which is presumably not all known science today as it is about physics which was not known in the future.)
After the artifact is taken off-planet, "shared reality" ends on the planet, and we see the fighting, stealing, etc. that follows. Yet, at the end when they think they understand the artifact's physics, nobody in the book mentions the possibility of using that knowledge to give "shared reality" back to them.
Travel through the galaxy is done via gateways left by some long-lost alien civilization. There's a scientific / military project in a star system where a space artifact left by the long-lost aliens was found a few years ago. Because that artifact seemed to show promise for the current interstellar war, the military had tried taking it through an interstellar gateway, but the artifact blow up and had disastrous effects throughout the star system, indicating it involved physics beyond human understanding. Somehow, it didn't harm a planet with a pre-industrial society. Apparently, that was because of another (smaller) alien artifact on the planet, and the military has returned with scientists for that.
The head physicist on the ship is known for his ego. He also has a hatred for the Fallers because his wife died in an attack. His presence on the ship is also complicated by the fact he insisted on bringing his 2 daughters along.
The pre-industrial people on the planet have "shared reality" - they get headaches if they disagree / see differently. Their religion says this is how it should be and it is taken for granted. They find it strange that humans are not like this. There are hints, and then evidence, that the artifact causes this and it is related to the theory that thought involves quantum physics.
Therefore, the testing of the artifact has risks of disaster, the natives losing "shared reality" and other possible results of its unknown physics.
Meanwhile, one Faller is captured and brought to the military starship in this star system. A woman with exceptional skills at interpreting body language, behavior, etc. is put in charge of trying to communicate with this alien. Initially, the alien is kept tied up and force-fed because it would otherwise commit suicide. Eventually, one of its arms is untied to allow communication by gestures. When a model of the artifact is shown to the Faller, it's body language seems to suggest a greater concern than simply military.
In the last 20% there is a part with an extended bunch of physics jargon (which is presumably not all known science today as it is about physics which was not known in the future.)
After the artifact is taken off-planet, "shared reality" ends on the planet, and we see the fighting, stealing, etc. that follows. Yet, at the end when they think they understand the artifact's physics, nobody in the book mentions the possibility of using that knowledge to give "shared reality" back to them.
March 3, 2022
Incinerarea de adio atinsese punctul culminant. Enli, care stătea la marginea cercului format din cei îndoliaţi, îşi ţinea răsuflarea. Acesta era momentul pe care-l îndrăgea, momentul bucuriei pure.
Procesiunea plecase din Gofkit Shamloe la răsăritul soarelui. Pe cer se mai puteau zări strălucind graţios patru luni: Lil, Cut, Ap şi Obri. Tot satul – inclusiv bătrânul Ayu Pek Marrifin, purtat pe o targă, şi cei doi gemeni drăgălaşi din familia Palofrit, abia ieşiţi din Ceremonia Florii – mergea încet în urma căruciorului. Acesta era tras de cei doi nepoţi mai mari ai lui Tiril Pek Bafor. Bătrânul, pe care Enli îl ştia dintotdeauna drept grădinarul-şef al satului, fusese aşezat cu o seară înainte în cărucior, neîmbăiat şi îngropat sub munţi de flori: jelitibe uriaşe, de un roşu strălucitor, ciorchini îmbobociţi de pajalibe şi sajibe înmiresmate şi lucioase.Preoteasa, slujitoarea Primei Flori, făcu un pas înainte şi-şi ridică mâinile. Mulţimea tăcută se întoarse spre ea. În spatele preotesei, focul, aprins încă din noaptea trecută, se înălţa mult deasupra creştetului ei. Numai trosnetul flăcărilor tulbura liniştea.
— Acum! spuse slujitoarea Primei Flori, o femeie între două vârste, scundă şi îndesată, căreia blana de pe gât îi chelise prematur.
Nepoţii lui Tiril Pek Bafor traseră căruciorul printre săteni, până la marginea focului. Lemnul era îmbibat cu ceară; trupul, ascuns sub flori, lunecă lin în mijlocul flăcărilor. În acel moment, toţi – şi cei îndureraţi, şi bătrânii, şi şchiopii, şi ologii – îşi smulseră de pe ei mantiile subţiri, negre şi ţipară suficient de tare încât să trezească morţii.
Era un strigăt de bucurie pură: răposatul se întorcea la strămoşii lui.
Întregul sat cânta şi slăvea. Pe sub mantiile negre purtau cu toţii veşminte în culori vii, împodobite cu ghirlande din flori proaspete, cusute în dimineaţa aceea. Fiecare floare reprezenta o faţetă a relaţiei pe care o avusese purtătorul ei cu sufletul eliberat atât de triumfător în lumea spiritelor, unde florile înfloreau veşnic.
Începură cu toţii să danseze. Oamenii cântau; chiar şi focul sălta şi striga; aerul era plin de mireasma grea a uleiului folosit de preoţi ca să-i facă lui Tiril Pek Bafor plecarea frumos mirositoare. În mijlocul dansului şi al bucuriei dezlănţuite, soarele se înălţă roşu şi cald.
Enli dansa cu Calin Pek Lillifar, rotindu-se, rotindu-se… şi nu doar dansul era de vină că i se învârtea capul. Îl cunoştea pe Calin de când erau copii, dar în clipele acelea simţea parcă altceva, un mod diferit de a cunoaşte, de a împărtăşi…
Procesiunea plecase din Gofkit Shamloe la răsăritul soarelui. Pe cer se mai puteau zări strălucind graţios patru luni: Lil, Cut, Ap şi Obri. Tot satul – inclusiv bătrânul Ayu Pek Marrifin, purtat pe o targă, şi cei doi gemeni drăgălaşi din familia Palofrit, abia ieşiţi din Ceremonia Florii – mergea încet în urma căruciorului. Acesta era tras de cei doi nepoţi mai mari ai lui Tiril Pek Bafor. Bătrânul, pe care Enli îl ştia dintotdeauna drept grădinarul-şef al satului, fusese aşezat cu o seară înainte în cărucior, neîmbăiat şi îngropat sub munţi de flori: jelitibe uriaşe, de un roşu strălucitor, ciorchini îmbobociţi de pajalibe şi sajibe înmiresmate şi lucioase.Preoteasa, slujitoarea Primei Flori, făcu un pas înainte şi-şi ridică mâinile. Mulţimea tăcută se întoarse spre ea. În spatele preotesei, focul, aprins încă din noaptea trecută, se înălţa mult deasupra creştetului ei. Numai trosnetul flăcărilor tulbura liniştea.
— Acum! spuse slujitoarea Primei Flori, o femeie între două vârste, scundă şi îndesată, căreia blana de pe gât îi chelise prematur.
Nepoţii lui Tiril Pek Bafor traseră căruciorul printre săteni, până la marginea focului. Lemnul era îmbibat cu ceară; trupul, ascuns sub flori, lunecă lin în mijlocul flăcărilor. În acel moment, toţi – şi cei îndureraţi, şi bătrânii, şi şchiopii, şi ologii – îşi smulseră de pe ei mantiile subţiri, negre şi ţipară suficient de tare încât să trezească morţii.
Era un strigăt de bucurie pură: răposatul se întorcea la strămoşii lui.
Întregul sat cânta şi slăvea. Pe sub mantiile negre purtau cu toţii veşminte în culori vii, împodobite cu ghirlande din flori proaspete, cusute în dimineaţa aceea. Fiecare floare reprezenta o faţetă a relaţiei pe care o avusese purtătorul ei cu sufletul eliberat atât de triumfător în lumea spiritelor, unde florile înfloreau veşnic.
Începură cu toţii să danseze. Oamenii cântau; chiar şi focul sălta şi striga; aerul era plin de mireasma grea a uleiului folosit de preoţi ca să-i facă lui Tiril Pek Bafor plecarea frumos mirositoare. În mijlocul dansului şi al bucuriei dezlănţuite, soarele se înălţă roşu şi cald.
Enli dansa cu Calin Pek Lillifar, rotindu-se, rotindu-se… şi nu doar dansul era de vină că i se învârtea capul. Îl cunoştea pe Calin de când erau copii, dar în clipele acelea simţea parcă altceva, un mod diferit de a cunoaşte, de a împărtăşi…
February 5, 2024
(4.5 Stars) I got the progression I wanted from this book, things got complicated, and things got better. I am astounded at how beautifully Kress can weave together so many fascinating ideas, I think she has at least three or four that could be novels by themselves. But instead, we get this deep thought-provoking trilogy that makes you think about all sorts of different things. Politics, physics, probability, culture, origins of civilizations, and military obligation. I could go on and on. I had a great time with this one and even think it took a step up from the first book. It adds more characters and ideas, but I never felt overloaded because you had enough knowledge from reading the first book to prop it up. I felt slightly more interested in the military and physics side of things than the events that occurred on World, but I feel like that is a bit of a nitpick if anything. I was fascinated with Marbet, who is thus far my favorite character of the series. The whole idea of a sensitive would be a great idea for a novel (and probably already is) I wish it could be touched on more in-depth, and maybe if I'm lucky it will be in the last book in the trilogy.
Kress has impressed me enough with these books that I will be checking out more of her work in the future. She might be a bit too smart for me, but reading is for stretching your brain anyway. You don't make progress in anything by being complacent. I think she's already left me many minutes of thinking in the two novels I've pushed through so far, bravo I say.
(ATY #35)
Kress has impressed me enough with these books that I will be checking out more of her work in the future. She might be a bit too smart for me, but reading is for stretching your brain anyway. You don't make progress in anything by being complacent. I think she's already left me many minutes of thinking in the two novels I've pushed through so far, bravo I say.
(ATY #35)
March 5, 2019
I never read Probability Moon and probably never will. The plot was reasonably well reviewed in this for those of us reading ex-Library books where book 1 was given away earlier on. Otherwise, a pretty competent piece of military/exploration SF. It reminded me a great deal of early David Weber ( like The Shiva Option ). It's got all the best archetypes and plots: cantankerous but well meaning professors who love their kids, hard military commanders, military commanders who follow orders but are conflicted inside, peaceful aliens, scientists who want to protect the aliens, scientists who don't care about the aliens, and a plot which requires the aliens get screwed over to help humanity. It would make a good movie, a cross between Star Wars and Avatar.
March 10, 2026
Dopo il primo libro della serie - che mi era già piaciuto tantissimo - si prosegue con il secondo, sempre letto in traduzione Urania. Di nuovo siamo davanti per me a un piccolo capolavoro, che accresce ancora di più il quadro del precedente, anche se forse non quanto avrei voluto. Ho trovato solo po' fastidioso alcune ripetizioni nelle spiegazioni scientifiche con il primo romanzo: capisco che possano servire se magari qualcuno decide di saltare direttamente al secondo capitolo della serie o come reminder, ma sono dei paralleli così forti da suonarmi strani. Ancora una volta comunque una lode particolare va ai personaggi, stavolta forse anche più riusciti che nel primo con Kaufman che si prende un posto nel mio cuore.
February 9, 2025
The second novel in the PROBABILITY trilogy sees the return of a manned expedition to World to investigate the strange radiation emanating from the Neury Mountains. The special team includes physicist Tom Capelo and Sensitive, Marbet Grant, who is able to interpret thoughts by observing behaviour and expressions.
While Tom’s task is to try to crack the science of the alien artefact, Marbet’s job is to attempt communication with the only Faller captured alive.
This is a worthy follow-up to PROBABILITY MOON and on its strength I have already begun the final story in the trilogy.
While Tom’s task is to try to crack the science of the alien artefact, Marbet’s job is to attempt communication with the only Faller captured alive.
This is a worthy follow-up to PROBABILITY MOON and on its strength I have already begun the final story in the trilogy.
May 23, 2020
For my taste, this 2nd book of the "Probability" trilogy is better than the 1st one.
The 1st one is more 'literary", immersed in "world-building" sometimes boring...
This one gets into the "game" very fast, a "empires strikes back" feelling... (not the stories have anything in common).
I greatly respect the author knowledge of science, it is hard to put some extrapolated theories as she did, praise for her!
I hope the last book gets a satisfying conclusion, at least :P
The 1st one is more 'literary", immersed in "world-building" sometimes boring...
This one gets into the "game" very fast, a "empires strikes back" feelling... (not the stories have anything in common).
I greatly respect the author knowledge of science, it is hard to put some extrapolated theories as she did, praise for her!
I hope the last book gets a satisfying conclusion, at least :P
April 30, 2020
An improvement on the previous one, although not much. Characters still seem too simple, but I guess that's to expect on a novel this short. Still enjoyable and keen to read the third.
May 25, 2023
Glad that I found this author. I've been reading Science Fiction for over 60 years. She is great.
February 4, 2024
Loved it!
The author is a terrific storyteller who weaves an exciting plot line. Her characters are believable and interesting. I look forward to the next installment.
The author is a terrific storyteller who weaves an exciting plot line. Her characters are believable and interesting. I look forward to the next installment.
September 14, 2025
I enjoyed this second in the series better than the first and overall a good novel.
August 26, 2020
I didn't finish this book as my digital library loan ran out; I will finish it when I get it back
Got the book back and finished it; looking forward to the last book
Got the book back and finished it; looking forward to the last book
August 30, 2015
It seems to me, that, as a rule, second books in a trilogy are a way of setting up what should be a grand finale. This book is a bit more than that, in that it develops the characters and culture of the Worlders, who planet the Terrans have found by means of old, but far advanced scientific artifacts left behind by what would seem to be a now extinct race. The Terrans have returned and the intent is to take one of the moons that is, in fact, an artifact left behind by the ancient race. Perhaps it could be a weapon to help turn the tide of the ongoing war with the Fallers. Not everyone of the Terrans on the mission know that some of them are there for military reasons, while the others are just continuing their study of the geology, the flora and fauna, and the culture of the Worlders. The Worlders are, by current Terran standards, a very simple race, lacking in any real technology. They do share a collective mind, however, and things are declared real or unreal, by agreement of the collectives. Through her work interacting with the Terrans, one Worlder, Enli, finds herself declared "unreal" by her villagers.
She struggles with this as opposed to keeping her belief in the Terrans activities and seeing how real their technology is and suffers for siding with them. She wants her status returned to real and is torn by how to do it.
Meanwhile, the Terrans have been exploring the Sacred Mountain, and Enli has seen what is inside. The source of the shared mind is, in fact, an artifact buried in the heart of the mountain, which the Terrans test by changing the settings and discovering that it can be a powerful weapon. One consequence, however, is the the Worlders lose their shared mind and are completely lost without it. Some go mad, some become aimless and Enli, because of her experience with the Terrans, keeps her own mind intact. Meanwhile, the Terrans now know that the "moon" artefact" is, indeed an incredibly powerful weapon, which they decide to steal.
With great skill, Kress has created a world, a culture and a belief system that is genius. She easily demonstrates the manner in which the "sophisticated" Terrans can manipulate the, to them, the naive Worlders. Her characters are wonderful and the way she combines the well-meaning intent of the Terrans who are unaware of the military aspect of the mission and the ongoing story of war in space makes this a great read. It is far above what I usually expect from a second book in a trilogy.
She struggles with this as opposed to keeping her belief in the Terrans activities and seeing how real their technology is and suffers for siding with them. She wants her status returned to real and is torn by how to do it.
Meanwhile, the Terrans have been exploring the Sacred Mountain, and Enli has seen what is inside. The source of the shared mind is, in fact, an artifact buried in the heart of the mountain, which the Terrans test by changing the settings and discovering that it can be a powerful weapon. One consequence, however, is the the Worlders lose their shared mind and are completely lost without it. Some go mad, some become aimless and Enli, because of her experience with the Terrans, keeps her own mind intact. Meanwhile, the Terrans now know that the "moon" artefact" is, indeed an incredibly powerful weapon, which they decide to steal.
With great skill, Kress has created a world, a culture and a belief system that is genius. She easily demonstrates the manner in which the "sophisticated" Terrans can manipulate the, to them, the naive Worlders. Her characters are wonderful and the way she combines the well-meaning intent of the Terrans who are unaware of the military aspect of the mission and the ongoing story of war in space makes this a great read. It is far above what I usually expect from a second book in a trilogy.
February 21, 2017
Second tome de la trilogie. J’ai trouvé intéressantes les explications du fonctionnement des artéfacts à la lumière des nouvelles théories de physique quantique, on ouvre avec ces théories le champ de tous les possibles ; la communication entre le Faucheux, ennemi alien prisonnier qui ne veut pas communiquer, et la Sensitive, une humaine douée d’empathie et spécialiste de la communication non verbale ; la problématique : peut-on doit-on sacrifier une civilisation pour en sauver une autre ? Et j’ai été plutôt amusée qu’énervée par les caractères un peu forcés des personnages (est-ce volontaire ?), comme l’insupportable irascible physicien de génie. Malgré le danger menaçant l’espèce humaine, je n’ai pas eu vraiment peur…. Un bon moment de lecture, qui n’empêche pas de dormir.
March 17, 2015
Probability Sun is the second of the "probability trilogy" by Nancy Kress, taking place about three years after the events chronicled in Probability Moon. At the end of that book, humans had gone from World with the belief that they had been deemed "unreal" by the natives, but as it happens, the natives' "shared reality" has decided that humans are, indeed, real. Another mission is sent to the planet, this time to dig up, test and possibly remove the buried alien artifact that had been found by the previous team of scientists, an artifact that might have great use in the ongoing interstellar war in which humans are engaged. But what might that action do to the people of World, and do the humans even care?.... Often the middle book in a trilogy serves more as a place-holder, moving some of the action forward but generally not resolving anything, but in this trilogy, Kress has managed to construct the novels such that one can read each novel independently; that is, one does not have to have read Probability Moon to understand the events in Probability Sun, although of course it's a richer experience if one has read the earlier book. Here we again meet some characters we have already come to know, and some new characters are introduced. There are occasional info-dumps that exactly duplicate passages from the earlier book, but with that quibble aside, overall this is a very satisfying read; recommended!
November 5, 2007
This is the second book in the Probability trilogy by Nancy Kress. Only a few characters return from Probability Moon but those that did were probably the most interesting. The new characters are generally interesting and the concepts are intriguing.
This is one of those novels that depend on scientific speculation for their premises. It's so intricately tied to the plot that in a few years it will either look silly or prescient, but that doesn't detract from enjoying it now. Kress stretched by ability to believe in the plot line but never quite to the breaking point.
The one thing she didn't succumb to is the happy ending syndrome. I can't say more without spoilers but the characters are faced with hard moral decisions and she doesn't duck them. It was refreshing that some plot twist wasn't provided to make it tie up neatly.
If you liked the first book, then definitely read this one. If you haven't read the first book and want some hard SF that still manages to have real characters then consider this trilogy
This is one of those novels that depend on scientific speculation for their premises. It's so intricately tied to the plot that in a few years it will either look silly or prescient, but that doesn't detract from enjoying it now. Kress stretched by ability to believe in the plot line but never quite to the breaking point.
The one thing she didn't succumb to is the happy ending syndrome. I can't say more without spoilers but the characters are faced with hard moral decisions and she doesn't duck them. It was refreshing that some plot twist wasn't provided to make it tie up neatly.
If you liked the first book, then definitely read this one. If you haven't read the first book and want some hard SF that still manages to have real characters then consider this trilogy
August 19, 2012
The second in the Probability series by Nancy Kress, in which she introduces a new fundamental particle into the Universe, the Probon. Humans are still at war with the alien Fallers, and are not doing well. Another expedition is sent to World, the planet where the inhabitants share reality due to growing up in the field of an ancient artifact that influences probability. The humans have come this time for the artifact, to use against the aliens, who also seem to possess one. Taking it will destroy the shared reality of World and there culture. Kress brings back some of the characters from the initial book of the series, as well as introducing others, and develops them deeply. She present both sides of the problems. The Worlders need the artifact for their culture to survive. But the Earth people need it to prevent the Xenophobic Fallers from killing all other intelligent life in the Galaxy. And the backdrop are the space tunnels left by the same ancients who developed the artifacts. Very good book, well written with great characters. Worth the read.
March 24, 2013
At the halfway point:
Lots of the nonsense science from the previous novel is inherited by this one...fortunately most of the new nonsense science is better written, and carefully keeps itself to an area where current science can't object to its ridiculousness. The plotting and characters are better than the first book. The scientists still don't sound much like scientists, though...now they're obsessed about data in very unrealistic ways. Scientists don't object to speculative hypotheses when you have no data anyway; they object re-treading testable hypotheses that have already been tested and proven wrong.
The end is a total deus ex machina, unfortunately, and it suffers to some degree from the two-part sequel problem that is common to trilogies.
Also: she *really* noticeably copies text from one book to another - especially expository text explaining some of the made-up bits of science or the stuff that makes the universe work (like the Space Tunnels).
Lots of the nonsense science from the previous novel is inherited by this one...fortunately most of the new nonsense science is better written, and carefully keeps itself to an area where current science can't object to its ridiculousness. The plotting and characters are better than the first book. The scientists still don't sound much like scientists, though...now they're obsessed about data in very unrealistic ways. Scientists don't object to speculative hypotheses when you have no data anyway; they object re-treading testable hypotheses that have already been tested and proven wrong.
The end is a total deus ex machina, unfortunately, and it suffers to some degree from the two-part sequel problem that is common to trilogies.
Also: she *really* noticeably copies text from one book to another - especially expository text explaining some of the made-up bits of science or the stuff that makes the universe work (like the Space Tunnels).
July 12, 2010
I found this book more enjoyable than the first. The character of Enli has changed for the better, and the new characters, for the most part, are good. Tom Capelo, though a very strong character, is sometimes inconsistent and also sometimes extremely annoying. I can only hope that the final book in the trilogy breaks this pattern of annoying characters. The other two scientists, Singh and Ableman, resemble background scenery more than characters, but Marbet Grant and Lyle Kaufman are really quite good. As far as structure goes, Probability Sun is almost identical to Probability Moon, with lots of hard science, some alien culture, and suspense rather than action to keep the pages turning.
December 20, 2011
What I didn't realize when I picked it up is that this is book 2 of the trilogy. Still, Kress does a great job of making it a complete stand-alone story. The science is technical, but well-explained, so even if you're not familiar with atomic numbers and probability principles, if you give it an honest effort, you won't be lost.
A highlight of this story is that it is one of the rare SF novels where the author introduces two separate alien races for the reader to explore - they both are new to humanity, so it's not like a Star Trek story where there is a host of known aliens... these are the only two alien species and they were both discovered at about the same time in different parts of the galaxy. Pretty cool twist.
Anyway, I'd recommend it.
A highlight of this story is that it is one of the rare SF novels where the author introduces two separate alien races for the reader to explore - they both are new to humanity, so it's not like a Star Trek story where there is a host of known aliens... these are the only two alien species and they were both discovered at about the same time in different parts of the galaxy. Pretty cool twist.
Anyway, I'd recommend it.
October 31, 2016
This was a decent hard sci-fi novel. Significantly more enjoyable than Probability Moon, the first book in the trilogy - likely because more attention was given to scientific exploration of the alien artifact, war with the Fallers, and (made up) cutting-edge physics, instead of interminable descriptions of ritual greetings and flower ceremonies on World. This features some of the main characters from the first installment and introduces some interesting new ones, although much of the dialogue - especially from the Worlders - seems inauthentic and stilted. Not quite a stand-alone novel, this serves as an excellent bridge in the series. I look forward to reading the third and final novel.
June 1, 2015
The second book in this trilogy is even better than the first, as Ms. Kress delves deeper into the humanoid alien culture, and we get a glimpse at the heretofore unseen, non-humanoid, alien species in the story. There is also further development of the idea of probability in science and how it applies to this future society. I admit that I am a bit sexist in the regard of being able to expound far-flung theory, but Ms Kress does a fantastic job weaving complex ideas into a well written narrative. Much more happens than in the first book; I hope the third installment continues the ramping-up of the action...
April 15, 2017
I'm rounding up about half a star -- maybe even more, but I liked this book a good deal more than the first book in the series, to which I gave four stars.
Probability Sun more thoroughly explores and exploits the sociological and quantum-physical ideas raised in Probability Moon. The story reunites us with many of the characters from that prior book and introduces some particularly interesting new ones. The continuation of the story arc is both suspenseful and satisfying. The book comes to more of a conclusion than did the first, while still leaving plenty of room for further story to unfold.
Probability Sun more thoroughly explores and exploits the sociological and quantum-physical ideas raised in Probability Moon. The story reunites us with many of the characters from that prior book and introduces some particularly interesting new ones. The continuation of the story arc is both suspenseful and satisfying. The book comes to more of a conclusion than did the first, while still leaving plenty of room for further story to unfold.
December 19, 2012
I am always drawn into Kress' books and I think it's because they have a strong hook and terrifically believable characters with depth and conflict. I don't always get the science (I didn't do well with the threads in this one), but I look forward to reading them. This one fell a little apart at the end, got a little formulaic, I thought, but not notoriously so; I look forward to the next one, Probability Space.
December 20, 2013
There's always this moment in Nancy Kress' books, when you realize that the characters you really like are actually secondary characters, not primary characters, and even though your secondary characters have a WAY more compelling story, they're going to get left on another planet and forgotten about. Literally.
I liked this, and I haven't read Space yet, but I really want Probability World. A lot. With extra flowers on top.
I liked this, and I haven't read Space yet, but I really want Probability World. A lot. With extra flowers on top.
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