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Moon Flower
Something strange is happening on the planet Cyrene, which is in the early phases of being "developed" by the mammoth Interworld Restructuring Corporation. Terrans from the base there have been disappearing. Myles Callen, a ruthlessly efficient "Facilitator," is sent to investigate. Also with the mission is Marc Shearer, a young, idealistic quantum physicist, disillusioned with the world, who’s on his way to join a former colleague, Evan Wade. On arrival he finds that Wade too has vanished and doesn't want to be found by the Terran authorities. Wade has arranged contact via the Cyreneans, however, and accompanied by two companions that he has befriended, Shearer embarks on a journey to find his friend that will change Cyrene—and Earth itself.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
About the author
James P. Hogan
114 books268 followersJames Patrick Hogan was a British science fiction author.
Hogan was was raised in the Portobello Road area on the west side of London. After leaving school at the age of sixteen, he worked various odd jobs until, after receiving a scholarship, he began a five-year program at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough covering the practical and theoretical sides of electrical, electronic, and mechanical engineering. He first married at the age of twenty, and he has had three other subsequent marriages and fathered six children.
Hogan worked as a design engineer for several companies and eventually moved into sales in the 1960s, travelling around Europe as a sales engineer for Honeywell. In the 1970s he joined the Digital Equipment Corporation's Laboratory Data Processing Group and in 1977 moved to Boston, Massachusetts to run its sales training program. He published his first novel, Inherit the Stars, in the same year to win an office bet. He quit DEC in 1979 and began writing full time, moving to Orlando, Florida, for a year where he met his third wife Jackie. They then moved to Sonora, California.
Hogan's style of science fiction is usually hard science fiction. In his earlier works he conveyed a sense of what science and scientists were about. His philosophical view on how science should be done comes through in many of his novels; theories should be formulated based on empirical research, not the other way around. If a theory does not match the facts, it is theory that should be discarded, not the facts. This is very evident in the Giants series, which begins with the discovery of a 50,000 year-old human body on the Moon. This discovery leads to a series of investigations, and as facts are discovered, theories on how the astronaut's body arrived on the Moon 50,000 years ago are elaborated, discarded, and replaced.
Hogan's fiction also reflects anti-authoritarian social views. Many of his novels have strong anarchist or libertarian themes, often promoting the idea that new technological advances render certain social conventions obsolete. For example, the effectively limitless availability of energy that would result from the development of controlled nuclear fusion would make it unnecessary to limit access to energy resources. In essence, energy would become free. This melding of scientific and social speculation is clearly present in the novel Voyage from Yesteryear (strongly influenced by Eric Frank Russell's famous story "And Then There Were None"), which describes the contact between a high-tech anarchist society on a planet in the Alpha Centauri system, with a starship sent from Earth by a dictatorial government. The story uses many elements of civil disobedience.
James Hogan died unexpectedly from a heart attack at his home in Ireland.
Hogan was was raised in the Portobello Road area on the west side of London. After leaving school at the age of sixteen, he worked various odd jobs until, after receiving a scholarship, he began a five-year program at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough covering the practical and theoretical sides of electrical, electronic, and mechanical engineering. He first married at the age of twenty, and he has had three other subsequent marriages and fathered six children.
Hogan worked as a design engineer for several companies and eventually moved into sales in the 1960s, travelling around Europe as a sales engineer for Honeywell. In the 1970s he joined the Digital Equipment Corporation's Laboratory Data Processing Group and in 1977 moved to Boston, Massachusetts to run its sales training program. He published his first novel, Inherit the Stars, in the same year to win an office bet. He quit DEC in 1979 and began writing full time, moving to Orlando, Florida, for a year where he met his third wife Jackie. They then moved to Sonora, California.
Hogan's style of science fiction is usually hard science fiction. In his earlier works he conveyed a sense of what science and scientists were about. His philosophical view on how science should be done comes through in many of his novels; theories should be formulated based on empirical research, not the other way around. If a theory does not match the facts, it is theory that should be discarded, not the facts. This is very evident in the Giants series, which begins with the discovery of a 50,000 year-old human body on the Moon. This discovery leads to a series of investigations, and as facts are discovered, theories on how the astronaut's body arrived on the Moon 50,000 years ago are elaborated, discarded, and replaced.
Hogan's fiction also reflects anti-authoritarian social views. Many of his novels have strong anarchist or libertarian themes, often promoting the idea that new technological advances render certain social conventions obsolete. For example, the effectively limitless availability of energy that would result from the development of controlled nuclear fusion would make it unnecessary to limit access to energy resources. In essence, energy would become free. This melding of scientific and social speculation is clearly present in the novel Voyage from Yesteryear (strongly influenced by Eric Frank Russell's famous story "And Then There Were None"), which describes the contact between a high-tech anarchist society on a planet in the Alpha Centauri system, with a starship sent from Earth by a dictatorial government. The story uses many elements of civil disobedience.
James Hogan died unexpectedly from a heart attack at his home in Ireland.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 25, 2022
This is a fun read, but more of a critique of capitalism than a science fiction novel to be sure. Our main protagonist, Marc Shearer, is a young, idealistic young quantum physicist (like so many of Hogan's protagonists) merely getting by as a researcher at a university in California. Set in the mid 21st century or so, the USA has fragmented into various statelets, but the primary 'engine' of economic growth is centered in the Western rump of the USA around space and interstellar exploration/exploitation. The new 'Hein drive' broke the FTL barrier and several new planets and indeed, civilizations have been discovered.
The Western rump of the USA is lead/controlled by a particularly rapacious capitalism however, and the new planets and beings discovered are seen by the powers that be as simply new markets for exploitation, and yes, they are quite ruthless about it. Hogan took a page from European imperialism in the 19th century and copied it here, applying it to new worlds and peoples. There is one particular new world, Cyrene, that somehow has broken the imperialist agenda. Cyrene is populated by humanoids who are, basically, just about like Earth humans, but their social evolution took a very different track than humanity. War is a foreign concept and yet progress has been swift-- they went from something similar to Ancient Greece to the Steam age is just a few hundred years.
Cyreneans operate politically in something akin to an anarchist syndicate, and elect/choose leaders based upon their ability to contribute to the common good. Their economy is structured in a similar manner, using reciprocity, gifts and favors along with money, with the goal of many to be the best in what they do to benefit society at large. Woodworkers want to create things that are both beautiful and long lasting, for example, with the most honored people in society being the best artisans.
Now here is the rub. The corporation that 'discovered' Cyrene just wants to make a buck and really does not care an iota about the people or culture of Cyrene. They planned on using their typical 'divide and conquer' approach to slither their way into a position of power to exploit the planet. A problem emerges quickly, however, as the first manned mission results in just about everyone leaving the 'Earth base' and living with the native population. A second mission results in the same, so finally, a third mission is set, which brings Marc to the planet.
Why are all the Earthlings abandoning their former lives to live as Cyreneans? When the third mission arrives, of course that is the question asked, but the people can just say things like 'it felt like the right thing to do' and so forth. What is it about Cyrene? Hogan does give us some answers eventually, and yes, it does have something to do with quantum physics, but basically, after juxtaposing Earth culture and society (based on greed and self interest) to Cyrene (based on cooperation and the greater good), people just vote with their feet.
This is not a great work of fiction, but if you are in the mood for a rather blunt, but forceful critique of capitalism, you could do a lot worse. Hogan must have read some Marx and Smith before writing this and had a great time pointing out the absurdities of a system based upon greed (usually in rather pithy dialogue segments with Cyreneans and Earthlings). Lots of info dumps and some hard science as is par for a Hogan novel as well. 4 anarchist stars!!
The Western rump of the USA is lead/controlled by a particularly rapacious capitalism however, and the new planets and beings discovered are seen by the powers that be as simply new markets for exploitation, and yes, they are quite ruthless about it. Hogan took a page from European imperialism in the 19th century and copied it here, applying it to new worlds and peoples. There is one particular new world, Cyrene, that somehow has broken the imperialist agenda. Cyrene is populated by humanoids who are, basically, just about like Earth humans, but their social evolution took a very different track than humanity. War is a foreign concept and yet progress has been swift-- they went from something similar to Ancient Greece to the Steam age is just a few hundred years.
Cyreneans operate politically in something akin to an anarchist syndicate, and elect/choose leaders based upon their ability to contribute to the common good. Their economy is structured in a similar manner, using reciprocity, gifts and favors along with money, with the goal of many to be the best in what they do to benefit society at large. Woodworkers want to create things that are both beautiful and long lasting, for example, with the most honored people in society being the best artisans.
Now here is the rub. The corporation that 'discovered' Cyrene just wants to make a buck and really does not care an iota about the people or culture of Cyrene. They planned on using their typical 'divide and conquer' approach to slither their way into a position of power to exploit the planet. A problem emerges quickly, however, as the first manned mission results in just about everyone leaving the 'Earth base' and living with the native population. A second mission results in the same, so finally, a third mission is set, which brings Marc to the planet.
Why are all the Earthlings abandoning their former lives to live as Cyreneans? When the third mission arrives, of course that is the question asked, but the people can just say things like 'it felt like the right thing to do' and so forth. What is it about Cyrene? Hogan does give us some answers eventually, and yes, it does have something to do with quantum physics, but basically, after juxtaposing Earth culture and society (based on greed and self interest) to Cyrene (based on cooperation and the greater good), people just vote with their feet.
This is not a great work of fiction, but if you are in the mood for a rather blunt, but forceful critique of capitalism, you could do a lot worse. Hogan must have read some Marx and Smith before writing this and had a great time pointing out the absurdities of a system based upon greed (usually in rather pithy dialogue segments with Cyreneans and Earthlings). Lots of info dumps and some hard science as is par for a Hogan novel as well. 4 anarchist stars!!
August 6, 2024
Moon Flower was Hogan's penultimate novel and doesn't seem as polished or detailed as his earlier works. It's a political space opera that champions the common (or perhaps Heinlein) man standing against corporate greed and ignorance. It's also a Utopian/Libertarian look at how capitalism could be better served by socialist values. Hogan embraced (or at least pretended to champion) some unpopular (and some outright bizarre) beliefs and theories late in his life, and I choose to believe much of that was his contrarian wish to make his readers think and question rather than blindly accept what they're told, and that all sides of a question should be considered, rather than that he actually believed some of it. Having said that, there's a good story and some fascinating scientific concepts in Moon Flower, but you have to be willing to have the patience for them to rise to the top.
April 8, 2015
Moon Flower (2008) 426 pages by James P. Hogan.
Excellent. Great read on multiple levels.
The back cover states that people have mysteriously gone missing on Cyrene and that Myles Callen has been sent there to find these people and figure out what is happening. Reading that you might come to the conclusion that Callen is the good guy, and that the missing people didn't vanish of their own volition.
The setting is actually a dystopic universe where greed has affected human culture to the point where most people have an insatiable desire to obtain more and more possessions and power. People like Marc Shearer who want to do research for its own sake are scorned. Why haven't you gotten a job with Interworld Restructuring Consolidated making real money? IRC is in the business of traveling to other planets and exploiting them. Not by a show of force, but by infiltrating a planet, giving them advance technology where they don't have an infrastructure to handle it and then the natives become dependent on the Terrans. Many times the Terrans will pit one nation or tribe against another.
Then there is Cyrene. The Cyreneans, aren't falling for any offers. Several scientists and even Milicorp personal have abandoned the Terran base on Cyrene and gone native. It's not unusual for one or two people on a mission to go rogue, but this is the entire landing party. Ditto with the second mission. On the third mission Milicorp sends its top facilitator, Myles Callen, to handle the situation. Cyrene could be a play on words, both for serene, laid back and peaceful, and for siren, as in being enchanted by a mythical siren.
We have the personal story following the doings of Shearer, Callen, Evan Wade, Jerri Perlok, Jeff Lang, etc. and then the bigger picture of IRC trying to exploit Cyrene. Then the point that Hogan is trying to put forward is that we as a society should work together. We shouldn't keep accumulating and consuming for the sake of some sort of status.
Excellent. Great read on multiple levels.
The back cover states that people have mysteriously gone missing on Cyrene and that Myles Callen has been sent there to find these people and figure out what is happening. Reading that you might come to the conclusion that Callen is the good guy, and that the missing people didn't vanish of their own volition.
The setting is actually a dystopic universe where greed has affected human culture to the point where most people have an insatiable desire to obtain more and more possessions and power. People like Marc Shearer who want to do research for its own sake are scorned. Why haven't you gotten a job with Interworld Restructuring Consolidated making real money? IRC is in the business of traveling to other planets and exploiting them. Not by a show of force, but by infiltrating a planet, giving them advance technology where they don't have an infrastructure to handle it and then the natives become dependent on the Terrans. Many times the Terrans will pit one nation or tribe against another.
Then there is Cyrene. The Cyreneans, aren't falling for any offers. Several scientists and even Milicorp personal have abandoned the Terran base on Cyrene and gone native. It's not unusual for one or two people on a mission to go rogue, but this is the entire landing party. Ditto with the second mission. On the third mission Milicorp sends its top facilitator, Myles Callen, to handle the situation. Cyrene could be a play on words, both for serene, laid back and peaceful, and for siren, as in being enchanted by a mythical siren.
We have the personal story following the doings of Shearer, Callen, Evan Wade, Jerri Perlok, Jeff Lang, etc. and then the bigger picture of IRC trying to exploit Cyrene. Then the point that Hogan is trying to put forward is that we as a society should work together. We shouldn't keep accumulating and consuming for the sake of some sort of status.
June 21, 2012
I will say that this book was very hard to get into in the beginning due to the heavy amount of technical details that the author gives regarding some of the concepts in the novel. Yet I am happy I was not put off of continuing the reading of this novel because I ended up really enjoying the ideas behind it. The people of Cyrene live in a way that we wish we could and seeing those ideals brought against our own and the conflict between them was a very eye opening experience. I would recommend this one to anyone who wants some very hard sci-fi and want to read about a place that almost seems like it would be perfect.
March 21, 2011
Utopian tale of corrupt capitalists from Earth trying and failing to corrupt the oddly human residents of a planet where everyone works for the common good.
OK if you like a thin plot distributed scantly over massive amounts of infodumping and repetitive lengthy explications. The author doesn't make more than a perfunctory effort to create aliens, and envisions a society in which there is money but no greed, weaponry but no war, social classes but no pretension, skills but no hierarchy of same, and predators among the lower animals but not in the sentient society. Lazy, lazy.
OK if you like a thin plot distributed scantly over massive amounts of infodumping and repetitive lengthy explications. The author doesn't make more than a perfunctory effort to create aliens, and envisions a society in which there is money but no greed, weaponry but no war, social classes but no pretension, skills but no hierarchy of same, and predators among the lower animals but not in the sentient society. Lazy, lazy.
November 19, 2013
A compelling and entertaining story; however, I found the writing technically flawed at times. There were numerous errors that a good editing effort would've fixed. I even came across Jerri spelled as Jerri and Jerry in the same paragraph. I enjoyed in Chapter 33, the sentence "The splendor of the Amazon forests and the Colorado Plateau could coexist with starships." Good stuff! Also the climactic ending was very satisfying. I'd say one good rewrite would've bumped this book from a 3 to a 4 star.
June 14, 2012
An interesting idea for a book, but it's another one that really relies on a bit of a straw-man argument. He takes the worst example of shallow corporatism then contrasts his new long-view cooperative world against it, rather than trying to contrast what we have in most developed counties, which is somewhere in-between.
February 27, 2018
This book could have been good, but the entire first quarter of the book should have been shortened to ONE chapter. I was seriously about to throw the book away, the story didn't seem to start until the 12th or 13th chapter. Nearly everything before that felt like I was listening to a boring teacher drone on about slightly related stuff.
Once the story actually began, it was pretty good.
Once the story actually began, it was pretty good.
May 22, 2015
This is a nice piece of social SF"," sharply contrasting the cutthroat capitalism of Earth and the laid-back co-operative society of Cyrene.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews