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Thunder and Lightning #4
Dark Lightning
Known for “superior science fiction” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), author John Varley returns to his Thunder and Lightning series with a novel of how one man’s volatile genius could alter a starship’s epic plunge into a future where human survival is just a theory…
On a voyage to New Earth, the starship Rolling Thunder is powered by an energy no one understands, except for its eccentric inventor Jubal Broussard. Like many of the ship’s inhabitants, Jubal rests in a state of suspended animation for years at a time, asleep yet never aging.
The moments when Jubal emerges from suspended animation are usually a cause for celebration for his family, including his twin daughters—Cassie and Polly—and their uncle who is captain of the Rolling Thunder. But this time, Jubal makes a shocking announcement…
The ship must stop, or everyone will die.
These words from the mission’s founder, the man responsible for the very existence of the Rolling Thunder, will send shock waves throughout the starship—and divide its passengers into those who believe and those who doubt. And it will be up to Cassie and Polly to stop a mutiny, discover the truth, and usher the ship into a new age of exploration…
On a voyage to New Earth, the starship Rolling Thunder is powered by an energy no one understands, except for its eccentric inventor Jubal Broussard. Like many of the ship’s inhabitants, Jubal rests in a state of suspended animation for years at a time, asleep yet never aging.
The moments when Jubal emerges from suspended animation are usually a cause for celebration for his family, including his twin daughters—Cassie and Polly—and their uncle who is captain of the Rolling Thunder. But this time, Jubal makes a shocking announcement…
The ship must stop, or everyone will die.
These words from the mission’s founder, the man responsible for the very existence of the Rolling Thunder, will send shock waves throughout the starship—and divide its passengers into those who believe and those who doubt. And it will be up to Cassie and Polly to stop a mutiny, discover the truth, and usher the ship into a new age of exploration…
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2014
49 people are currently reading
366 people want to read
About the author
John Varley
233 books603 followersFull name: John Herbert Varley.
John Varley was born in Austin, Texas. He grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, moved to Port Arthur in 1957, and graduated from Nederland High School. He went to Michigan State University.
He has written several novels and numerous short stories.He has received both the Hugo and Nebula awards.
John Varley was born in Austin, Texas. He grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, moved to Port Arthur in 1957, and graduated from Nederland High School. He went to Michigan State University.
He has written several novels and numerous short stories.He has received both the Hugo and Nebula awards.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
October 8, 2014
A bit of light fun is about the most positive thing I can say about this book.
I did enjoy reading it and wanted to finish it and find out what happened in the end, but was totally disappointed by the combination of "good guys of course win basically unharmed, some formerly bad people turn out to be good underneath with no reason for us to have seen that ahead of time, and the bad people lose", which was bad enough on its own, but then he had to layer at least one deus ex machina on top of that.
Meanwhile what we got for plot and characterization was Heinlein pastiche of the worst kind. I mean, I expect Heinleinesque things from Varley pretty often, and a lot of the time it's, well, an homage, or at least an imitation of the best parts of Heinlein. This was more a "tribute" to Heinlein's self-indulgent later work. We get the beautiful, hyper-competent, sexy young female twins (Lapis Lazuli and Lorelei, cleverly disguised by making them taller and with a different hair color?). We get the magic technology from super-smart savant-types. We get the "democracy is overrated, benevolent dictatorship is the best, and they should stay dictator because they love and value the 'freedom' that comes from having the best guns / strongest army". We get the "society is going to self-destruct so we should just select the people we think are worth saving and go away".
Yuck.
Anyway, if you're the sort who really enjoyed late Heinlein, you'll like this book. If you are irritated by Heinlein's worse qualities as a writer, you'll find them in spades here too.
I did enjoy reading it and wanted to finish it and find out what happened in the end, but was totally disappointed by the combination of "good guys of course win basically unharmed, some formerly bad people turn out to be good underneath with no reason for us to have seen that ahead of time, and the bad people lose", which was bad enough on its own, but then he had to layer at least one deus ex machina on top of that.
Meanwhile what we got for plot and characterization was Heinlein pastiche of the worst kind. I mean, I expect Heinleinesque things from Varley pretty often, and a lot of the time it's, well, an homage, or at least an imitation of the best parts of Heinlein. This was more a "tribute" to Heinlein's self-indulgent later work. We get the beautiful, hyper-competent, sexy young female twins (Lapis Lazuli and Lorelei, cleverly disguised by making them taller and with a different hair color?). We get the magic technology from super-smart savant-types. We get the "democracy is overrated, benevolent dictatorship is the best, and they should stay dictator because they love and value the 'freedom' that comes from having the best guns / strongest army". We get the "society is going to self-destruct so we should just select the people we think are worth saving and go away".
Yuck.
Anyway, if you're the sort who really enjoyed late Heinlein, you'll like this book. If you are irritated by Heinlein's worse qualities as a writer, you'll find them in spades here too.
January 7, 2022
This is pure fun. If you love the previous trilogy, you're going to love this. Even if you haven't, you'll still enjoy this light hearted sci-fi that may not take itself seriously, but the technobabble is solid. Great read!
August 10, 2017
Was a neat enough book. A good solid continuation of the series. So . . . why 3 stars then? I'm not really sure I would call it bloat or Weberesque need to be wordy but ....
Story is told from the point of view of two women, twin teenage daughters of Jubal, the 'mad' scientist who came up with the technology they use. They narrate the story that involves some select group of humans heading off to New Sun in a giant ship. Using that technology that I referenced. Going closer and closer to the speed of light.
And the two young women, 18 or so, alternate narrating the big issues that develop. Like the part where they all might die due to 'dark lightning'.
Well the problem is, or, I should say, the problem I had with the book is how much extra 'stuff' got packed in. The two young women kinda babble and bicker with each other, but that isn't the problem. The problem is all the needlessly long explanations of everything.
But, as I said, it's a good solid addition to the series. Just has a hundred of so pages that could have been trimmed.
I suppose I should note that the stars of the earlier books are mostly not present. Mentioned, one or two spotted here and there, but not the focus of the book.
Story is told from the point of view of two women, twin teenage daughters of Jubal, the 'mad' scientist who came up with the technology they use. They narrate the story that involves some select group of humans heading off to New Sun in a giant ship. Using that technology that I referenced. Going closer and closer to the speed of light.
And the two young women, 18 or so, alternate narrating the big issues that develop. Like the part where they all might die due to 'dark lightning'.
Well the problem is, or, I should say, the problem I had with the book is how much extra 'stuff' got packed in. The two young women kinda babble and bicker with each other, but that isn't the problem. The problem is all the needlessly long explanations of everything.
But, as I said, it's a good solid addition to the series. Just has a hundred of so pages that could have been trimmed.
I suppose I should note that the stars of the earlier books are mostly not present. Mentioned, one or two spotted here and there, but not the focus of the book.
October 16, 2014
This book was _terrible_.
- The author should not try to write teenage girls.
- The vast majority of the book is long digressions about life inside an asteroid, life with the crazy family, and on and on. I must admit I skimmed a lot of pointless drivel to get to the story.
- There were also random information dumps best described as "Science for Dummies".
- It never felt like anyone was really in dire straits. The "bad guys" were incompetent, the good guys kept revealing previously unmentioned talents, and always escaped trouble easily.
- SHOW, DON'T TELL.
- The end of the book is a giant Deus ex Machina that incidentally had little to do with the plot.
Don't read this book.
- The author should not try to write teenage girls.
- The vast majority of the book is long digressions about life inside an asteroid, life with the crazy family, and on and on. I must admit I skimmed a lot of pointless drivel to get to the story.
- There were also random information dumps best described as "Science for Dummies".
- It never felt like anyone was really in dire straits. The "bad guys" were incompetent, the good guys kept revealing previously unmentioned talents, and always escaped trouble easily.
- SHOW, DON'T TELL.
- The end of the book is a giant Deus ex Machina that incidentally had little to do with the plot.
Don't read this book.
September 9, 2019
Dark Lightning was a satisfying ending to the Thunder and Lightning series. I did get a little tired of reading about the pedestrian concerns of twin female teenagers, but certainly the resolution made up for it. Plus I did enjoy the whole "space Cajuns save the day" concept. I do not think this series has been John Varley's best work, but then again for my own reasons I will always love the Gaean trilogy the most.
February 13, 2015
I have *loved* the Thunder and Lightning series so far. And while I still liked this book, it seemed written just as a tour of the asteroid. I would have liked to see it move the story a little further along, especially with as long as we wait between books.
December 12, 2014
At the end of Rolling Thunder, the great asteroid starship Rolling Thunder leaves the solar system led by the extended Garcia-Strickland-Broussard clan. The ship is a classic hollow rotating cylinder, propelled to a high fraction of the speed of light by the mysterious squeezer-bubble technology invented by Jubal in Red Thunder. As with previous installments in the series, we again jump forward a generation. The story is told in the first person by identical twins Cassie and Polly, daughters of Jubal and Podkayne. After one of Jubal's regular exits from stasis in a "black bubble", he screams that the ship must be stopped. Eventually he figures out that Dark Energy (catchily referred to as "Dark Lightning" in the book) may be a danger when traveling at a very high percentage of the speed of light. However as always with Varley, the story is about the people. Jubal's scream of "Stop the Ship!" triggers shipwide unrest, and the twins are the ones who have to sort things out.
In true Varley form, the worldbuilding is first-class, detailed and intricate. The characters are authentic and easily engage the imagination. The twins are in their late teens, and as such their commentary is peppered with talk of boys and fashion, but without being annoying. Mostly it is just plain funny. After the pessimistic tone of Red Lightning and very gloomy one of Rolling Thunder, it is also nice to read an installment in the series with a brighter outlook.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1842
In true Varley form, the worldbuilding is first-class, detailed and intricate. The characters are authentic and easily engage the imagination. The twins are in their late teens, and as such their commentary is peppered with talk of boys and fashion, but without being annoying. Mostly it is just plain funny. After the pessimistic tone of Red Lightning and very gloomy one of Rolling Thunder, it is also nice to read an installment in the series with a brighter outlook.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1842
December 28, 2022
Capable, slick, fun.
June 19, 2024
An interesting SciFi book from a writer I remember from reading Analog years ago. It is written with a sense of humor, but also throws in the hard science to keep it being a space opera.
July 27, 2019
I'm not sure quite how much the twin motif added to the story, the two being so similar it was oftentimes difficult to recall who was whom. Still, an exciting extrapolation and as sedate a sendoff as we might want for our intrepid ark-crew.
January 13, 2016
It's only fair to warn you that I am a long-time Varley fan and have read all his work multiple times. It pains me to write anything negative but I cannot regard this book as anything but a fairly weak addition to an otherwise brilliantly entertaining series. Several reviewers seemed to be under the impression that this was a YA book and I can see how they thought so.
My immediate source of dissatisfaction was his choice of main characters. Twin teenage girls? How trite. I also question why they had been given all this "training" when none of the other kids, notably the useless and boring Patrick, in the clan had received any.
There was entirely too much vapid teen girl nonsense conversation that added nothing to developing the characters nor the plot.
Underneath the story and the characters was simple disappointment that the world inside the ark was not in the least interesting. Certainly not the fantastical yet plausible "society-building" that I have come to expect from Varley. So they had an amusement park and a casino...big deal. I look to Varley for startlingly original environments that make me want to be there myself. Not rural England, for fucks sake.
As I'm writing this, I'm realizing just how many aspects of this caused me disenchantment.
I think I shall regard this book as a "transition short story", a setting of the stage for the next book when they arrive on the planet and commence to explore. I'm fervently hoping he harks back to his astonishing Gaea Trilogy both in depth and writing style. There's enough books out there written by and for dumb people...I'd like to see him write for his established admirers. His book Slow Apocalypse was his one bad book....I shall brook no others.
My immediate source of dissatisfaction was his choice of main characters. Twin teenage girls? How trite. I also question why they had been given all this "training" when none of the other kids, notably the useless and boring Patrick, in the clan had received any.
There was entirely too much vapid teen girl nonsense conversation that added nothing to developing the characters nor the plot.
Underneath the story and the characters was simple disappointment that the world inside the ark was not in the least interesting. Certainly not the fantastical yet plausible "society-building" that I have come to expect from Varley. So they had an amusement park and a casino...big deal. I look to Varley for startlingly original environments that make me want to be there myself. Not rural England, for fucks sake.
As I'm writing this, I'm realizing just how many aspects of this caused me disenchantment.
I think I shall regard this book as a "transition short story", a setting of the stage for the next book when they arrive on the planet and commence to explore. I'm fervently hoping he harks back to his astonishing Gaea Trilogy both in depth and writing style. There's enough books out there written by and for dumb people...I'd like to see him write for his established admirers. His book Slow Apocalypse was his one bad book....I shall brook no others.
November 7, 2019
I did something I don't remember ever doing before. From around page 100 I jumped to the last twenty pages and read them to find out how it would end. The desire to know the resolution was the only reason I finished the previous book in the series so I took a short-cut this time. I think the reason I'm unhappy with this series is the narrators. I've found Varley interesting for a very long time and I still do, but I prefer the tone of his omniscient narration to these adolescents. Although I find his ideas interesting I didn't find any new ones in this book. The motivation of this whole series seems to have simply been to do an hommage/pastiche/parody of Heinlein's juveniles.
The only thing I enjoyed about the book was the naming of two twins Cassandra and Pollyana, a joke that works on two fronts and the best twin naming I've encountered since Pynchon's Pitt and Pliny.
The only thing I enjoyed about the book was the naming of two twins Cassandra and Pollyana, a joke that works on two fronts and the best twin naming I've encountered since Pynchon's Pitt and Pliny.
August 16, 2014
Faithful re telling of the Heinlein juveniles. Enjoyable, light escapist reading without dumbing down the reader. If you have read Varley before, it's very classic Varley in all the positive ways. If you haven't, start with the original of this series (I believe it's rolling thunder). For the long term science fiction reader, think of this fact: Varley has been consistently producing his works for over 40 years, and the quality remains extremely high. That's as long as Heinlein's entire writing career.
April 6, 2015
varley is superb.
each of the thunder and lightning books has taken off in it's own direction, clearly part of the same universe, just as cleary making it's own points. this one had a nearly heinleinian flavor (don't kill me for using that adverb/jective), but stayed true to varley's style. the crazy, fast paced, hard to believe action that is so present in most of his works stormed right through this one too and somehow he makes it all seem perfectly normal.
each of the thunder and lightning books has taken off in it's own direction, clearly part of the same universe, just as cleary making it's own points. this one had a nearly heinleinian flavor (don't kill me for using that adverb/jective), but stayed true to varley's style. the crazy, fast paced, hard to believe action that is so present in most of his works stormed right through this one too and somehow he makes it all seem perfectly normal.
May 9, 2016
Fourth in the Thunder and Lightning young adult science fiction series and revolving around the twins: Cassie and Polly Broussard.
My Take
It's an adventure with scary overtones. Mutiny is never a good thing. And it all revolves around Jubal's fear of something terrible happening. It's a fear that is explored throughout and is the primary conflict in the story. However, the premise for the mutiny seems thin. Why would an old friend react like this? He's supposed to be smart. Why not talk to Travis? Wait for Jubal to finish his thinking? All I can say is, it's a good thing that the Broussards are so paranoid. Although it turns out that they're not paranoid enough.
The prologue was irritating. Oh, not at first. Later, when Varley repeats it all. What was the point of having a prologue at all?
Varley did pull me in with that skypool incident with Polly falling out of the sky and landing in that pigsty, *laughing*.
I'm of two minds about the BLINKLINK (sounds like those Google glasses). Varley sometimes uses it as an info dump, and other times, he uses it as part of the communication channels for the inhabitants of Rolling Thunder. It's almost as if Varley didn't get on his roll until later, and I wish he'd gone back and cleaned up those info dumps.
Okay. Whine over. I do adore the thought Varley has put into Rolling Thunder. Wow. It's laid out like a planet with varying land "masses", rivers, villages, newspapers, etc. I love the sound of food delivery and the dishwashing set-up. I want this! Travis buying up all these buildings; the names he bestows on the villages (Grover's Mill, Grand Fenwick, etc.); the supplies he's laid on; the humongous variety of equipment, foodstuffs, and animals; the transportation options — lucky for them that Jubal invented the black bubbles. Think Noah on steroids.
I also like the bayou "camouflage" on the Broussard homestead and its location on the river. And I'm jealous (too) of that treehouse! It truly is amazing how homey the interior of Rolling Thunder is. It's worth reading if only for that!
The tragedy of Jubal's childhood simply reinforces my wish that parents had to be licensed. He's such a great guy, and you can't help but wonder what wonders he'd have achieved if he hadn't suffered all that brain damage. Then again, as Varley notes, it might be that brain damage that allows him to make those leaps of intuition. Uncle Travis is a pretty easygoing guy and willing to allow a lot of leeway, er, democracy, until he disagrees. Fortunately, he doesn't disagree often.
The twins are assertive, forward, loyal, caring, and intelligent even if they don't apply it to schoolwork. As for Patrick, I did wonder about him and his reluctance to do anything during the mutiny.
On the negative side (I do hate science *wry grin*) is all the physics in Dark Lightning. It is easy enough to leap over, though. Part of my frustration could well have been that it's been too long since I read the first three in the Thunder and Lightning series.
Events do help Cassie make up her mind about what she wants to do with her life. And Jubal's last invention in Rolling Thunder opens up a ton of possibilities. I hate that I'll have to wait a few more years for #5, for I do love this series. It's a group of stories that sticks in my mind and pops up every so often, making me want to re-read it.
The Story
Coming out of stasis, Jubal cried out "The ship must stop, or everyone will die." One sentence that sets fear and mutiny in motion.
Cassie and Polly Broussard are twins whose father is Jubal, the eccentric, brain-damaged, and brilliant inventor with a lot of phobias. Their mother is Podkayne (I know, she's even from Mars! Her story is in Rolling Thunder , 3) and a very famous singer. The captain of the ship, sorry, the Supreme Exalted Admiral, is Travis Broussard, their uncle.
The extended family are the Broussard-Strickland-Garcia-Redmonds and includes……Podkayne's parents, Ramon "Ray" and Evangeline Garcia-Strickland. Great-aunt Elizabeth Strickland-Garcia is a nanosurgeon with one prosthetic hand that is so much better than a real hand. She's married to Dorothy, a psychiatrist; they live in Bedford Falls. Great-grand-père Jim Redmond runs the best Martian restaurant on the ship; his wife is Great-grand-mère Audrey. Great-grand-père Manny and Great-grand-mère Kelly Garcia are in stasis at the moment. Uncle Mike (Podkayne's brother is an achrondroplastic dwarf adopted by Ray and Evangeline) and Aunt Marlee (she's an artist) have a son, Patrick, who the first real problem between Polly and Cassie. Patrick and his family live at Fantasyland, the ship's theme park; Mike manages the casino for the ship. Natalie Broussard is a third cousin.
Fortunately, Jubal's father, the fanaticall y religious Grandfather Avery died in prison.
The Nguyens are the farming couple raising the pigs. Lori is standing a watch on the bridge. Rachel Waters. Katy is a ten-year-old assistant at one of the meetings. Fiona Kelly is the head newsreader for RTBS. Some of the politicians include Governor Wang; George Bull is the mayor of Freedonia Township; Mayor Oringo Ngoro of Sweet Apple (he raises 50-some varieties of apples and is the chief ecologist); and, "Uncle" Max Karpinski, the fattest and second smartest man on the ship, is the Chief Relativist.
Skypool is…
…a full-contact sport played on bicycle-like contraptions that include wings, since it's played in the air. Fortunately, parts of Rolling Thunder have differing gee levels. The twins play for the Bayouville Gators, and the story opens with their playing the Hilltown Hillbillies. Cheryl Chang is the Hillbilly defense, the intimidator; Woody is her younger brother. Mazzie Niven, Violet Silversteen, and Suki Kurosawa are fellow Hillbilly team members. Gator team members include Pippa Mendez and Jynx Molloy who are good friends with Polly and Cassie and PJ Leaping Deer while Milton Kaslov, the bright but socially clueless one: "talking to Milt for ten minutes made you have thoughts of suicide", is on the boys' team. The Gators' intimidating coach is Peggy who is absolutely deadly with martial arts.
The mutineers include…
…Elton, Roger, and Lieutenant Vince from the Castle Rock police force.
The ship, Rolling Thunder, is…
…a hollowed out asteroid that's been on its way to New Sun for the past twenty years with some 20,000 awake inhabitants who are spread all over the inside with some 1,350 people per town. There are a ton more in stasis. Sheila is the AI that controls Travis' personal ship. Colonel Jane Litchfield leads the security team that's in stasis.
Black bubbles, a.k.a., stasis bubbles, are like suspended animation. You can be inside one for years, decades, and come out without having aged or aware of the time that's passed. Skippers are the people who choose to go into a black bubble and skip over real time. FOCTs are Family of Captain Travis, and it has its privileges. The Mejd Allah was the only ship that returned ( Red Lightning , 2); it destroyed a large chunk of earth when it came back. Boudreaux is one of the few koi with a name.
The Cover and Title
The cover is dark browns and deep purple with an exterior space view of Rolling Thunder's secret dock. It's the captain's ship thrusting in. The author's name is large, at the top, and in lime green. The title is much smaller, at the bottom, and in white.
The title is what Jubal fears, Dark Lightning.
My Take
It's an adventure with scary overtones. Mutiny is never a good thing. And it all revolves around Jubal's fear of something terrible happening. It's a fear that is explored throughout and is the primary conflict in the story. However, the premise for the mutiny seems thin. Why would an old friend react like this? He's supposed to be smart. Why not talk to Travis? Wait for Jubal to finish his thinking? All I can say is, it's a good thing that the Broussards are so paranoid. Although it turns out that they're not paranoid enough.
The prologue was irritating. Oh, not at first. Later, when Varley repeats it all. What was the point of having a prologue at all?
Varley did pull me in with that skypool incident with Polly falling out of the sky and landing in that pigsty, *laughing*.
I'm of two minds about the BLINKLINK (sounds like those Google glasses). Varley sometimes uses it as an info dump, and other times, he uses it as part of the communication channels for the inhabitants of Rolling Thunder. It's almost as if Varley didn't get on his roll until later, and I wish he'd gone back and cleaned up those info dumps.
Okay. Whine over. I do adore the thought Varley has put into Rolling Thunder. Wow. It's laid out like a planet with varying land "masses", rivers, villages, newspapers, etc. I love the sound of food delivery and the dishwashing set-up. I want this! Travis buying up all these buildings; the names he bestows on the villages (Grover's Mill, Grand Fenwick, etc.); the supplies he's laid on; the humongous variety of equipment, foodstuffs, and animals; the transportation options — lucky for them that Jubal invented the black bubbles. Think Noah on steroids.
I also like the bayou "camouflage" on the Broussard homestead and its location on the river. And I'm jealous (too) of that treehouse! It truly is amazing how homey the interior of Rolling Thunder is. It's worth reading if only for that!
The tragedy of Jubal's childhood simply reinforces my wish that parents had to be licensed. He's such a great guy, and you can't help but wonder what wonders he'd have achieved if he hadn't suffered all that brain damage. Then again, as Varley notes, it might be that brain damage that allows him to make those leaps of intuition. Uncle Travis is a pretty easygoing guy and willing to allow a lot of leeway, er, democracy, until he disagrees. Fortunately, he doesn't disagree often.
The twins are assertive, forward, loyal, caring, and intelligent even if they don't apply it to schoolwork. As for Patrick, I did wonder about him and his reluctance to do anything during the mutiny.
On the negative side (I do hate science *wry grin*) is all the physics in Dark Lightning. It is easy enough to leap over, though. Part of my frustration could well have been that it's been too long since I read the first three in the Thunder and Lightning series.
Events do help Cassie make up her mind about what she wants to do with her life. And Jubal's last invention in Rolling Thunder opens up a ton of possibilities. I hate that I'll have to wait a few more years for #5, for I do love this series. It's a group of stories that sticks in my mind and pops up every so often, making me want to re-read it.
The Story
Coming out of stasis, Jubal cried out "The ship must stop, or everyone will die." One sentence that sets fear and mutiny in motion.
"Laissez les bon temps rouler!"The Characters
Cassie and Polly Broussard are twins whose father is Jubal, the eccentric, brain-damaged, and brilliant inventor with a lot of phobias. Their mother is Podkayne (I know, she's even from Mars! Her story is in Rolling Thunder , 3) and a very famous singer. The captain of the ship, sorry, the Supreme Exalted Admiral, is Travis Broussard, their uncle.
The extended family are the Broussard-Strickland-Garcia-Redmonds and includes……Podkayne's parents, Ramon "Ray" and Evangeline Garcia-Strickland. Great-aunt Elizabeth Strickland-Garcia is a nanosurgeon with one prosthetic hand that is so much better than a real hand. She's married to Dorothy, a psychiatrist; they live in Bedford Falls. Great-grand-père Jim Redmond runs the best Martian restaurant on the ship; his wife is Great-grand-mère Audrey. Great-grand-père Manny and Great-grand-mère Kelly Garcia are in stasis at the moment. Uncle Mike (Podkayne's brother is an achrondroplastic dwarf adopted by Ray and Evangeline) and Aunt Marlee (she's an artist) have a son, Patrick, who the first real problem between Polly and Cassie. Patrick and his family live at Fantasyland, the ship's theme park; Mike manages the casino for the ship. Natalie Broussard is a third cousin.
Fortunately, Jubal's father, the fanaticall y religious Grandfather Avery died in prison.
The Nguyens are the farming couple raising the pigs. Lori is standing a watch on the bridge. Rachel Waters. Katy is a ten-year-old assistant at one of the meetings. Fiona Kelly is the head newsreader for RTBS. Some of the politicians include Governor Wang; George Bull is the mayor of Freedonia Township; Mayor Oringo Ngoro of Sweet Apple (he raises 50-some varieties of apples and is the chief ecologist); and, "Uncle" Max Karpinski, the fattest and second smartest man on the ship, is the Chief Relativist.
Skypool is…
…a full-contact sport played on bicycle-like contraptions that include wings, since it's played in the air. Fortunately, parts of Rolling Thunder have differing gee levels. The twins play for the Bayouville Gators, and the story opens with their playing the Hilltown Hillbillies. Cheryl Chang is the Hillbilly defense, the intimidator; Woody is her younger brother. Mazzie Niven, Violet Silversteen, and Suki Kurosawa are fellow Hillbilly team members. Gator team members include Pippa Mendez and Jynx Molloy who are good friends with Polly and Cassie and PJ Leaping Deer while Milton Kaslov, the bright but socially clueless one: "talking to Milt for ten minutes made you have thoughts of suicide", is on the boys' team. The Gators' intimidating coach is Peggy who is absolutely deadly with martial arts.
The mutineers include…
…Elton, Roger, and Lieutenant Vince from the Castle Rock police force.
The ship, Rolling Thunder, is…
…a hollowed out asteroid that's been on its way to New Sun for the past twenty years with some 20,000 awake inhabitants who are spread all over the inside with some 1,350 people per town. There are a ton more in stasis. Sheila is the AI that controls Travis' personal ship. Colonel Jane Litchfield leads the security team that's in stasis.
Black bubbles, a.k.a., stasis bubbles, are like suspended animation. You can be inside one for years, decades, and come out without having aged or aware of the time that's passed. Skippers are the people who choose to go into a black bubble and skip over real time. FOCTs are Family of Captain Travis, and it has its privileges. The Mejd Allah was the only ship that returned ( Red Lightning , 2); it destroyed a large chunk of earth when it came back. Boudreaux is one of the few koi with a name.
The Cover and Title
The cover is dark browns and deep purple with an exterior space view of Rolling Thunder's secret dock. It's the captain's ship thrusting in. The author's name is large, at the top, and in lime green. The title is much smaller, at the bottom, and in white.
The title is what Jubal fears, Dark Lightning.
July 17, 2023
The final Thunder and Lightning novel see's the forth generation hurtling through space towards a New Earth after giant alien Crystals messed up the last one, only for series regular Jubal to return with dire warning about impending doom. It's up too his twin daughters to deal with the fallout.
Well said Twins are a little more involved in the major goings on than the protagonists of the last two novels there's still a sense that we're shying away from the really interesting stuff (in this case a possible barrier to interstellar exploration that is lethal to humans, the titular Dark Lightning). However, with the exception of the first novel which was driven by the protagonists dream of exploration, all the interesting stuff happens off screen...one almost wishes we'd stayed in the solar system and gotten more info about the Europan crystals.
Still a decent read, Varley knows how to craft a world even if uncomfortable sexual situations keep coming up (in a novel about the potential destruction of their society a lot of time is spent on which twin gets to make a pass at their cousin. No one thinks this is ick.)
Well said Twins are a little more involved in the major goings on than the protagonists of the last two novels there's still a sense that we're shying away from the really interesting stuff (in this case a possible barrier to interstellar exploration that is lethal to humans, the titular Dark Lightning). However, with the exception of the first novel which was driven by the protagonists dream of exploration, all the interesting stuff happens off screen...one almost wishes we'd stayed in the solar system and gotten more info about the Europan crystals.
Still a decent read, Varley knows how to craft a world even if uncomfortable sexual situations keep coming up (in a novel about the potential destruction of their society a lot of time is spent on which twin gets to make a pass at their cousin. No one thinks this is ick.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2016
Announced as the final Thunder and Lightning book, this volume kind of stumbles. It's a fun read, and Varley is still channeling Heinlein, but the first half of the novel is taken up by endless talking and almost no action. The action, when it comes, is so predictable that I knew which character would get the Tragic Heroic Death(tm).
Much like in the Expanse, there is a development in this book that opens the stars to humanity. But I think it's best to end the story here.
Much like in the Expanse, there is a development in this book that opens the stars to humanity. But I think it's best to end the story here.
March 14, 2021
Very enjoyable hanging out with the twins as they first explain life in century ship and then go on macguffin fueled adventures. I felt like it held together a narrative better than books #2 and #3 where they either started off bad or ended poorly. Would love to read another generation of the of this family.
It was a little hard to reconcile this Podkayne as seen through her daughters' eyes with the Podkayne was met in Rolling Thunder.
It was a little hard to reconcile this Podkayne as seen through her daughters' eyes with the Podkayne was met in Rolling Thunder.
August 11, 2023
Great read! This "Thunder and Lightening" series has been great to read, and I'd recommend the books. Good, fun sci-fi, with a perfect balance of science (not too much), character development (arcs across multiple novels), and a great story.
The whole description of the "Rolling Thunder" ship brought to mind visions of Clarke's "Rama" ... I really like the idea of generational ships like this.
A fun read, and I'll look for more from John Varley.
The whole description of the "Rolling Thunder" ship brought to mind visions of Clarke's "Rama" ... I really like the idea of generational ships like this.
A fun read, and I'll look for more from John Varley.
May 16, 2025
Okay, so not a trilogy
I hadn't realized there was a fourth book... oops! The story goes on, featuring two new main characters but with the other established characters still appearing regularly. And unlike many other series in which the plot seems to recycle in every book, each one of these books builds on the previous ones but is very different from the storylines that precedes it. I'm not explaining this well; just read the series! It's outstanding.
I hadn't realized there was a fourth book... oops! The story goes on, featuring two new main characters but with the other established characters still appearing regularly. And unlike many other series in which the plot seems to recycle in every book, each one of these books builds on the previous ones but is very different from the storylines that precedes it. I'm not explaining this well; just read the series! It's outstanding.
September 23, 2018
This is Varley in his riproaring space adventure mode as the "Rolling Thunder" starship/space colony heads to their new home. The characters are interesting, particularly the two narrators, twin teenage sisters who alternate telling the story. I much prefer the mindbending Varley stories, but this is solid entertainment.
March 25, 2021
Original stories along with a tribute to Heinlein
Reviewing the entire series. Wonderfully written, great character development, plenty of action, hard science mixed with "Jubal", and a joy to read. I kept flashing back to the best of Heinlein, particularly the "juvenile" novels that were so misnamed. Would have been happy to read four more!
Reviewing the entire series. Wonderfully written, great character development, plenty of action, hard science mixed with "Jubal", and a joy to read. I kept flashing back to the best of Heinlein, particularly the "juvenile" novels that were so misnamed. Would have been happy to read four more!
September 20, 2021
This book took way too long to get interesting. Also, the two lead female characters were completely unrealistic... Only someone who's run by testosterone would think 16 year olds are just constantly obsessing over boys' butts... And that the other thing they care about is clothes. They were boring to read about. One of Varley's worst. I'm honestly surprised I finished it.
January 15, 2019
Rounding off the series so far. I felt this one was a bit, lighter, than the other ones. Mostly because it was a pure Heinlein pastiche with no added weight from other story strands. An enjoyable enough romp, to be sure, and still definitely a 4 star.
May 6, 2024
Look, this series is all in good fun as long as you suspend disbelief in the premise of the whole plot. I have been plodding through the last one, but put it on pause because I just couldn't get into it. But, it's a fun read when you're in the mood for some apocalyptic and spacey fun.
May 18, 2017
Heinlein at his best
John Varley has conjured for us a story that evokes Heinlein at his best, I want more of Cassie and Poly and Jubal
and Travis and spacetime bubbles!!!!!
John Varley has conjured for us a story that evokes Heinlein at his best, I want more of Cassie and Poly and Jubal
and Travis and spacetime bubbles!!!!!
August 27, 2019
Not bad; ending sucked.
July 23, 2020
Really, just too much time spent world building.
November 16, 2022
Great sequel, great fun. The next generation. The family travels to the stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2023
It’s just space opera, but I love that the girls kick ass and the prettyboy hunk is pretty much useless.
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