Nautilus

Starfarers #4

by Vonda N. McIntyre

The death of her cherished friend and guide Nemo, the alien squidmoth, came as a crushing blow to J.D. Sauvage. But J.D. and the first contact crew of the Earth ship Starfarer hope that the enigmatic being's legacy—the starship Nautilus—will lead them closer to communion with alien intelligence. Awaiting them on their journey are the representatives of the Four Worlds and one last chance to join interstellar Civilization, from which Earth has long been barred.

But first J.D. and her fellow wayfarers must convince the aliens that humanity is worthy of Civilization. It is an argument that they will find hard to win, given humanity's violent past. What's worse, they don't have much time to win it. For the cosmic string that can guide the Starfarer home is fast unraveling. Soon the beleagured crew will have to make a decision that will affect all the people of Earth: whether to turn back to Earth while there's still time—or make one last desperate effort to win over their implacable alien hosts.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Space Opera, LGBT

419 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1994

About the author

Vonda Neel McIntyre was a U.S. science fiction author. She was one of the first successful graduates of the Clarion Science fiction writers workshop. She attended the workshop in 1970. By 1973 she had won her first Nebula Award, for the novelette "Of Mist, and Grass and Sand." This later became part of the novel Dreamsnake, which won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. The novelette and novel both concern a female healer in a desolate primitivized venue. McIntyre's debut novel was The Exile Waiting which was published in 1975. Her novel Dreamsnake won the Nebula Award and Hugo Award for best novel in 1978 and her novel The Moon and the Sun won the Nebula in 1997. She has also written a number of Star Trek and Star Wars novels, including Enterprise: The First Adventure and The Entropy Effect. She wrote the novelizations of the films Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Reviews

[Freyja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the jackpot for alien contact. I couldn't put the book down as I wanted to see who they'd meet next. If I say too much, there will be spoilers, but I will say that it was very worthwhile to befriend the squidmoth.

[Nowhere Girl · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing conclusion. Two an a half stars.

[William Leight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nautilus” brings the Starfarer series to what I suppose counts as a triumphal conclusion. To be honest, I don’t think that McIntyre is at her best in this kind of space opera: there are too many plot threads, and though everything more or less gets resolved, and having the squidmoths be the key to everything is a nice touch, some of the conclusions seem a bit rushed. This is true of the fate of the partnership as well: apparently all Stephen Thomas had to do was talk to Victoria and Satoshi about how he was feeling, and all would be well again. Who knew that communication was so important to relationships? That’s not quite fair, of course, and McIntyre does a good job here of showing why it was so difficult for Stephen Thomas to talk about his feelings: what doesn’t quite make sense is that, after three and two-thirds books worth of Stephen Thomas being a moody asshole, culminating in him trying to ruin J.D. and Zev’s relationship by telling Zev that J.D. slept with Feral, which he at least believed to be true but has absolutely no evidence for, Victoria and Satoshi are so willing to reconcile with him. The problem is, I think, that the reader pretty much only sees Stephen Thomas trying as hard as he can to break the partnership up: if McIntyre had given us more examples, in flashbacks maybe, of what the partnership was like before Merry died, then maybe we would have a better understanding of why Victoria and Satoshi seem so anxious to salvage it. But there’s no time for that, because there’s the juvenile squidmoth, and four new types of alien, and Crimson’s art fossils that all the aliens are convinced (for reasons that never became clear to me) are real, and just one crisis after another. Some of the crises are well-done: for example, the attempt by the Representative from Smallerfarther to seize Nautilus is a well-executed example of power politics performed in a non-violent fashion. And the aliens are all more or less fun, though we never really learn enough about them to make them real characters. But in the end, the succession of crises just wore me down, and though the aliens never really come into their own — the four Largerfarthings all seem fairly identical, for instance — they nonetheless take away time that the many human characters could have used. There are good parts to “Nautilus”, but I think here, and in the series as a whole, McIntyre just bit off more than she could chew.

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Final book of tetralogy. J.D. Sauvage and the crew of the Starfarer have finally met aliens from the confederation of species known as Civilization. Part of membership of the Civilization is access to strings which can be used for interstellar travel. The strings have recently been withdrawn from Earth’s system and it is hoped that a successful diplomatic mission with the representatives of the Four Worlds will gain favour with Civilization. The aliens however want some things the humans have very badly. First, the algorithm for locating and using strings developed by a crewmember, Victoria, and second, the squidmoth starship left to J. D. along with its offspring. The polarisation of views on the Starfarer however, threatens a unanimous decison, with some preferring a quick return and isolation to Earth. Both sides play things close to their chests and there are hidden motivations, and even when the offer of citizenship in the Civilization is received there are objections. Vonda N. McIntyre closes her series of four books with an exciting denouement and last-minute flirtations with disaster. Unfortunately the book is hard going if you are unfamiliar with the previous books (more importantly book 3) so if that is a problem I suggest you read the first three before attempting this one. A good and intelligent and immersive saga!

[Kelsey W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a whole, if you like character driven stories, this is for you. McIntyre was a master of characters, and her love for them is felt in how complex, unique and fully fleshed out they are. Personally, I was startled to realize how subtly the characters and my feeling for them, changed; unease to respect, respect to dislike, dislike to understanding. Of course, there were also characters who were steadfastly loveable, or endlessly irritating. I liked this series and I liked this book.
It has a reasonably satisfying ending to the series. I do wish there had been more time spent on the end. It felt rushed and consequently didn't make as much sense I'd have liked. This was McIntyres' style, I think. However, it left a pleasant space for further exploration of the universe and characters. Not all problems have to be resolved for the story to end.
I'd recommend this book to people who love character-driven, world-building stories that manage to be both hopeful and painfully honest about humans. Also, you gotta be patient because sometimes the books just feel long.

[Miki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final novel of the Starfarer series see the main characters meeting in close quarters representatives of the inhabitants of the Four World, and they slowly find out what they are really interested in as well as some details about their cultures and their worlds. Defending the crucial algorithm and the planet/spaceship Nautilus is ever more urgent as Civilization members try to force their hands on the humans. At the same time, some of the main characters are facing huge changes and slowly adapting to them, while also investigating on the still mysterious events surrounding the malfunctioning network and the death of a friend narrated in previous novels. The unexpected sudden growth and aggressive reaction of a very young alien life attached to the Starfarer forces all the characters to take fast, fateful decisions that ultimately reveal new amazing truths. A perfect ending for such an enjoyable series.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Nautilus is the fourth and final book in the Starfarers series by Vonda N. McIntyre.
My mother was an avid reader who loved a variety of genres- Thrillers and Sci-fi being her top picks. It's been a few years since my mother passed away- and I have been slowly working my way through her extensive book collection as my way of paying tribute, and a way of keeping her close.
I have read this series before, but enjoyed the setting of on this adventure again.
Full review to come.
Happy Reading...

[Elsa Lacruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen final para la saga, que me ha tenido enganchadísima.

Responde a la pregunta de cómo sería un primer contacto si lo llevasen científicos y académicos, nos da aliens de diferentes clases y conflictos personales que hay que solucionar para que la expedición no termine en desastre.

Me encantaría otra saga a partir del final de este libro, aunque ahora puedo imaginarme yo lo que quiera.

[Auntie M · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the worst of the 3. The ending had good parts, but there was a lot unnecessary stuff with the aliens and with Stephen Thomas through the whole book. I got really bored and stopped reading it for awhile. It's like the author had ideas that didn't really fit here, but she included them anyway.
It ended with an option to continue, but I probably won't keep reading this series.

[Mseitz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Finally, the end of The Bickering.
In this here final booke, we learn that Steven-Thomas is as irritating as his name and insistence of calling him Steeeeeeven F-ing Thomas. Glad we have J.D. as an antipole with her non-descriptive two-letter abbreviation.

After Nemo from books two and three disappeared, there was nothing interesting left (for book four).

[Robbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one ebbed and flowed but ultimately I enjoyed it, so it rounds up to 5 stars. There are some obnoxious folks in it and it was pretty annoying to spend time with them when I wanted more discovery, but the story wrapped up so well that it was worth it.

[Wetdryvac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well executed social, some lovely ideas, and overall solid writing.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a very nice series. Very hopeful, a bit naive and a bit outdated, but also charming, thoughtful and lovely in many ways. The characters were very engaging and diverse. Some of the ideas of what alien life would be like were very creative. And the ship was just wonderful, much nicer than even my charming suburb. If I could travel the stars like that, I'd be off in a heartbeat (if they let dogs come along, of course).

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This finishes up the 4-volume Starfarer series...

Alien Contact specialist JD inherits a starship from a squidmoth, the Starfarer team meets the various alien inhabitants of a 4-planet system, and tries to get humanity accepted by interstellar Civilization, even as they deal with both political and interpersonal issues amongst themselves...

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished this; not sure why it took as long as it did. I enjoyed the story, and the hopeful/optimistic wrap-up of the series. I wanted to shake Stephen Thomas for CONSTANTLY making assumptions about other people without checking to see if they had any basis in reality or not, and was glad when he finally pulled his head out.

[Harriet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ebook. Good conclusion to the series. The important issues are resolved and the ending, while a bit too fast at the very end, does have happy promise.

[Knemesis · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the final novels in a series that I *wasn't* disappointed by.

[Jeff Youngstrom]

My review from June 24, 1997

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent read. The ending was a little unexpected but I can deal.