Metaphase

Starfarers #3

by Vonda N. McIntyre

As J.D. Sauvage and his crew initiate the first human contact with the reclusive alien squidmoth, exploring the fibrous tunnels of the small planetoid that houses the alien, an awesome secret awaits them inside

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

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

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

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still more character study than mystery, but the characters are great so that's fine. I think it's funny that the sci-fi author/alien contact specialist in the book keeps saying that meeting aliens can't possibly be anything like anything we've imagined, they will be alien. And then the author spends much of the book describing her cool idea of what one type of alien might be like. But that's sci-fi for you, imagining what might be out there, how we'll react, and what might be going on with humans in the future as well. It's an interesting series with a handful or more of well-developed characters that its easy to care about. It still feels very much like a Star Trek-like TV mini-series, more because of the interwoven stories about the great characters, the characters' desire to learn and explore (peacefully) above all else, and the very biased social agenda (yay!) than the fact that the author actually wrote several Star Trek adaptations. She captures the tone of the many TV series very well.

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

the nonmonogamy of it all... the tenderness... the character study... the play as sex and sex as play...

every once in a while, if you're lucky, you find a book that feels like it was written specifically For You. that's this book to me. there is such an attention to bodies here, an attention that feels wholly unique to vonda's work. i'm frankly obsessed with it, and i wish i could have been her friend. i guess i'll just have to keep growing into myself and my craft to honor what she's done for me

[Althea Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Third in a series...
In this installment, disappointed by the two human representatives of interstellar 'Civilization,' the crew of the 'Starfarer' go to meet a more alien species, the squidmoths. Unfortunately (?), the squidmoth they dub Nemo is about to enter the last phase of its life, where it will physically change, reproduce, and then die. They have little time to get to know this species.
Meanwhile, one of the main characters is going through his own physical change, becoming an aquatic 'diver,' due to the destruction of the genetics lab. This is not easy on his relationships...
And Starfarer itself may be in trouble... the ecological system seems to be going haywire, and politics still plague every decision...

Not bad, but I've become a little annoyed by the fact that although Starfarer is a community of at least several hundred people, it seems that the main dozen or so characters ONLY interact with each other. We hardly ever see random other people doing anything, and in such a small community, I'd think everyone would be getting to know one another pretty fast...

Oh well, on to the last volume in this series...

[Zan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third installment of the Starfarers quartet is definitely more satisfying than the previous two. There are some delightful alien encounters woven in with the complex starship politics, and as usual, long stretches given over to the relationships and sex lives of the principal characters. But McIntyre has such a good touch for the nuances of human thought and emotion that it all makes for good reading.

[Jason Bleckly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is this the third book in the Starfarers series. The first book is about taking ownership of the O’Neil cylinder and escaping the solar system before the military repurpose the station as a weapons platform. The book ends with the ship jumping along a cosmic string to Tau Ceti. Book two has them in Tau Ceti where they blow up an alien museum (accidentally) and follow some lurking aliens to Sirius A. There the aliens (kidnapped ancient earthlings) try to swindle them out of classified information before blackballing humanity and taking their bat and ball home. The book finishes with the going to talk to another alien luring in the outer reaches of Sirius and denigrated by the first human aliens.

This book starts with JD Sauvage the protagonist and head of the Alien Contact Team on the planetoid about to make first contact with the new alien. It’s denigrated as a squidmoth by the aliens from the last book and given the name Nemo by the humans in this book. The alien has a perfect grasp of English, but this is a conceit to make it relatable to the reader, and there’s an acknowledgment of this in the story when JD complains about all the wasted time she spent learning fundamental communication techniques. The alien is excellently envisaged both physically and in it’s behaviour throughout the book.

Unfortunately, the alien interaction only comprises about a third of the book. The first 80ish pages and the last 50ish pages. The 200 pages in the middle is arrogant narcissists having lovers spats between bouts of sex and dinner parties. All Vonda’s books are heavily character driven and the characters are individual and extremely detailed. Unfortunately, all the characters in here are thoroughly self-absorbed and think that everyone is as impressed with them as they are with themselves. A group of people like that are never going to get along, and they don’t. But it also didn’t engender any empathy from me as the reader to any f the central characters. Frankly, I wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire. Also they’re melodramatic squabbles add nothing to the story. It’s just filler.

That is perhaps a slightly exaggerated assessment, but I feel better for having made it. There are a few side characters for the reader to empathise with. And there are events besides the soap opera relationships that occur. The problems of keeping a supposedly self-sustaining environment when the environmental balance gets out of whack and there’s no ecologist onboard. How to rectify the sabotage to the automated systems when most of the crew are narcissists sulking because they’re laundry hasn’t been done. There is a bit too like in the middle, but I admit I was skimming some of the soap opera.,

It ends on a deliberate cliffhanger with the ship arriving at 61 Cygni having followed the kidnapped human/scammers/aliens there from book 2.

I’m going to read the fourth and final book as I’ve completed this one, but I’m beginning to think it should have been one book, not four. The relationship drama does serve to illustrate the series main them of tolerance, inclusion, empathy, individual uniqueness, and free choice, but it’s done in such a way I don’t like most of the characters. Which in itself is quite an achievement.

[William Leight · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Metaphase” is very much a transitional book in the series. The book begins with two main plot points that directly affect the fate of the Starfarer. First, the crew must decide — and quickly, before they are stranded — whether they will pursue their voyage to a new star system or return to Earth. Additionally, they must discover why Chancellor Blades was attempting to sabotage the ship, and whether he had accomplices who might make another attempt. However, McIntyre ends up largely ignoring these questions. Of course, there’s never much doubt in the reader’s mind that the Starfarer will continue onwards, which is perhaps why McIntyre doesn’t bother injecting all that much suspense into this question. However, the fact that Chancellor Blades is largely ignored for most of the book — we don’t meet him and his motives and methods remain unexplained — is somewhat more surprising. Instead, the novel concentrate on the squidmoth, its unusual biology, what it can tell us about the universe, and its relationship with J.D.; Stephen Thomas’s ongoing transformation into a diver; and various strains in the central relationship between him, Satoshi, and Victoria. Though these are all interesting, they don’t really bear on the question of what will happen to the Starfarer, so to keep the suspense going on this head, we learn that various systems on the Starfarer seem to be having problems: whether this is because they were damaged by the sabotage, or as a result of further sabotage, is unclear. (This gives Infinity a chance to step up into a bigger role, supplying the pleasant incongruity of a gardener being the most important person to the fate of a starship.) Still, in the end it’s the Starfarer and its mission that drives the series, and we don’t get all that much closer to resolving that here. And the interpersonal drama suffers at times from something similar: a lot of it has to do with Stephen Thomas’s transformation, an ongoing process that also prevents any sort of resolution. There’s some interesting setup in “Metaphase”, but unlike in the previous two books of the series no important questions are answered, which makes it a bit less fulfilling.

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Galactic Civilization has determined that Humans are not yet stable enough to join their alliance. A mistake with a nuclear weapon has given the vast number of alien intelligences pause and they are rolling up their network of galactic strings through which humanity has Transitioned from one place in space to another. Desperate to somehow reverse this seemingly unfair decision the generation shipworld Starfarer was launched on the strings before they disappear, in order to perhaps contact some intelligences who will speak for Humanity. After a sabotage attempt on board, and with some automated processes out of action, the ship contacts a legendary isolate intelligence known as a squidmoth. The Alien Contact Officer J. D. Sauvage on board Starfarer makes the decision to contact the mind on the asteroid containing the squidmoth, which they name Nemo. Astonishingly Nemo is in fact much larger than they expected and is also about to give birth. J. D. must make some important decisons about whether she will make the journey to 61 Cygni on the Starfarer or stay with Nemo. Book 3 of 4, the reader would be advised to at least read the previous book before this one. A detailed exploration of the polyamorous family relationships, the metamorphosis of humans into aquatic divers, and the political realities of being marooned and renegade make this a complex but rewarding read from Vonda N. McIntyre.

[Kelsey W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found myself totally absorbed into this book. I was honestly surprised by how invested I became. I fell even deeper in love with the cast of characters, all of them lovable and frustrating in their own ways. I felt tension and fear as relationships and the Starfarer has been tested. This was a strong follow up to Transition. I really enjoyed it, I found myself longing to read it to the point that I decided to break my own chapter a day guideline often enough to finish the 13 chapter long book in 3 days.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Metaphase is the third 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...

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoy McIntyre's writing. I loved parts of this book, particularly the interaction between Nemo and J.D., the alien specialist. I really liked that we were able to see inside her head. The middle chapters seemed to drag a bit. The ending. The ending was just awesome, and I can't wait to read the 4th book.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this back in 2006, and don't really remember that much about it.

[Wetdryvac Wetdryvac · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Crystal Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one hurt less. Oh J. D., I love you. On to the last book.

[Robbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still a great story.

[Mseitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is book three of The Bickering.
Some good alien stuff, and a lot of human bickering.

[Leticia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cozy plot advancement here didn't bother me, I could not put this book down.

[Freyja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now things get really interesting! The one alien the other aliens never talk to and dismiss is communicating with our heroes. The characters are developed further. It's clear things are going to happen in the next book, and I swear the asst. chancellor and the one US senator don't want them to happen. If they do go home, can they even leave again in their lifetimes?

[Miki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third part of the Starfarers quartet. Lots of changes of course take place over the course of this story, as the title suggests. Circumstances change, as Starfarer encounters a long-lived alien species and learn more about the past and the present of the Civilization, and as the Starfarers learn to cope with the consequences of past events and of new revelations. People change, some have physical transformations, others change their point of view or take important decisions that change their life, and their loved ones' lives, at least for the foreseeable future. As a further change, a transition finally takes place with no major cuncurrent tragedy. The ending surprisingly shows a change in the relationship with the alien humans, as their secret influence and actual interests in Starfarer are revealed and Starfarers end up with an important leverage on them. Very curious to read the final part of the story. I already know I'm going to miss these characters.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still keeping my interest and occasionally blowing my mind but it tends to drag and the last quarter fell off the map dramatically for me. Still want to find out what happens and still think the characters are compelling.

[Harriet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ebook. Pretty good read with alien contact and not too much drama among the Starfarer crew.

[Jeff Youngstrom]

My review from June 20, 1997

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a long time to get through it, but that was me, not the book. Good continuation of the story, the ending was VERY gratifying in several ways. Looking forward to the final installment!

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda weird. Not as much liking this one.

[Elsa Lacruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Algo menos de acción y más personajes, incluyendo un nuevo personaje fascinante. Me encanta la manera de narrar la relación con una raza extraterrestre tan diferente.