The Trigger

by Arthur C. Clarke, Michael P. Kube-McDowell

A “thought-provoking, suspenseful” political sci-fi thriller from the authors of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star The Black Fleet Crisis (Library Journal).   In the near future, a team of scientists who intend to create an anti-gravity device inadvertently develop something far more powerful—a mechanism that can render guns and bombs virtually harmless. Their creation, “The Trigger,” causes nitrate-based bombs and explosives to detonate automatically. The idealistic scientists who envision the benevolent use of their great invention soon discover that even protective weaponry comes with its own moral trade-offs.   Soon, every faction of the gun industry is involved—politicians, manufacturers, lobbyist, military—and the scientists must fight to keep the weapon out of violent hands. While negotiating this tricky territory, they realize that not even those with the best intentions can be trusted. There are no easy answers in this thriller that “lend[s] the familiar issue of gun control new urgency and excitement” (Publishers Weekly).

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Thriller, Ebooks, Speculative Fiction, Novels, Hard Science Fiction

662 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Stories, works of noted British writer, scientist, and underwater explorer Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, include 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

This most important and influential figure in 20th century fiction spent the first half of his life in England and served in World War II as a radar operator before migrating to Ceylon in 1956. He co-created his best known novel and movie with the assistance of Stanley Kubrick.

Clarke, a graduate of King's College, London, obtained first class honours in physics and mathematics. He served as past chairman of the interplanetary society and as a member of the academy of astronautics, the royal astronomical society, and many other organizations.

He authored more than fifty books and won his numerous awards: the Kalinga prize of 1961, the American association for the advancement Westinghouse prize, the Bradford Washburn award, and the John W. Campbell award for his novel Rendezvous with Rama. Clarke also won the nebula award of the fiction of America in 1972, 1974 and 1979, the Hugo award of the world fiction convention in 1974 and 1980. In 1986, he stood as grand master of the fiction of America. The queen knighted him as the commander of the British Empire in 1989.

Reviews

[Dana Claycomb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to keep looking back at the publishing history page to make sure this book is really fourteen years old. Aside from the clunky references to what the authors imagined the internet and telecommunications would be like in the future (what I am assuming is a modern smart phone, they refer to as a "comset," and then there's the obsession with 3D technology...), the novel could have been written today. A good chunk of the story deals with the conflict between gun rights advocates and disarmament advocates, in this scenario, after a technology is developed that disrupts the reactivity of nitrate explosives (and hence bullets, bombs, etc.) The words out of the mouths of the gun rights characters are the same ones that are being used today to advocate their cause. Truly, nothing has changed in this contentious issue since the book was written in 1999, and the more I read, the more I wished this technology actually existed. As an aside, the book was partially dedicated to the Jonesboro, Arkansas school massacre of 1998. I looked it up as I was hazy on the details, and in that event 5 people were killed. If it had happened today it would barely be a one day news story, sorry to say.

[Profundus Librum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bár a Tűzszünet (Trigger) eredetileg egy kötet – kivéve Japánban és Franciaországban –, de azon a ponton, ahol a magyar kiadást kettévették, egy valóban nagy tartalmi törés is felfedezhető. Amíg a Ravasz egy Feltaláló-a-Világ-ellen-stílusú általános sci-fi tematika, érdekes tudományos tényekkel (főként a kémia és fizika témaköréből), kísérletekkel, amikből mindent megtudhatunk a különböző robbanóanyagokról, katalizátorokról, lőszerekről, kézifegyverekről és egyéb hadászati anyagokról. Igazi fiús téma, nem vitás, ráadásul izgalmasan, érdekfeszítően megírva. A könyv technikai szlengje a kezdő sci-fi olvasókat sem teszi próbára. A szereplők elég kidolgozatlanok, másodhegedűsök csupán a történet mellett, de szerintem nem is igen fogjuk igényelni a behatóbb ismerkedést.

A jóval rövidebb Béklyó ezzel szemben szakít az eddigre megkedvelt laborjelenetekkel, és a szereplőktől is még inkább eltávolodik. A tudományos és technikai részek is sokkal kevesebb súlyt képviselnek benne. Amennyiben magában is értelmezhető lenne a kötet, a sci-fi jelzőt is üggyel-bajjal lehetne csak ráhúzni. A természettudományok helyét a politika veszi át. A szabad fegyvertartásért lobbizó különböző csoportokról, a milíciákról és polgárőrségekről kapunk átfogó képet. A szervezetek felépítése, a tagok gondolkodásmódja vagy a polgári engedetlenségi módszereik sajnos messze nem annyira érdekfeszítőek, mint a könyv első része.

Bővebben a blogon:
http://profunduslibrum.blogspot.hu/20...

[Chip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually when multiple authors collaborate with a book, their styles mesh together well. This is not the case with this book. Different parts of the book change radically from section to section and it doesn't make for a good approach. Also the story jumps to new plot lines without any leading background. Personally I would have left off the second (and short third) segments since they distract from what I think the book was going after. Technology is cool including some background mentions. OK story but disappointing since it is Clarke.

[Ron S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhh... it's like homecoming, reading a well-written and thought-provoking Sci-Fi story again! I actually finished this a couple months ago, but find myself returning to the premise of this story: What would happen if all guns and bombs were no longer functional? This is well written, covering the social, practical, and political issues such a development would bring.

[Dark Slayer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This novel is a terrible abomination of space and time that insults the very fabric of nature itself.... O_O'

[James Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't make heads or tails whether or not The Trigger is maybe a little too hopeful about how the world would take to its titular device - what with the in-universe government accepting the technology quite quickly, and its depictions of opposers falling frequently into sensationalised melodrama that contrasts with the fairly realistic world it sets up, as if suggesting that pro-arms advocates are simply works of fiction - but it still manages to tell an interesting story that explores the ethics around disarmament in a unique way.

7(-)/10

[Сесил Костадинова · Rating 3 out of 5]

Фен съм на Артър Кларк, смятам го за един от менторите си във фантастиката, но "Спусъкът" не успя да привлече вниманието ми така, че да го прочета "на един дъх", дори напротив - "разреждах" го с други книги. Сюжетът е интригуващ, както винаги, сетингът е много добър, само героите ми бяха... леко безинтересни - безразлично ми беше какво ще им се случи. И може би затова не бързах да разбера.

[Nima · Rating 4 out of 5]

érdekes gondolatkísérlet egy fegyverektől megfosztott világ bemutatására.
az első rész izgalmas, érdekes, tudományos, a második viszont csapnivalóan elméleti, teli moralizálással. mindenki le akarta nyomin a torkomon a saját tökéletes és helyénvaló világnézetét.

a két kötetben való kiadásról: elképzelésem sincs, mi értelme volt, az anyagi nyerészkedést leszámítva.

[Jon]

This book reminded me a bit of State of Fear, by Crichton, or perhaps some of the works of Richard North Patterson, in that it is extremely political. The issue explored in Trigger is gun control. Yet, it is still good science fiction, albeit very near future, because it explores the ramifications of discovering a device which causes nearly all explosives to detonate immediately when they enter the field generated by the device. Aside from a nod or two to particle physics in the first chapter or two, there's not a lot of technical information in this novel.

Where things really take off is when the inventors of the device decide to get the government involved, and turn the prototype over to them. Clarke and McDowell explore pretty thoroughly what sort of strategy might make this technology available to cities and countries so that they can begin to alleviate the suffering caused by weapons in the hands of criminals, militants, and idiots.

One of the less controversial issues addressed by this device is that of "de-mining" places like Cambodia and the Balkans, where land mines have claimed far too many innocent lives. Just turn on The Trigger effect and move through a previously mined area, and the field detonates the mines safely while they are still a hundred meters or so away from the vehicle carrying the device.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, the bad guys in this novel are pretty stereotypical "gun nuts," i.e., people who belong to the NRA. The president of the NRA attempts to assassinate a senator who is in favor of widely distributing The Trigger. A Midwest militia captures the inventor of The Trigger and holds him hostage, demanding the secret code that will shut down the device when government troops come to take over (typical militia paranoid fantasy).

I'm not absolutely certain that all of the statistics used to support the gun control/elimination argument in this book are accurate. I'd have to go check the statistical abstract of the US to get some real numbers. Even if they have been fudged for dramatic effect, it makes a pretty good case that something, somehow, must be done to stop the violence. I'm not entirely certain that disarmament is the answer, as mankind has been doing despicable things to one another for millennia, before the invention of gunpowder. Despite all this, The Trigger is a pretty good read, and gets your brain working.

[Robert Stout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Jeffrey Horton is a brilliant physicist who is hired by Dr Brohier a noble prize winner who operates Terabyte Corporation. While testing new equipment the guns at the guard shack and fireworks in a nearby parked car mysteriously explodes. Horton soon discovers that his devise made the guns inoperable and harmless. The devise is soon given the name as "the trigger". Just like scientist and engineers who developed the atom bomb dreamt of ending all wars will the trigger bring an end to conflict, or will there be unforeseen consequences instead? As the trigger is introduced into society a large subsection of the American population views the trigger as an existential threat to the second amendment. It is widely believed that the government will neutralize all guns but maintain a monopoly on guns in its own arsenal. The organization called NAR which is a take on the NRA opposes the trigger device and tries to get it banned. NAR's leader named John Trent steps down from the organization and plots the assassination of senator Grover Wilman who is a pacifist and is pushing to get the trigger operational throughout the country.

The book is visionary in scope, and it would be nice if such a device could end gun violence and wars. I do not agree with all the politics that Clarke is pushing throughout the novel. The book is a thriller combining science fiction with dramatic fiction. The book is not Clarke's best but its a joy to read.

[Calogero Cumbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Trigger is a fictional device that renders all ammunition inert, effectively disarming everyone in its range. The book traces the evolution of this device, from discovery of the principle, to harnessing it to create the device, to refining it from exploding all ammunition to rendering it inert.
The book is a wonderful expose of both sides of the American gun culture: those who realize that guns kill people, to those who feel it is their God-given right and duty to bear arms. Clarke explores the "what-if" of such a device: would it be welcomed? Not by everyone. By Cambodians whose mine fields could now be safely cleared, it's seen as a god-send. But to American right wing militias, its creators are traitors, betraying their God-given right and duty to protect their families with their guns.
And wonderful character exposes and developments. And what a finale! He ends with describing another discovery with explosive consequences.

[Hans Brienesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is this the book that has everything? If not it comes really close. Politics, conspiracy, technology, heroes and villians, and a theme that is as relevant today as when it was written. Showing just how technology can be utilised and a view on the paranoia of Society that could comr straight out of history now that was envisioned then. Reading this book transports one to a relevant country or two today and it is easy to forget that it was not written last month. I can't say much more without giving it all away and also I cannot rate this book highly enough.

[Mike Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been reading Clarke for decades, normally find his books both enlightening and entertaining. Unfortunately cannot say the same for this this book, "The Trigger".

While the sentiments in the book may seem to be expressing modern concerns, the story is simply poorly written, is fragmented in content and incomplete in expressing whatever Clarke seems to be attempting to say.

Gravely disappointed in the book.

[Peter Morell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Min version af denne bog er på 626 sider. Historien kunne have være fortalt på mindre end halvdelen af det antal sider. Der er simpelthen så meget udenomssnak, at bogen bliver kedelig. Der sker for lidt, og der er for meget snak. Det er ellers et tankevækkende plot, som desværre drukner i ord. Clarke blev offer for Dunning-Kruger effekten på sine gamle dage, da han overvurderede sine evner - en skam…

[David E · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is much more than just sci-fi, it uses a scientific breakthrough in the near future, and uses it to explore the political and societal impacts on real-world problems. Even though the book was written in 1999, the problems it addresses are as pertinent to the world of the 2020's, as they were when written. It is also a great read and very hard to put down once you start reading it.

[BookWorm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the science part, could not care less about the political thriller part. Overall highly disappointed, and no offense to Micheal Kobe whoever, but I feel like Clarke(having read some of his better works) was just bogged down by this random idiot who turned an interesting experiment into a monotonous social textbook

[James Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cleverly examines what would happen if someone developed a device which neutralized guns, bombs, any ordinance - insightful consideration of our society's hesitant response to change, to new perceptions - a good read.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting food for thought. Probably what scientists go through with most every advancement a real moral dilemma. I enjoyed this book it’s been a while since I read anything Arthur Clark had a hand in. It did jump from situation to situation quite a bit but it kept my interest.

[Radoš Kovačević]

This is the type of sci fi literature which theme and subject got obsolete with time. That's the worst kind of sci fi. Like, mentioning planes SU 4_something while there is SU 57 already. Also, too much mainstream propaganda. No way you can figure out when the plot is happening....

[Federico · Rating 1 out of 5]

El libro que menos me gustó de Clarke. No pasa nada en todo en libro; es exactamente lo que dice la reseña. Crean un instrumento que neutraliza las armas, primero parece que se logra la paz mundial pero hay grupos que no quieren saber nada con esto. Muy monótono y aburrido.

[Jon Courtway · Rating 5 out of 5]

AC Clarke always thinks outside the box. The line that the Big Bang didn’t create the universe, it created consciousness, based on the idea that data and matter are more important then energy was thought provoking.

[Jeff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing!!

I enjoy ACC’s science fiction. This is not SCIENCE fiction. It’s fiction. Bad fiction. It’s really just a condescending op-ed diatribe that was excruciatingly stretched into a full length “novel”.

[Ben Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrifically gripping thriller. Written almost twenty years ago but feels very relevant to society today.

[Cliff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tedious, ponderous writing, poor characters. Given up at page 260. Life is too short to plough through a further 300.

[Vicaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

A SF book that grips like a thriller.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really like the characters and plot though it did tend to get preachy.

[Ramon Arellano · Rating 4 out of 5]

5

[David Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the book but was somewhat disappointed with the ending.The characters also appeared somewhat two dimensional.

[Dave Bann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining book. Not sure how much of this was written by Arthur C. Clarke, but a worthwhile read anyway.

[Tapani Aulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erinomainen lähtökohta, hyvää tarinankerrontaa, mutta jäi vähän hajanainen vaikutelma. Johtuiko kahdesta kirjoittajasta, mutta jossain kohdissa tuntui, että ei ollut oikein suuntaa.