Rolling Thunder

Listening to the audiobook version of the novel. Its very distracting to have a male narrator for a book that is mainly female characters. The narrator is the same person that preformed the first two books - which was fine since most of the characters were male in those novels. Im sorry, but he just does not sound anything like an 18 year old girl to me - just a guy pretending to be a girl. The story itself - its a bit different than the previous two books in the series. Too much of a travel-log IMO.

Kinda slow through much of the book with character development - then non-stop action. Stick with it for a good read.

This is book 3 of 4 in the series and introduces Jubals bride. While this is important, other events are left hanging. Podkaynes connection to Earths invaders is left unanswered here and in book 4. Perhaps book 5 is coming?

Great stuff here! Youll love it if you love old masters. Wonderful homage to Heinlein but with its own plot!

Varley is perhaps not at his strongest here, given his virtuosity in the Titan series, but he nevertheless provides an entertaining space romp with some unusual and truly engaging characters. There are enough plot kinks to keep you interested in our heroines fate (with the unlikely name of Podkayne), and the end run heads us off to a feel-good launch ramp for the next novel (surely theres another in the writing as we speak....) After a long hiatus between this and his Titan series, Im delighted to see Mr. Varley is back in the saddle. I give it 4 stars for decent characterization, continued use of ingenious gadgetry developed in a prior novel, a reasonably complex plot, and for not taking itself too seriously. All in all, a worthy, happy read.

Lieutenant Patricia Kelly Elizabeth Podkayne Strickland-Garcia-Redmond (otherwise known as Podkayne) is a Martian, a human born on Mars. While serving out her military term on a toasty Earth things suddenly change. A higher-up gets her an audition with the Martian Navy and she passes! You see, the Martian Navy has its own entertainment division--musicians and the like. Life is hard enough when youre trying to be the next big thing, but Podkayne quickly learns that being a singer in the Martian Navy, even with a little bit of fame under your belt, doesnt mean you can get a free ticket to safety-planet. She might just find herself in a bit of trouble! The one thing I have to say about Varleys Rolling Thunder is that it isnt like other science fiction novels I have read. What I mean is this: rather than dealing entirely with major events and characters reacting to them from a personal standpoint, Rolling Thunder is about the lives of characters doing what people would be doing in the world presented. There isnt really a whole lot of war here, though some does take place. Were presented with Podkayne, and thats where we stay. We follow her through her life doing what we might all assume to be regular everyday things in a future human time when weve (humankind) moved off and colonized the majority of the solar system. Most of the nitty gritty stuff were familiar with in SF takes place in the background (thats not to say I dont like the nitty gritty stuff, just that this novel really does move away from all of that). Varleys style is different than Im used to. Rolling Thunder is written in first person, but some of it feels very much like stream of consciousness. In the beginning it bugged me, but it sort of grew on me as the novel progressed. I think a lot of my initial reactions to the beginning were influenced by my assumption that this would be more in the vein of techy/war-based SF, when this novel clearly isnt that. The beginning does move a little slow though, but once you get into it and get used to the style it really is an enjoyable read. Podkaynes comments are rather humorous (or Varleys comments, if you want to take the fun out of pretending Podkayne is a real person) and descriptions of things (technological and otherwise) are more often than not unobtrusive in the sense that they actually add to the story rather than pull you out of it (these would be sections that would otherwise be labeled as telling, but seem to work well enough in almost all cases). The black bubbles are probably the coolest thing invented in an SF novel in a long time. Black bubbles sounds funny because it should and because they are, gasp, black bubbles. In Varleys future, people use them as a way of putting themselves in a form of stasis. The bubbles actually freeze time for the person. You can put anything into them. You want to save a piece of that really good chocolate cake youre eating for when youre 90? Okay, put a black bubble around it and open it up later! That cake will be just as fresh as when you put it in the bubble. Are you sick and dying? Put yourself in a bubble and when they have a cure or a way to fix you the doctors can pull you out and do so. And, guess what, they work almost instantly! Now thats cool technology! I would consider this a novel for those that arent necessarily SF nuts and also a new SFnal look for those of us who are well versed. If you want something that has some of the flashiness of SF, but without all the war, the governments going haywire, dystopian scary bits, and the like, then you should seriously take a look. Yes, there are dystopian elements in the novel, and there is some darkness, but the way in which it is portrayed is different from other novels. We learn everything through Podkayne and a vast majority of it doesnt directly affect her. Mostly she remarks on the happenings as they occur elsewhere, if that makes sense, which is somewhat refreshing. There is a good bit of optimism here and while pessimism is fine in SF it is always nice to get a taste of something else. Thats sort of how I would describe this: a taste of something else. I mean that in a good way, of course. So, if youre looking for something a little different from what youre used to in SF, then this might be what youre looking for. If you dont usually read SF, then maybe this would be a good starter novel for you. Its accessible to a wide range of audiences, or at least I think so, and who knows, maybe this could be the novel that gets those of you whove never really liked SF to change your mind!

I cant say Im a John Varley fan based on this book and the previous two in the series. The biggest problem is that the plot feels lazy. You can tell that when he sat down to write this, there were moments when he thought to himself: Eh, I dont really want to research that, or, I dont have the energy to explain how the character developed here. And then at the very end, youve got all (and I repeat *all) of the main plot points still unexplained and you get a lazy I dont know answer to all of them. The result is that the characters dont develop the way they could, and you could care less about them. The result is that it feels less like a sci-fi and more like a dry historical document with a replaceable sci-fi backdrop.

This book is the third book in a series that started with an unlikely group of people, including a Cajun ex-astronaut and his genius brother, who beat the Chinese in being the first humans on Mars, using a radical new technology even its inventor doesnt fully understand. Lieutenant Patricia Kelly Elizabeth Podkayne Strickland-Garcia-Redmond, a third-generation member of the Martian pioneer family, narrates the story. She goes by only one of her many names, Podkayne. She says shes never read Robert A. Heinleins Podkayne of Mars because she doesnt care much for science fiction. Shes 18 as the book begins, a third-generation Martian whose grandparents were among the first to reach Mars. Shes in the Music, Arts and Drama Division of the Martian Navy, and as the book opens, shes enduring Earth gravity (Mars has a gravity thats 38% of Earths) in Pismo Beach, California weeding out people who want to emigrate to Mars. But soon Podkaynes on her way back to Mars because her great-grandmother, close to dying, has elected to go into a time-suspending bubble. After her extended family sees off their matriarch, Podkayne heads off to Europa, one of Jupiters moons to entertain Martian Navy personnel and scientists there and at other scientific outposts in the Jovian system. Shes a singer/songwriter/composer, and teams up with other musicians in Podkayne and the Pod People. It seems a safe enough, and even creative, way to spend her mandatory time in the service. Safe, that is, until shes in the wrong place at the wrong time. John Varley uses the breezy, informal and often humorous style of Podkayne to tell of sweeping events that shape the history of Earth and Mars. Its a troubled history, and global warming on Earth turns out to be only part of the trouble. Podkayne is very articulate, but shes no rocket scientist, so things get explained pretty much in laymans terms. Shes an entertainer, and events propel her to the heights of fame, something Varley appears to have learned a lot about during his years in Hollywood. Podkaynes journey through the part of her life told in the book takes several unexpected turns, eventually taking her further than shed ever imagined.

Old friends and new are found in this volume. Traveling the stars, singing the hits of past present and future. Loving, living, defending, prepping, and continuing the race. Diaspora can be a good thing.

This is the third book in Varleys ongoing tribute to Robert Heinleins juveniles. Its not the best (thats the first) and not the worst (thats the second one) but its solid Varley - playful and joking, yet deadly serious.