Light From Other Stars / The Walking Drum

Light From Other Stars by Erika Swyler

This is the kind of science fiction I like - lots of credible sounding science, unnerving possibilities, and ordinary (mostly) people caught in the crosshairs. 

Eleven year old Nedda Papas, living in Easter, Florida, wanted her father to take her to the launch of the Challenger space shuttle but he's working in his lab on Crucible, an experiment to manipulate and slow down time, so she watches the launch on tv with her school class. When the shuttle fails a few minutes after takeoff, killing everyone on board including Nedda's hero, astronaut Judy Resnik, the force of the explosion has an unexpected effect on Crucible. The "sky looks weird" as Nedda and her best friend, Denny, are walking home from school, then they find an animal - I think it was a monkey - trapped in some kind of "bubble" they don't quite know how to describe. Before long the entire town of Easter is caught up in the strange effects of an experiment gone wrong.  

In an alternate timeline years later, Nedda has fulfilled her dream of becoming an astronaut and is now aboard the shuttle Chawla, one of four people heading to a distant planet to establish a colony there. When a crisis arises, Nedda realizes that data she gathered from the Crucible disaster could be the key to survival now. 

The science in this was riveting, as were Nedda's relationships with Denny, with her father, Theo, and her mother, Betheen. Her parents are both flawed characters but are written with grace that renders them lovely in spite of their flaws. Their love for Nedda and each other, the yearning in it, was so beautiful it hurt to read.

There were some great metaphors: "Time painted with watercolors". I've been thinking about that ever since. And this - when Nedda's mother tried to hug her - "Nedda stiffened at the touch. Like coat hangers trying to embrace." And "...Denny was part of Nedda too - a bone in her leg that held her up." The whole thing was beautifully written.  

Authentic characters, original plot, and enough suspense to keep you up late. Such a good book!  

The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour

If I was a fifteen year old boy in the 1960s I might eat this novel up. The hero of the story is young, brave, strong, handsome, has a skill to meet every challenge, wins every fight, escapes every trap, falls in love with beautiful girls and they fall in love with him. What boy, or man for that matter, wouldn't want to be him?

Alas, I found him neither likable nor admirable, nor even credible. His attitude toward women is tiresome; he brags too much, even with the odd self-deprecating remark added in a failed attempt to make him a more balanced character; he improbably has the specific knowledge/talent/skill needed to get out of every predicament he gets into; and too many beautiful girls are quick to overcome their initial hesitancy about him and give them their hearts. All we ever learn about the girls is how beautiful they are, making them more like cut-out dolls than real characters. 

The plot pattern - go on an adventure, fall in love with a beautiful face, get into trouble, get out of trouble, escape leaving the girl behind, repeat - wore thin after awhile. On the plus side, it seemed well researched and had some interesting historical and cultural information. That's about the best I can say for it.