Growing Up Weightless - Softcover

Ford, John M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553373064 ISBN 13: 9780553373066

Publisher: Spectra, 1993

Synopsis

Talented, imaginative, and self-confident, Matt Ronay has never known any other life but that on the moon, and he clashes with his brilliant politician father, Albin Ronay, in attempt to change his future. Original.

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Reviews

Ford offers a hard SF novel that is supposed to have a soft, touchie-feelie center. Unfortunately, this story of a lost generation coming of age in a sterile lunar colony is hollow. Matt Ronay and his posse of hacker friends pass the time in the 21st century by playing virtual reality games and making fun of Terran tourists, while dreaming about future employment on starships. They're a spirited, funky bunch, like their ancestors who declared independence from Earth years ago. Although they speak in a Russian/English/Japanese jive--passed down from the settlers--the sound of self-pitying adolescence rings true. The portrayal of self-absorbed teens is the novel's strongest aspect. Matt's father, Albin, is a lunar bureaucrat (in charge of negotiating water rights for the population) who still manages to let his son know that he honestly cherishes him. But the narcissistic youth doesn't notice and ultimately finds a job that whisks him off the moon. Does Ford ( The Dragon Waiting ) envision a resurgence of careerism over family ties? Long before this, however, despite the occasional vivid description or teenage witticism, the lack of tension and tepid narrative contrive to lull the reader into apathy.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

By the author of the noteworthy fantasy The Dragon Waiting (1983), a coming-of-age yarn set on the Moon a hundred years from now. The problem for young, talented Matt Ronay and his friends is the lack of new horizons: Earth is despised and feared; the colony worlds and space habitats seem like dead-ends; only the starships offer a chance of escape--but that chance is minuscule. Matt accepts an offer to join an acting company, while planning an illicit outing with his friends to the far side of the Moon; his father Albin, meanwhile, wrestles with the problem of providing water for the Moon's insatiable population while avoiding becoming indebted to the Earth and the predatory VACOR corporation. Matt and friends--they're heavily involved in a role-playing, virtual- reality game--depart on the lunar train; during one of their stopovers, a VACOR saboteur ignites a riot by playing upon existing antipathies toward starship crews; by chance, Matt is able to help the crew at the center of the riot escape, then is offered a place on their starship. He seizes his chance, knowing that his mother, an ``exosurgeon,'' can provide him with the artificial nerves and sensory boosters he'll need in his new life. A carefully constructed, sometimes brilliantly imagined backdrop, but the characters remain lifeless; and Ford's hints and allusions are no substitute for a solid plot. Fair to middling work that promises more than it delivers. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

At the end of the twenty-first century, the moon boasts a thriving network of politically and technologically progressive cities and a permanent home for its distinctive culture while serving as a convenient port-of-call for Earth-born tourists and Far World space shuttles. Just past the legal age for shipping out to work on the shuttles and privately yearning for more freedom, Matt Ronay is restrained by his powerful father, statesman Albin Ronay, as well as by the bond he has with his brilliant circle of moon-born friends. Matt immerses himself in his comrades' computer-based role-playing, and his father maneuvers to gain key political support for the moon's water supply until both Ronays realize a common goal that will finally make possible Matt's opportunity for adventure. Ford is superb at creating a vivid lunar society complete with the realistic comings and goings of crater-linked trains and the awkward locomotion of inexperienced tourists, who are aptly called Slammers. Unfortunately, Ford's gift for physical detail is offset by balky plot development and prose frequently stalled by excessive precision. Technophiles will be happier with his book than will fans of fast action. Carl Hays

As the son of one of the Moon's leading politicians, teenager Matt Ronay bridles at his father's expectations, setting his heart instead on the vastness of deep space and bracing himself for an inevitable confrontation that could make or break his future. The author of The Dragon Waiting captures the flavor of youthful rebellion in his portrayal of the cycle of generations. Suitable for both YA and adult sf collections.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Spectra
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0553373064
• ISBN 13: 9780553373066
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 246