The Trigger - Arthur C. Clarke, Michael Kube-McDowell > Reviews > Overall disappointing

Author's product rating:   

Would you listen to it again?	No, never
Story	Satisfactory
Characters	Very ordinary
Listenability	A good listen when you've got the time
How does it compare to audio works by the same author?	Poor

Advantages:	some fascinating ideas
Disadvantages:	too long, too much politics, not enough sf

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

I've been a fan of Arthur C Clarke's for many years. It's always a joy when a new novel of his appears. This one was written with a partner. Arthur has co-written previous novels, and they have ben very successful. This one is sadly, very disappointing.

The basic idea, the invention of a gadget which disarms guns and bombs is great. The reaction of the the scientists, the general public and the politicians is interesting. But there is far too much of it. The 'science fiction' element definitely plays second fiddle to the political 'intrigue'. Which, sadly, isn't all that intriguing beacuse, as i say, there is too much of it.

Also, as an Arthur C CLarke fan, I was jolted by the appearance of some good old-fashioned anglo-saxon expletives. And by some (yawningly tedious) sex scenes. I'm guessing these were written by the co-author.

I stuck with this very long novel because I have great faith in ACC and there may well have been a fantastic, surprisingly brilliant and redeeming conclusion. But there wasn't. The ending was a cop-out.

If anyone else had written this book, I would have given up well before then end, but I'm sorry to say that my disappointment my faith in Arthur C Clarke has been badly damaged.