Through Struggle, The Stars: a review

In December I was asked to join a group of friends reviewing Through Struggle, The Stars.  Unfortunately, I am a moderately busy guy and missed the window when they did.  Even so, I found the discussion we had with one another over the book to be interesting.  So, I went through and worked out getting a copy anyways and felt I ought to follow through with the review.

The others that have reviewed the book are conversant in politics and economics than I am.  I am a techie.  I am either the worst nightmare of a reviewer for the author or the exact targeted audience.  You see, I work in supercomputers, have worked with military grade lasers, now work with rockets, have worked in astronomy for exoplanet work (caveat, it was radio astronomy and pulsars, but...) and have dabbled in control systems for military hardware.  I am also conversant in paleo topics (really? whodathunkit?) and some bits of history, too.  Could be the daemon geek here for Mr Lumpkin.  Let's see what you think.

Through Struggle, The Stars is set in the early 22nd century.  The world has changed in majors ways from our time.  The United States is now a second tier (tied for third place with the EU) power.  Japan and China are in an increasingly unstable Cold War.  Humanity has spread into the stars and has colonized multiple worlds.  This is done through the use of wormholes.  Nationalism has reached new peaks again as a consequence and the world seems to have been hit by an asteroid or comet at some time in the 21st century.

The book follows a handful of characters as they bounce around the stars and get involved in the first Interstellar War/World War III.  The main characters vary from the newly minted officers just out of ROTC (Neil and Rand) to a grizzled spy (Jim) and young, dangerous Chinese spy (Li Xiao).  Other characters make appearances, but really the main characters that are followed are the above with Neil Mercer being the primary.

The events of the book cover the limited point of view lead up to and beginning of a World War.  Or rather the First Interstellar War.  The Japanese and Chinese go at it and the US gets pulled in.  The whats and whys are obscured until the end of the book, but that may not be the only balls in play here.  It is hinted that there may be more to this than even the bigg-ish reveal at the end of the book.  The spy, Jim, hints as much.

The read itself is quite good: I could put it down, but I wanted to return when I was relaxed or on BART.  The first part of the book evokes earlier Heinlein in a really positive way.  The adventures are plausible and don't always work out for the heroes.  For Neil and Rand, its a coming of age story.  For the others, its a bit different.  Still an interesting read though.

The background has obviously been thought through and much time dedicated to figuring out how the different cogs in the great machine would work and mean.  What's it mean to have space navies?  How does the war get started?  What does the world look like?  How do wormholes work in this universe?  How is interplanetary colonization actually done?  These all have been given some serious skull sweat.  There are a few bits that the author gets serious credits for (demography in the US, frex) and the fusion drives that are used.  And what they are NOT capable of.  Above all else, the fact that hiding in space, stealth in space, is...silly.  Mostly.

The nearest book or story I could compare Through Struggle, The Stars to was "Face of the Enemy" by Don Hawthorne that is a part of the Motie-Pournelle-verse.  It is about a space battle between the First Empire and the Saurons.  I used to like it for its seemingly good take on superships actually slugging it out.  However, the Hawthorne even when I read it as a teenager, obviously didn't understand orbital mechanics whatsoever.  There are some areas like that for Lumpkin, too, but not as egregiously offensive.

Let me outright say, I like the book.  I recommend buying it to friends and readers alike.  Lumpkin ought to be rewarded for his excellent efforts.  Please buy his work.  However, I'm going to critique a bit here on the areas that I do know.  I'll be short and not so brutal.  I hope.

On the general setting, it felt a bit like an mishmash of different time frames put together.  The 2139 time frame was selected to guarantee that there was a wealth of exoplanets settled.  The political time frame felt like it was around 2050, maybe 2060.  The technical time line felt...more like 2030s not counting the space related tech and development.  Even so, computer wise, it felt  like 2020 for that matter (note: I'm not a Geek Rapture type nor do I think Moore's is going on forever and I don't fear our robotic overlords whatsoever.  If you sneeze on Skynet, it'll crash.  I've hugged a proto-Skynet and it did just that).  Whither India?  It could be a bit jarring at times, but its Lumpkin's setting, so I'll just make note of it. 

I have some nontrivial issues with the way land wars would be conducted.  No spoilers though.

The author obviously did a lot of work to research various bits of technology and how he wanted them to fit together for the Human Reach universe; again, kudos, Mr Lumpkin.  Kudos.  There were two areas that I think that the author does need to be called out on.  

The first is the macguffin for some of the plot later on and I'll not spoil it, but the author needs to dig into free electron lasers.  They work.  Depending on the impact of the budget idiocy in Washington, there ought to be the first weapons grade FEL delivered to the Navy in 2018.  In 100+ years, assuming nothing better shows up that is not a laser, then you're going to probably see FELs that tune between microwaves to x rays at least, if not possibly gamma rays. 

The second is part that of exoplanets or more properly human habitable exoplanets will be mapped easily out to 100 light years within twenty years.  This will be done with ever improving space based telescopes that will not require starships to get there to find if its habitable or not.  Kepler, its follow-ons, the infamous Webb, etc are going to have the first worlds that are life bearing within ten years.  Easy. 

Even so, with these two jarring bits, I have to say I really liked the work.  Through Struggle, The Stars is worth every penny.  The scenario is fun, if dire.  The author can write in an engaging way.  I recommend buying it to friends and readers alike.  As I said before, Lumpkin ought to be rewarded for his excellent efforts.  

Please buy.

PS.  My favourite NPC (so to speak) had to be the crew of the Bayandor.  That plucky ship is something that ought to be commendable to the author for multiple reasons that I will not spoil here.