Sundowner

Nicole Shea #3

by Chris Claremont

Tired of life on the ground, Lieutenant Nicole Shea is delighted when she is asked to join the crew of the Starswift, the controversial first joint human-alien mission into space.

Genres: Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Military Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Space Opera

346 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Chris Claremont is a writer of American comic books, best known for his 16-year (1975-1991) stint on Uncanny X-Men, during which the series became one of the comic book industry's most successful properties.

Claremont has written many stories for other publishers including the Star Trek Debt of Honor graphic novel, his creator-owned Sovereign Seven for DC Comics and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote a few issues of the series WildC.A.T.s (volume 1, issues #10-13) at Image Comics, which introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman.

Outside of comics, Claremont co-wrote the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas. This trilogy continues the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow. In the 1980s, he also wrote a science fiction trilogy about female starship pilot Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont was also a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series.

Reviews

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sundowner (Nicole Shea #3) by Chris Claremont is easily the strongest installment of the trilogy. I guess the author really saved the best for last. I'm glad I decided to stick with this series even if it has its issues.

[Michael Sorensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed Chris Claremont's work for many years. His X-Men stories are quite possibly the High Water Mark for Mass Market Comic books (as opposed to the Indies, which are still rocking...) 'First Flight,' Chris' seminal work Nicole Shea work was incredible. 'Grounded'--the second-- was full of idea which were then the absolute cutting edge of science tech. It was a hard read because the concept of Virtual worlds was as yet in its infancy... But Sundowner was an unedited nightmare. Nicole Shea was a wonderful heroine, and the overall plot idea from Sundowner was cool-- it just needed to be edited to manageable level. Sorry Chris, this one was not your best work by any stretch.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 2 out of 5]

Devo dizer que me sinto um tremendo masoquista por ter levado até ao fim a leitura desta trilogia. Há uma razão para Claremont não se ter tornado mais influente para além do seu trabalho como argumentista dos X-Men, e esta sua única trilogia mostra bem isso. Tal como nos outros dois volumes, só ganha ritmo perto do final do livro, com uma história que se arrasta, segundo caminhos paralelos menos interessantes.

Neste terceiro volume, as desventuras da piloto Nicole Shea concluem de forma que se pretendia espetacular. Destilando a leitura, todos os ingredientes estão lá. A personagem regressa ao espaço, reencontra velhos companheiros, e vai testar um novo tipo de nave que cruza tecnologia terrestre com alienígena. Nesse processo, descobre que o primeiro contacto com os felinos alienígenas foi mais profundo do que se julgava, tendo sido infetada com um vírus cognitivo que lhe transmite a memória cultural da civilização alienígena, e vê-se numa situação em que ela própria se parece estar a metamorfosear em alienígena, em espírito, mas não em corpo. O que a leva ao planeta-mãe dos aliados alienígenas para se submeter aos seus ritos de passagem. E aí, acaba por ser ver no centro de uma conspiração que visa abalar a recém criada aliança entre a Terra e a civilização alienígena.

Apesar disto tudo, o livro não funciona, com a história a tornar-se confusa enquanto as personagems seguem desvios narrativos. Sente-se ali muito enchimento de chouriço, com cenas que se arrastam em descrições desnecessariamente longas (especialmente em momentos de ação, o que faz sentido, dado que espremer ao máximo uma dada cena faz parte das regras dos comics comerciais).

Demorei anos a fazer esta leitura - devo ter dado com a referência a estes livros nos anúncios das Asimov que lia nos anos 90, e agora que a fiz, em modo algo nostálgico, percebo que não perdi nada por não a ter lido mais cedo. Pelo contrário, porque depois deste lodaçal literário, a imagem que tenho do seu autor como um dos grandes argumentistas dos comics do final do século XX fica bastante beliscada.

[P.B. Obeng · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's been a while since I read this but this was probably my least favorite of the three Nicole Shea novels. I still enjoyed the strength of the protagonist but it was definitely too long of a novel. If he stuck at a page length between "First Flight" and "Grounded" I think that it would have been ideal.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recent Rrereads: Sundowner. The final part of Chris Claremont's space soap opera finally goes to the stars, if only to end abruptly and somewhat rushed. Was the book too long for more than the deus ex machina space squid? Or for Nichole and Ben's reunion? Many many loose threads.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claremont has a knack for strong beginnings, annoying and meandering middles, and strong endings.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am very thankful that after Claremont wrote this book, he decided to stop writing novels on his own. Too long...too boring...I don't know how I even finished it! The only thing that pushed me to read this book, after the catastrophe that was Grounded!, was that I still loved Claremont's work on X-men. Stick to comics, Chris, please!

[Joseph Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow read, picks up slowly, and skips like a scratched record.