Red Genesis

The Next Wave

by S.C. Sykes, Isaac Asimov (Introduction), Eugene Mallove (Contributor (Essay))

The future is already here... Computers, the space shuttle, biogenetics - what was once the domain of science fiction is now business as usual. Developments in science and technology are propelling us forward so fast that only a few dare to speculate where we might be tomorrow. Take a step toward our future in out space with two of the leading minds in science fiction and science fact as you explore the colonization of Mars. Nebula Award nominee S. C. Sykes weaves a spellbinding tale of a man who changed two worlds. When shoddy waste disposal techniques result in a series of toxic clouds causing the death of millions, the company responsible makes their CEO, Graham Sinclair, a scapegoat. When he is convicted, an outraged world court decrees that his punishment is to be exiled to the colonies on Mars, never to return to Earth, even in death. Scientist Eugene Mallove provides an in-depth look at the nearly insurmountable technical problems involved in starting a colony on Mars, and what it would take to keep such a colony alive. With an introduction by Isaac Asimov.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

360 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1991

Reviews

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

S. C. Sykes, Red Genesis (Bantam, 1991)


Back in the day, when I was living in a small and godawfully boring suburb of Philadelphia, I used to go to a weekly series of poetry readings, get besotted, and rant. One of the other hardcore attendees was Sandy Sykes, a wonderful lady who had just completed and published a science fiction novel called Red Genesis, intended to launch a new arm of Bantam's science fiction wing, Spectra, called The New Wave. I'm not much of a science fiction fan, the last piece of hard sci-fi I actually finished and enjoyed being Greg Bear's Eon all those years ago, and so the copy I got from her ended up languishing on the to-be-read pile for almost ten years.

Sandy, if you're out there, here's my public apology. Mea culpa maxima, because here's the answer to your inscription: you'd have to have liked my poetry an awful lot for you to have appreciated it as much as I liked this book.

Red Genesis is the story of Graham Kuan Sinclair, a corporate bigwig as the book opens, whose slightly unethical dumping practices combine with the more unethical dumping practices of companies decades before him to create something very nasty. Nasty enough, in fact, to kill three and a half billion people. While it's pretty well established that Sinclair isn't at fault for what companies that were bankrupt before his birth did, his actions were the straw that broke the camel's back, and the courts impose a novel punishment on him-- Sinclair is banished. To Mars.

By this point in human development, Mars is colonized, albeit by small, rival groups that have little to do with one another. Not being skilled in anything except running corporations, Sinclair would seem to be at a disadvantage in a place where everyone's got some kind of marketable skill. But through the friendships he makes along the way, he finds himself more effective than he ever imagined he could be.

Pretty standard sci-fi stuff, no? But the characters are drawn so well, and the emotional bonds between them are so accurately portrayed, that it's impossible not to get involved in what's going on. And by the time the (completely unexpected, by the way) climax of the book comes around, it's devastating.

Could it have been even better? Good question. I could have done without the Asimov-penned preface (dry recitations of facts-- come to think of it, rather like most Asimov novels I've tried), and while the afterword by MIT prof Eugene Mallove is more engaging than Asimov's preface, it pales in comparison to the novel itself. Skip them both and get straight into the meat of the thing. It's only halfway through January of 2001, but I've already found one book that's a shoo-in for the year's ten-best list.

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the largest corporations on Earth is found to have been dumping toxic chemicals in the ocean, where it interacted with decaying nuclear wastes to produce a toxic gas cloud which killed millions before being countered. Not content with convicting a few lower-level executives, the courts make an example of the CEO Graham Sinclair. Capital punishment is forbidden and he is scheduled to be permanently housed on Antarctica when he is suddenly sent to the Mars colony. The colonies are variously religious or mining, and comprised of volunteers, so Sinclair is a problem for them. Universally reviled as the Cloud Man, he must find a way to fit in for his lifetime banishment. Once on Mars he discovers that everyone is being covertly watched and listened to by an organization known as SURF, who do not intervene even if they see life and death situations. This galls Sinclair who starts informing people and removing all hidden cameras and bugging devices. Training as a medic, he starts visiting all the habitats and finds all of them are being surveilled. The last straw for Sinclair is when he discovers that somebody pulled a lot of strings to get him to Mars, and not as punishment but as part of a secret program. A neat tale of Mars and power from S. C. Sykes, which will keep you turning pages.

[Trevor McGuire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story starts out really slowly developing the main character and couple of side characters (too much time was spent on them, in my opinion), and then proceeds through a slow burn of the main plot. I enjoyed the book in general, but I got a feeling of too much structure. I was reminded of Lucifer's Hammer where every single character type and permutation of interpersonal conflict was mapped out. Or perhaps a better analogy is The Little Prince, where each colony represented some facet of life that the author felt the need to explore. The writing was fine, but the story was just a little too clean and the main character just a little too perfect.

[stranger · Rating 4 out of 5]

caspita, bellissimo, speravo che continuasse ma comunque un racconto molto bello, di complotti, di rinascita, di diventare una persona migliore, di trovare sé stessi in un pianeta in cui dovrai vivere a vita, di un amore finito per un incidente ma molto toccante, personaggi molto belli, soprattutto anna leah a graham sinclair, mi è piaciuto molto questo libro, all'inizio provavo un odio repellente contro chi l'ha incastrato ma poi quando è cambiato tutto con la dottoressa sieglers ho goduto tantissimo e tutto è migliorato in meglio e nulla adoro il finale nonostante speravo che continuasse..

nulla sykes ti leggerò presto altri tuoi libri, a presto;)

[Brown Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read many Mars-set novels: this is my favorite. It's a bit dated, which is inevitable, but the story is vital and engaging.

I hope this eventually gets reprinted. Sykes died years ago, so maybe a kindly person or organization will discover it and make it widely available again. Until then, it's worth seeking.

[Wolfgarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this YEARS ago. And every now and then i think about this book and i read it again. It left and impression. My paperback copy of it is falling apart. I wish there was a ereader version of it.

I really do recommend this to anyone who enjoys science fiction and the idea of going to the stars.

[Beneatha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just from the one paragraph introduction at the beginning, I knew this was going to be a thrilling sci-fi book. It was definitley a page-turner and deserves more than five stars!

[Myles · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok book. some interesting ideas considering this was published in like 1992. nothing profound, but it was pretty simple to read.