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Stormtrack
1996: Danger aboard an orbiting weather satellite. Survival in the balance for tomorrow's astronauts.
- GenresScience Fiction
188 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
1 person is currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
James Sutherland
5 books3 followersJames^^^Sutherland
James Edward Sutherland, alternate names: James E. Sutherland, J. Sutherland
James Edward Sutherland, alternate names: James E. Sutherland, J. Sutherland
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 11, 2020
The banner above the title and a very nice Tim Kirk painting lists this as the first book in the Harlan Ellison Discovery Series, and Ellison contributes an introduction that's intelligent and reserved. The story is a bit dated now, of course (the book appeared in 1974, and is set in the future world of 1996), but it's a very good story of a young man on a satellite that controls weather. It's an interesting and pretty well written story, and the science is still thought-provoking, especially with the current concerns and debates about climate change.
April 8, 2020
Un buon romanzo, nel complesso basato su una trama di tipo spionistico ma da SF quasi perfetta.
Non mi aspettavo il finale basato sulla civiltà ma nel complesso non sfigura. Buoni i personaggi, abbastanza ben descritti e sviluppati, il mistero regge quasi fino in fondo come atmosfera e azione.
Direi 3 stelle e mezza.
Non mi aspettavo il finale basato sulla civiltà ma nel complesso non sfigura. Buoni i personaggi, abbastanza ben descritti e sviluppati, il mistero regge quasi fino in fondo come atmosfera e azione.
Direi 3 stelle e mezza.
January 30, 2016
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.0 of 5
Reading old science fiction, which was set in the future at the time the book was written, but which is now in our past, can be a real hoot! Parts of this story are frighteningly real today, but some of it just makes me shake my head.
Set in the future of 1996, the men and women aboard the Boreas, an enormous meteorological satellite are the first (and last?) line of defense for all humankind as a mega-storm threatens the planet. As with most good science fiction, the science is a backdrop to the story and the story is about people. But people are dangerous and it's possible that the devastation of Nature is tame compared to the wars, and politics, and corruption of humans.
This book, first published in 1974 has some surprisingly correct predictions. The volatile fury of nature, for one. In the last few years from when this blog is being written, we hear reports of un-natural weather patterns and super-storms which are reaching a fierceness that has never been witnessed before (due to our destruction of the ozone - which is NOT mentioned in the book).
The other eerie prediction is the space station Boreas. While the International Space Station is nowhere near as luxurious as the station in this book, the idea that there are men and women living on a station that orbits the earth, monitoring weather (and other things), really was just the idea of a a science fiction writer in '74.
But while these were nicely thought out, there were times I raised an eyebrow: a man arrives on the space station and lights up his pipe. Smoking?! In an enclosed pumped-oxygen environment? Really? That made me shake my head, but I actually chuckled when people started to use a manual typewriter on the station.
Despite science that doesn't hold the test of time, this book was an enjoyable read. A battle, of sorts, for power, on the station is interesting, and the backdrop of a super-storm threatening Earth adds an extra element of danger.
If you should see this book available in a used book store somewhere, it's worth reading. Which shouldn't be a surprise -- this is the first book in The Harlan Ellison Discovery Series. Harlan Ellison has some pretty high standards.
Looking for a good book? Stormtrack, by James Sutherland, is sci-fi from the mid-1970's that is worth reading if you should run across a copy.
Reading old science fiction, which was set in the future at the time the book was written, but which is now in our past, can be a real hoot! Parts of this story are frighteningly real today, but some of it just makes me shake my head.
Set in the future of 1996, the men and women aboard the Boreas, an enormous meteorological satellite are the first (and last?) line of defense for all humankind as a mega-storm threatens the planet. As with most good science fiction, the science is a backdrop to the story and the story is about people. But people are dangerous and it's possible that the devastation of Nature is tame compared to the wars, and politics, and corruption of humans.
This book, first published in 1974 has some surprisingly correct predictions. The volatile fury of nature, for one. In the last few years from when this blog is being written, we hear reports of un-natural weather patterns and super-storms which are reaching a fierceness that has never been witnessed before (due to our destruction of the ozone - which is NOT mentioned in the book).
The other eerie prediction is the space station Boreas. While the International Space Station is nowhere near as luxurious as the station in this book, the idea that there are men and women living on a station that orbits the earth, monitoring weather (and other things), really was just the idea of a a science fiction writer in '74.
But while these were nicely thought out, there were times I raised an eyebrow: a man arrives on the space station and lights up his pipe. Smoking?! In an enclosed pumped-oxygen environment? Really? That made me shake my head, but I actually chuckled when people started to use a manual typewriter on the station.
Despite science that doesn't hold the test of time, this book was an enjoyable read. A battle, of sorts, for power, on the station is interesting, and the backdrop of a super-storm threatening Earth adds an extra element of danger.
If you should see this book available in a used book store somewhere, it's worth reading. Which shouldn't be a surprise -- this is the first book in The Harlan Ellison Discovery Series. Harlan Ellison has some pretty high standards.
Looking for a good book? Stormtrack, by James Sutherland, is sci-fi from the mid-1970's that is worth reading if you should run across a copy.
April 17, 2021
Probably if I had read Stormtrack when it came out in 1974 I would have given an higher rating (but not more than three stars).
Almost 50 years after its publication, Stormtrack, in my opinion, is no longer able to leave a mark on the reader as other books of those years do. The plot itself at times seems to me a little bit confused...
Almost 50 years after its publication, Stormtrack, in my opinion, is no longer able to leave a mark on the reader as other books of those years do. The plot itself at times seems to me a little bit confused...
February 15, 2019
Decent idea but not executed well. The story felt so rushed, it was like reading the movie version of the book, but in book form. Take some more time and tack in all that skipped detail and you would have had a much more solid read.
May 21, 2018
Scroll down for the English version.
Storia affrettata
Ripensando ai punti essenziali della trama, mi rendo conto che c’è della potenzialità, eppure non posso proprio dire che il libro mi abbia entusiasmato.
La trama è infatti molto lineare. I primi capitoli servono unicamente a presentare il protagonista, Ross Moran, ma niente di importante accade finché non viene spedito in una stazione spaziale e lì gli viene proposto un lavoro su un’altra stazione spaziale chiamata Borea. Tra tecnologie avanzate che si scontrano con altre a dir poco antiquate (i personaggi viaggiano nell’orbita terrestre come se niente fosse, ma usano la macchina da scrivere!), si dipana un’avventura in cui gli eventi vengono narrati in maniera molto semplicistica. Il modo in cui viene presentata la tecnologia è superficiale e vengono usate delle spiegazioni pseudo-scientifiche molto deboli. Non pare essere solo una questione di stile, poiché l’autore diventa di colpo molto più preciso nel parlare di meteorologia (o perlomeno dà questa sensazione a un profano).
Gli eventi si susseguono in fretta, in maniera che definirei improbabile. Gli stessi dialoghi, a tratti, sono poco convincenti. Il tutto è infarcito di cliché, come i militari supercattivi che non sentono ragioni, in particolare se si tratta di donne al comando.
Non posso neanche dire che il libro non mi sia piaciuto affatto. Ho trovato il protagonista simpatico. È stato bello immergersi nella sua mente e i suoi monologhi interiori sono coinvolgenti. Ci sono inoltre delle scene d’azione niente male. Ma la sensazione generale che ho provato è stata quella di eccessiva semplicità, come se fosse la prima versione di una storia che non è ancora stata del tutto sviluppata. Peccato.
A rushed story
Thinking back to the essential points of the plot, I realise that there is potential, yet I cannot say that the book has impressed me.
The plot is indeed linear. The first chapters only serve to present the protagonist, Ross Moran, but nothing important happens until he is sent to a space station and there he is offered a job on another space station called Boreas. Among advanced technologies that clash with others that are antiquated to say the least (the characters travel in Earth orbit, but use a typewriter!), an adventure unfolds in which the events are narrated in a very simplistic fashion. The way technology is presented is superficial and very weak pseudo-scientific explanations are used. It doesn’t seem to be just a matter of style, since the author suddenly becomes much more precise in speaking of meteorology (or at least he gives this feeling to a layman in this topic like me).
The events follow each other in a hurry, in a way that I would define improbable. Even the dialogues, at times, are not very convincing. The whole thing is stuffed with clichés, like the supervillain soldiers who don’t listen to reason, especially if they are women in charge.
I can not even say that I didn’t like the book at all. I liked the protagonist. It was nice to plunge into his mind, and his inner monologues are engaging. There are also some good action scenes. Nevertheless, the general feeling was that of excessive simplicity, as if it were the first version of a story that has not yet been fully developed. What a pity.
Storia affrettata
Ripensando ai punti essenziali della trama, mi rendo conto che c’è della potenzialità, eppure non posso proprio dire che il libro mi abbia entusiasmato.
La trama è infatti molto lineare. I primi capitoli servono unicamente a presentare il protagonista, Ross Moran, ma niente di importante accade finché non viene spedito in una stazione spaziale e lì gli viene proposto un lavoro su un’altra stazione spaziale chiamata Borea. Tra tecnologie avanzate che si scontrano con altre a dir poco antiquate (i personaggi viaggiano nell’orbita terrestre come se niente fosse, ma usano la macchina da scrivere!), si dipana un’avventura in cui gli eventi vengono narrati in maniera molto semplicistica. Il modo in cui viene presentata la tecnologia è superficiale e vengono usate delle spiegazioni pseudo-scientifiche molto deboli. Non pare essere solo una questione di stile, poiché l’autore diventa di colpo molto più preciso nel parlare di meteorologia (o perlomeno dà questa sensazione a un profano).
Gli eventi si susseguono in fretta, in maniera che definirei improbabile. Gli stessi dialoghi, a tratti, sono poco convincenti. Il tutto è infarcito di cliché, come i militari supercattivi che non sentono ragioni, in particolare se si tratta di donne al comando.
Non posso neanche dire che il libro non mi sia piaciuto affatto. Ho trovato il protagonista simpatico. È stato bello immergersi nella sua mente e i suoi monologhi interiori sono coinvolgenti. Ci sono inoltre delle scene d’azione niente male. Ma la sensazione generale che ho provato è stata quella di eccessiva semplicità, come se fosse la prima versione di una storia che non è ancora stata del tutto sviluppata. Peccato.
A rushed story
Thinking back to the essential points of the plot, I realise that there is potential, yet I cannot say that the book has impressed me.
The plot is indeed linear. The first chapters only serve to present the protagonist, Ross Moran, but nothing important happens until he is sent to a space station and there he is offered a job on another space station called Boreas. Among advanced technologies that clash with others that are antiquated to say the least (the characters travel in Earth orbit, but use a typewriter!), an adventure unfolds in which the events are narrated in a very simplistic fashion. The way technology is presented is superficial and very weak pseudo-scientific explanations are used. It doesn’t seem to be just a matter of style, since the author suddenly becomes much more precise in speaking of meteorology (or at least he gives this feeling to a layman in this topic like me).
The events follow each other in a hurry, in a way that I would define improbable. Even the dialogues, at times, are not very convincing. The whole thing is stuffed with clichés, like the supervillain soldiers who don’t listen to reason, especially if they are women in charge.
I can not even say that I didn’t like the book at all. I liked the protagonist. It was nice to plunge into his mind, and his inner monologues are engaging. There are also some good action scenes. Nevertheless, the general feeling was that of excessive simplicity, as if it were the first version of a story that has not yet been fully developed. What a pity.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews