Inner Eclipse

by Paul Richard Russo

Book

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

376 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1988

Reviews

[Harold Ogle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has been my poster child for bad writing for about 15 years, competing for top honors as the worst science fiction novel EVER with William Shatner's "Tek War". "Inner Eclipse" wins that contest because Russo didn't have the celebrity to explain how he got published with this dog of a novel about an empath. This is not to say that there is nothing redeeming about the book; it does have some good ideas, and it could work as a paperweight in a light breeze. The ideas are sadly undeveloped, the character action seems to be without motivation, and the sentence construction is just plain awful. It's a quick read, but is often so bad that there is entertainment value along the lines of the annual Bulwer-Lytton fiction contest (except in this case, it's the entire novel, not just the opening sentence). I treasure this book as an inspiration for writers everywhere: evidence that the main hurdle to getting published is just finishing the manuscript, with no worries about quality. It's really motivating: if Richard Paul Russo could get published, then so can you! What's more, Russo has continued to write novels and get them published AFTER this one! Now that's inspiration!

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really well written, actually the writing was far above what I was expecting and that might be partly because it was published in the late 1980's so not what I think of as classic sci-fi, but far more modern. As well as being more modern in terms of characters, backgrounds ethics and moral outlook, it just overall FELT more mature than a lot of sci-fi I have been reading and so it was exactly what I needed. Great worldbuilding, a really well paced plot (not FAST paced at all, much more measured than many) and characterisation that was some of the best I have read this year.

There is a first contact element and a strikingly enjoyable river and jungle journey that remined me significantly of non-fiction books I have read set in South American jungles, but also of several Australian Rainforest and Mangrove settings I have personally been in.

The main characters were all slow reveals, layers of experience and trust that just made them feel very realistic. There are side characters and a string commentary on drug culture as well as invasion culture.

The ending is... Interesting, with a element of 'first contact' where humans meet an alien intelligence for the first time and one thing I loved about this first contact story is how ambiguous the results are. Early sci-fi was very prone to making first contact easy and establishing communication a given. More modern sci-fi in both books and films make this a more tricky situation, less of a given, more risky. I liked that about this book. No spoilers, just read it!

I have reviewed this also on YouTube,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvn43...

[Felix Pryde · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was much to enjoy in this book for an 80s sci-fi reader, but ultimately the story fell short.

The technology and worldbuilding were excellent; the author skillfully avoids explaining every piece of tech as that breaks immersion while giving us enough context to figure it out anyway.

Where the book fails miserably is the pacing. Too much anticipation, lots of foreshadowing with no conclusion, and frankly too much time waiting on the main character to finish a cup of coffee. The actual plot was probably only 45 pages.

I had to give it 3 stars for the great tone setting, interesting if not really believable characters, and the worldbuilding.

However, unless you are really itching for cyberpunk meets 'Heart of Darkness', I would avoid this one.