What if we could build a machine to guarantee survival...at all costs!
The survivors of a devastating mechanical invasion have used every possible resource to flee to Epsilon Eridani where humanity must start over. With unimaginable ingenuity and determination they build a new home in New Eden, a huge habitat orbiting the star. But despite the true pioneering spirit that keeps them alive, there is a growing division. Should humanity continue to spread among the stars, or launch a powerful counterattack and retake Earth from the mysterious enemy? Most important of all-- would a military victory be tantamount to suicide?
"Trigger" is an imaginative piece of speculative history where multiple timelines are brought together to unveil a story where grand designs cause havoc on the space-time continuum. Even the best intentions of brilliant minds and the altruistic desires of rising leaders can collide and crumble into chaos when the truth is only revealed in the shadows.
With a narrative that spans the course of roughly one hundred years, this science fiction bonanza snaps back and forth between two time periods as the story unfolds. The reader begins the novel by observing an apparent attack on humanity by droids who appear calculating and detached. This annihilation results in a retreat by the humans to space where they begin to build their own space stations and warships with the hope and intention that someday they will be able to return and reclaim the Earth from the droids inhabiting the "anthills" on the Earth's surface. The audience is then allowed to observe the time period in which the humans begin the process of launching their attack on the droids.
There are not really characters to love or hate in the book as the humans in this book are, well, human. They elect to pursue avenues that probably aren't the best in hindsight, but their beliefs and passions guide them- for good or bad. They must accept the consequences of their actions, because ultimately, each has some responsibility.
Although it took awhile for me to get into the book (which I attribute to my lackluster attitude towards science fiction and my subsequent ignorance towards the genre), I found myself highly engaged after some interesting revelations emerge which bring cohesion to the story and propel it along. There are also some good twists and turns which kept me compelled enough where I read the last 150 pages in one sitting.
I am curious now to read some other science fiction so I have a better yardstick to measure this book. Solid entertainment, though, as it created a dandy movie in my head...which is what I look for in most books I read.
Trigger, the initial novel by Todd Durrant, is a fast paced SF tale about the exiled the population of earth. Humanity was attacked by machines that destroyed many and now some of the survivors have nothing on their minds but to take earth back from the machines. Forced to flee the planet of their birth or die, many inhabitants find a new home within the stars. No one knows the reason for the attack, no one but the oldest woman amongst the survivors. Are the machines enemies or are they their protectors? I enjoyed this book from the minute I opened it. It moves at a great pace and takes you through the many facets that created the catastrophic event without slowing down. It will keep you interested, entertain to the end and you will be glad you took the time to read it. It is a great book for young men and those who enjoy Young Adult SF fantasy.
Well, he could have used an editor (its vs it's) (allude vs ellude) and I would have preferred the focus to be on the guy who gets captured, but it could be worse.