Twilight of the Mind

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri #3

by Michael Ely

A century after the events of "Dragon Sun, civilization is braced for a final reckoning. Science and faith collide as the fanatical Believers of Sister Miriam vie with the technological might of Prokhor Zakharov in a merciless war of destruction.

Five besieged factions join the battle against Miriam's zealots while Zakharov and Miriam spar in the virtual labyrinth of a sprawling technological network. As the planet Chiron prepares itself for a new era, humanity's struggle hurtles toward a shocking conclusion...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

275 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2002

Reviews

[Einzige · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rare book best left to the collectors

The pulpy conclusion to the trilogy which rushes to a quick finish leaving plot-lines unresolved while devoting ample space to clunky sex scenes. Having Miriam’s Believers essentially emerge as the victor with all factions other than the Hive going into VR hiding was a good and expectation subverting idea. However it is let down by the lazy execution, what made Miriam such a memorable character in the game was the slow reveal of depth and showing that she wasn't a shallow Protestant strawman but possessed just as much if not more insight into humanity and the threat of technological progress as the other characters/factions. In twilight of the mind Ely just takes all the worst tropes of Protestantism and Catholicism and removes the depth and reason – turning an otherwise interesting character into a forgettable villain.

Definitely not worth paying the scarcity premium for.

[Ivan Acosta · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm shocked to see this book has more than 2 stars. In the previous book the author gave me hope about the complexity of the main characters, but in this one they're one-dimensional beings again. The scientist Zakharov has no knowledge of philosophy or theology, which neither seems to have the "Chaplain" Godwinson. They never explain what was the objective of the man that escaped University to start the conflict. Was it to be broken and tortured? Don't they have psychologists in there? The only thing moving the story is conflict and hypocrisy. I recognize that the ending is something that would happen in the game, so that's something good on the author's side.

[Zach · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a bummer of an ending. I wouldn't mind it so much if the story was worthwhile. There are no twists or turns, things just start to go to shit and that's where it ends up. Good guys lose, everyone loses. This book stunk.

[Nick Basile · Rating 1 out of 5]

Easily the worst of the 3. I read a PDF version available online. Not at all worth the $90+ for a paper copy.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, though a disappointing ending in my opinoin. While I had sympathy for one of the victors, I feel that the "bad guys" won and it made me a little sad. Especially since I was so effected by the first book, and really moved by those characters. To see the same characters be plowed under by a religious fanatic and a hive of communists (literally "The Hive") was a little depressing. And Chris (who helped make the game the books are based on, which I haven't played, says the ending of the game's plot is somewhat different.) Kudos to Mr. Ely, though. I enjoyed it.

[Koen Crolla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Third and final entry in the Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri novelisation trilogy. Ely comprehensively abandons the game's mechanics now, but the story he tells with this new freedom isn't nearly good enough to merit it. A lot of plot threads are set up and then abandoned, and the ending, in particular, is a giant ass-pull that really didn't need to happen; the game has multiple victory conditions, any of which could have done a better job tying everything up.
The expectations for video game novels are low, but this isn't so much a video game novel as it is Ely's rejected standard sci-fi novel clumsily tacked on to a rushed ``oh-shit-I-forgot-Miriam-existed'' storyline.