Rollback - Robert J. Sawyer

A science fiction story on a human scale

This is one of the best science fiction books I have read in a long time. It is the story of an elderly couple, both members of which undergo a rejuvenation process. Unfortunately it only works for one of them and a large part of the story is how the couple copes with what is now a large difference in biological ages between them. The author, Robert Sawyer, deals with this issue in a very personal, very emotional way. Against this backdrop, is the story how one member of the couple is involved in communication with an extraterrestrial civilization. This person was able to decipher a transmission from another planet and is called upon to decipher another. This however, was a minor part of the story. To his credit, Sawyer goes into a lot of details on how each member of the couple thinks and of how the alien transmissions are deciphered. This was important as I never had to ask myself how the author got to a certain point. On the negative side, the author made incessant references to current pop culture as if giving a nudge-nudge-wink-wink to those of us residing in the 21st century. Similarly, Sawyer described the various neighborhoods of Toronto, as a type of inside story. Also, at times the story was overly sentimental but these negatives were vastly outweighed by the rest of the story. This book definitely passed my test for an interesting story: did I miss or almost miss my subway stop while reading the book and the answer is yes. This book was well worth the time spent reading it and I strongly recommend it for all science fiction fans, particularly those who live in 21st century Toronto.

An easy, enjoyable read

I only rated it as 3 stars because I have to save higher ratings for truly memorable SciFi. This was a good story, it held my interest and had a satisfying ending. I'd recommend it, but it's not one of those books that you have to read if you're a Science Fiction enthusiast.

The last Sawyer I'll read

The first book of his I read was Hominid. It was very good and enjoyable, how unfortunate for me. 2-3 times a year, have books shipped to me overseas, and my last one had three of his. The Humans was a cheap, "Quick, write a sequel to cash in" book. The Golden Fleece left me feeling I'm the one who was fleeced.

Now I've read Rollback. All Sawyer did was take a very superficial view at a bunch of social issues while dropping as many product names and cultural tags as possible. It looks like the book was written with only one thing in mind: movie option.

The only reason I didn't give this only one star is Sawyer has a good sense of humor.

I usually think books are much better than movies. However, this is one you should wait for on DVD...

The Missing Years

Sawyer is one of the most frustrating writers around. His plots with their strange ideas border on brilliance yet there is always an element of slapstick poking through. CALCULATING GOD was one of the deepest, most poignant sci-fi tales around yet it was presented in a comedic fashion that almost (but not quite) destroyed the overall book. It's as if the author doesn't truth his writing without the joke. In ROLLBACK, a novel of genetic engineering and alien contact, all the previous problems are still there and even they cannot destroy the book.

It's 2048 but you'd never know it. Most things seem as they are today but the real problem is that all cultural references (songs, movies, tv shows, books, etc) are from our time or eariler. The five decades from 1998 to 2048 seem to have disappeared. This is such a common error in futuristic novels that it hardly warrants more than a footnote. I suppose we can suspend belief and go along with the 1950's home set 100 years in the future. The idea that a youth restoration cure exists and yet only a few individuals are allowed to participate is politically ludicrous.

The story is simple: In 2010, Sara interprets a message from aliens and sends a return (in the form of a questionaire). In 2048, we hear back (almost like the post office - lol) and again no one but an 80 something year old lady can figure it all out. (Computers are not the super smart ubiquitous creations many predict but instead appear to be souped up PC's.) A super-rich guy offers Sara and hubby Don the rejuvenation cure (to give her more time for interpreation) but preposterously, hers does not work due to some past condition. Does it make sense that such a procedure would befuddle those who can restore someone to their youth? (Answer: No)

So Don's young and horny and she's old and fragile and he meets a cute young thing, has sex, breaks up but then they reunite at the end...to raise two alien babies hatched on Earth following instructions from the alien message. (whew!) THe author treats the alien pair as nothing more than oversea sdoption children out for a Happy Meal. The notion that an alien would or could possess anything close to our own psychological state is far-fetched but these two are on the friendliness scale of the Wookies. My Grade: C

Interesting ideas

this book deserved it nomination for Hugo. It was well written and contained several very interesting ideas. Not nessecarily original idea, but who cares when the story is told so well? A very good book that made me instantly order more books from the same author.