Involution Ocean

Harlan Ellison introduced Bruce Sterling to the world with his support for 'Involution Ocean' (1977), Sterling's first novel, praising it in his introduction with such hyperbole that Sterling must have cringed when he read it. Nothing, surely, could be that good! In fact, the book is very good indeed......more

The simplest way to describe Involution Ocean is Moby Dick meets Dune. A sybaritic drug user signs up with a whaling ship that sails on an ocean of dust to obtain a sure supply of the exotic drug Flare. No book could match up to greatness of those two, but Involution Ocean moves quickly, and sketche......more

A good book that could have used a better editor. Sterling is brilliant at alien ecology, but occasionally schlocky at other things. He'll ellide key action sequences or spend pages setting up characters who disappear for the rest of the book. And his science has some holes, or at least fuzzy areas,......more

Very fun and imaginative book that I enjoyed thoroughly. Cool concepts, interesting characters, and a great story overall. Knowing the story of Moby Dick, I had a good idea of how it would end, but this book still gripped my attention page after page. Elements of it reminded me a lot of Treasure Pla......more

So strange yet somehow Sterling delivers a poignant and moving story about a drug addict on an alien world who falls in love with a batlike alien. A sailor on a sea of dust. An alien world built in incredible detail. And I guess part of it is just realizing I’m a fan of this novelist’s work. That’s......more