Theories of Flight (Samuil Petrovitch Novels) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Samuil Petrovich, the unlikely hero of Equations of Life, begins this novel by creating artificial gravity. At some point between Equations of Life and Theories of Flight, Petrovich married Madeleine who, when we last saw her, was a gun-toting nun. Madeleine apparently had a crisis of faith; she's now a gun-toting sergeant in the militia that is guarding the Metrozone from Outzone intruders -- including, evidently, Madeleine's own mother, who shoots Madeleine early on in the novel. Other key players who survived Equations (including Marchenkho, Sonja, and Chain) return in this one, although in lesser roles, and a couple of interesting new characters are introduced. The New Machine Jihad is also back, albeit in a somewhat different form. The plot involves Petrovich's more-or-less single-handed effort to prevent the "Outies" from invading the Metrozone.

Theories of Flight fleshes out the post-Armageddon world of Simon Morden's creation. The Metrozone (what's left of London, also called the Inzone) is shrinking; its residents are in danger of losing their relatively privileged lifestyles to the uncouth Outies who seek a share of the pie, or perhaps just want to stomp on the pie (sounds like class warfare, doesn't it?). The Outzone is expanding, encroaching on the Inzone; the Outies have devolved during the two decades since Armageddon, losing their culture and their language skills. Across the Atlantic, in Reconstruction America, cultural conservatism prevails: "you can't book even a twin room without a copy of your marriage certificate." (I've gotten used to the ever-so-sophisticated British portraying us Yanks as a bunch of hicks, and perhaps we deserve it, but the notion that Armageddon will cause Americans to forego premarital pleasure seems a bit farfetched.) Speaking of America's demons, let's not forget the CIA, which in Morden's future is still playing dirty tricks on the rest of the world.

In some respects the second novel is better than the first; in others it is not as good. I like that Morden seemed to be taking the story a bit more seriously; Theories of Flight isn't as outlandishly tongue-in-cheek as the first novel (losing the fighting nun concept was, I think, a good move). On the other hand, Theories seems less focused, less driven, than Equations. There's a lot going on in Equations (perhaps a bit too much), while an extended section of Theories feels like the literary equivalent of a movie chase scene -- or perhaps an intelligent version of the movie 300. It isn't boring; on the other hand, it doesn't keep the brain buzzing like Equations did.

A second complaint is that the AI advising Petrovich is intent on debating Petrovich's love life with him (does he love Madeleine or doesn't he?) -- an ongoing conversation that just doesn't work. A third is that Madeleine's near-fatal encounter with her mother seems like a significant plot point, but it isn't developed. Maybe Morden will tell us the rest of the story in the next book. Finally, while I like Petrovich's opinionated, sarcastic, antagonistic nature, there were times when the action came to a halt so that he could deliver one of his passionate lectures. Inspiring as they may be, a bit less of that would have helped the story maintain its momentum.

The concluding chapters wrap up the main story nicely but the short last chapter is an information dump. The world undergoes dramatic change in this novel. I hope the next one gives us a closer look at the messy political situation Petrovich manages to create.

If you enjoyed Equations, I think you'll like Theories, even if it lacks some of the first novel's virtues. Theories starts well, the middle is action-filled but light on substance, and the ending carries enough promise that I'm looking forward to reading the trilogy's conclusion. I would give Theories of Flight 3 1/2 stars if Amazon made that option available.

Samuil Petrovich is a scientist who has just discovered how to make anti-gravity. He works and lives in Metrozone, which used to be London, England before Armageddon changed the world. Unfortunately, Metrozone is being torn apart. Can Petrovich save his beloved city?

One of my main criticisms of Equations of Life was the difficulty in understanding the world set-up. As I expected, this is not an issue in the second book. Not just because I am familiar with it now, but the outside world plays a very small part in the book. It is really concentrated on the happenings in Metrozone itself.

This story is just as action packed as the first, maybe even more. It moved very quickly and had lots of heart-pounding moments. There were a few appearances of people from the first book, and I found it fun to be able to recognize them. I really loved Maddy, his love interest from the first book. It this one, they are newly married. She didn't feature prominently, but she was always on his mind, and everything he did was for her. It was very sweet.

My second criticism of the first book was the frequent use of Russian words and phrases. This was not an issue this time around. There were still a few Russian words, but I'm pretty sure they were all expletives, and not too difficult to figure out. Somehow having the profanity in a different language helped convey the meaning without being vulgar. Something I very much appreciated.

Overall, a very good story, and a great follow-up book. There is a third book coming out as well, and I am have to add it to my reading list. If only to discover the conclusion to the trilogy.

This is the second book of the Petrovitch Trilogy, which is also available in a single volume (The Petrovitch Trilogy (The Complete First Three Novels)), and which won the Philip K Dick award (for the whole trilogy). Overall, the trilogy is an enjoyable action series set in post-apocalypse near-future London, with a rather preposterous but fun cast of characters (ranging from a quantum AI to the CIA to Russian mafia to warrior nuns).

The second book suffers in two respects compared to book 1. First, there are few new ideas; it's just a development of some of the same themes. And second, this volume does very little in the way of character development and is substantially nastier in tone than part 1. Basically, the hero just goes around killing people in an extremely long (and predictable) action/chase scene, with a seemingly gratuitous physics breakthrough thrown in. There are fewer light moments than in Book 1, and not many amusing parts.

On the other hand, the writing flows just fine and the action is in line with the general style of the previous book. So it's fine in itself as a transitional work between volumes 1 and 3. In no case would I recommend it on its own, but if you want to read the whole trilogy, then I also wouldn't skip it. Thus, 3 stars. Enjoy!