Though Sagan's latest future thriller is supposed to complete a trilogy that began with Idlewild
and Edenborn
, it's stuffed with ideas that veer off into fascinating but underdeveloped tangents. The genetically altered young Post Humans of Sagan's first books have gone through their bloody personal crises and now have settled down to revive the people who had themselves frozen to escape a deadly universal plague. Since the ones who could afford cryogenic sleep were the most "successful," they tend to be insanely competitive, unwilling to be guided by their saviors. And so factions begin plotting to take control of the new utopia and to revive private armies for rival communities. The book ricochets through its complicated plot in short, snappy chapters, most of them dictated by Hal, the Post Humans' chief of security. Hal's an agreeably cynical observer, and his lively sections summarize the action well. However, so much is going on and flying off in so many directions, that the book finally reads like a tantalizing summary of a really interesting novel. (May)
