
Aurora
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Narrated by:
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Ali Ahn
A major new novel from one of science fiction's most powerful voices, Aurora tells the incredible story of our first voyage beyond the solar system.
Brilliantly imagined and beautifully told, it is the work of a writer at the height of his powers.
Our voyage from Earth began generations ago.
Now we approach our new home.
Aurora.
©2015 Kim Stanley Robinson (P)2015 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"This ambitious hard SF epic shows Robinson at the top of his game... [A] poignant story, which admirably stretches the limits of human imagination."—Publishers Weekly
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There is a solution to the possible problems Robinson outlined: Don't attempt it until we're ready. Personally, I don't think interstellar travel should be attempted until (1) greed, excessive aggression, unreasonably fear, and suspicion, have been bred or genetically altered out of our species, and (2) we can make the transit in under 100 years, real time or relative. Either relativistic travel or FTL will be required. We also shouldn't send single ships, or even just two. More like an armada.
Anyway, this is a good book if you want a defeatist and rather depressing vision of the future. I'm going to listen to the Mars trilogy again to cheer myself up.
I did not like this book.
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excellent, thoughtful, and inspired
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The narrator did her best to bring life to the story. But the voice / word choice of the AI was so laborious and boring that it felt more like a Wikipedia reading than a narration. It dragged on during those endless monologues.
I like the human story and interactions. I wanted more of that.
I think this could have been a much shorter story with a more powerful theme.
Felt like 2 opposing stories
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I definitely cannot fault many of the scientific findings in the book that are well-described as inevitably inherent problems on a generational starship. However, from beginning to end, it is indicated that these problems were not taken very seriously in the beginning by the ship's founders. Therefore, my view is that any future starship builders should read this book as Interstellar Spaceflight 101, and then do better designs.
The conclusion that is pounded into our heads by this author, from the very first chapter in so strongly a fashion that it is not a spoiler to say it, is namely that there IS no right way to do interstellar flight that is fair to the "crew". However, of course that's not true, based on human history and our proven track record of overcoming obstacles that at first seemed impossible.
We can and will attempt interstellar flight one day, if we don't destroy the planet first. And there will be failures, just like the first steps in every scientific endeavor ever undertaken. However, we will learn from those, and teach the next group how to do better than the first ones, and eventually, we will figure it out.
Why even read or write sci-fi if you're so pessimistic about the prospects of "leaving humanity's cradle"?
Fascinating, but ultimately disappointing
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A nice long one
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And in the process, it attempts to give a soft answer to Fermi's Paradox.
Fantastic hard sci-fi.
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This book has space elevators how could they not have sent up enough material to make a stable ship????
More than a Cradle of Life
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Say what you want about the writing, plot, character development etc etc. The fact remains that through it all, Robinson presents some genuinely original insights. That alone, in my opinion, makes Aurora worthwhile. That it also sports a memorable story and characters is wonderful hydroponically grown gravy.
A KSR book that comes from and speaks to the heart
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Odd book
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The narrator, Ali Ahn, was very good, especially when it came to voicing the AI.
Different Take on Generational-ship
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