Search - Red Lightning

I've had this one on the shelf a while and finally got round to reading it. It was fun and interesting, but not really that deep. Not a bad way to waste a few hours. Ad copy can lay out the gist of the plot - its a sequel to Red Thunder and the viewpoint character is Ramon Garcia Strickwell, the son of Manuel Garcia the viewpoint character of Red Thunder.

Anyway, what did I like? The neat way the unknown badguys almost wrecked the planet. Nifty, if pessimistic, future world building. More games to play with squeezers. The wrecking of the American southeastern coast and Caribbean.

What I didn't like was just how pessimistic he got about the US. The invasion of Mars - I don't think anyone would maintain operational security that well on that large a scale. The mysterious bad guys - a little too mysterious. The rapid fire conclusion - almost too fast. I feel like it could have been extended and expanded a bit, but I'll live with it.

Truly fun story of independent race for space, classic John Varley, he's never written a dull book! Great lovable characters and plot that twists and turns.

A good read. Not the best but moves right along. Discovery of new technology leads to conflict between a libertarian Mars settlement and a semi-fascist USA.