Emergence / David R. Palmer

Emergence
by David R. Palmer

science fiction

copyright 1984
read in April 2013 (and before)

rated 9 out of 10: really, really good

In an afterword the author admits to being a great fan of Heinlein. I hadn't thought of it before -- despite having read this book before, several times -- but yes, I can see the Heinlein influence... Intelligent and capable good guys will fight the good fight, and win, simply because it's the right thing to do...

In my opinion, Palmer does it better than Heinlein.

Emergence is fun, it is exciting, it is science-based. The heroine is intelligent, she is feisty, she is extremely likeable. She is also a young girl, only just old enough to consider that she is approaching womanhood. So the "romance" is pre-teen. But the bonds are strong.

When the boy drops everything in order to save the girl -- terrific!

Meanwhile, the girl is risking everything in order to save her friends and family. Brilliant!

I have read this book several times, over many years. My taste in books may have changed. Emergence is a book which I still enjoy. Immensely.

As an aside, back to that author's afterword...

Palmer tells us that he is a fan of Heinlein. He also gives us a potted history of the writing of Emergence, and of his other books and his other work. I may be imagining it, but...

I feel that Palmer sees life as a Heinlein universe: ability and hard work will lead inevitably to success. Palmer tells us of other stories being planned and written. Yet as far as I can tell, Palmer has published only two books... Hard work and ability have not been able to overcome the need to earn a living. Being an author requires more than the ability to write a good story.

I hope that I am wrong. I hope that Palmer has published many successful books, I just failed in my quick search of the internet. Or perhaps Palmer enjoys his day job and is happy to do that, rather than to publish more books.

It's not easy to make as living as an author!

In any case... I'm glad that Emergence was written and published. It is a thoroughly enjoyable book. I have read it -- and enjoyed it -- several times.

To the author: Thank you.

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