Tor, 2004, $7.99, ISBN 0-765-34033-X, 534 pages, paperback

You have to love a book that starts out with the 1st Officer playing a wargame (Austerlitz). It has nothing to do with the plot per se, but a variety of wargames pop up in mention as a character trait. None are actually played out in the book, but a paragraph here and there make note of his hobby.

The book concerns the River of Stars, a solar-sail based starship that was once the equivalent of the Titanic--elite, expensive, and the social darling of the age. But along came the Farnsworth engine, and poof--these sail ships became obsolete. The River, last of her line, plies the trade routes between Earth, Mars, and Jupiter thanks to retrofitting Farnsworths to her massive hull. In the meantime, the owners sell off just about everything to generate a profit, and neglect maintenance as well.

You can see where this is going.

In short order, some malfunction nails two of the four engines and the ship yaws off course. It’s up to the crew to patch the River together and get back on track before the ship passes the gravitational point of no return and sails out of the solar system. And the Captain dies on page 2.

The crew’s an interesting character study, and the book delves into each and every one of them, mingling their expertise with repairs with a variety of foibles. I’m not sure if there’s a person to root for, but each offers quirks to love or hate.

The book is a bit long--a little trimming in the middle would help. It’s not necessary to tell us every event of every minute of everyone’s day. We kind of get it.

Still it is a very good read, Flynn sets up the end of the book “will they make it?” scenario quite well, and I kept reading to find out. Ultimately, that’s the mark of a good author.

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