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Falling Torch
by Budrys
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Baen (1990-12-01)
ISBN: 0671720333
EAN: 9780671720339
Dewey Decimal #: 813
Paperback
SKU: 8402
Condition: As New
Comments: Binding: Softcover. Condition: As New.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
The earth had been captured by The Invaders. A generation later, Michael Wireman had come back from the Centaurian colony...and found very little that he expected. For one thing, most Earthmen were perfectly contended. The fighting was between factions of outlaw Earthmen, hidden in the mountains, barely taken note of by the invaders. And Wireman found he didn't like the outlaws. Could he become assimilated by the tame Earthmen? Could he, in other words, surrender?
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Customer Reviews
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interesting SF with perhaps new relevance
Rating  (3)
Date: 2006-08-12
My comments are for the audiobook version, which I assume is basically the same.
The book starts describing in some detail the Earth at a time after the Invaders were defeated and then backtracks to the "past" of how this came about. The portrayals of the characters and politics are excellent.
The resolve of the exiled Earth president sets his son into action to return to Earth and help the ongoing resistance to the Invaders. The Invaders are portrayed as benefactors rather than aggressors by the Earth people who have grown accustom to their rule. Yet some human "exiles" raise a resistance of sorts, but primarily just fight among themselves. When the main character arrives he sets into motion events that lead to the attack against the Invaders at a critical time.
The themes have to do with what an ordinary and initially highly moral person can accomplish when put into extreme circumstances. The psychology of his conflict between moral standards against murder versus survival and freedom are brought out well if not fully explored. Interestingly the Invaders play a similar role in bringing out this theme but more in the background.
My biggest dissappointment with the book is that these themes are not explored further. The ending seems abrupt, but I suppose, if I'm left wanting more that may also be a sign of a good book.
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Story of a man who finds his cause
Rating  (4)
Date: 2000-05-02
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Falling Torch is one of those stories that you, or at least I, can connect with. This is due in no small part to the fact that Michael Wireman, the main character is a believable person. He's not superman and he's not Jojo the idiot circus boy. He's just a guy in the right place at the right time. The right ancestry couldn't have hurt. Wireman's the son of the president of the solar system., not that it means much on Alpha Centaur. It seems Earth and the solar system are under "Invader" control. The only thing his father presides over is a government in exile that the centurians could care less about. Then one day the situation changes... since I didn't see a synopsis provided by Amazon (unusual) I'll copy it down here: Wireman came back to a vanquished Earth on a mission to save it. What he learned was that the guerrillas were corrupt and the average citizen would just as soon be left alone. And he wasn't in very good shape himself. 1991 paperback synopsis
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