Prisoners Of Tomorrow - James P. Hogan

Prisoners Of Tomorrow

James P. Hogan

Baen, Jul 7 2015, $14.00

ISBN: 9781476780658

“Endgame Enigma.”  Russia proudly constructs Valentina Tereshkova, an orbiting city space station.  However, America remains suspicious of their former Cold War enemy especially when information from reliable sources claims this is a nuclear weapon launch pad.  While the world marvel at Russia’s success, agent Lew McCain and scientist Dr. Paula Bryce arrive at the Valentina Tereshkova to confirm the claims of Russian duplicity.  They are locked in an inescapable prison even as the countdown to a North American nuclear winter begins.

“Voyage from Yesteryear.”  The colony on Chiron in the Alpha Centauri sector became isolated from the mother planet when WWIII devastated the Earth.  Decades later the Earth’s three superpowers engage in a space race to renew contact with the descendants of the original Chiron colonists.  The Americans arrive first with a dictatorial dogma to impose their belief system on the people of Chiron, who adheres strongly in the belief that everyone has the right to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

These reprints of two 1980s science fictions showcase James P. Hogan’s ability to tell enjoyable yet thought-provoking thrillers.  Though the casts are one-dimensional stereotypes; Endgame Enigma provides an intriguing look at the Cuban Missile Crisis in planetary orbit and the Prometheus Award winning Voyage from Yesteryear timely focuses on the seemingly human need to impose one’s deepest personal beliefs on unwilling others.

Harriet Klausner