“Sundiver” is, fundamentally, a mystery novel stuck in the science fiction genre. It’s also a voyage of discovery — not so much in the Star Trek sense as in the sense of “search for self.”
The events of the book revolve around something which you should be fully able to ascertain from the title of the book. A voyage to the center of the sun. (I guess you could say that’s a spin off from Jules Verne? Unlikely, but an interesting thing to note in passing.
Like many novels dealing with extraterrestrial species, the fear of “otherness” is a recurring theme in the novel. Unlike many other novels, this book specifically relates “otherness” to issues in our own history including the massive relocations the United States government imposed on Native American tribes in the 19th century.
If you like a novel which makes political statements relevant to our own historic decisions, this may be the book for you!
Filed under Reviews by Joe