The Gentle Giants of Ganymede by James P. Hogan

First published in 1978

The Gentle Giants of Ganymede is the second in a series of related novels that began with Inherit the Stars. It isn't necessary to read the first novel to understand the second, but doing so would give the reader a fuller appreciation of the characters and setting in the second novel. The plots of the two novels, however, are only loosely connected; it would be easy to follow the story in Gentle Giants without reading Inherit the Stars. If you haven't read Inherit the Stars, however, I would recommend doing so. It is a better novel than Gentle Giants.

The "Gentle Giants" to which the title refers appear in Inherit the Stars only as a long dead (or at least long absent) race that once lived on a planet in our solar system (Minerva) that was destroyed in the distant past (the mystery surrounding Minerva's destruction is the force driving Inherit the Stars). A starship of the long-lost Giants returns to the solar system after an extended journey ... one that would take 25 million years if the effects of relativity were ignored. The Giants woefully discover that Minerva is gone and make reluctant contact with the new kids in the solar system: a species known as humans.

The first half of the novel generates some energy despite its tendency to turn into a series of science lectures, primarily focused on how the Giants manage to control gravity. An unfortunate tendency of some "hard" sf authors is to elevate Great Ideas above story or character development, and James Hogan succumbed to that temptation in this novel -- much more than he did in Inherit the Stars. The novel's second half, after First Contact is made, tends to fizzle out altogether. The story leads up to a plot twist that is probably supposed to leave the reader gasping with surprise, but it's not all that surprising and ultimately amounts to just another Great Idea. There is little human (or alien) drama in the story; it's interesting, in its own way, but not captivating.

Inherit the Stars maintained a strong sense of mystery that is absent from the sequel. While the two main characters from Inherit the Stars return in Giants, they play a relatively small role. A computer called ZORAC, responsible for translating communications between humans and the Giants, has more personality than any of the human characters. The Giants are more intriguing (they abhor conflict and value cooperation) but by the novel's second half, they are relegated to the status of tourists -- and who really wants to read about tourists? Ultimately, although the novel has its moments, it doesn't have enough of them to sustain a sense of wonder. Diehard fans of hard sf might enjoy it -- it isn't by any means a bad novel -- but it just isn't in the same league as Inherit the Stars.

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