Matt's Reviews > Slan

The golden age of science fiction produced many works that have stood the test of time. Fahrenheit 451, I Robot, the Foundation trilogy, Ring Around The Sun, the Lensman series, the Skylark series and many others continue to shape science fiction today and thrill modern readers. Unfortunately, some works that were groundbreaking at the time haven't aged as well, Slan being one of them. While the concepts are interesting (racism, eugenics, evolution, political espionage), the execution fails the novel completely. The plot is simplistic enough, however without developed characters and by jumping time periods too much, the forward momentum is lost. With very little action and too many plot holes, Slan becomes a tedious mess, the reader wishing it to end instead of looking forward to the next revelation. The dialogue is amateurish at best, new tech introduced conveniently when a significant plot hole occurs, and the missions make no sense in their execution. A big question is still unanswered; how can fleet of ships be built and take off for the moon and Mars without the government and military noticing? At one time a landmark in the genre, Slan, over the course of time, becomes just another throwaway pulp, its concepts more coherently explored in many better novels.