Aug 4, 2007
I was not happy when I came across a critic's snooty review of Borrowed Tides a few years ago, which concluded that it was my worst novel.
I moaned about this to a friend, who helpfully remarked that, hey, some novel that you wrote has to be your worst - they can't all be your best - so why be concerned about it?
I understand the logic, but still...
Borrowed Tides is about the first starship to Alpha Centauri, that leaves our solar system in the 2020s - with only enough fuel for a one-way trip. That's not so bad as a plot device, is it? The captain is a philosopher, his second is an expert in Native American mythology (which plays a role in the story), there's a passionate woman with great taste in rock 'n' roll, and a Russian, and a Japanese gardener - what's wrong with that?
True, I do have the ship turning at pretty steep angles travelling at half speed of light - which violates what we know about bodies in motion here on Earth - but deep space and half-speed-of-light speed isn't exactly what we have here on Earth either, is it?
And it does seem, as the ship rounds Alpha Centauri, that it's starting to roll backwards in time ...
So there you have it, Borrowed Tides, my worst novel...
I don't know ... I still like it...