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Debatable Space

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Jmenkus (talk | contribs) at 13:10, 8 September 2010 (I agree, but that's how it's styled in the book). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Debatable Space
cover
AuthorPhilip Palmer
LanguageEnglish
Publication placeUnited Kingdom

Debatable Space is a 2008 science fiction novel by novelist and screenwriter Philip Palmer.[1][2]

The book alternates between telling the story of the main character, Lena Smith, in the form of a diary and a first person point-of-view narrative of events which take place roughly 1000 years from the present day. Each section of the POV narrative bears the name of the character it follows.

The book is billed as a space opera.

It received mixed reviews, with the Guardian describing it as "a debut of rare accomplishment"[3], and Strange Horizons describing it as having "a pretty good twisty plot at the core of the novel—but sadly [...] buried underneath layers of cinematic flash-bang frippery and clunky long-winded exposition."[1] SF Signal described it as "not always successful, but [...] definitely a promising start."[2]

List of Characters

  • Lena Smith - The main character of the novel, former president of humanity and mother of 'the Cheo'.
  • Flanagan - Who is, for want of a better word, a pirate.
  • Peter Smith aka The Cheo ("Chief Executive Officer") - The despotic ruler of the known universe

References

  1. ^ a b Paul Raven (11 February 2008). "Debatable Space by Philip Palmer". Strange Horizons.
  2. ^ a b John DeNardo (January 14, 2008). "REVIEW: Debatable Space by Philip Palmer". SFSignal.
  3. ^ Eric Brown (2 February 2008). "Virtual heist". The Guardian.