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Red Claw (novel)

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Red Claw
First edition
AuthorPhilip Palmer
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction, Space opera
PublisherOrbit Books
Publication date
01/10/2009
Publication placeUK and US
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages496
ISBN9781841496245
Preceded byDebatable Space 
Followed byVersion 43 

Red Claw is a 2009 science fiction novel by British writer Philip Palmer.

Plot

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The plot follows Professor Richard Helms as he heads a team of scientists and soldiers sent to study and document all forms of life on the planet New Amazon. When this is done they will "terraform" the planet - destroy all life and make it fit for human habitation. The team comes under attack and Helms and his followers are forced to flee into the depths of the jungle, where they soon end up fighting for their lives.

Literary significance and reception

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The novel received mixed reviews. The Guardian reviewer wrote that "Palmer follows his much-praised debut, Debatable Space, with another riotous, wildly inventive space opera …crawling with over-the-top monsters and crazy biological dangers… Red Claw is that rare treat, an intelligent action adventure replete with intellectual rigour, human insight and superb storytelling."[1]

A review in The Telegraph concluded that "This would make an ideal plot for a shoot ’em up computer game, but as literature it falls short."[2]

References

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  1. ^ Rose Tremlett (9 December 2009). "The praise for Red Claw continues!".
  2. ^ Peter Ingham (27 January 2010). "Genre: Science Fiction and Fantasy". The Telegraph.
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