Dieser zweite Teil ist nicht ohne Längen, und für mich gab aus auch nicht so richtig Sympathieträger, deren Schicksal die Längen überbrückt. Zum Teil liegt das vielleicht daran, dass wir mehr mehrere Generationen (mit großen Zeitsprüngen) begleiten, zum Teil an den (sicher gut recherchierten) ausführlichen technischen Beschreibungen. Auch das Ende finde ich persönlich etwas unbefriedigend - wir lassen alle da alleine, wo sie auf einer neuen (oder der alten) Erde gelandet sind. Das ist sicher gewollt, ich hätte gerne einen Hinweis gehabt, was für die Gruppe die beste/richtige Entscheidung war... ( )

Enjoyably Good ( )

Mientras suben las aguas y se desencadenan guerras salvajes por lo que queda de terreno elevado, los trabajos para construir una nave espacial en la que unos pocos privilegiados viajarán hacia un nuevo mundo continúan. Aquellos que vivan, de miles de millones que van a morir, serán los elegidos. Familias enteras son separadas por la fuerza al tiempo que se reúnen los recursos de un planeta anegado para una última apuesta… pero para los pocos supervivientes, el día del lanzamiento será solo el comienzo de otra pesadilla. El arca es la historia de tres mujeres: Grace, Venus y Holle y su papel en la lucha de la humanidad por llegar a un nuevo hogar.

I read [Flood] years ago and really enjoyed it, so I had high hopes for this sequel. Unfortunately, Ark didn't quite live up to my expectations. The best parts are those where we see how humanity has adapted to cope with the situation. But we never get to see anything for very long before it's brutally destroyed. The entire story is like this, just people being awful to each other as hope is lost in a bad situation where everything is meaningless. It's too grimdark for my tastes. Also, Baxter seems to be one of these writers who wants to make very sure that you understand he's done his science research, even if it means the story comes to a screeching halt so Science can be Explained. Regrettably, my feelings about the ending are mainly relief that it's over. ( )

Ark mostly concludes the grim story begun by Baxter in [b:Flood|2111634|Flood (Flood, #1)|Stephen Baxter|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327971319s/2111634.jpg|2117042], a particularly un-cosy catastrophe novel wherein global sea levels rose without end. Conflicting and ultimately academic arguments were proffered as to why this was happening. Finally the human race was split between those hoping that the waters would stop their rise and the select few attempting survival on a vast unsinkable ship, Ark III.

As the old saying goes, where there's an Ark III, there's probably an Ark I and Ark II. Hints were given in Flood that Ark I was a spaceship, and one of the central characters was even dropped off partway through the book to board it. This book picks up her story as she joins the crew of an experimental faster-than-light ship meant to carry its crew to a new Earth.

There are some cute touches in the story, such as the plausibility of the faster-than-light drive being questioned by its engineer after it's been used successfully for several years. It's not clear whether this is Baxter hanging a lantern on it or just a subtle apology for the artifice. Given the difficulty in giving humanity plausible FTL by the 2040s, I'd suspect the normally scientifically rigorous Baxter was just saying sorry. It's been a while since I read the book, so I'm not entirely sure if he gives a reason for not making Ark I a generation ship, thus negating the need for FTL, especially since that's ultimately what it becomes.

Why only two stars? It's simply because the unrelenting misery of the story made it nigh-on impossible for me to really enjoy it. Flood was similarly depressing, but at least watching the world go to pieces has appeal, kind of überschadenfreude. Or maybe even kummerspeck. Watching Ark III and its crew fail miserably wasn't fun, but at least there was the promise of its two namesakes to get things right. Without giving the entire story away, things do not go smoothly for Ark I in this book, and any hope that Ark II might get things right are dashed when we give them a brief visit too.

I know Baxter isn't shy about having these grim, unhappy endings on huge scales, but that doesn't make it any easier to digest. I did go out and read Earth II and Earth III, the two short stories that follow on from the events in this book, hoping for some glint of happiness or some much needed closure. I'd be lying if I said I found it there either. ( )