The Ragged Astronauts

To deal with the good things first, this book has an original and imaginative scenario that seems plausible and well thought out. The descriptive passages are quite well written by sf standards. Writers often spoil a book with a poor ending, but here the ending is both conclusive and upbeat.What bothers me are the characterization and the plot, both of which I find unconvincing to the point of being unprofessional. I don't really believe in these characters, they're pawns of the author and fail to become real people to me; and I dislike many little details of the story.Overall, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone except Bob Shaw completists and collectors of diverse sf scenarios. I doubt that I'll read it again.I liked [b:The Ceres Solution 2519822 The Ceres Solution Bob Shaw https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1305707329l/2519822.SY75.jpg 729816] better; if you want to read Bob Shaw, I can mildly recommend that one.I seem to have read this book in 1987, but it didn't strike me as even slightly familiar when I read it in 2014.