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Title: It's not about the plot
Review: If it were for the plot, the characters or the flow of the story, I wouldn't be writing a review because I would have put the book down after the first 50 pages. But as I see it, that's not what it's about here. "The Sunborn" is about (somewhat clumsily) exploring new ideas, ideas that I've never read about before. Benford does away with tired old notions about life in general and intelligent life specifically, which in most SF consists of either a) biological life; b) some form of artificial intelligence, or c) a type of ill (or non-) defined divinity. The book ponders the meaning and place of electromagnetics and chemistry; of concepts of "big" and "small"; of the relative importance for living entities to be solid, concrete, mortal and defined. Benford's ideas here will resonate with me for a long time to come; for this and more, "The Sunborn" deserves 4 stars.
