Daedalus Mission 4

Disappointing. This is the 4th of the Daedalus series. Daedalus is on a mission to revisit long-isolated human colonies to see if they've survived and hence if colonization is in humanity's future. Each short novel is a different mission, and each mission is a puzzle to be solved. The running theme is a debate between the cynical but sincere main protagonist and Nathan, the politically savvy ostensible leader.

Until the halfway point, I thought this would be the strongest entry in the series so far. The puzzle, involving a circularly-walled city modeled on Campanella's City of the Sun, inhabited by laconic humans sporting a black parasitic network, was intriguing. Unfortunately, once the puzzle is resolved at about the halfway mark, the book deteriorates into a series of long unconvincing speeches about what must or must not be done, first between the Daedalus crew, then with the planet's natives. Unsatisfying to say the least, especially after a relatively solid beginning. ( )