Tumbler Paperback – April 27, 2010

Like Heinlein's juveniles before it, and also like pal Nathan Lowell's excellent Solar Clipper series, Brand Gamblin's TUMBLER is not so much an action tale as a story of a young person learning her place in the world -- or in this case, in the Solar System. Libby Carter comes out to the Asteroid Belt to make her fortune as a miner, but is quickly disillusioned as to how easy it is *not* to go about doing so. Quickly exiled to a tiny shack on a tiny asteroid that spins so rapidly that her home life becomes a never-ending merry-go-round (hence the derogatory nickname she gets, Tumbler), her first thought is to just knuckle down to what amounts to indentured servitude until she's earned enough money to pay her way back home, where she will have to start over again at zero. Still, better than being the Tumbler, she thinks.But she has another think coming. How she learns of this is a big part of this novel's charm; a turning point about halfway through, in which Libby finds herself struggling to keep a little girl alive and conscious, leads her to realize there's more than one way to look at her situation, and that the life of a Tumbler has as much opportunity as hardship -- especially if, as Libby is, one is imaginative, willing to work, and willing to accept friendship.I think this would be a GREAT book for any young readers on your holiday gift list, whether they typically go for science fiction or not. I cannot recommend it enough!

I liked this hard scifi about asteroid miners because it felt so authentic to me. I read a lot of SF, so I've got enough book learning to appreciate how a person gets around in zero gravity, and the effects of even small amounts of gravity. The mining methods and equipment certainly rang true.I'd say this is actually two books, but that's not a complaint. There's a quite satisfying climax and potential ending about halfway through. I almost expected to turn the page and find another book or even some short stories, but was pleased to find another chapter in the continuing story of a young woman who takes a chance to make it rich, then finds that maybe money isn't everything.Brand Gamblin presents the material well. The writing is quite decent. I'd give it my whole-hearted approval.My four stars is equivalent to screaming READ THIS BOOK! I reserve those five stars for when I find a book so compelling that I can't tear my eyes away from it until I finish. Those are few and quite far between.

Tumbler is a sci-fi novel that takes a different spin on the whole genre and tries to do a book that has a solid story without invoking ray guns, malicious aliens, or really any other source of violence. The novel is about a character named Libby Carter who moved out to the asteroid belt to make a life for herself as a space miner. The novel has some of the trappings of an old "life on the frontier" type novel, only now it has space ships.There are some great things that do make this novel while not a deep read at least entertaining. I did enjoy the story as it was just simply doing what it seems no other Science-fiction novelist wants to do and made a novel where killing is not the central premise. Libby is an outsider to the world so she makes a decent protagonist to help us understand this odd little world where mining and very little else apparently make themselves at home.That being said this novel suffers from several issues, problems, and probably just little nit picks on my end. First of all, the protagonist Libby seems to fall under what I dub "Bella Syndrome" in that she's very plain. So plain, that you tend to believe it is an intentional move to try and insert yourself into the character. She has no interesting hobbies or personality quirks. She simply likes working and mining. I mean all I was really hoping for at some point was to try and understand this character who the entire novel is focused around. Over the course of the novel you see very little in the way of her background (though this is very intentional), or pass-times besides playing poker. I don't even want to get into how she becomes a hero, great reformer, and all around perfect human being without any real faults.The science of the novel seem very spot on and the concept makes for an almost believable idea that this could be the way space mining works. At least that's the way it is sold, I could be completely off.Overall, I will give Tumbler 3 out of 5 for length as if you really wanted to you can read the novel in a few hours as it's very short. I will give it a 4 out of 5 for price as the story is worth the 5 dollars you pay for it.In conclusion, it has some major faults, but is oddly entertaining and unlike most science fiction you will run into. If that seems up your alley its worth checking out. If Character development and depth is important to you, avoid it like the plague.

Ok.. it's not REALLY like LHotP.. well maybe a little.. but it's still an AWESOME book.I have to admit, I have never actually *READ* Tumbler all the way through, but I have listened to the Podcast / Podio-Book version of it several times and I do own several copies of the book in various formats.Throughout high-school and college (well.. what would have been a normal person's college years) I read a LOT of sci-fi, some of it "hard" sci-fi and some of it more on the pulpy side. So, you might not think that a story about a young girl's growth to adulthood and her adventures in space would be all that interesting. You would be wrong. Tumbler is very well written, filled with wonderful and believable characters, and the world that author creates for the is (while perhaps not technically accurate) very believable and entertaining.Tumbler works very nicely as a casual read (or "listen" in my case) for the experienced sci-fi fan and I believe it would also make a wonderful book for a young reader who might have a taste for sci-fi.I also hear that there might be a sequel in the works.. and I am very much looking forward to it!

I never thought I would use the word endearing to describe a sci fi book, but....Its all about Libby, a young girl who has brought a ticket to be a miner on a colony world in the prospect of getting free land if you work for the company. She gets mugged on arrival and ends up being given the piece of land which is just a small asteroid that is just big enough for a one room shack. With no money and not knowing a thing about mining she has just her grim determination to keep her going. Deciding she is going home she works hard to raise the money with just a little help from the community... just enough so that she thinks she is doing it herself. As she works hard and helps rescue a young girl she is gradually respected by the community and changes her plans.Yes you could easily have written a similar story about a prospector in the American history but the scifi adds a nice element and the story is written with a believable world-view and situations with plenty of tension/ action to keep you interested.