Limit (novel)
| novel | |
|---|---|
| title | limit |
| country |
 Germany
|
| author | Frank Schätzing |
| publishing company | Kiepenheuer & Witsch |
| First publication | October 5, 2009 |
Limit is a novel by the German writer Frank Schätzing that was published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch at the beginning of October 2009 . The central theme of the thriller is the degradation of the helium isotope helium-3 on the moon , which is used to generate energy on earth .
action
On August 2, 2024, astronaut Vic Thorn dies in an accident at Orley Space Station OSS, which orbits the earth in a geostationary orbit at an altitude of 36,000 km . This is part of a space elevator from the company "Orley Enterprises", which is developed by billionaire Julian Orley and operated in cooperation with the American government. This construction enables the economic mining of helium 3 on the moon, which is used for environmentally friendly energy generation in Orley's nuclear fusion power plants and thus leads to a crisis for the oil companies.
As a world power, China would also like to participate in the helium-3 business. In the absence of a space elevator, however, China is dependent on conventional rocket technology, which leads to a losing business. A border conflict on the moon (which according to Moon Treaty belongs to no one) between the US and China leads in 2024 to moon crisis . This can be resolved peacefully after a few months.
Due to the oil crisis is the head of the oil company "EMCO" Gerald Palstein, forced many employees to the unemployment to dismiss and to look for alternatives. When a company specializing in the extraction of oil sands was closed , he was shot and injured, but survived the moment of the shot thanks to a stumble.
In order to attract future investors for his space projects , Julian Orley is organizing a trip to the moon with a group of multi-billionaires as well as the actor O'Keefe and the American talk show Queen Evelyn Chambers. Originally, Palstein should also be part of the party, but cannot travel due to injury. His place is taken by the unknown Canadian billionaire Carl Hanna. After spending the night at the Stellar Islands Hotel, you enter the space elevator to fly to the moon at the OSS Grand after an overnight stay on the OSS . After landing on the American Peary base at the north pole of the moon , they travel with the "Lunar Express" to the moon hotel Gaia , which is modeled after Julian's daughter Lynn in a crouching position.
The dissident Chen "Yoyo" Yuyun from Shanghai is a member of the Wächter , an underground organization that attacks the dominant state system via the Internet . She receives the technologies necessary for this from a friend of her father's: Tu Tian, the successful owner of Tu Technologies . In trying to send secret messages in the "white noise" of other e-mails to hide, they will happen to a hidden in the same way message and a coding key in the form of a Hydra , but is immediately detected and flees to Quyu, the slum Shanghai, which is not monitored by the government.
Owen Jericho gets an assignment from Yoyo's father to find her on Tu Tian's recommendation. His investigations lead to a break-in of the central police computer at the City Demons motorcycle club in Quyu, where ex-agent and hit man Kenny Xin, disguised as "Zhao Bide", indicates that he is being followed. With false trust, Xin and Jericho monitor the supermarkets where the guards shop. In an old factory, Jericho manages to save Yoyo from Xin on his airbike with the help of the other guards .
With the help of Jericho's computer "Diane", they manage to trace the secret message about a man named Andre Donner, alias Jan Kees Vogelaar. The former member of a totalitarian regime in Equatorial Guinea runs a restaurant in Berlin with his wife . With Tu Tian's private jet , Yoyo, Owen and Tian travel to Berlin to warn Andre Donner about Xin, who is also traveling to Berlin to liquidate the last witness to a rocket launch in Equatorial Guinea.
Jan Kees Vogelaar tells Owen about the history of Equatorial Guinea. Nobody was interested in Equatorial Guinea until oil was found off the coast . To overthrow the US-friendly government, a Chinese-backed coup takes place . The new President Mayé sold the oil to the Chinese and arranged for a space rocket to be launched . He would like to sell a dossier with further information to Jericho for 100,000 euros the next day.
With Tian's money, Jericho can meet with Vogelaar. There Xin manages to get the Vogelaars dossier and kill him and his wife. After a chase through Berlin, Jericho escapes. Then Tian, Yoyo and Jericho manage to get the glass eye of Vogelaar, which contains a copy of the dossier. It turns out that a miniature atom bomb , a so-called mini-nuke , was on board when the rocket was launched in Equatorial Guinea . This has broken away from the communications satellite and headed towards the moon. The bomb that crashed on the moon is recovered at night by Carl Hanna, a spy and contract killer, and placed in the American moon base.
During an excursion with the spaceship Ganymede , during which part of the tour group is warned about the bomb from Earth, the unmasked agent Carl Hanna kills members of his group and flies away with the spaceship with the aim of arming the bomb and then to flee. His accomplice Dana Lawrence alias "Ebola" prevents further communication from the Gaia with the help of a bot network that sends e-mails . Warren Locatelli manages to secretly follow Hanna onto the ship and take him off guard. For lack of tax knowledge, he is forced to free Hanna for his part, and a crash landing occurs. Locatelli dies while trying to break free. Julian and his companions, who were also on board the Ganymede , like Hanna, set off on the dangerous journey to the American helium-3 production station. It comes to a fight with Hanna, in which Momoka Omura dies. Carl Hanna sets out on the journey to the American base with the Lunar Express at 700 km / h, while Julian and his entourage use "grasshoppers" to head for the nearby Chinese base.
In Gaia Sophie Thiel discovered the true identity of Dana Lawrence. A fight ensues in which an oxygen-reinforced fire breaks out in Gaia's throat . Lawrence's identity can be preserved through Thiel's death. The people in the hotel make their way to Peary Base to leave the moon. Dana Lawrence raises the bomb and kills Hanna to preserve her identity. In a desperate search, the bomb is found and transported by the pilot Nina Hedegaard into the Sylvester crater , where it explodes safely. Society is relieved to return to earth. Only the now mentally confused Lynn Orley knows from a statement Hannas of Dana Lawrence's true attitude.
Meanwhile, Owen Jericho, Yoyo and Tu Tian are in the care of MI6 in London . They manage to uncover Orley Enterprises' vice central security officer Andrew Norrington. This was also a member of the secret society Hydra . He is then murdered by Kenny Xin. From Norrington's deleted emails, they learn that a second mini-nuke exists on the moon.
On the OSS, Lynn comes to and fights Dana Lawrence, who set the second bomb. She manages to escape with the bomb in a spaceship, while Julian engages in a fight with Lawrence, whose arm and part of the shoulder are severed from the carbon fiber rope of the space elevator. In the spaceship, the shot Lynn manages to gain distance from the space station before she loses consciousness. Her father Julian Orley and her brother Tim, as well as his wife Amber and the Danish Nina Hedegaard do not let them down and manage to save them from the spaceship before the atomic bomb explodes.
In the end, due to the seemingly illogical murders of the leadership of the environmental TV station Greenwatch and the murder of Alejandro Ruiz, a representative of another oil giant, Owen finds out that the actions on the moon and earth were carried out by a group of oil industrialists led by Gerald Palstein who wanted to save their declining industry. Gerald Palstein tries to be saved at the last minute by Xin, who characterizes him as a hopeless case and drops him. Julian Orley leaves him a loaded pistol as he leaves his villa.
characters
Main characters on earth
Owen Jericho
- A British detective who moved to Shanghai for love but split up there. Jericho stayed in Shanghai and started his own cyber detective. Not least because of the connection to Tu Tian, he established himself through orders from major Chinese industry and the Chinese state. He becomes the protagonist of the storyline on earth through the assignment to track down Yoyo, a Chinese dissident.
Chen "Yoyo" Yuyun
- As the daughter of former dissident Chen Hongbing, she grows up with her single father without knowing anything about his past. The beautiful and intelligent student with a penchant for excessive parties develops into the leader of an Internet dissident troop called the Guardians . She has an almost fatherly relationship with her father's old friend, Tu Tian, in whose company she works.
Do Tian
- The wealthy founder and managing director of the technology giant Tu Technologies . He is friends with the Chens and Jericho and supports the dissident group Wächter with his products. Tu directs Chen Hongbing to search for his missing daughter at Jericho.
Chen Hongbing
- Yoyo's father. He spent five years in an asylum as a result of a revolt against the state , where torture was the order of the day. He was never acquitted of his guilt, which made him a bitter person. The relationship with his daughter is difficult because of this.
Kenny Xin
- A former mercenary and psychopathic killer who pursues Jericho, Tu and Yoyo, among others. He is highly intelligent and very well equipped by his clients. Also noticeable is his compulsive behavior that everything in his vicinity must be symmetrical and have a certain order.
Patrice Ho
- Senior police officer; Friend and helper of Owen Jericho.
Guan "Daxiong" Guo
- Founding member and vice guardian ; gigantic figure; high intelligence, which one does not trust him.
Jennifer Shaw
- Head of Central Security, Orley Enterprises
Andrew Norrington
- Deputy Head of Orley Enterprises . Responsible for the safety of the lunar society.
Gerald Palstein
- Strategic head of the American oil company EMCO , who was shot in the closure of a subsidiary. He is considered the "green conscience" of the oil industry and tries to get into Orley Enterprises in the face of helium-3, which is making oil superfluous . Palstein was invited to the opening of the Mondhotel Gaia , but was unable to fly due to his gunshot wound .
Loreena Keowa
- Keowa is a reporter for the Canadian environmental broadcaster Greenwatch and comes across the Palstein case while researching. She vigorously tries to clear up the case. Keowa is of Native American descent and gets along well with Palstein.
Bernard Lee
- Chief of MI6 . Lee was named after the first cast member of the Secret Service chief M from James Bond, Bernard Lee .
The lunar society
Julian Orley
- The founder of Orley Enterprises and developer of the space elevator and helium-3 fusion reactors. Richest man in the world. He is the host of the lunar society, unconventional and attaches great importance to his independence from governments and states.
Lynn Orley
- Julian Orley's daughter and CEO of Orley Travel . Lynn is very talented, but psychologically unstable and in danger of losing her mind. She designed the moon hotel Gaia .
Tim Orley
- Julian Orley's son, who knows about his sister's mental health problems and argues with his father who doesn't notice them. He goes to the moon because he wants to stand by Lynn.
Amber Orley
- Tim Orley's wife, she tries to mediate between him and his father.
Eva Borelius
- Scientist and CEO of a pharmaceutical company. Borelius is married to Karla Kramp.
Karla Kramp
- German surgeon who asks persistent questions.
Evelyn Chambers
- Talk show queen in the USA. Until she confessed her bisexuality as a politician.
Chuck Donoghue
- Manager of the hotel and casino group Xanadu. Always cracking bad jokes.
Aileen Donoghue
- Wife of Chuck Donoghue and also works in the hotel industry.
Marc Edwards
- Founder and head of microchip company Quantime Inc. and husband of Mimi Parker; has a creationist worldview.
Mimi Parker
- Fashion designer with also a creationist worldview.
Carl Hanna
- Lonely, sympathetic-looking, guitar-playing major investor. He turns out to be an agent.
Rebecca Hsu
- Fights with obesity and loneliness and is the owner of the Taiwanese luxury company Rebecca Hsu .
Warren Locatelli
- Owner and founder of a leading photovoltaic group. Locatelli swears a lot and likes to.
Momoka Omura
- Arrogant Japanese actress; married to Locatelli.
Mukesh Nair
- Indian founder and owner of the food company Tomato .
Sushma Nair
- Pediatrician; married to Mukesh Nair.
Finn O'Keefe
- Irish actor with an excessive past but few know about it. He became famous in the role of Kurt Cobain .
Walo Ogi
- Charismatic major Swiss investor who is enthusiastic about rock music from the 90s.
Heidrun Ögi
- Photographer, albino , former stripper and porn actress; married to Walo Ögi.
Oleg Rogashov
- Owner of the Russian steel giant Rogamittal . Rogaschow is a martial arts and soccer fan.
Olympiada Rogashova
- Member of the Russian parliament who suffers and drinks from the arranged marriage with Rogashov.
Bernard Tautou
- Owner of a Franco-British water company.
Paulette Tautou
- Wife of Bernard Tautou; works as a foreign language correspondent. She has a weak stomach and suffers in weightless space.
Miranda Winter
- Ex-model and billionaire heiress, uneducated and naive and therefore always carefree.
Dana Lawrence
- The moon hotel director and head of security. She doubts Lynn's trustworthiness at every opportunity to distract from herself.
Sophie Thiel
- The deputy director of the Mondhotel Gaia , also responsible for the life support systems and the caretaker. Thiel is cheerful.
Nina Hedegaard
- Danish shuttle pilot and tour guide; has an unofficial relationship with Julian Orley.
Axel Kokoschka
- The chef of the moon hotel. Can cook very well and is very shy and clumsy with people. Kokoschka is in love with Thiel.
Michio Funaki
- Funaki is the second chef and is particularly good at making sushi.
Ashwini Anand
- Anand is responsible for the accommodation, technology and logistics at Gaia .
reception
The 1320-page novel received mixed feedback. Reviewer Gerhard Matzig from the Süddeutsche Zeitung is enthusiastic about the novel and praises the accuracy based on extensive research and the “amazing narrative style”. Still, he notes that the storylines are easily too long. In addition, he compares the author with Dan Brown and emphasizes the “constructive talent”, the humorous expression and the “tailor-made dialogues”. Richard Kämmerlings also praised the “high level” in the FAZ , which other German authors have not achieved. Furthermore, he judges the generally understandable discussion of "highly explosive questions" and also the scientific nature as positive. Tobias Schmitz vom Stern , on the other hand, criticizes the excessive length of the novel, which turns reading into “work” and makes the plot “agonizingly slow”. Despite the "superfluous passages" criticized by him, Schmitz is also impressed by certain scenes and the "excessive inventiveness" of Schätzing.
In the review of Breaking News for the Frankfurter Rundschau , Sylvia Staude judged the writing style of its predecessor Limit as negative in retrospect: " Limit was already there, there is no talking about it, a bad novel, and it is Breaking News too."
Limit was nominated for both the Kurd-Laßwitz-Prize and the German Science Fiction Prize .
In Germany, the initial circulation was 400,000, with 320,000 pre-orders. By September 2012 the book had sold 600,000 times.
literature
- Frank Schätzing: Limit . Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 2009, ISBN 3-462-03704-8 (for one week in 2009 at number 1 on the Spiegel bestseller list )
Individual evidence
- ^ Website of the publisher for the book
- ^ Gerhard Matzig : "All inclusive". (No longer available online.) Süddeutsche Zeitung , October 5, 2009, archived from the original on November 25, 2009 ; accessed on November 11, 2019 .
- ^ Richard Kämmerlings : Frank Schätzing's new novel "Limit". FAZ , September 29, 2009, accessed on October 16, 2011 .
- ↑ Tobias Schmitz : "An excruciatingly slow journey to the moon". Stern , October 5, 2009, accessed November 6, 2009 .
- ^ Sylvia Staude: Frank Schätzing “Breaking News”: Writing by numbers. In: Frankfurter Rundschau . March 17, 2014, accessed December 21, 2015 .
- ↑ http://www.sfcd.eu/002/2dsfp/2dsfp.html
- ↑ A look into the future with Frank Schätzing , derwesten.de
- ^ Frank Schätzing: New thriller "Limit" , erdbeerlounge.de
- ^ Frank Schätzing, bestselling author, Cologne , medienwoche.de, via archive.org