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City on Fire
A sensuous exploration of the ancient world beneath the Shield
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City on Fire
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By Walter Jon Williams
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HarperPrism
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$22.00/$31.00 Canada
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Hardcover, Jan. 1997
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ISBN 0-06-105213-2
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Review by L.R.C. Munro
 n Metropolitan, the prequel to City On Fire, Walter Jon Williams introduced readers to an exotic alternate world of complex, globe-girdling cities run on the geomantic force of "plasm." The first book told the story of Aiah, a low-caste civil servant who risks everything to help the revolutionary Constantine overturn a corrupt government and maybe change the world.
City On Fire picks up the tale at the exact place and time that Metropolitan ends, with Aiah leaving her home to follow Constantine to the city she has helped overthrow. Arriving in Caraquis, Aiah is relieved to find that Constantine still has a place for her, both in his new government and in his heart. Relief is short lived though. Aiah's new job puts her squarely in the middle of all the political maneuvering of the many factions and interest groups jostling for control of the government, and her romantic re-involvement with Constantine carries dangers of its own.
Aiah muddles along, doing her best to stay out of trouble and support Constantine in his noble-seeming objectives, but she soon finds that trouble is impossible to avoid. As her responsibilities grow, so does her understanding of the true nature of power politics. While attacks from all sides threaten the fragile peace of the new city, Aiah learns that not only must she use all of her skills -- as a mage, a political figure and as one of the '"cunning" Barkazil people -- she must also delve into the deepest mysteries of plasm to uncover the true locus of power in the world.
Williams creates a lush landscape
City On Fire is not so much a sequel as a continuation of the story begun in Metropolitan. Williams once again does a great job of making this world feel real. His meticulous inner eye creates a landscape so rich in concrete and metaphorical imagery that it alone is practically worth the price of admission.
Unfortunately the rest of the story doesn't do the landscape justice. The plotting is intricate but mechanical. The characters have good presence but are, by the necessity imposed by the book's ultimate direction, one-dimensional. Most disappointing of all is Aiah. As the book's viewpoint character it is vital that readers have some sense of Aiah's purpose or desires-- yet for most of the story she seems motivated only by situations or the actions of others. Her lack of personal involvement robs all the clever maneuvering and violent action of any emotional punch. By the time she finally does grab hold of the story near the end, it is too late to really make up for all the vagueness.
I sense the possibility of a third book here... --LRC
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Moonrise
Family infighting threatens human habitation on the Moon
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Moonrise
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By Ben Bova
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Avon Books
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$23.00/$30.00 Canada
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Hardcover, Dec. 1996
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ISBN 0-380-97302-2
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Review by Clinton Lawrence
 aul Stavenger is desperately trying to get to a temporary shelter on the Moon as Ben Bova's new novel, Moonrise, opens. Two of his co-workers have been murdered by nano-machines planted by his stepson, Greg Masterson. The nano-machines also destroyed their communications links. It's 20 miles to the next shelter, and he's not sure he has enough oxygen to make it. Complicating matters, the sun is rising, diminishing his suit's ability to dissipate the heat. And he has only a limited water supply.
Greg Masterson hates Paul for several reasons. The Masterson family had run one of the largest aerospace companies in the world for several generations until Greg's father committed suicide. Or so the authorities believe. Paul was having an affair at the time with Greg's mother, Joanna. Following the death, Joanna blocked Greg's ascension to the position of CEO by marrying Paul and nominating him for the position. She felt Greg wasn't ready for the position, and that Paul deserved it for developing the company's most profitable product, the Clippership, a commercial aircraft which can fly into space. Greg feels cheated out of his rightful position, and tries to blackmail Paul and Joanna with a video disk found in his father's office. Greg says the disk is evidence his father was murdered.
The blackmail fails, placing Greg and Paul on conflicting paths that threaten not only Paul's life, but also his dream of expanding Moonbase, which Greg wants to shut down.
A strong work of hard science fiction
Moonrise is a very interesting blend of hard science fiction, family infighting and corporate and global politics. While Bova doesn't handle the mix entirely flawlessly, he does it well enough to give the novel real power and some convincing intrigue, and he deals with many serious issues along the way. Nanotechnology provides the focus for much of the novel's various plot lines, and while precise workings of nanotechnology might not be as comprehensively explained as other technical details, Bova balances its wonders with its limitations quite well.
His handling of the political side of nanotechnology -- the worldwide movement to ban it -- is not as strong. While readers may agree that public fear of new technology is often unwarranted, seeing characters whine about it in hard science fiction novels is getting rather old. It would be nice to see the technophiles find a more creative thematic use.
On the other hand, Bova's explorations on how to make space and the Moon profitable contain some very interesting ideas. To his credit, Bova emphasizes the difficulties while advocating the goal, and he uses the technical details to great effect. It's a very honest and intelligent treatment.
Moonrise is an exciting novel rooted in realism. Bova gives new life to the Moon as a place for human habitation, creating a strong work of hard science fiction in the process.
Despite my small complaint above, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There are a lot of great details about the Moon, and not a dull moment. --Clint
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3001: The Final Odyssey
Frank, Dave and HAL pick up where they left off 1,000 years ago
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3001: The Final Odyssey
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By Arthur C. Clarke
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Del Rey
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$25.00/$35.00 Canada
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Hardcover, March 1997
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ISBN 345-31522-7
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Review by Curt Wohleber
n 2001: A Space Odyssey, the malfunctioning supercomputer HAL 9000 killed astronaut Frank Poole and set his body adrift. In 3001: The Final Odyssey, Clarke's third sequel to the 1968 novel and film, a spacecraft recovers Poole's spacesuited body, which has been perfectly preserved by the vacuum of space.
Thanks to 31st-century medical technology, Poole makes a speedy recovery. He adjusts quickly life on Earth in 3001, a world of full-immersion virtual reality, direct mind-to-computer links, intelligent dinosaurs and skyscrapers tens of thousands of miles high. But Poole grows restless and resolves to complete the mission he started 10 centuries ago: to investigate the mysterious and powerful black slab known as the Monolith.
Millions of years ago, the Monolith gave a struggling band of ape-men an evolutionary kick in the pants, sending them on the road to technology and civilization. In 2010, the Monolith transformed Jupiter into a miniature sun to nurture the developing life on the frozen Jovian moon Europa. In its only direct message to humanity, the Monolith warned humans to attempt no landings on Europa. Poole, however, hopes that an exception will be made for him, because his old shipmate Dave Bowman apparently still exists in some form within the Monolith on Europa, his mind merged with that of the debugged HAL 9000.
Profound ideas, but an average novel
The film 2001: A Space Odyssey was a cinematic milestone and perhaps the best --and most intelligent -- science fiction movie made. 2001 the novel, based on the screenplay Clarke co-wrote with director Stanley Kubrick, was merely okay. The story was really designed for film, and Clarke mapped some of the same territory more effectively in his 1953 novel Childhood's End. 2010 (made into a so-so 1984 movie) and 2061 don't rank with Clarke's best novels, but they were lively and thoughtful space adventures.
But not a whole lot happens in 3001. The slender plot serves mainly to explore what society and technology might be like in the future and to pass stern judgment on the barbarities of the modern age, including war, female genital mutilation and especially religion, which one character deems a form of mass insanity.
Yet the original 2001 used basic religious themes in science fictional form: creation, the loss of innocence that comes with knowledge, death and resurrection, and human destiny under the control of a vast and unknowable power. In 3001, the 79-year-old Clarke seems intent on dismantling his theology and putting humanity back in control. As the real 2001 approaches, Clarke will brook no millennial nonsense: gods will not save humanity, nor will aliens or even computer technology.
As philosophy, 3001 is intriguing, maybe even profound. As a novel, it's an anticlimactic end to a saga that began -- and probably should have ended -- with 2001. Still, 3001 is never less than interesting. In his long career, Clarke has written about space, technology and humanity's limitless potential with an insight and eloquence that few can rival. Even if Clarke has lost his edge as a novelist, his ideas are well worth listening to.
With a stronger ending, 3001 might make a pretty decent
movie. Paging Mr.
Kubrick... --Curt
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