Sunday 18 April, 2004
Polystom by Adam Roberts
"Polystom climbed into his biblane one morning, having made up his mind to fly to the moon. It had come to him upon waking, the sudden whim to visit his uncle Cleonicles - the great Scientist Cleonicles, none other - in his mansion on the moon. It so happened that Cleonicles, the revered old man, the great scientist, had only three days of life left to him. Polystom new nothing of this, of course, any more than did Cleonicles himself."
And so it begins. Polystom is the first book I've read from Adam Roberts, but I think I can safely say it won't be the last. Polystom is a story about the fiftieth Steward of Enting, named Polystom and how his uncle's death changes his life. Roberts describes vividly a strange and unique but familiar world. There are humans and other familiar earthly things, but the world is clearly not ours - there is no vacuum between the planets and the moons, and whole culture with nobles and servants is very medival. The main character in the book, poetry loving young Polystom, is quite an unpleasant man - no doubt very much a product of his culture, he is arrogant and naive.
What can I say, I thought this book was pretty fantastic - I fell in love with the world - not because I'd like to live there, or necessarily even visit, but because it was so beautifully described to the most minute detail. Roberts doesn't have scientific background but a literary one, and I'm sure his "science" in this book will drive many science elitists up the walls. I've said this many times before - for me, a huge fan of science fiction - science is just the backdrop, and the story and storytelling is what matters to me. And Roberts is a tremendous storyteller. This book is highly recommended.
Posted by kolibri at 18 April 18:02, 2004If you haven't already, you might consider giving a try to Harm's Way by Colin Greenland.
I read the translation some years back and was fascinated by the steampunkish Victorian / Dickensian Brits-in-space background with wooden ships sailing through aether and gentlemen having tea at a club on Venus.
The book may have been aimed at a slightly younger audience but nevertheless made for a quaint read.
# 2 - Kolibri (on April 23, 2004 06:22 AM):
I'll certainly add that to my list.
And what do you mean, younger audience? I'm (still) perfectly young ;)
"My mother loves me!" I bellowed. "She is not gone!" Could he not see her standing there, drawn up alongside the bridge, her hair like a red flag of danger? Like Jesus in the chapel at S. Sebastien, pointing to...
Read more on Harm's Way by Colin Greenland as tracked on May 28, 2004 05:24 PM
While I thought Polystom was very good, the brilliance of The Snow came to me as a surprise. All those little details that annoyed me in Polystom - writer's scientific background shining trough, abruptness of the end - this book...
Read more on The Snow by Adam Roberts as tracked on March 5, 2005 07:13 PM
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