Mother of Kings, Poul Anderson, Tor Books, 2001
Set in the tenth century, this is the story of Gunnhild, Queen of Norway and England (a real person). This was the waning days of the Age of Vikings.
As a child, Gunnhild learns the ways of withcraft from a Finnish concubine of her father, a powerful Norse chieftain. She also notices Eirik, son of their king. Growing up, Gunnhild keeps her eyes open and learns the relationship between the powerful and the weak. But she doesn't want to stop there. She becomes a spaewife, a master in witchcraft and sorcery, a knower of the Gods.
She marries Eirik, and things are wonderful for a while. She gives him seven sons, all of whom become great warriors, and one daughter, Ragnhild. Forced into a political marriage, Ragnhild gets a reputation as someone whose husbands tend to die before their time. Eirik's strength and Gunnhild's craftiness and knowledge of sorcery make them formidable foes.
Haakon, another son of Eirik's father, has an equally strong claim as Eirik to be King of Norway. This is a time of building alliances for both men among the groups in that part of the world. The fortunes of Eirik and Gunnhild start taking a turn for the worst. They are forced to flee Norway and live for a time in York, England. Another time they flee to the Orkney Islands, part of present-day Scotland. Eirik dies in battle, as do his sons, one by one. Meantime, Christianity comes to that part of the world. Haakon embraces this new religion, partly because his best friend becomes a priest. He expects those in aliiance with him to do the same. But, there are those, including powerful people, who are not happy with the old gods being tossed aside.
This is a great novel. It's a big novel, both in size and in scope, so it is not easy or quick reading. Once again, Anderson shows why he was a master of the genre. The style of writing gives the impression that it was actually written a thousand years ago. Recently translated, it was mispackaged as Fiction instead of History. I know of no other contemporary writer in the field who can consistently do that like Anderson.
This book will take some patience, but it is highly recommended.
Showing posts with label Anderson-P. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anderson-P. Show all posts
Friday, September 7, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
Genesis
Genesis, Poul Anderson, Tor Books, 2000
Astronaut Christian Brannock is the sort of person who has spent his entire life looking at the stars on a clear night and wanting very much to be out there. It's a difficult time to live on Earth. An age of global cooling is in full swing, with glaciers reaching to the middle of North America. It's a good time to be alive because it is possible for a human personality to be uploaded into a computer, achieving something like immortality. Brannock becomes the first, and as mankind expands into the rest of the galaxy, copies of him go everywhere.
One billion years later, the galactic intelligence sends a ship called Wayfarer, with another copy of Brannock aboard, to Earth, now called Gaia. Planetary intelligence is now common, and all planets are supposed to send periodic reports concerning conditions on their planet. Gaia's reports have been
getting less and less satisfactory. No one likes to have "the boss" check up on them, and, if Gaia was human, Gaia would be no exception. Wayfarer is allowed to land, and Brannock, in a new body, takes a look around. He meets Laurinda Ashcroft, another former human, who was uploaded into Gaia. The intention is that Wayfarer and Gaia talk "face-to-face."
Mankind's days on Gaia are numbered. It's not due to any disease or holocaust, it's just that man is nearing the end of its natural lifespan. Gaia has been changing the parameters on various groups that are left and letting things develop naturally, as if this was an immense computer program. If the results are unsatisfactory, the program is terminated, with the loss of everyone who was living in it. Ashcroft and Brannock see the results of a variety of "experiments" being run by Gaia. They also fall in love with each other.
I really enjoyed this novel. Anderson is my favorite science fiction writer, so I don't claim to be totally impartial. This is a well done, idea filled story, done on a huge scale, with a writing style that I have yet to find elsewhere. It is highly recommended.
Astronaut Christian Brannock is the sort of person who has spent his entire life looking at the stars on a clear night and wanting very much to be out there. It's a difficult time to live on Earth. An age of global cooling is in full swing, with glaciers reaching to the middle of North America. It's a good time to be alive because it is possible for a human personality to be uploaded into a computer, achieving something like immortality. Brannock becomes the first, and as mankind expands into the rest of the galaxy, copies of him go everywhere.
One billion years later, the galactic intelligence sends a ship called Wayfarer, with another copy of Brannock aboard, to Earth, now called Gaia. Planetary intelligence is now common, and all planets are supposed to send periodic reports concerning conditions on their planet. Gaia's reports have been
getting less and less satisfactory. No one likes to have "the boss" check up on them, and, if Gaia was human, Gaia would be no exception. Wayfarer is allowed to land, and Brannock, in a new body, takes a look around. He meets Laurinda Ashcroft, another former human, who was uploaded into Gaia. The intention is that Wayfarer and Gaia talk "face-to-face."
Mankind's days on Gaia are numbered. It's not due to any disease or holocaust, it's just that man is nearing the end of its natural lifespan. Gaia has been changing the parameters on various groups that are left and letting things develop naturally, as if this was an immense computer program. If the results are unsatisfactory, the program is terminated, with the loss of everyone who was living in it. Ashcroft and Brannock see the results of a variety of "experiments" being run by Gaia. They also fall in love with each other.
I really enjoyed this novel. Anderson is my favorite science fiction writer, so I don't claim to be totally impartial. This is a well done, idea filled story, done on a huge scale, with a writing style that I have yet to find elsewhere. It is highly recommended.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Starfarers
Starfarers, Poul Anderson, Tor Books, 1998
This near-future science fiction story begins when SETI astronomers discover "trails" among the stars, thought to be signs of an advanced civilization.
Man has started to spread out among the stars, but has yet to find any other earthlike planets, so there is great interest in exploring the trails. An advanced starship, called Envoy, is outfitted with an eclectic ten-person crew. The ship can pretty much run itself, so the humans are there for when they reach their destination. The very interesting part is that the trails were discovered in an area approximately 60,000 light years away, so over 120,000 years will pass on earth until they return (through time dilation, about 10 years will pass aboard Envoy).
As they get closer to their destination, the trails become fewer and fewer, then stop altogether, leading to speculation among the crew that the civilization either destroyed itself or, for some reason, gave up on space travel. The humans encounter an intelligent race that has, indeed, turned its back on the stars. Envoy's arrival is not totally welcome, because it leads to unwelcome interest in returning to space among some of the aliens.
This is a vivid, well done story of courage and exploration on a grand scale. It just misses the level of Anderson's Best Work, with the science getting a little overwhelming, but it is still far better than most of what is in the Science Fiction section of the local chain bookstore.
This near-future science fiction story begins when SETI astronomers discover "trails" among the stars, thought to be signs of an advanced civilization.
Man has started to spread out among the stars, but has yet to find any other earthlike planets, so there is great interest in exploring the trails. An advanced starship, called Envoy, is outfitted with an eclectic ten-person crew. The ship can pretty much run itself, so the humans are there for when they reach their destination. The very interesting part is that the trails were discovered in an area approximately 60,000 light years away, so over 120,000 years will pass on earth until they return (through time dilation, about 10 years will pass aboard Envoy).
As they get closer to their destination, the trails become fewer and fewer, then stop altogether, leading to speculation among the crew that the civilization either destroyed itself or, for some reason, gave up on space travel. The humans encounter an intelligent race that has, indeed, turned its back on the stars. Envoy's arrival is not totally welcome, because it leads to unwelcome interest in returning to space among some of the aliens.
This is a vivid, well done story of courage and exploration on a grand scale. It just misses the level of Anderson's Best Work, with the science getting a little overwhelming, but it is still far better than most of what is in the Science Fiction section of the local chain bookstore.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
War of the Gods
War of the Gods, Poul Anderson, Tor Books, 1997
This is not just a fantasy novel, it's a semi-autobiographical novel about a Danish king named Hadding who actually lived in the 12th century, and about whom very little is known.
In this book, Hadding's father, also a king, is killed by a rival, so the infant Hadding is sent away to be raised by a family of giants. He learns how to survive in the forest, and keeps up on what's happening in what was his father's kingdom. As a teenager, he leaves to begin his quest for revenge and the return of his father's kingdom. He makes quite a name for himself and eventually regains the throne. Mostly, there is peace and friendship under King Hadding, through conquest or marriage. In a neighboring kingdom, the sons of the king that Hadding killed in battle, who killed Hadding's father, will go to nearly any lengths to get him, once and for all.
This novel gives the impression of having actually been written in the 12th century, recently discovered and translated, and mis-packaged as Fiction instead of History. This is how swashbuckling fantasy is supposed to be done. I loved it.
This is not just a fantasy novel, it's a semi-autobiographical novel about a Danish king named Hadding who actually lived in the 12th century, and about whom very little is known.
In this book, Hadding's father, also a king, is killed by a rival, so the infant Hadding is sent away to be raised by a family of giants. He learns how to survive in the forest, and keeps up on what's happening in what was his father's kingdom. As a teenager, he leaves to begin his quest for revenge and the return of his father's kingdom. He makes quite a name for himself and eventually regains the throne. Mostly, there is peace and friendship under King Hadding, through conquest or marriage. In a neighboring kingdom, the sons of the king that Hadding killed in battle, who killed Hadding's father, will go to nearly any lengths to get him, once and for all.
This novel gives the impression of having actually been written in the 12th century, recently discovered and translated, and mis-packaged as Fiction instead of History. This is how swashbuckling fantasy is supposed to be done. I loved it.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Harvest the Fire
Harvest the Fire, Poul Anderson, Tor Books, 1995
This is part of a far future series about a poet, Jesse Nicol, living on an Earth whose cultural and literary glory days are in the past. He travels to the moon and falls in love with a Lunarian (a human subspecies) named Falaire. She wishes to escape the rule of the Cybercosm, an intelligent, self-aware, more-than-an-artificial-intelligence system which rules Earth with a benevolent, but iron, hand. She gets Jesse, also a pilot, involved in a plot to hijack the last interplanetary shipment of anti-matter and send it toward a Lunarian asteroid colony. The anti-matter would give the Lunarians enough energy to be permanently independent of the Cybercosm.
This is an excellent story. I have avidly read science fiction for over 20 years, and Anderson is my favorite SF author, so I don't claim to be totally objective or unbiased. Still, the characters are real people, the future society building is well done, and, overall, this novel is writing raised almost to an art form. Well worth reading.
This is part of a far future series about a poet, Jesse Nicol, living on an Earth whose cultural and literary glory days are in the past. He travels to the moon and falls in love with a Lunarian (a human subspecies) named Falaire. She wishes to escape the rule of the Cybercosm, an intelligent, self-aware, more-than-an-artificial-intelligence system which rules Earth with a benevolent, but iron, hand. She gets Jesse, also a pilot, involved in a plot to hijack the last interplanetary shipment of anti-matter and send it toward a Lunarian asteroid colony. The anti-matter would give the Lunarians enough energy to be permanently independent of the Cybercosm.
This is an excellent story. I have avidly read science fiction for over 20 years, and Anderson is my favorite SF author, so I don't claim to be totally objective or unbiased. Still, the characters are real people, the future society building is well done, and, overall, this novel is writing raised almost to an art form. Well worth reading.
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