![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Express Review
Jul. 2nd, 2010 12:02 amHi,
So I just finished reading Ares Express by Ian McDonald. This, like its predecessor Desolation Road is another book set on a far future Mars. The books stand alone, although some names and characters from the first book make an appearance in this one. The Mars in these books is a living, breathing example of "technology so advanced it's magic". The people have an intricate spiritual hierarchy involving ranks of angels and supernatural creatures who are all just machines and AI's keeping the planet habitable for man. The AIs at the head of this effort are manipulating the quantum reality of the universe itself so a little veneration is probably not out of line here. This reality meddling seems to have allowed some more organic magic to slip through since a number of people have skills or talents allowing them to manipulate, detect, or predict these quantum fluctuations. This is not to say that the book is all techno-magic and ray guns and cyber-orcs. The magic in this book seeps in around the edges and does it's darndest to look like dumb luck (when it doesn't look like the work of gods and angels). The focus is resolutely human.
It starts with Sweetness Octave Glorious Honey-Bun Asiim Engineer 12th. She's the daughter of an clan of Engineers who are part of the mobile nation-state of Catherine of Tharsis, a monstrous, fusion-powered steam locomotive carrying a village on its back as it endlessly circles the globe on its hauling work. Her only dream is to inherit the throttle and drive the train, but instead she's destined to be married off to a member of the Stuard clan and spend her days among the cars tending to the passengers. After a long talk with her uncle (who was hit by lightning and now exists as a haunted signal tower), and a strange encounter with the reptilian inhabitant of an alternate universe who informs her that she's now a story, Sweetness does the only sensible thing and bolts for the hills.
The book is wonderful. I'd probably rate it as a fair bit better than Desolation Road. Both books strive for the more literary ends of of sci-fi and although Ares Express exults in its story-ness there are numerous passages that are poetic enough to make you want to read it aloud. There are loving descriptions of people and places and it's a treat to lose yourself among the delights presented. Sweetness herself is drawn very well and feels very convincing -- I almost want to say Buffy-esque in a way. If that description would turn you off, forget I said it, she's a lot of fun to read.
One of the sage words of advice Sweetness receives on her way is "Be aware that the marvelous is all around you". The reader would do well to keep that in mind as well, there's a lot of marvelous in this book.
later
Tom
So I just finished reading Ares Express by Ian McDonald. This, like its predecessor Desolation Road is another book set on a far future Mars. The books stand alone, although some names and characters from the first book make an appearance in this one. The Mars in these books is a living, breathing example of "technology so advanced it's magic". The people have an intricate spiritual hierarchy involving ranks of angels and supernatural creatures who are all just machines and AI's keeping the planet habitable for man. The AIs at the head of this effort are manipulating the quantum reality of the universe itself so a little veneration is probably not out of line here. This reality meddling seems to have allowed some more organic magic to slip through since a number of people have skills or talents allowing them to manipulate, detect, or predict these quantum fluctuations. This is not to say that the book is all techno-magic and ray guns and cyber-orcs. The magic in this book seeps in around the edges and does it's darndest to look like dumb luck (when it doesn't look like the work of gods and angels). The focus is resolutely human.
It starts with Sweetness Octave Glorious Honey-Bun Asiim Engineer 12th. She's the daughter of an clan of Engineers who are part of the mobile nation-state of Catherine of Tharsis, a monstrous, fusion-powered steam locomotive carrying a village on its back as it endlessly circles the globe on its hauling work. Her only dream is to inherit the throttle and drive the train, but instead she's destined to be married off to a member of the Stuard clan and spend her days among the cars tending to the passengers. After a long talk with her uncle (who was hit by lightning and now exists as a haunted signal tower), and a strange encounter with the reptilian inhabitant of an alternate universe who informs her that she's now a story, Sweetness does the only sensible thing and bolts for the hills.
The book is wonderful. I'd probably rate it as a fair bit better than Desolation Road. Both books strive for the more literary ends of of sci-fi and although Ares Express exults in its story-ness there are numerous passages that are poetic enough to make you want to read it aloud. There are loving descriptions of people and places and it's a treat to lose yourself among the delights presented. Sweetness herself is drawn very well and feels very convincing -- I almost want to say Buffy-esque in a way. If that description would turn you off, forget I said it, she's a lot of fun to read.
One of the sage words of advice Sweetness receives on her way is "Be aware that the marvelous is all around you". The reader would do well to keep that in mind as well, there's a lot of marvelous in this book.
later
Tom
