SteveR
frell!
- Joined
- May 5, 2006
- Messages
- 94
Mini-book Review: Learning the World (Ken MacLeod)
Well this book is you basic first contact book. There is a very technologically advanced humanoid generation ship approaching a new world which the occupants believe is devoid of intelligent life. This new world however is in fact populated by intelligent bird people who have a technology and social system similar to what I imagine our world was like in the 1940s.
The book really is 2 stories cleverly intertwined so you don't notice the joins. The Bird People story is a story about scientific discovery, secret government organisations, cold war style politics and war games. On the other hand, the humanoid story was very much one of internal politics, rules and moral dilemmas facing them with respect to how and if they should settle in the system and whether they should intervene in the affairs of the bird people.
Despite all this there is actually very little direct communication between the two species at all. And this is what makes the book an intersting read and an original slant on the classic first contact scenario.
Sadly, despite the promising premise I found the whole affair a little dull. The bird people story was the more positive and this was the "there is hope afterall" side of the coin. The flip side was the humans who ultimately demonstrated that being more advanced from a technology/evolution perspective does not necessarily give you the moral high ground. It's an interesting commentary on politics and how people react to unexpected events and change.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad book. It is entertaining on the whole but I personally found the humanoid story wanting for excitement and interest. To be honest, nothing really exciting happens in the book - ever!
Nice idea, well executed, but ultimately a little dull.
Score 6/10
Cheers
Steve
Well this book is you basic first contact book. There is a very technologically advanced humanoid generation ship approaching a new world which the occupants believe is devoid of intelligent life. This new world however is in fact populated by intelligent bird people who have a technology and social system similar to what I imagine our world was like in the 1940s.
The book really is 2 stories cleverly intertwined so you don't notice the joins. The Bird People story is a story about scientific discovery, secret government organisations, cold war style politics and war games. On the other hand, the humanoid story was very much one of internal politics, rules and moral dilemmas facing them with respect to how and if they should settle in the system and whether they should intervene in the affairs of the bird people.
Despite all this there is actually very little direct communication between the two species at all. And this is what makes the book an intersting read and an original slant on the classic first contact scenario.
Sadly, despite the promising premise I found the whole affair a little dull. The bird people story was the more positive and this was the "there is hope afterall" side of the coin. The flip side was the humans who ultimately demonstrated that being more advanced from a technology/evolution perspective does not necessarily give you the moral high ground. It's an interesting commentary on politics and how people react to unexpected events and change.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad book. It is entertaining on the whole but I personally found the humanoid story wanting for excitement and interest. To be honest, nothing really exciting happens in the book - ever!
Nice idea, well executed, but ultimately a little dull.
Score 6/10
Cheers
Steve
