Victoria Silverwolf
Vegetarian Werewolf
Terrarium by Scott Russell Sanders (1985)
[CAUTION: Spoilers]
The author is much better known as a essayist than a writer of fiction, which may be why this novel doesn't meet the usual expectations of science fiction. There is very little conflict, in the usual sense of the word, until the very end of the book.
The story takes place a century or so from now, when ecological devastation made it necessary for humanity to tear down its cities and use them to build completely self-contained environments floating on the ocean. Most people in this future have never been outside these artificial environments, and are ignorant and fearful about the outside world. A few have to go out and make repairs, and some of the oldest remember what it was like before the human race went inside.
The protagonist is a typical young man of his time, who wears elaborate clothing and cosmetics to hide his biological form from others. He meets a woman who, as a young girl, lived with her mother outside during the last days before the great change. Astonished at first by her lack of body shame, love of physical exercise, and appreciation for nature, he soons becomes her lover. She is part of a group of repair workers who go outside sometimes. Together the group (which sometimes shares a sort of vague mystical union through meditation) plans to escape to the outside world permanently and form their own colony.
As I said, the story has very little of the expected conflict. The protagonist quickly accepts the beliefs of his lover (although there are some scenes where he exhibits a strong fear of the outside environment.) Although there are suggestions that those who attempt to live outside are considered to be "contaminated" and will be "treated" by the authorities, this threat is quickly neutralized when it becomes clear that the powers that be don't really care these people start a colony outside. The strongest conflict in the entire novel occurs at the very end, when the woman finds her mother, thought to be dead, living with a group of fanatical technophobes in the ruins of Seattle. This scene seems to serve the author as an allegory for seeking the proper balance between excessive use of technology and complete rejection of it.
One other major character appears, an elderly woman who was one of the leaders in the world-wide project to move humanity indoors. She follows the others outside, and reveals that she worked on this project not to protect humanity from the environment, but to protect the environment from humanity.
Terrarium is an interesting ecological fable, if not always plausible as a work of speculation. Good reading for Earth Day.
[CAUTION: Spoilers]
The author is much better known as a essayist than a writer of fiction, which may be why this novel doesn't meet the usual expectations of science fiction. There is very little conflict, in the usual sense of the word, until the very end of the book.
The story takes place a century or so from now, when ecological devastation made it necessary for humanity to tear down its cities and use them to build completely self-contained environments floating on the ocean. Most people in this future have never been outside these artificial environments, and are ignorant and fearful about the outside world. A few have to go out and make repairs, and some of the oldest remember what it was like before the human race went inside.
The protagonist is a typical young man of his time, who wears elaborate clothing and cosmetics to hide his biological form from others. He meets a woman who, as a young girl, lived with her mother outside during the last days before the great change. Astonished at first by her lack of body shame, love of physical exercise, and appreciation for nature, he soons becomes her lover. She is part of a group of repair workers who go outside sometimes. Together the group (which sometimes shares a sort of vague mystical union through meditation) plans to escape to the outside world permanently and form their own colony.
As I said, the story has very little of the expected conflict. The protagonist quickly accepts the beliefs of his lover (although there are some scenes where he exhibits a strong fear of the outside environment.) Although there are suggestions that those who attempt to live outside are considered to be "contaminated" and will be "treated" by the authorities, this threat is quickly neutralized when it becomes clear that the powers that be don't really care these people start a colony outside. The strongest conflict in the entire novel occurs at the very end, when the woman finds her mother, thought to be dead, living with a group of fanatical technophobes in the ruins of Seattle. This scene seems to serve the author as an allegory for seeking the proper balance between excessive use of technology and complete rejection of it.
One other major character appears, an elderly woman who was one of the leaders in the world-wide project to move humanity indoors. She follows the others outside, and reveals that she worked on this project not to protect humanity from the environment, but to protect the environment from humanity.
Terrarium is an interesting ecological fable, if not always plausible as a work of speculation. Good reading for Earth Day.
