Jayaprakash Satyamurthy
Knivesout no more
Hothouse, Brian Aldiss' contribution to the SF tradition of dying-earth stories first appeared as a serial in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1961. As a 'fix-up' novel, an expansion and patch-up of several shorter peices, it also belongs to another SF tradition, one that stretches back to AE van Vogt and Isaac Asimov. It's possibly one of the most succesful 'fix-ups' I've read, if you'll bear with the sometimes episodic plot, and a worthy, if whimsical contribution to the dying-earth tradition.
The set-up is simple, and breathtaking. Million of years hence, the sun has started to go nova. The moon has moved into a trojan orbit with the earth, halting its axial rotation, so that only one face of our planet faces the livid, swolen sun. This face of the earth is covered for the most part by a vast, hardy banyan tree.
In the branches of this tree live gigantic insects, predatory plants and the scattered, savage remnants of humanity. This novel follows one of them - a young man named Gren (a nod to Grendel? Who knows) through several exciting wanderings. We enter the story at a point when the elders of Gren's tribe have decided to move on, to 'Go Up' (a euphemism for socially agreed suicide, they think) and leave the young ones, including Gren, to carry on on their own. Things start to go wrong for the youngsters, who find themselves trapped in Nomansland, the contentious strip between the vast forest and the ocean. Incidents and adventures follow with bewildering speed and complexity - equally a product of the novel's origin as a serial story and Aldiss' imagination, which seems as fevered and fertile as the far future he describes so lavishly.
We're treated to revelations on the fungal basis of human evolution, the fate of humans who 'Go Up', and more. Several memorable monsters and mutated humans make an appearance. There's a few tantalising glimpses of the deep past, when humanity reigned over the world. Finally, the story comes to a climax with a group of radiation-mutated humans venturing into space in the company of a giant spider-like plant and an intelligent fungus while Gren, with his mate Yattmur, elects to return to the forest he knows so well, having had his fill of adventure.
And that's that.
There's little hard science in this novel, and little by way of theme or meaning. It's basically a bravura display of sheer invention - and a pretty impressive one, at that. The pace seems a bit hysterical at times, but it's worth the ride. This book may not have the metaphysical weight of Gene Wolfe's forays into the last days of our world, but they sit nicely on the shelf next to Jack Vance's own episodic, gloriously imagined tales of the Dying Earth, while holding their own as a unique creation. I can think of no higher compliment, and highly recommend the book to anyone looking for a thrilling planetary romance packed with ideas, action and invention.
The set-up is simple, and breathtaking. Million of years hence, the sun has started to go nova. The moon has moved into a trojan orbit with the earth, halting its axial rotation, so that only one face of our planet faces the livid, swolen sun. This face of the earth is covered for the most part by a vast, hardy banyan tree.
In the branches of this tree live gigantic insects, predatory plants and the scattered, savage remnants of humanity. This novel follows one of them - a young man named Gren (a nod to Grendel? Who knows) through several exciting wanderings. We enter the story at a point when the elders of Gren's tribe have decided to move on, to 'Go Up' (a euphemism for socially agreed suicide, they think) and leave the young ones, including Gren, to carry on on their own. Things start to go wrong for the youngsters, who find themselves trapped in Nomansland, the contentious strip between the vast forest and the ocean. Incidents and adventures follow with bewildering speed and complexity - equally a product of the novel's origin as a serial story and Aldiss' imagination, which seems as fevered and fertile as the far future he describes so lavishly.
We're treated to revelations on the fungal basis of human evolution, the fate of humans who 'Go Up', and more. Several memorable monsters and mutated humans make an appearance. There's a few tantalising glimpses of the deep past, when humanity reigned over the world. Finally, the story comes to a climax with a group of radiation-mutated humans venturing into space in the company of a giant spider-like plant and an intelligent fungus while Gren, with his mate Yattmur, elects to return to the forest he knows so well, having had his fill of adventure.
And that's that.
There's little hard science in this novel, and little by way of theme or meaning. It's basically a bravura display of sheer invention - and a pretty impressive one, at that. The pace seems a bit hysterical at times, but it's worth the ride. This book may not have the metaphysical weight of Gene Wolfe's forays into the last days of our world, but they sit nicely on the shelf next to Jack Vance's own episodic, gloriously imagined tales of the Dying Earth, while holding their own as a unique creation. I can think of no higher compliment, and highly recommend the book to anyone looking for a thrilling planetary romance packed with ideas, action and invention.
