Keix (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
keilexandra) wrote2006-08-02 01:32 pm
keilexandra) wrote2006-08-02 01:32 pm
Book Review
Going to the library tonight to return and pick up some books, hopefully for more than a few minutes so that I can look around as well. Haven't finished reading The Years of Rice and Salt yet, and probably never will. I'm posting a book review of it here, using a template from the scifantasy LJ community.
Title: The Years of Rice and Salt
Author: Kim Stanley Robinson
Genre: mainstream/alternate history
# of Pages: 658 (hardcover)
Rating: D+
Summary: (Quoted from the cover, since I couldn't be bothered to finish the book)
"It is the fourteenth century and one of the most apocalyptic events in human history is set to occur -- the coming of the Black Death. History teaches us that a third of Europe's population was destroyed. But what if? What if the plague killed 99 percent of the population instead? How would the world have changed? This is a look at the history that could have been -- a history that stretches across centuries, a history that sees dynasties and nations rise and crumble, a history that spans horrible famine and magnificent innovation. These are the years of rice and salt.
"This is a universe where the first ship to reach the New World traves across the Pacific Ocean from China and colonization spreads from west to east. This is a universe where the Industrial Revolution is triggered by the world's greatest scientific minds -- in India. This is a universe where Buddhism and Islam are the most influential and practiced religions and Christianity is merely a historical footnote.
"Through the eyes of soldiers and kings, explorers and philosophers, slaves and scholars, Robinson renders an immensely rich tapestry. Rewriting history and probing the most profound questions as only he can, Robinson shines his extraordinary light on the place of religion, culture, power, and even love on such an Earth. From the steppes of Asia to the shores of the Western Hemisphere, from the age of Akbar to the present and beyond, here is the stunning story of the creation of a new world."
Review:
I only manged to read up to page 152, which is amazing because it felt like I read it forever. I congratulate Robinson for managing to bore me to the point where I'd rather work on writing my story than read his -- no easy feat. The concept was great, but his storytelling is so... pointless. The plot is completely circular, involving a group of characters (a jati) who are reborn into various lives and who meet between lives in the bardo.
I gave the book a rating of D+ instead of F because there are a few redeeming qualities. The description is fresh, if heavy and dense; the characters are probably the best aspect of the entire story. Each character is nicely realized and intriguing. Though the plot and genre isn't my usual preference, I might have finished the entire book if Robinson had chosen one freaking storyline and stuck with it instead of killing off the main characters and beginning a new thread every time I began to enjoy the story. Skimming through the rest of the book, it looks like all 600+ pages progresses in this fashion.
I just looked at the table of contents, and apparently there are 10 Books in all.
And then there's the description. It's well written -- I'm sure that description-lovers will enjoy it -- but also very heavy. I don't have patience with description in any novel, and when there's nothing else to occupy my attention... well, I tend to drift away and close the book. The description that I read, however, was decent.
Robinson also has a tendency to go off on long tangents about religion. In the first "book" he focused on Buddhism, and I stopped reading in the middle of a summarized narrative involving a new Islamic settlement. I can do without five quotes from the Quran on one page, thank you very much.
I would go on, but I can't because I don't feel like reading more. So if by some miracle, this review has actually interested you in The Years of Rice and Salt, by all means go ahead and read it.
Author: Kim Stanley Robinson
Genre: mainstream/alternate history
# of Pages: 658 (hardcover)
Rating: D+
Summary: (Quoted from the cover, since I couldn't be bothered to finish the book)
"It is the fourteenth century and one of the most apocalyptic events in human history is set to occur -- the coming of the Black Death. History teaches us that a third of Europe's population was destroyed. But what if? What if the plague killed 99 percent of the population instead? How would the world have changed? This is a look at the history that could have been -- a history that stretches across centuries, a history that sees dynasties and nations rise and crumble, a history that spans horrible famine and magnificent innovation. These are the years of rice and salt.
"This is a universe where the first ship to reach the New World traves across the Pacific Ocean from China and colonization spreads from west to east. This is a universe where the Industrial Revolution is triggered by the world's greatest scientific minds -- in India. This is a universe where Buddhism and Islam are the most influential and practiced religions and Christianity is merely a historical footnote.
"Through the eyes of soldiers and kings, explorers and philosophers, slaves and scholars, Robinson renders an immensely rich tapestry. Rewriting history and probing the most profound questions as only he can, Robinson shines his extraordinary light on the place of religion, culture, power, and even love on such an Earth. From the steppes of Asia to the shores of the Western Hemisphere, from the age of Akbar to the present and beyond, here is the stunning story of the creation of a new world."
Review:
I only manged to read up to page 152, which is amazing because it felt like I read it forever. I congratulate Robinson for managing to bore me to the point where I'd rather work on writing my story than read his -- no easy feat. The concept was great, but his storytelling is so... pointless. The plot is completely circular, involving a group of characters (a jati) who are reborn into various lives and who meet between lives in the bardo.
I gave the book a rating of D+ instead of F because there are a few redeeming qualities. The description is fresh, if heavy and dense; the characters are probably the best aspect of the entire story. Each character is nicely realized and intriguing. Though the plot and genre isn't my usual preference, I might have finished the entire book if Robinson had chosen one freaking storyline and stuck with it instead of killing off the main characters and beginning a new thread every time I began to enjoy the story. Skimming through the rest of the book, it looks like all 600+ pages progresses in this fashion.
I just looked at the table of contents, and apparently there are 10 Books in all.
And then there's the description. It's well written -- I'm sure that description-lovers will enjoy it -- but also very heavy. I don't have patience with description in any novel, and when there's nothing else to occupy my attention... well, I tend to drift away and close the book. The description that I read, however, was decent.
Robinson also has a tendency to go off on long tangents about religion. In the first "book" he focused on Buddhism, and I stopped reading in the middle of a summarized narrative involving a new Islamic settlement. I can do without five quotes from the Quran on one page, thank you very much.
I would go on, but I can't because I don't feel like reading more. So if by some miracle, this review has actually interested you in The Years of Rice and Salt, by all means go ahead and read it.
In a bitchy mood, not sure why. Maybe I'll post another to-do list soon.