- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz (20 April 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1857985257
- ISBN-13: 978-1857985252
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,113,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Trica Sullivan's SFnovel debut was Lethe (1995), which was followed by Someone To Watch Over Me (1997): this is her third book. It drops readers in at the deep end with a truly bizarre opening that turns out to be heroine Kalypso Deed's surreal perception of a major crash in the AI computer to which she's linked ... and which she should have been guarding. Unfortunately this machine runs the main human outpost on T'Nane, a watery colony world with a strange and poisonous biosphere. As things fall apart, Kalypso finds herself sailing alien seas as captive of an almost literally mad scientist who plans to bridge the gap between Earthly and T'Nane biology--using her as an unwilling experimental subject. Painful episodes follow, described with clinical detachment. T'Nane's exotic ecology is richly imagined, as are the surreal metaphors of cyberspatial interfacing with the mysteriously mutating AI core. Various human factions argue and grumble at occasionally tiresome length; Kalypso herself is a moody, passive heroine who does rather little except when bullied by others. But the writing is excellent and the ultimate biological revelations (though familiar in outline from much past SF) feel satisfying and right. Sullivan remains a writer to watch. --David Langford
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
Stunning sf from a young Amerian writer resident in London - far future sf in the glorious tradition of Arthur C Clarke and sharing the contemporary vision of Iain M Banks
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although it rarely grips you, this story of a group of colonists fighting for survival on an alien world is never boring. The descriptions of the alien lifeforms are vivid, if a little incomprehensible, but the fragmentation of the society into groups, the insane, outcasts, the original colonists (male and female) and their children is compelling. A good piece of science fiction, and worth a read. I wanted to drown the heroine, though.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought the book because it won the Arthur C. Clarke award and I was intrigued. What a pleasant surprise to find an award winner that's actually fun. It's a real page turner and I had a hard job putting it down - and it's thought provoking too. This is what I used to love about the SF I read when I was younger. People who liked this book would also enjoy "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Approaching this book with an open mind, I wasn't quite sure what to expect - how cyberpunk would it be? Well, call it what you will, after a slow start as we are introduced to the character Kalypso and her underachieving "so what?" attitude, it only gets better. An imaginative and gripping approach that was fresh to me.
I enjoyed reading this book although there were instances where it felt that there was a very sectioned approach - you knew that you were being transitioned between the start, the middle and the end.
The imagery that Tricia uses is very vivid and it was easily possible to feel yourself in the middle of nowhere with only the strange patterns of the Luma, or locked into a strange dream state where data is images and sensory stimuli.
It contained some clever twists and at no point was I bored. I look forward to seeing the next book from this author - if she maintains this level of narrative it should be a corker.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Unfathomable science but some nice concepts on colonisation
I found descriptions of alien life in this book mostly incomprehensible. The interactions of the human colonials was fun and character development was done adequately. Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2005 by Simon Alman
Muddled
I managed to read the first three chapters of this book in the hope that it would improve, but at that stage i decided to give up on it. Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2001 by r.boreham@natcen.ac.uk
Very enjoyable completely engrossing book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was completely immersed in the world Tricia Sullivan created. Although it took me a good few pages to get into the story it was well worth it. Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2000 by j_naji@hotmail.com
Complex and unusual. This book will not appeal to every one
After reading this book I was not sure what the author was getting at, if anything. It is a complecated read, not easy by any means, and after I got 2/3 of the way through I was... Read more
Published on 13 Jun 2000 by Its All About Spirit
A very good book if you give it a chance
Tricia's choice of names Calypso Deed, T'name etc etc gets the book off to a bad start, it feels like a 3rd grade english student essay. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2000 by david.benson@mindshareworld.com
A surprisingly good roller-coaster ride
Approaching this book with an open mind, I wasn't quite sure what to expect - how cyberpunk would it be? Read more
Published on 17 Jan 2000
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