- Hardcover: 448 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz (1 Oct 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0575079363
- ISBN-13: 978-0575079366
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.8 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 764,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Gardens of the Sun (Gollancz)
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Product Description
Review
Few writers conjure futures as convincingly as McAuley; his latest novel deftly combines bold characterization, a thorough understanding of political complexity, and excellent science. --Guardian
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Review
Weaving a plot that constantly keeps you guessing about what might happen next, McAuley's vision of the future is compelling and vivid. A hugely impressive near-future space opera. (James Blackwell SFX )
He subtly explores what makes us human. (Jonathan Wright BBC FOCUS ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
He subtly explores what makes us human. (Jonathan Wright BBC FOCUS ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is the second of a pair. The first was The Quiet War. See its reviews for the background to this one.
After the Quiet War, many of the Outers are rounded up into prison camps. The ones that escape capture, the Free Outers, flee to Miranda, a moon of Uranus, to recover and rebuild. They are forced to flee again to Triton, a moon of Neptune, after Greater Brazil sends ships after them. Again they are moved on, this time by Ghosts, fellow Outers who follow a reclusive leader who in turn follows orders from a future version of himself, who is supposedly on an extra-Solar planet. Orbiting remote Nephele, the Free Outers, now wary of permanent habitats, build the "Gardens of the Sun", detached bubble habitats that are closed eco-systems drawing extra energy from the Sun.
The Gardens of the Sun are but one of many types of long-term closed habitats, ranging from the many scattered emergency self-regenerating survival cabins Outers need in case of suit or major habitat failure to the artistic creations of the Outer 'gene wizard' Avernus, who delights in creating hidden 'gardens', each one following a completely different design in its combinations of 'tweaked' living organisms, based on archetypal animal and plant patterns. A more utilitarian approach is taken by Sri Hong-Owen, who creates 'cut' humans for various purposes, not all pleasant. Both women come to very different ends which signal how their approaches differ.
The Outers draw their strength as a community of individuals working together. The three Earth blocs against them, united under the banner of the Three Powers Alliance, soon start squabbling over the spoils of war. Earth's bloc governments are very much like many of Earth's national governments now: dictatorial, controlled by cliques, using a veneer of democracy. These governments use their own people, and there are some poignant moments for a spy and a war hero who discover the truth about their engineered roles and rebel. While things change on Earth, it appears a spent force, woefully contradicted by greed for, and Green zeal against, wealth and power. In contrast Outer society is very much idealised (apart from the cultist Ghosts). Even in defeat, these individualists never give up. Living a seal away from a killing vacuum presumably breeds discipline and endeavour.
While there is no FTL drive in sight, and robots are just clever, but not intelligent, workers, this novel re-invents optimism in space exploration. It sidesteps the dead end of building another Earth by terraforming Mars, and instead proposes a new goal of colonisation of the entire solar system, and hints at a new type of 'generation starship', built around Outer closed eco-system designs.
After the Quiet War, many of the Outers are rounded up into prison camps. The ones that escape capture, the Free Outers, flee to Miranda, a moon of Uranus, to recover and rebuild. They are forced to flee again to Triton, a moon of Neptune, after Greater Brazil sends ships after them. Again they are moved on, this time by Ghosts, fellow Outers who follow a reclusive leader who in turn follows orders from a future version of himself, who is supposedly on an extra-Solar planet. Orbiting remote Nephele, the Free Outers, now wary of permanent habitats, build the "Gardens of the Sun", detached bubble habitats that are closed eco-systems drawing extra energy from the Sun.
The Gardens of the Sun are but one of many types of long-term closed habitats, ranging from the many scattered emergency self-regenerating survival cabins Outers need in case of suit or major habitat failure to the artistic creations of the Outer 'gene wizard' Avernus, who delights in creating hidden 'gardens', each one following a completely different design in its combinations of 'tweaked' living organisms, based on archetypal animal and plant patterns. A more utilitarian approach is taken by Sri Hong-Owen, who creates 'cut' humans for various purposes, not all pleasant. Both women come to very different ends which signal how their approaches differ.
The Outers draw their strength as a community of individuals working together. The three Earth blocs against them, united under the banner of the Three Powers Alliance, soon start squabbling over the spoils of war. Earth's bloc governments are very much like many of Earth's national governments now: dictatorial, controlled by cliques, using a veneer of democracy. These governments use their own people, and there are some poignant moments for a spy and a war hero who discover the truth about their engineered roles and rebel. While things change on Earth, it appears a spent force, woefully contradicted by greed for, and Green zeal against, wealth and power. In contrast Outer society is very much idealised (apart from the cultist Ghosts). Even in defeat, these individualists never give up. Living a seal away from a killing vacuum presumably breeds discipline and endeavour.
While there is no FTL drive in sight, and robots are just clever, but not intelligent, workers, this novel re-invents optimism in space exploration. It sidesteps the dead end of building another Earth by terraforming Mars, and instead proposes a new goal of colonisation of the entire solar system, and hints at a new type of 'generation starship', built around Outer closed eco-system designs.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Paul McAuley is surely one of our best writers. This is intelligent, world creating, thrilling and optimistic space opera - without the naivety of much American SF. The world building goes on against a back drop of flawed humanity, full of politicking, jealousies and the small cruelties we all love to inflict on each other. So it is, so it will be. The context is biodiversity but this time its human biodiversity and the opportunity to build a post human experience as well as human one, a technological fueled optimism that resonates so much in 2009 . We can build and mitigate anthropogenic climate change. There are no hero's as such, just people muddling on doing there stuff not always well or even nicely .
It really must be read after the Quiet War though as i do not think it stands well alone
As an aspiring writer it makes insanely jealous . Nuff said
It really must be read after the Quiet War though as i do not think it stands well alone
As an aspiring writer it makes insanely jealous . Nuff said
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What many people have yet to realise about Paul is that his writing it not only gripping but beautifully constructed from the characters he creates to the situations and worlds in which they inhabit. Each word is carefully chosen to fit the situation and whilst it can feel a tad spartan at times it's a novel that really will remain with you long after the final page it turned. In this, the sequel to The Quiet War, the reader is literally thrust into the struggles after the events in the previous novel unfurled and really won't be let go until the dawn breaks with you realising you've been up all night. A master of Hard Sci-Fi and an author who will be as revered as a number of predecessors in years to come, you really have to try him to see the quality. All in all, this is a great offering and one that left me clamouring for the next novel as I turned the final page. Dammit, its going to be a long wait.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
sequel to equally impressive The Quiet War
This book is the sequel to The Quiet War. Having thoroughly enjoyed that book I expected great things from this novel. And I wasn't disappointed. Read more
Published 4 months ago by David Briddock
Among the best of the best
This is the sequel to The Quiet War (Gollancz), which is among the best and most thought-provoking science fictions published in recent years. Read more
Published 22 months ago by L. Richards
A fitting finale
I read Gardens of the Sun after reading its companion volume and fore-runner The Quiet War. I would recommend this rather than trying to read either book as a stand-alone novel. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Amit Mozoomdar
Good, but lacking the human touch
As a fully realised possible future scifi novel, so something grounded in real or at least possibly real science, Gardens is great - thought-provoking, conversation-starting stuff. Read more
Published 23 months ago by R. Collins-white
Garden of Eden
The brilliant follow up and (I think) conclusion to the The Quiet War (Gollancz). And a true second part of the story at that, no boring padding, no irritating subplots and no... Read more
Published on 28 Dec 2009 by Chairman Paulo
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