Stephen Baxter breaks genre boundaries and brings his unique imagination, epic scope and elegant style to an anthropomorphic fantasy. Starting with the story of a young female mammoth and the struggle her herd has to survive into the present day on a remote Siberian Island the MAMMOTH trilogy encompasses thousands of millions of years, the geological and climatic history of earth and a vision of a startling future. All via an astounding evocation of mammoth. Life, biology, intelligence, culture, myth and legend. It is a triumph of imaginative story telling.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Certificate, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Amazon Review
A novel of mammoths surviving into modern times seems to invite comparison with Conan Doyle's The Lost World or Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. In fact Mammoth comes closer to Richard Adams's Watership Down. It's engagingly told from the mammoth viewpoint, apart from some omniscient-narrator information dumps which flaunt Baxter's extensive research. These mammoths have creation myths and stories going millions of years back to the Age of Reptiles--which ended when a terrible light appeared in the sky and everything changed. Now the heroine Silverhair belongs to the very last herd, or Family, dwindling towards extinction on a frozen island at the edge of the Siberian tundra. It's a jolt when she visits the island's mysterious Nest of Straight Lines, which we recognise as an abandoned Soviet air base. Baxter imagines mammoths as able but not always willing to grapple with logic: there's a nifty moment when, against strong opposition, a bright youngster saves the Family by bridging a river. Bad times loom for mammothdom as new visitors arrive: the "Lost", the terrible enemy which legend says cannot be fought--man, at his bloodthirsty worst. Silverhair's sufferings and losses of loved ones are harrowing. But the surprise finale offers an exhilarating perspective shift with implications that thrill. --David Langford
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Publisher
Reviews for Mammoth Book One: Silverhair
‘The species is spectacularly realised, complete with a religion and culture tackled with impressive creativity. MAMMOTH will be followed by a sequel; look out for it - if it’s anything like the original, you’ll be in for a treat’ SFX
‘The species is spectacularly realised, complete with a religion and culture tackled with impressive creativity. MAMMOTH will be followed by a sequel; look out for it - if it’s anything like the original, you’ll be in for a treat’ SFX
'MAMMOTH is reminiscent of Watership Down and The Clan of the Cave Bear - combining the former's loving realism and the latter's vivid inventiveness. Baxter combines enough research and extrapolation told in his trademark bestseller style to satisfy even his most faithful readers. Lovingly detailed . . . superbly researched and has the ring of truth to it.' LOCUS
‘It should be read. It is strange and sad; it is violent and hopeful. It is a powerful beginning to the overall tale. There is something majestic, something stately in the effect achieved’ FOUNDATION
‘Convincing . . . vivid . . . a rich and very rewarding read’ INFINITY PLUS
‘An interesting departure from Baxter’s usual hard SF, this retains his clean, accessible prose and talent for compelling narrative’ TIME OUT
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By L. Swift
Format:Paperback
I fell in love with this book within the first few pages. The mammoth culture is wonderful and rich, with the story interspaced every now and again with the telling of one of their legends. The legends themselves are skilfully crafted; little grains of truth embellished by myth (for example, the evolutionary division of the Proboscidea, Sirenia and Hyracoidea become the three warring sisters Probos, Syros and Hyros), giving the impression that the mammoths are, indeed, the wisest creatures of them all.
The frozen world is beautifully described, from the tundra flowers to the aurora. The mammoth-centric POV is masterfully done; when familiar things such as helicopters are described, you're left with the same sense of puzzlement, just as the mammoths themselves are. And the violence, when it happens, is brutal and horrific. Sometimes unnecessarily so.
The book does have its flaws; the ending seems a bit of a cop-out and waaaay too many references to passing dung. But over all, this is a solid and enjoyable book. Perfect for a quick blast!
The frozen world is beautifully described, from the tundra flowers to the aurora. The mammoth-centric POV is masterfully done; when familiar things such as helicopters are described, you're left with the same sense of puzzlement, just as the mammoths themselves are. And the violence, when it happens, is brutal and horrific. Sometimes unnecessarily so.
The book does have its flaws; the ending seems a bit of a cop-out and waaaay too many references to passing dung. But over all, this is a solid and enjoyable book. Perfect for a quick blast!
By Mikko Saari
Format:Paperback
A small group of mammoths is alive and well in remote Siberia in our times. Stephen Baxter tells us how they live in a world that's changing from what they know in their sagas and legends. Their enemy is, of course, the Lost Ones, as the mammoths call us humans.
Baxter's written better books, and this is no Watership Down (or Empire of the Ants, which is my favourite animal book). It's not bad, though, and the mammoths seem pretty well researched, at least they're somewhat inhuman. They have their own culture, quite different from us humans.
Since the book was so fast and easy to read, I'm going to continue to the next part of the trilogy - after all, the book gets some pretty strange ideas in the end. In any case, I can't really recommend Silverhair unless you're really into mammoths or books starring animals in general. However, there's lots of violence and cruelty towards animals in this book, so the most sensitive animal lovers, stay away! (Review based on the Finnish translation.)
Baxter's written better books, and this is no Watership Down (or Empire of the Ants, which is my favourite animal book). It's not bad, though, and the mammoths seem pretty well researched, at least they're somewhat inhuman. They have their own culture, quite different from us humans.
Since the book was so fast and easy to read, I'm going to continue to the next part of the trilogy - after all, the book gets some pretty strange ideas in the end. In any case, I can't really recommend Silverhair unless you're really into mammoths or books starring animals in general. However, there's lots of violence and cruelty towards animals in this book, so the most sensitive animal lovers, stay away! (Review based on the Finnish translation.)
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
While using Silverhair to relate tales of Longtusk as the medium, this book is basically a prequel, telling the story of Longtusk, the great hero referred to so often in the first book. Baxter produces the real story of Longtusk from the legends that have risen around him and once more Mammoth's are in conflict with humans, although the prehistoric time line manages to leave the reader feeling a lot less guilty about the whole thing than in the first book.
If you enjoyed Mammoth1:Silverhair then this is a book you must read.
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I picked this book up for a bit of light reading, and didn't put it down for six hours - and even then, it was only because I'd finished it. The characterisation here is excellent - it does feel like another species, sentient, aware, but different. The story is rather depressing at times, but nonetheless enthralling and unputdownable. The mythology fits in beautifully - a mix of religion and solid evolutionary science that works brilliantly.
Altogether, a very, very good book. I'm looking forward to the sequel :-)
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I was looking for the "sci-fi" content, but got engrossed in the life and times of a mammoth. Very different - first person mammoth.
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
