- Hardcover: 278 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books (Oct 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312852207
- ISBN-13: 978-0312852207
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.7 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,768,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Picture this: in the future, mankind has travelled to the stars and settled many planets. But the indigenous life is not compatible with the human species (ie, we can't eat the plants or the animals). So genetically engineered animal and plant embryos are shipped along with the settlers, to allow them to set up viable colonies. The genetic engineering is used to 'encrypt' multiple genetic blueprints into one organism; thus each creature/plant shipped can potentially 'mutate' into (over a couple of generations) any of the others coded into its genome. Wonderful- except that the settlers for the planet Mirabile had a computer malfunction. Their instruction manual detailing which creatures can turn into which others is missing. Added to that is the problem that they are several generations removed from the people who actually lived on Earth, so they have to rely on the remnants of the computer to tell them what the latest mutation is. Communications with Earth are non-existent (no FTL stuff here!), so they can't check back.
There is a substantial ecological message in the whole story (the interaction of the Earth-based life with the indigenous life, the quandary of which mutations to keep, and which to wipe out), but it's not parsimonious; you don't feel as if the author is waving her finger at you, shouting 'Naughty people, play NICELY with your planet!'. It's actually very funny; the book is full of nicely observed lunacy, such as a carnivorous kangaroo/T-rex cross.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and wish, based upon it and the other two of her books which I have read (Hellspark and Uhura's Song), that she would write more fantasy/science fiction.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
16 reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Mirabile!
26 Aug 2002
Format:Mass Market Paperback
What can I say about Janet Kagan? She's written three books, and all three of them could have been justly called Mirabile (Wonderful in Latin). The other two, Hellspark and Uhura's Song are also favorites, but Mirabile is a delight, and just pure fun. Kangaroo rexes! Odders! Tulip bats! Oh the wonderful and surprising things that can happen to the wildlife when someone's been mucking around in their genepool. Annie Jason Masmajean is our heroine, I guess you would call her profession field genetics. It's her job to provide the colonists of Mirabile with the critters and plants they need to survive, and ensure that the strange beasties that keep cropping up (The scientists back on earth got cute with genetic redundancy), don't harm the colonists or the vital species that they need. It's a very light-hearted read, but not lacking one iota of depth. Between this book and her other two Janet Kagan has me itching for more. Anything she produces, I will buy, and there are very few authors I can say that about.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
A very funny and intelligient book.
24 July 2000
Format:Hardcover
Mirabile is one of the best books I have read in a long time. As much I liked Hellspark, Mirabile was even better. I LOVED it in because in addition to being intelligent, Kagan has a wonderful sense of humor. I laughed so often reading Mirabile and found myself decidedly attached to the characters. One of the neat things about it is that it is a collection of short stories, but the collection is more cohesive than some novels I have read. I tried not to read the whole book too quickly, but .... well, like a box of good chocolates it was over too soon. This book is packed with great characters, action, adventure, and (best of all) weird critters. My only complaint is that this book is out of print. My one good copy is not something I want to lend out. Others I have found on the web start at some pretty hefty prices. I would love to buy a bunch of books to give as gifts and to lend out. The folks who reprinted Hellspark can be contacted at Meisha.Merlin@USA.net and do take suggestions for books to reprint. Perhaps they could be persuaded to do us all a favor and reprint Mirabile.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
The all-time high -Accurate, well written, funny, scary!
18 Jun 1997
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Mirabile is the best linked short-story collection of sci-fi I have ever read--it is really more like a single book with very well defined chapters. The stories stick in your mind, making you want to read it over and over again, and every time you do--you will find something new!
It is suitable for all ages and interests, exceptionally good at pointing out the ecological niches of organisms known and unkown and how they might relate on a new planet...
From cows to bats, firestarting plants to fuzzywillies, Kagan has a handle on just how things might be made to work.
The best of the sci-fi market, Janet Kagan has only one fault in my mind -- I can't wait for more
It is suitable for all ages and interests, exceptionally good at pointing out the ecological niches of organisms known and unkown and how they might relate on a new planet...
From cows to bats, firestarting plants to fuzzywillies, Kagan has a handle on just how things might be made to work.
The best of the sci-fi market, Janet Kagan has only one fault in my mind -- I can't wait for more
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