The Phoenix Exultant (Golden Age) [Hardcover]

"The Phoenix Exultant" begins with our hero, Phaethon, in exile. He finds relative safety in a Seussian town peopled by the dregs and outcasts of the Golden Oecumene. Phaethon is trying to reclaim his ship, from which the book takes its title, but to do so he must first overcome the vice and lethargy of those around him, skirt the terms of his exile, and battle agents of his unknown enemy.

One of Mr. Wright's strengths is his ability to craft an amazing array of fascinating characters, and he certainly delivers again in this book. We learn quite a bit more about Phaethon's wife, Daphne. Or rather, it is a close copy of Daphne, which sets the stage for interesting complications in the love story. Some reviewers found the Daphne subplot too corny, but I felt it charming. Other interesting characters include, but are not limited to, Old-Woman-Of-The-Sea, the Bellipotent Composition, and the soldier Atkins, who sees a little action. There are many more characters, and Mr. Wright helpfully includes a lengthy list of "dramatis personae" at the beginning of the tale to help readers keep track.

The book also continues the philosophic and moral themes begun in the first volume. Phaethon, a man of ability, intelligence and ambition opposed in the first book by society's elite for threatening the peaceful order of civilization, is challenged in this story by the lowest rung of humanity, people who prefer to lose themselves to drugs or computer stimulation rather than to engage in productive and satisfying work. Phaethon also grapples with fundamental questions when he realizes whom he is fighting and comes to understand that they stand for everything anathema to his understanding of a rational and sane universe. Those looking for something meaty in their space opera will find plenty to gnaw on here.

As in the first book, there is plenty of imaginative technology kicking about Mr. Wright's future. He avoids the temptation to flaunt fundamental physics like the Second Law of Thermodynamics and the Special Theory of Relativity, but delights in speculating about the far-out possibilities offered by quantum weirdness and computing on a planetary scale. Practically each page has something weird and wonderful that would be worthy of a short story in its own right.

Finally, the writing is simply great. These novels have more in common with classic literature and plays than with the gritty, journalistic/pulp style that marks much science fiction today. It has been a long time since I've had the pleasure of simply savoring dialogue and turns of phrase in a science fiction book.

If there's anything negative to say about "The Phoenix Exultant" it is that it is wedged between two stronger tales (the sequel is "The Golden Trascendence", which I read before writing this review). The first book concluded by saying Phaethon's tale would be wrapped up in "The Phoenix Exultant", so it appears Mr. Wright may have had too much material for one sequel. This proved to be a good thing since the trilogy definitely stands as is, but the second volume perhaps suffered slightly by being made into a bridge between the firmer shores of the first and third books.

Nonetheless, I wholeheartedly recommend this book for those who liked the first one.

In these volumes, Wright shows himself a master of dialogue (here is where he most often resembles Vance), although he is occasionally somewhat too twee (the conversations between Daphne and Phaethon). He shows himself a master of plot, with a number of unexpected plot twists. And, as alluded to above, he shows himself a master of invention.

Strangely, the three volumes resemble the three Matrix movies in their nature. The first volume, The Golden Age, is by far the best, for the simple reason that the reader is immersed for the first time in this wonderfully realized world (just as in the Matrix). The Matrix Reloaded did not have the newness of the first movie, but compensated for it by dangling mysteries in front of the viewer and by dazzling pyrotechnics and action. This is largely the case for the second volume of Wright's trilogy, The Phoenix Exultant. We are familiar with Phaethon's world, so it is comfortable rather than new and exciting, but the plot itself drives us along. The third volume, the recently released The Golden Transcendence, is the least satisfying of the three, just as the third Matrix movie is the least satisfying, as what mysteries are revealed are not quite as interesting as we might have hoped. But it nonetheless is still a winner by any standards. Together, they represent a remarkable achievement.

So, get this if you love good science fiction, but also especially if you like:

1) Jack Vance
2) Gene Wolfe
3) Iain M. Banks
4) Walter Jon Williams' Aristoi
5) literate high tech space opera
6) far far future romance

These are, truly, very good books (and deserved to have better proofreading by Tor).