32 used & new from £0.01

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
Salt (Gollancz S.F.)
 
 

Salt (Gollancz S.F.) (Paperback)

by Adam Roberts (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


3 new from £3.49 29 used from £0.01

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Stone (Sf Masterworks)

Stone (Sf Masterworks)

by Adam Roberts
4.0 out of 5 stars (8)  £5.99
On (Gollancz S.F.)

On (Gollancz S.F.)

by Adam Roberts
3.0 out of 5 stars (17)  £5.49
Gradisil (Gollancz S.F.)

Gradisil (Gollancz S.F.)

by Adam Roberts
2.1 out of 5 stars (7)  £5.99
Land Of The Headless (Gollancz S.F.)

Land Of The Headless (Gollancz S.F.)

by Adam Roberts
4.4 out of 5 stars (7)  £6.39
Polystom (Gollancz S.F.)

Polystom (Gollancz S.F.)

by Adam Roberts
3.5 out of 5 stars (4)  £15.29
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (2 Jul 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 185798787X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1857987874
  • Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.6 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 355,830 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

The publishers of Salt, the debut SF novel by a British author, compare it to Frank Herbert's Dune--and certainly the harsh beauty of the planet Salt makes arid Dune seem cosy and lush. Here are great deadly deserts of salt-crystal dunes, "seas" that are supersaturated lakes scummed over with hard salt, free chlorine in the air, inedible salt algae, a corrosive wind called the Devil's Whisper and a sleet of cancer-spawning radiation from the sky ...

Ill-assorted groups of Earth colonists were lured across space by misleading survey reports--or did Salt change during the long voyage? They build their makeshift cities around the salt lakes, struggling to tame this dreadful world. Unfortunately two of the settlements are desperately incompatible, hardly able even to communicate. Senaar city has a rigid, disciplined hierarchy with every person in their place, ordered like atoms in crystalline salt; Als is a leaderless anarchy where anyone might tackle any job, all as fluid as seawater. (Yes, Roberts loves salty metaphors.)

The viewpoint alternates between Petja of Als and Senaar's leader, Barlei, whose non-communication escalates into a war for which Senaar has been prepared all along--although Barlei has hypocritical justifications for everything, including oppression of his own people and Orwellian rewriting of history. Meanwhile, against all his Alsist principles, the gentler, poetic Petja hardens into a charismatic terrorist leader. Their entwined stories are grim, sad and bitter as salt. (Roberts does sometimes overdo the metaphors.) Salt is a skilful, intense, gloomy novel. --David Langford --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



Product Description

Two narrators tell the story of the simmering tensions between their two communities as they travel out to a new planet, colonise it, then destroy themselves when the tensions turn into outright war. Adam Roberts is a new writer completely in command of the SF genre. This is a novel that is at once entertaining and philosophical. The attitudes and prejudices of its characters are subtlety drawn and ring completely true despite the alien circumstances they find themselves in. The grasp of science and its impact on people is instinctive. But above all it is the epic and colourful world building that marks SALT out - the planet Salt rivals Dune in its desolation and is a suitably biblical setting for a novel that is powered by the corrupting influence of imperfectly remembered religions on distant societies. From the early scenes set on a colony ship towed by a massive ice meteorite, to the description of a planet covered in sodium chloride, to the chilling narrative of a world sliding into its first war, this is a novel from a writer who shouts star quality.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Salt (Gollancz S.F.)
49% buy the item featured on this page:
Salt (Gollancz S.F.) 3.8 out of 5 stars (29)
Stone (Sf Masterworks)
18% buy
Stone (Sf Masterworks) 4.0 out of 5 stars (8)
£5.99
Land Of The Headless (Gollancz S.F.)
17% buy
Land Of The Headless (Gollancz S.F.) 4.4 out of 5 stars (7)
£6.39
Mockingbird (S.F. Masterworks)
8% buy
Mockingbird (S.F. Masterworks) 4.9 out of 5 stars (11)
£4.99

 

Customer Reviews

29 Reviews
5 star:
 (13)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (29 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A stimulating sci-fi read., 9 Jan 2005
By Ian Tapley "thefragrantwookiee" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
THE STORY:
Several colony ships head to a new world full of promise. However, upon arrival they discover their surveys were wrong and the world gains the nickname 'Salt'. Two groups of colonists rise to prominence, but their strongly opposed philosophies inevitably lead to a terrible war.

WHAT'S GOOD:
If you approach this book as a real 'what if...' SF story, you'll be disappointed. It's more a story about human nature with Als, Senaar and Salt itself being largely metaphoric (sorry if that sounds really pretentious, but that's what I got from reading the book). The world of Salt is beautifully described and yet Roberts never leaves you in any doubt about just how dangerous a planet it is, making it a powerful crucible for the people who find themselves stuck there. The really clever thing about the book is that it leaves open the decision of which philosophy (Senaar's militaristic dictatorship or Als' free-living anarchy) is the better one. Petja, at first, seems to be the better man, but when his free and unrestrained emotions lead him to violence and rape, we have to question whether an oppressive yet ordered society is not the better option. But by the same token, the parts of the book dealing with Barlei leave you chafing at his all-too-familiar megalomaniacal mind set.

WHAT'S BAD:
This book isn't a comfortable read, nor a cheerful one with a clever moral, so people looking for a good STORY should look elsewhere. Looking for a good BOOK, however, and here one is.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking, 19 Jan 2004
By Tom Douglas "Tom" (Oxford, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Salt is a very interesting novel. It is about differing political outlooks, the inevitability of war and the danger that, in defending your way of life, you become like your enemy.

The underlying story - colonisation of a distant planet - is merely a device to introduce these ideas. As a result, the science is weak, the technology glossed over. If you are looking for hard sci-fi, you will not find it here.

The fundamental difference of opinion is between hierarchists and 'anarchists'. The hierarchists place importance in political structure, a legal system, the value of money.

The 'anarchists' have no structure, no leader, no rules. Work is organised by a random computer-generated rota. If people don't want to work on their assigned tasks, the don't have to. But they usually do, because they would be bored if they didn't. And the rota provides plenty of variety - there is no specialisation.

The story is told in the first person by two people - one from each side of the divide. And while they have completely opposing views, its easy to agree with both viewpoints. By playing such opposing monologues, Roberts injects a fair amount of humour, although this later makes way for more harrowing developments.

Eventually war and violence corrupt those involved, dehumanising and ultimately destroying the truth that was being fought for at the outset. Perhaps this is the only ultimate truth.

The last 20 pages go completely weird, and do detract a little from an otherwise excellent novel.

Four stars.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Gentle? Poetic? What?, 29 May 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Salt (Paperback)
Adam Roberts did an excellent job of world-building in this novel. The landscapes of Salt were unforgettable. Unfortunately, I was so repulsed by the main characters (the Alsist Petja much more than the Senaarian Barlei), that the entire book lost its appeal.

I object strongly to David Langford's characterization of Petja as "gentler and poetic." This guy almost kills one of his fellow Alsists in a fight, and rapes a Senaarian woman. This is not my definition of gentle. If anything, I found Petja to be a bigger hypocrite than Barlei.

Although, to be honest, the idea of punching anarchists in the nose does have its appeal.

Finally, the fact that there were no protagonists worth cheering for, made this otherwise promising novel a depressing read.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Most notable for what it doesn't say.
Adam Roerts' _Salt_ is a sparse and harsh book just like the planet on which it is set. It doesn't allow much sympathy with the main characters - both are basically war criminals... Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2006 by Ethan Sherrard

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent book worth a read
It's obvious that some people hate Salt and some love it. This is an effect of the way the book tells the story. Read more
Published on 22 Jun 2005 by J. D. Ludlow

5.0 out of 5 stars at last....a good one
As a younger man I loved SF, but after years of throwing Bova, Brin and whoever else across the room in disgust after 50 pages, I finally found Adam Roberts. Read more
Published on 18 April 2005 by Anthony J. Bell

1.0 out of 5 stars Avoid
This book wasted hours of my life, and I want them back.

The characters are unbelievable extremes, it is difficult to believe that two such extremist groups could 1) exist in... Read more

Published on 18 Jul 2004 by Nick Taylor

1.0 out of 5 stars Pointless
Not too bad a start, but I couldn’t relate to the characters and I ended up despising all the main protagonists. The book ends in a very disappointing manner. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2004 by Fred

3.0 out of 5 stars Occasionally brilliant but patchy novel
Salt takes a fairly bog-standard sf idea – the colonisation of another world, and gives it a new twist by way of its telling. It’s not always successful though. Read more
Published on 23 May 2003 by dogbarkssome

5.0 out of 5 stars Political Sci- Fi
No matter where they are, no matter how far into the future people will never understand each other, that is the message of Salt. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2002

1.0 out of 5 stars Old and tired
Maybe I've read too much sci-fi, but this didn't seem anything new to me. The writing is fairly dull, the landscapes and ideas have all appeared in 'Golden Age' Sci-Fi and the... Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2002 by jugadora

4.0 out of 5 stars A stunning debut.
This is an exceptional debut. Roberts demonstrates considerable talent in his depiction of a tragic war on a desolate colony world. Read more
Published on 5 Nov 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
This book is a modern masterpiece. Not always comfortable, but always well-written. poetic and thought-provoking.
Published on 6 Oct 2001

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.