Salt (Gollancz S.F.) (Paperback)

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.

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.

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.