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Product Description
Review
"In his quiet way, Robert Charles Wilson has produced one of the most impressive bodies of work in contemporary science fiction . . . The Chronoliths stands with his best."--"The New York Times"
"Superb."--"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
"Superb."--"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Scott Warden is a man haunted by the past-and soon to be haunted by the future.
In early twenty-first-century Thailand, Scott is an expatriate slacker. Then, one day, he inadvertently witnesses an impossible event: the violent appearance of a 200-foot stone pillar in the forested interior. Its arrival collapses trees for a quarter mile around its base, freezing ice out of the air and emitting a burst of ionizing radiation. It appears to be composed of an exotic form of matter. And the inscription chiseled into it commemorates a military victory--sixteen years in the future.
Shortly afterwards, another, larger pillar arrives in the center of Bangkok-obliterating the city and killing thousands. Over the next several years, human society is transformed by these mysterious arrivals from, seemingly, our own near future. Who is the warlord "Kuin" whose victories they note?
Scott wants only to rebuild his life. But some strange loop of causality keeps drawing him in, to the central mystery and a final battle with the future.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
In early twenty-first-century Thailand, Scott is an expatriate slacker. Then, one day, he inadvertently witnesses an impossible event: the violent appearance of a 200-foot stone pillar in the forested interior. Its arrival collapses trees for a quarter mile around its base, freezing ice out of the air and emitting a burst of ionizing radiation. It appears to be composed of an exotic form of matter. And the inscription chiseled into it commemorates a military victory--sixteen years in the future.
Shortly afterwards, another, larger pillar arrives in the center of Bangkok-obliterating the city and killing thousands. Over the next several years, human society is transformed by these mysterious arrivals from, seemingly, our own near future. Who is the warlord "Kuin" whose victories they note?
Scott wants only to rebuild his life. But some strange loop of causality keeps drawing him in, to the central mystery and a final battle with the future.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I have come to The Chronolits with huge expectations: it's been hailed as a masterpiece of modern sci-fi, mentioned by Time magazine as the notable book of the year, and so on.
And yet (or perhaps because of those expectations), the book has been a he anti-climax for me.
There is nothing wrong with it as such: in fact both the science element in the science-fiction and the speculative element in the speculative fiction is developed brilliantly.
The idea that time travel of sorts (i.e. sending objects from the future into the past) can be used to influence the events between the sending and the appearance of the object is an eminently original take on time travel and explores philosophical implications of knowledge about future inevitabilities.
The world building, although subtle and without much exposition, is very skilfully and the mood of millennial gloom and millennial madness is brilliantly caught.
So why am I giving this, clearly above-average book, only the average number of stars?
Wilson has been praised for character development, and I think the main character is exactly where the problem for me lies with Chronoliths: it seems to me that the author aimed for an Everyman figure caught in the vortex of non-causal inevitability.
This worked, but in addition to that, for some reason the main character and the narrator is rather inexplicably (or was I too thick to understand the subtleties) guilt ridden, miserable and depressingly depressive.
He feels guilty for the failure of his marriage (even though it was his wife who left him and divorced for an event he had absolutely no responsibility for). He feels guilty for her daughter's illness ending in a hearing loss in one ear (even though it was caused by an infection that he wouldn't have been able to stop). He feels a failure when he's sacked from his job (even though it wasn't his fault at all).
He 's also (subtly, but noticeably) very American, middle class and rather right-wing in all his fatherly impulses. Ouch. No, I didn't like Scott Warden at all, and I felt the book was written as if I was supposed to like him. The subtle self pity didn't help either.
I am probably a bit harsh and it should really be 3.5 stars, averaging from four for ideas, four for world building and one for the main character I just couldn't stand. But Amazon doesn't give me such an option, so three stars it has to be.
And yet (or perhaps because of those expectations), the book has been a he anti-climax for me.
There is nothing wrong with it as such: in fact both the science element in the science-fiction and the speculative element in the speculative fiction is developed brilliantly.
The idea that time travel of sorts (i.e. sending objects from the future into the past) can be used to influence the events between the sending and the appearance of the object is an eminently original take on time travel and explores philosophical implications of knowledge about future inevitabilities.
The world building, although subtle and without much exposition, is very skilfully and the mood of millennial gloom and millennial madness is brilliantly caught.
So why am I giving this, clearly above-average book, only the average number of stars?
Wilson has been praised for character development, and I think the main character is exactly where the problem for me lies with Chronoliths: it seems to me that the author aimed for an Everyman figure caught in the vortex of non-causal inevitability.
This worked, but in addition to that, for some reason the main character and the narrator is rather inexplicably (or was I too thick to understand the subtleties) guilt ridden, miserable and depressingly depressive.
He feels guilty for the failure of his marriage (even though it was his wife who left him and divorced for an event he had absolutely no responsibility for). He feels guilty for her daughter's illness ending in a hearing loss in one ear (even though it was caused by an infection that he wouldn't have been able to stop). He feels a failure when he's sacked from his job (even though it wasn't his fault at all).
He 's also (subtly, but noticeably) very American, middle class and rather right-wing in all his fatherly impulses. Ouch. No, I didn't like Scott Warden at all, and I felt the book was written as if I was supposed to like him. The subtle self pity didn't help either.
I am probably a bit harsh and it should really be 3.5 stars, averaging from four for ideas, four for world building and one for the main character I just couldn't stand. But Amazon doesn't give me such an option, so three stars it has to be.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In the year 2021, Scott Warden finds himself caught up in a historical event. When he goes to investigate a mysterious explosion in Chumphon, Thailand, he discovers a giant monument, a monument commemorating the victory of a conqueror some twenty years in the future! It is only first of many that begin to pop up around the world, convincing multitudes that the conqueror coming is inevitable, and perhaps desirable. Pulled along by unseen forces through an increasingly chaotic world, Scott must live his life, while simultaneously aiding an old friend, a friend who wants to stop that future conqueror.
In this book, Robert Wilson succeeds is building and maintaining an enthralling level of suspense. His characters are interesting, but it is the situation that is so fascinating. Indeed, I found the story eminently believable, and was swept along with it. I highly recommend this fascinating book.
[As an aside, I am a fan of Messrs. Strauss and Howe, and their generational theories. This book went along excellently with it, with the main character picking up on generational differences.]
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Exciting put in scene, disappointing elaboration
The premise of this book is compelling: giant obelisks sent back in time by some future warlord, cities destroyed, the future molding itself acting on the past. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Carlos Cotta
Couldn't put it down, and it made me go look up Calabi-Yau
I've been working hard to read a lot of the ARC's I received at Book Expo America and have read and reviewed three. Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2007 by Larry Ketchersid
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