Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Chronoliths [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert Charles Wilson
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover --  
Paperback £9.86  
Mass Market Paperback, 30 July 2002 --  
Audio Download, Unabridged £13.94 or Free with Audible.co.uk 30-day free trial
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Certificate, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more.

Book Description

30 July 2002
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.

Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed


Product details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Tor Books (30 July 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0812545249
  • ISBN-13: 978-0812545241
  • Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.4 x 2.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,091,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

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)

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
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).
... Read more ›
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An enthralling tale 12 Feb 2004
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.]

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having thoroughly enjoyed `Spin', I was keen to read more of Wilson's work. However, perhaps my expectations were too high. Like `Spin', the narrative is primarily character based with the science fiction providing the plot lines; this is a good thing and made for a readable tale. The apocalyptic, gloomy atmosphere is superbly handled, but the tau-thingy science lost me, I couldn't really see the purpose of the Chronoliths in the first place (why would a future warlord bother to send monuments back in time?) and the ending was a rushed & baffling damp squib (reading the last couple of chapters twice didn't help at all). Perhaps I am being a little harsh and maybe I missed the point as, on reflection, the post-non-war recovery and the application of the tau-thingy stuff to star travel is a reaffirmation of the old ` it's an ill wind...blah...blah' adage. I definitely like Wilson's style, however, so I've just ordered `Blind Lake'. Watch this space...
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good 2 Jan 2012
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed it more than any other of his books. A reasonable time travel story, and was not altogether obvious. I couldnt put it down.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Format:Mass Market Paperback
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. But on a recent trip, I finished one and had only my trusty backup emergency paperback in my bag. It was The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson, recommended to me by my friend Christopher (who also turned me on to Illium).

Christopher is 2 for 2; I could not put this book down. And he made me use the Internet to connect the dots of my long ago Physics degree and go back and refresh my old brain on manifolds and their relationship to quantum mechanics (yeah, I know...geek boy).

The Chronoliths tells of massive monuments that spring up instantaneously, the first one in Thailand, observed by our main character Scott. All of them have inscriptions of a battle won some twenty years in the future by a warlord named Kuin. Another springs up in the middle of Bangkok, causing devastation. The monuments are named Chronoliths, and begin showing up all over Asia, apparently foretelling the path of conquest of this future warlord.

The science is, of course, how can these monoliths be sent twenty years back in time, and how to stop them. Because as they appear with alarming regularity, mankind begins to believe that there is no way to stop them and society sees itself as doomed. A former college professor of Scott's, Sue Chopra, believes she can first predict and then stop the Chronolith's from forming, with some string theory / M-theory constructs:

I did not then and I do not now understand the physics of the Chronoliths, except in the pop-science sense.
... Read more ›
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Search Customer Reviews
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
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category


Feedback