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Mothership (Gollancz S.F.)
 
 

Mothership (Gollancz S.F.) (Hardcover)

by John Brosnan (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz (19 Feb 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0575074914
  • ISBN-13: 978-0575074910
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15 x 3.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,394,343 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Product Description
Shrewd, devious, cunning and a born liar - but as a Court Jester, Jad's a disaster. So when he's sent off with the warlord's son, Prince Kender, on a spying mission, he's hoping that his less desirable traits will actually save his life. Since the Day of Wonder, when all the electric lights stopped working, there have been rumours of unrest in the neighbouring domains . . . and no one has seen hide nor hair of any of the Elite, the ruthless technocrat class that have ruled Urba for centuries. What most of the inhabitants don't realise is that their world of Urba is actually a giant spacecraft, an ark built more than a thousand years ago to save as much of the Earth's population as possible before the sun went nova. The Elite were originally the ship's crew, and as a social experiment, the ship's population were forced to live a pseudo-mediaeval life . . . and as the centuries passed, the Elite became decadent, corrupt and cruel and the truth about Urba became hidden. And now Jad and his courageous - if thick - Prince are about to find out what happened to the Elite - and what's happening to the people of Urba . . .

About the Author
John Brosnan was born in Australia, but has lived in London for many years. A journalist, film critic and novelist, his work has appeared in many national newspapers and genre magazines. The author of a number of critically acclaimed film books, including the MOVIE MAGIC, FUTURE TENSE and THE HORROR PEOPLE, he has written a number of sf novels.

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4 Reviews
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 (1)
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 (3)
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Deserves its new life, 25 Nov 2005
By bookaholic - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
Mothership was originally printed in 1988. As such it might have become obsolete, but this is not the case. I enjoyed the characters of Jad and Ken. Both know so little of the story of their world and their discovery of the truth is painful.

Many, many centuries ago Earth suffered a major calamity. What was left of humanity was being transported to a hopefully new world onboard Mothership Urba - a modern day Noah's ark. Over the centuries most of the inhabitants of Urba have forgotten where they came from and where they are going. In fact, they aren't even aware they're on a spaceship. This loss of group memory came as a result of a social experiment devised and implemented by the crew (now the cruel and tyrannical Elite).

Prince Kender is the son of one of Urba's warlords (the social structure implemented). His boyhood friend, Jad, is a failure as a jester and wants nothing more than a peaceful life with a warm and willing woman in his arms. Kender is not satisfied with his life. He wants adventure. And what Kender wants, Kender gets. Jad is sent along as an insurance that Ken will get home alive. The warlord figures that Jad's cowardice will be more than enough protection for his son.

On the day of Wonder the Elite's magic fails and this is what the two men set out to explore - what happened to the Elite and their magic. As said previously, both discover that the reality of their world is not quite as they had thought.

All in all an enjoyable read. Some of it was a bit unchallenging. As a classic in litterature it does not measure up, but as an easily read and fun book it more than did its job.

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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Mothership, 21 Jul 2004
By melissa (Manchester, England) - See all my reviews
Mothership is a well-written, humorous book with a devious plot. Jad is put across as a failed jester who would like nothing more than staying at his 'dad's' palace, but instead is dragged across many miles to figure out the mystery of why the 'Elite' have lost all their power. It has some interesting characters, but they are easily imaginable.
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5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant!, 13 Mar 2007
I loved the book - full stop! The sarcasm had me giggling a lot and the plot is refreshingly different to what you'd expect from a science fiction book. Hope the second one is as good. Only one remark - the editing is not very good (obvious wrong words).
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4.0 out of 5 stars Good idea, good writing, weak towards the end
The writing is good. The dialogue made me laugh out loud on occasion. The ending is rather weak, leaving things open for a sequel. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Fred the Oyster

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