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Child Of The River (Confluence)
 
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Child Of The River (Confluence) (Paperback)

by Paul J. McAuley (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz; New edition edition (24 Sep 1998)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 057560168X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0575601680
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,000,546 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #1 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > M > McAuley, Paul J.

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Product Description

Product Description

Confluence is an artificial world, populated by hundreds of alien races. Abandoned by their creators, its people and their stagnant civilization are threatened by civil war.


About the Author

Paul McAuley won the Philip K. Dick Award for his first novel and has gone on to win the Arthur C. Clarke, British Fantasy, Sidewise and John W. Campbell Awards. He gave up his position as a research biologist to write full-time. He lives in London. You can find his blog at: http://www.unlikelyworlds.blogspot.com

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4.0 out of 5 stars Confluence trilogy gets off to a great start, 10 Jan 2004
By dogbarkssome (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)      
Child of the River is the first in a trilogy of novels set on the planetoid Confluence, a setting first introduced in McAuley’s short story Recording Angel (see the collection The Invisible Country) and though it’s not necessary to read this story to enjoy the novel, if you’re having difficulty getting your head round the background it may help.

One of the features of McAuley’s earlier works was to present science fiction as fantasy – this is something he repeats explicitly here: not only is this the first of a trilogy, we also have a hero who is blessed with ‘magic’ powers (the ability to control machines), seems fated to save the world, and even has a ‘magic’ sword! Dig beneath the surface however and you’ll find the hard-sf underpinnings used to prop up the fantasy tropes. Confluence itself appears to be an artificial construct of far future humanity where the animals have been gengineered to human status (hence we have people who resemble anthropomorphic cats, rodents, etc), only for it’s creators to turn their back on it and disappear into another universe. The lead character Yama is a genetic throwback to these creators, and as the only recognisable human on Confluence is trying to unravel the mystery of his birth and destiny.

While the genre tropes may be fairly routine the pleasure here is in the intricate society of Confluence itself, as the old religious order is under threat from a heresy spread by a previous visit from humanities ancestors. McAuley used another ‘pre-destined’ character in his novel Red Dust which annoyed me intensely as the character seemed to have no control over his own fate; here the author bucks expectations by making Yama a strong-willed individual determined to make his way on his own terms – at the beginning of the novel the character is taken to meet his destiny and he runs away; at the novels climax he is told for whom he is expected to fight, and vows to fight for the opposite side.

Doubtless the following two volumes will see Yama gradually coming around to accepting his mysterious destiny, but the ride should be an enjoyable one. An excellent start.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Slow and overlong, but just about worth finishing, 25 Jul 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Child of the River (Confluence) (Hardcover)
The narative dragged, especially in the middle of the book. Lots of questions posed and ends loosened, I shall not be buying the later parts of the trilogy to find out the answers and tie up the trailing threads.
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2.0 out of 5 stars Why book one of N?, 14 Jan 2000
By simonallen@genie.co.uk (Aberdeen, Scotland) - See all my reviews
Nice characters, slow story line. Like a third of an Anne McCaffrey novel strung out to be a whole book on its own. Would have done better if amalgamated with books two and three from the start. Ends at exactly the wrong point and shamlessly directs you to the next volume. Formula sequelisation at its worst. But a good if unsatisfying read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written but not very original
Nice, visual style of writing. The characters were fairly mediocre and there wasn't anything groundbreaking about the science, with this being more of a 'future fantasy' than a... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Dr Gibson

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting enough to leave me waiting for the next volume.
Every now and again an author manages to strike the right level between giving enough clues to make the readers feel more intelligent than the protaganists, and leaving us... Read more
Published on 28 Oct 1998

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