Lately (i.e. over the past couple of years) I have been reading more and more of science fiction. I have read some great books in this time, from "Fahrenheit 541", to "Earth Abides", from "The Forever War" to "The Stars My Destination".
All of these are books that have left their mark on me, but even now that I am only half way through Stapledons' book, I feel that it will join the company these other books.
In a few words only, the book describes the story of the human race through the aeons, from around the time that the book was written (1930) and the history of the First Men, to the Last Men who (I suppose) flourished just before the end of the Solar System.
Stapledon followed closely the 'modern' scientific advances of his time, from Darwins' evolution to Einsteins' Relativity and the beginnings of quantum theory. Based on these, he imagined how the human race evolved through time - physically, psychologically, culturally, technologically.
As the book was written over 80 years ago, and at a time that our understanding of science was at it's infancy, some of the story lines might seem naive, or incorrect, or mis-understood. But then the reader remembers _when_ the book was written, and is amazed at the immense imagination displayed by the author on every single page.
.... "A Song for Arbonne" by Guy Gavriel Kay (19th September 2010)
I am a big fan of Kays works, I've read all his books to date, some of them more than one, others more times that I remember, There is something in the way that Kay transcribes History into Fantasy. This is true for most of his books - all apart his first trilogy entitled "the Fionavar Tapestry". From Byzantium (The Sarantine Mosaic), to Medieval China (Under Heaven), to revolutionary France (Tigana) and Spain at the time of the First Crusade (The Lions of al-Rassan).
Set in a time when troubadours roamed the lands freely, spreading songs of beauty, love or hate, war and peace to high and low-born alike. Set at a time when holy wars destroyed nations, in a blind hatred of different beliefs and customs. A young (or not so young) aristocrat leaves his ancestral castle, just after a sorrowful victory against an invading army from the north becomes a treacherous peace treaty that sees the hard won lands go to the defeated neighbours. A treaty that would soon open the way to burn Arbonne, the woman-ruled, infidel, and rich country to the south beyond the mountains.
This is the story of that young man, trying to return his country to its more civilized past, when victories were victories, the kings were strong and fair, and the clergy had no role to play in ruling the world.
For a great review, go here.
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