Fascinating, and very readable -- but I felt it didn't draw the threads together as satisfyingly as it could have done.
In a review in The Guardian by Lisa Tuttle, a writer I respect, wrote that it " ... reminded [her] of the authors who first got me hooked on science fiction with their combination of deep humanity, brilliant storytelling and wild imagination: writers such as Theodore Sturgeon, Kate Wilhelm and Ursula Le Guin ... "
It's beautifully written, and well worth reading. There is fabulous worldbuilding -- of both the Earth-based Protectorate, and the alien planet of Qita.
There is also excellent use of Daphne duMaurier's Jamaica Inn as a foundation text: it may seem like a random inspiration, aside from the West Country setting (and the specific setting of the remote, slightly outlaw-ish pub of the title), but trust me, it all comes good in the end, and makes sense.
I hesitate to say too much, because I think it's the sort of book that you need to read for yourself, and make up your own mind about what it's trying to do with its material. I find that I keep returning to it in my mind, and wondering -- that seems well worth the price of a little bafflement.
In a review in The Guardian by Lisa Tuttle, a writer I respect, wrote that it " ... reminded [her] of the authors who first got me hooked on science fiction with their combination of deep humanity, brilliant storytelling and wild imagination: writers such as Theodore Sturgeon, Kate Wilhelm and Ursula Le Guin ... "
It's beautifully written, and well worth reading. There is fabulous worldbuilding -- of both the Earth-based Protectorate, and the alien planet of Qita.
There is also excellent use of Daphne duMaurier's Jamaica Inn as a foundation text: it may seem like a random inspiration, aside from the West Country setting (and the specific setting of the remote, slightly outlaw-ish pub of the title), but trust me, it all comes good in the end, and makes sense.
I hesitate to say too much, because I think it's the sort of book that you need to read for yourself, and make up your own mind about what it's trying to do with its material. I find that I keep returning to it in my mind, and wondering -- that seems well worth the price of a little bafflement.
