Europe without Europeans
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Robinson takes the basic premise of that of Christopher Evans' `Aztec Century'. There, the plague devastated Europe to the extent that social progress was halted, allowing the Aztec civilisation to progress, explore and develop technologically. In Robinson's alternate world the plague rampaged through Europe in the 14th Century and wiped out virtually the entire population. This, when the Mongols began exploring from the East, they discovered an empty land.
This history, divided into exquisitely written episodes set sometimes hundreds of years apart and in different parts of the world, is a romantic, joyous and uplifting work. Often the tales told are set on the borders between cultures, religions, classes, even between sexes, and profound debates are conducted, often to no great effect, although the point Robinson seems to make is that any examination of the nature of life no matter how trivial has a cumulative effect on the society of the world.
There are some interesting social developments in America where the Native Americans, inspired by an adopted Japanese, form a league of Tribes which resists any incursions by Chinese or Japanese invaders.
Christianity has all but disappeared, and Europe and Asia are composed of Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs.
In his Mars trilogy Robinson managed to create a continuity of narrative over about three hundred years by the device of the longevity serum which kept his main characters alive from the first landing on Mars through its terraforming to its independence and beyond.
Here, as a linking thread through the centuries he employs the unconventional device of reincarnation. Souls travel in groups, we are told, and are often reborn in the same area or reconnect in life. The souls here are recognised in the narrative by their initials since they return with names beginning with K, B and I. In the intermissions between chapters they return to `the Bardo' able, as they were not in the flesh, to recall their past lives. It's an effective device, as it's a metaphor for the evolution of the soul of society as a whole.
The souls cross the boundaries of gender and race, and even at one point, of species, as when the K soul, having murdered in her last life, is reborn as a tiger.
It's a beautiful and poetic novel, and shows once more Robinson's versatility and flare for sheer style and characterisation, ending, as always with KSR books it seems, with hope for the future of humanity.
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great idea, poor execution
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I bought it on the strenth of the premise alone and struggled to ever engage with a book I dearly wanted to. Unfortunately the approach was dull and the style was, in parts, patronising and moronic. Talking down to the reader by saying things along the lines of "can you guess what happened next? well why don't you turn to the next chapter to find out..." Clearly the editor lacks the guts to point out the readers aren't primary school level. What a waste.
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Magnificent pessimism
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I can understand some of the criticisms made by other reviewers but somehow feel they are missing the point of this epic conception, and feel it deserves at least another half a star. I do not remember being troubled by the reincarnations - they are intended as fleeting representatives of 'everyman', I think, anyway - , and the alternative history is fascinating and convincing. I would just remark that, as the book comes to its sour close, the outlook for mankind is just as dreary and depressing as if the Europeans had survived after all!
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A good idea badly implemented
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This book has a good idea behind it and starts well. However, as the book progresses, the inventiveness and originality get overshadowed by just how utterly dull the book is. Robinson spends pages building up this "world without Europe" only to have his characters do nothing in it. Another problem is the fact that the characters are reincarnated several times as we follow them through history. This means the book is like a collection of short stories and very dull short stories too.
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Too much Salt
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Years of Rice and Salt first got my attention due to its interesting core plot, i.e. the non-existence of Europeans. While this is indeed a good base for the story, the novel as a whole does strike me as needing more work, especially at the start since the descriptive style is somewhat simplistic but this does improve quite quickly. Likewise there is little expansion of any of the characters aside from those who keep being re-incarnated. This said there are many fine points to this book; the core plot does keep you wondering what's going to happen next and the emotions of the central characters are explored to a detail you don't normally see. In general if you are interested in this genre then it's probably a good buy otherwise you may feel slightly disappointed.
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