Inventive, refreshing, rich in ideas, partly original setting ( )

Another brilliant standalone from Tchaikovsky, as expected somewhat weird with a variety of evolved life departing from things we know around us, but always along possible lines.

The setting for this book is deep time, far far forward from now, the sun is decaying perhaps helped by some prior technology and known civilisation has shrunk to one remaining City bordered by a decaying sea, a desert wasteland of ruins and the fetid Jungle of rampant life. All are extremely dangerous and most city dwellers try not to think about them let alone venture beyond the walls. As always humans segregate themselves into the ruling haves, the wanting classes and the have-nots, with the haves trying hard to keep their technology and comfortable lifestyles. One of their means of control is the The Island, and exile location for the most feared or troublesome prisoners from which there is no coming back. It is barely and Island, more a floating construct of barred cells, with order viciously maintained by the Marshall, under the Governor's auspices who has his own hobbies and prefers not to be disturbed.

The story starts with Stefan on route to said Island. It's told somewhat retrospectively almost diary-like, and clear that he survives many of the perils that beset him. He may once have been educated and civilised, but now simply surviving is struggle enough, with random chance also playing an important part. Once he's settled inot the regime the story jumps back to how he came to be there, and little bit of his personal history before taking quite a twist towards the end. The story is very tightly focussed on Stefan, so although we meet many other characters some of whom had quite an impact on his life, we don't get to feel them. Eventually of course Stefan escapes the prison and we get to see the variety of wonderful life that Tchaikovsky has populated with world with, his imagination remains unparalleled in this regard. The earth is old and struggling under the legacy of humans past, and so evolution has sped up to cope with the every more difficult conditions which has some surprising consequences.

Thoroughly enjoyed this! ( )

This is the first book by this author that I've read and I had no expectations. It is a memoir produced by the narrator, Stefan, and begins with his incarceration for life on a prison island within a jungle, for an unspecified crime which in the end turns out to be political. The setting is a dying Earth with all of humanity crammed into the last city Shadrapur and its prison colony. The tyrannical rulers of the city consign anyone who causes issues of any kind to the prison where a psychotic Marshal murders people on a whim and the Governor is a self-absorbed man with an obsession which has a direct impact on Stefan. For Stefan is educated, can read an old form of shorthand and the final, unpublished, book written by the last ecologist is in the Governor's possession and he wants it translated. Stefan's continued existence becomes dependent upon this and his attempts to spin out the translation are reminiscent of the 1001 Nights and Scherezade.

The world building is excellent as the narration shifts between Stefan's existence as a prisoner and his earlier life, first as part of an expedition to the deserts to find old technology, then as a student in a group of friends with aspirations to build a better society, and then as part of the underground society where those who are hiding from the regime eke out an existence.

I'm classing this as partly fantasy as there are certain things in it which are not scientifically based such as mind control, hugely speeded up evolution and time travel. The book suffers a little in consisting of a huge grab-bag of ideas which are just flung in, a lot of which are never explained or developed. Examples include the 'Coming Man' who is frozen inside a bubble inside the temple within the Underground, and is expected to save those there in the event of invasion by the world above, and the cipher, rather than character, of Faith, a - supposed woman, though that is questioned by Stefan in his memoir - who is so perfect and desirable that all men become mooning idiots around her and want to protect and control her. There are lots of other random things which are just thrown in and never developed.

At times, the novel reminded me of the end of time fiction of Michael Moorcock and also Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun series and sequels. This was particularly the case when duelling swords which projected forcefields were introduced.

The structure does lead to a rather rambling storyline, but I took it to be an example of the picaresque novel, though the 'hero' Stefan is not a low class rogue as would be typical of that narrative form. Due to his education, Stefan manages to make himself useful to people who save his life at various times, though some show him spontaneous kindness, such as Peter who goes to the island as a Warden to escape his own malign fate.

The most interesting parts for me were the section set in the underworld and the interactions with Thelwel and the web children. I also like Father Suplice who toils to keep the machinery going on the island without which the place would sink - very few people at the end of time have any idea of how to maintain the old technology (usually much more advanced than ours), let alone create anything new.

There is an ultra villain in the story named Gaki who seemingly has a form of mind control even before Stefan teaches him. I didn't find him particularly convincing.

Where the book falls down is in the portrayal - if it can be called that - of female characters. Apart from the woman who helps Stefan when he first arrives in the temple underground (new arrivals have only three days to find a faction who will adopt them or they are likely to be taken by the Organ Donor Boys), they are stereotypes of one sort or another. There's the Witch Queen on the island, the Mary Sue that is Faith, the slightly kickass ex-spy and the hulking brooder Hermione. None of these are developed and they are all seen in relation to whether Stefan fancies them or not.

So given the problems with the female characters and the throw-away nature of a lot of the worldbuilding this doesn't quite make full marks for me and I would award it 4 stars. ( )

A somewhat strange end of times story revolving around the life of an academic/revolutionary/prisoner taking place mostly in the last city on Earth, its prison and the jungle-like area in between. Quite different from what I expected based on the last books I read from this author, but enjoyable overall. ( )

Really 4.5.
Excellent yarn, bursting with ideas and interesting characters. Audio book narrator is first rate. ( )