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_Aristoi_, by Walter Jon Williams
Aug. 3rd, 2012 09:45 amThis book has been on my radar for years as one of those books that a small number of people recommend with extreme vigor. Having finally read it, I see why. It's got a rare set of qualities, and executes on them very well.
I am reminded most, curiously enough, of Eco's _The Name of the Rose_. Both books start slowly and deliberately, with extremely dense ideas, and almost no action. I know that Eco is on record as deliberately using this structure to "create his ideal reader" -- that is, to drive away any reader who doesn't share enough of his tastes; I suspect Williams is doing the same. Both books, after this opening section, open up into rip-roaring plots in well-tread and traditionally rather 'lowbrow' subgenres (Space Opera and Historical Mystery). The exciting plot continues to require a great deal of work on the reader's part to keep up, but rewards that work with Crowning Moments of Awesome. And both end up using genre tropes to raise some of the fundamental questions of human nature, and to offer some interesting potential answers.
Also, each book is packed to bursting with intertextual allusions, understanding of which is not necessary to grok the main plot, but which does add significant texture if you do get them. At one point, he uses the word "Heliogabalian" -- correctly! -- and I nearly squee-ed aloud. I doubt that many readers of even this LJ will understand the reference, but I did, and loved it.
The book is by no means perfect, but I find most of its imperfections charming. That said, I rather wish I had read it in paper. The ebook opens with an apology from the author that he couldn't work out a way with current ebook technology to properly do a 2-column layout, so some of the experimental layout effects in the original print edition had to be abandoned. Also, the ebook has a significant number of unrepaired scanning errors of one sort or another. All that said, even the ebook is Highly Recommended.
I am reminded most, curiously enough, of Eco's _The Name of the Rose_. Both books start slowly and deliberately, with extremely dense ideas, and almost no action. I know that Eco is on record as deliberately using this structure to "create his ideal reader" -- that is, to drive away any reader who doesn't share enough of his tastes; I suspect Williams is doing the same. Both books, after this opening section, open up into rip-roaring plots in well-tread and traditionally rather 'lowbrow' subgenres (Space Opera and Historical Mystery). The exciting plot continues to require a great deal of work on the reader's part to keep up, but rewards that work with Crowning Moments of Awesome. And both end up using genre tropes to raise some of the fundamental questions of human nature, and to offer some interesting potential answers.
Also, each book is packed to bursting with intertextual allusions, understanding of which is not necessary to grok the main plot, but which does add significant texture if you do get them. At one point, he uses the word "Heliogabalian" -- correctly! -- and I nearly squee-ed aloud. I doubt that many readers of even this LJ will understand the reference, but I did, and loved it.
The book is by no means perfect, but I find most of its imperfections charming. That said, I rather wish I had read it in paper. The ebook opens with an apology from the author that he couldn't work out a way with current ebook technology to properly do a 2-column layout, so some of the experimental layout effects in the original print edition had to be abandoned. Also, the ebook has a significant number of unrepaired scanning errors of one sort or another. All that said, even the ebook is Highly Recommended.