The Silent Vulcan
category: science fiction, author:James Follett
book 3 of Temple of the Windsoriginal copyright 2002,
read in September 2010 (and before, in August 2008)
Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10
Back in 2008 I read all three of the Temple of the Winds books. The Silent Vulcan can probably be read -- and enjoyed -- by itself. But it makes more sense to know the characters, at least, if not the first two parts of the story. In other words: Try to read the first two first but don't let that stop you from reading the third...This third book of the trilogy provides a wrap-up...
A large village and its surrounding countryside is suddenly isolated by an alien force-shield. Reminiscent of John Wyndham's books, no-one knows quite why it happened and the focus of the book is on the villagers' responses to the sudden changes in their lives.
The villagers' responses are... well... a bit Lord of the Flies... Not all, sweetness and light.
The alien force-shield appears and is impenetrable. And that's it, from the aliens. They are silent, they are untouchable, they are invisible. They are benign. Which leaves Follett to find conflict amongst the villagers.
Fortunately enough, the village includes a large group of religious fanatics with a penchant for sex, violence and intolerance. While the village as a whole works hard to adapt to its new, enclosed environment, the fanatics and the more conservative establishment battle it out for supremacy. All within a very British system of democracy.
Imagine an episode of Midsomer Murders... all very proper, with just a touch of violence.
The main thrust of The Silent Vulcan is the gradually escalating battle between fanatics and establishment. The aliens finally take some action but it is almost incidental. The climactic battle of the villagers concludes and -- almost as an afterthought -- Follett has the aliens provide a reason for their visit.
Potential Plot Spoiler: To my mind, the reason for the aliens' visit is only incidental to the plot; it sets the scene but is otherwise irrelevant. Still, the dedicated reader may wish to avoid the plot spoiler in the next two paragraphs...
The main conflict through all three books of Temple of the Winds is due to the threat of the religious fanatics as they attempt violence on the innocent. The aliens, as it turns out, have a religious basis for their visit to Earth: Of all the galactic civilisations, only these aliens have not had a visitation from God. The aliens visit Earth -- and other planets -- in an effort to see why all these other civilisations have been so lucky.
Having read the Temple of the Winds trilogy... Having read of the battle by religious fanatics against the more civilised forces of established society... I would think, These aliens are extremely lucky -- they have never had a personal visit from God. It's time for them to learn their lesson, go home, and be thankful for their own godless society.
That's just my opinion. It may conflict with Follett's intended point. But if the reason for the aliens' we-come-in-peace visit was intended to be important to the plot of this book... it failed.
This is a good book, of a good trilogy. An alien motivation is irrelevant. The author felt that he had to provide one, so fine... It's either a pointless necessity -- or a pointed message when compared with the rest of the story. Read it as you will. Or just read it :-)
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