Ancients of Days
by Paul McAuley
Confluence (2)
science fiction
copyright 1998
read in August 2014
rated 6/10: read to pass the time
Book one, Confluence, introduced a far-future world with a fascinating mix of scientific wonders and primitive lifestyle. It ended with the hero's escape to a sanctuary of hoped-for knowledge.
Ancients of Days continues the story with more exploration of the world and its history. It drags so badly that I was longing to reach the end. Unfortunately the book ended but the story did not.
Book two is not a story on the way to an exciting conclusion. It is a chapter with no conclusion. Book one could be read on its own. Book two is really book two part one.
Then there's the drag factor...
I was a third of the way through the book when I thought, will anything ever happen ?! Oh yes, there was action aplenty. But the action did not seem to be developing the plot. He did this, he did that, then on to the next action scene.
So I thought, Will nothing significant ever happen ? No sooner thought than the hero thought, It's about time I stopped reacting and did something significant... Then he carried on reacting.
An exploration of his world ? An expose of its history ? All there... but so what. No excitement, no tension, no sense of wonder. Just bald recording of facts.
Is this "traditional" science fiction ? Amazing science in a weak story ? Oh well. Ho hum.
Luckily I have all three books in one volume. No need to pause to absorb book two. Straight on to book three. It is, after all, just the next chapter...
And finally... Will everyone reach the end of book three and live happily ever after ? At the present kill rate, the hero is the only named character likely to survive. And it's possible that he won't be the same person anyway.
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Problems ? Solved
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