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The Chronoliths
Witness to it all is our narrator, Scott Warden. There's nothing special about this guy. He's no clever scientist, no tough soldier. He's just a computer programmer who happens to be close to the location of the first arrival. After that he's pulled into the Chronolith investigation by a series of seeming coincidences. But where the manipulation of time is involved, coincidence becomes a slippery concept--something his co-investigators are well aware of.
I consider this quiet, unassuming novel to be on the cutting edge of science fiction for this reason: it creates a literary metaphor for our current view (and fears) of the near future. Just as giant, mutant bugs stood for our fear of the bomb in the '50s, the Chronoliths represent our fear of what's just around the corner today. But today we can no longer easily predict what the future holds. Science changes things too quickly--so quickly that we can only say with confidence that we cannot say what the future will be like.
Science fiction writers have devised a variety of means to cope with this threat to their livelihood. Vernor Vinge pulls off a plausible (and excellent) space opera in A Fire Upon the Deep by having the universe limit how far science can progress depending on its location in the galaxy. Other writers retreat to the very near future. The rise in popularity of alternate history stories could be another byproduct of this dilemma.
But in The Chronoliths Wilson doesn't resort to any tricks. The novel is all about the unknowableness of the future, as represented by the Chronoliths themselves: impenetrable, unstoppable, and, most importantly, of our own making.
*Perhaps one reason Wilson isn't as well known as he should be is that his novels are not as strong as his short fiction. The Chronoliths, interestingly, is his first novel written in first-person, the point of view he chose for many of his best short stories including "The Perseids" and "The Inner Inner City."
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It has an interesting style and brings up questions about the nature of destiny and time, but I found it a bit unsatisfying. There were a number of fairly standard plot devices, although given a bit of a twist by the idea that the characters knew that they were somehow destined to come together.
All in all I would rate it about 6/10.
**Disclaimer** I really know nothing about carbon dating, just babbling here...
Now unless the "Born On" date was stamped to the bottom how exactly does one Future Date something? Does it actually gain more carbon that it would have now, so that by the time we see it the carbon is right?
MessEdUp
#/var/www/v
Umm you seem to be thinking this is a high school book report. What you have here is actually a book REVIEW and is meant to do nothing but whet your appetite for reading the book, as well as give a few opinions about how it stacks up relative to other books.
Also the only kind of book reports that give chapter subjects and highlights are for purchasing technical or text books.
But since you are obviously some sort of alien who only reads slashdot this may have been the only kind of book review you've seen.
Regards,
----- 70% of all statistics are completely made up.
I read Chronoliths and my favorite part was the beginning. The ending was my least favorite part, which probably means I didn't "get it". While enjoyed the concept of the book it didn't live up to my expectations.
The entire book leads up to the arrival of the unkown conqueror Kuin. The pace increases with each new Chronolith. However when the date foretold on the first Chronolith arrives the book dries up and decides that it wasn't so interested in dealing with Kuin at all. I was disappointed.
As far as the Hugos go my favorite this year is American Gods. I thought I'd hate the book, judging from its title and the fact that I'm not American at all. I nearly didn't read it, but in the end decided I couldn't make a fair judge of the other Hugo nominees without reading it. I am very glad I did. The American in the title refers to being of all of America, not just the USA.
Neil Gaiman's Coraline just came out as well, and my copy's already in the mail.
You also have to pay close attention to the biological processes involved. One of the favorite "proofs" that evolution is all wrong and therefore the literal interpretation of the Christian book of Genesis *must* be accurate is the fact that some breed of oyster (or at least some type of clam) preferentially uses one isotope of carbon over another. It's enough so that you can pull an oyster from the ocean, eat most of the meat, and date the rest as thousands of years old.
I don't remember the mechanism involved, but it's something that makes sense to the scientists involved and they can account for it. But anyone who's only had the standard K-12 exposure to science would be utterly confused by the results.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
Personally (not that anyone will care, but just add to the thread):
- History: currently reading Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower - A Portrait of The World Before the War, a somewhat episodic but interesting review of the late 19th century. There are some fascinating correspondances with the current climate (the chapter on the anarchists is particularly interesting - I was a bit vague on them before, but there is a real resonance with the current terrorist threat).
Another big favourite recently was A World Lit Only By Fire - The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance by William Manchester. Many medieval history books can be pretty dry, but this one is a cracking good read.
For fiction I used to be a big fan of John Irving - I think The Hotel New Hampshire remains my favourite book of his, though I'm less enchanted with his recent stuff.
There's an excerpt (from the grossly-overpriced ebook version) here.
Come now, certainly at least a few of you slashdotters out there have read Ender's game. Everyone knows that children make the most skillful and deadly military leaders. It is just one of those known facts.
With my dying breath, I curse Zoidberg!
...that no one has yet noted the parallel between the social unrest (and corresponding government reaction) in the book and the "war on terrorism(tm)" being prosecuted by the United States.
Clearly, the Chronoliths are a weapon of terror (a rather clever one, I might add). And while terror is not the central theme of the book, it clearly is a considerable factor in the economic, social and political upheaval that is the backdrop for the main story line.
I will let each reader decide for him/herself whether there is any conclusion to be drawn or not.
An unknown terrorist leader from the future begins beaming back monuments to himself through time (think of the Washington Monument appearing suddenly in the middle of colonial virginia), which tell of a terrible war where this terrible leader won everything. These monuments appear with more and more frequency as time moves on, and the world begins to panic as they imagine a new Ghengis Khan, Hitler, or Hannibal. Like people claiming to be the Messiah today, people begin taking on the name of the leader and claiming to be HIM in their own areas of the world. Chaos threatens to engulf the world, as our heros try to find a way to prevent an outcome which has apparently already happened.
Basically, I found the book interesting, but not exciting or compelling. The narrative was diverse and the ideas unusual, but in the end many threads were left unexplored and the book sort of peters out rather than ending with a bang. If you like speculative fiction, this will fill a pleasant afternoon but is not a "must-have."
At least that is my two cents.