Mmm, I've read this before in paperback quite a long time ago. This time in kindle format, I found it a bit disjointed, the viewpoint changes from one character to another without anything to give you a clue there's a transition. This may be down to the kindle formatting rather than the author though! It's based on an intriguing notion that different religious groups remove themselves from the secular life that has overtaken most of humanity by buying their own planet. Unfortunately the sentient cities they build to live in decide that humans don't live by their own religion's rules and evict them. The story deals with some of the consequences, partly from the point of view of the humans and partly from the viewpoint of sentient city parts. It's quite complex, sketching out how different communities might evolve stranded on a world that's very harsh outside the cities. Towards the end a simulacrum of the city designer appears and you get the hint that there has been another plan being pursued beneath it all!
‘They were built to hold the hopes of Mankind. They exposed only his folly…In the deserts of God-Does-Battle the Cities stand alone, as beleaguered as the aspirations of Mankind. Those still alive are silent, like stars in a dying universe they await dust and decay. Yet within the living plasm of their fragmented structures an ancient programme works still, implanted by the human creators they cast out a thousand years ago. Before long, it is clear, the some of the Cities will fight extinction.
What do You think about Strength Of Stones (2002)?
Strength of Stone is like Greg Bear light. It's not as complex or engaging as I've found his other books to be but this by no means means makes it either simple or boring. The premise is interesting and there are some really great characters. The protagonist isn't so much any one person though as it is the human drive, especially for survival. Through the course of the book the author vividly communicates loss on a grand scale, enduring human folly, the inexorable passage of time and the loneliness inspired by a future humanity that resembles nothing we currently know or understand. It worked for me even when I found the subject to be disturbing or unpleasant. I recommend it but be prepared for a book that takes the harder, grittier road.
—Aura
Phew, after a few of the other books this year, it was good to finally read something that flowed well. Although it touches on a number of very confusing concepts, and for such a short book describes two very different cultures (a highly advanced human culture and the more primitive human society derived from it when it fell) without becoming unreadble or too confusing. There were still a lot of concepts left unexplained, but that didn't compromise the story - it just left some mysteries to think about.I enjoyed the story. It packed a lot in a very small space, but still allowed me to feel for the characters involved.
—Caroline Eising
