November 26, 2007
Bear proves there’s still juice in one of science fiction’s oldest tropes, the stranded generation ship, in this complex coming-of-age tale. Rien, a handmaid in a feudal society, must care for the prisoner Ser Perceval—a mutilated enemy who Rien discovers is her half-sister by an absent scion of the ruling family. Their quest for a safer home tangles with their society’s own quest for safety, as the descendents of an artificial intelligence and the genetically engineered crew battle for control to save the ship from an impending supernova. Standard plot devices litter the familiar landscape: tarot, pseudo-angels, named swords with powers, and politics as a family quarrel. But Campbell Award–winning author Bear uses them beautifully to turn up the pressure on her characters, who r respond by making hard choices. And—as she did in Carnival
and Hammered
—Bear breaks sexual taboos matter-of-factly: love in varied forms drives the characters without offering easy redemption.
Starred review from December 15, 2007
Bear takes on the well-worn sf device of the generation ship and, seasoning with Roger Zelaznyesque family politics and Mervyn Peakeish behind-the-scenes intrigue, concocts a delicious blend of science so advanced its like magic and people, the ships royalty, who are somehow altered by the nanotech colonies that make them Exalt but remain neurotic and struggling like ordinary humans. The ship hasnt moved in centuries, and Engine and Rule (parts of the ship) are nearly at war. Desperately trying to avert war, Rien helps Sir Perceval escape Rule and dangerously trek to Engine, near-constantly watched by Jacob Dust, the Angel of Memory, while the other angels and devils make alliances in the continuing battle for survival. As the smaller angels are devoured, battle to control the hulk of the ship Jacobs Ladder nears an end. Bears approach to the story results in exactly the kind of brilliantly detailed, tightly plotted, roller-coaster book she has led her readers to expect, replete with a fantastic cast of characters. When Bear revamps the genres standard furniture, the results are extraordinary.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)