Sorry for the quiet around here. I've been in sunnier climes. I just got back and still have a sunburn and sand in my hair. The next four or five weeks will be fairly quiet as I will be quite busy indeed with schoolwork.
I did manage to read Mainspring, by Jay Lake. It was recommended to me by Aka. It's an exotic adventure-romp/salvation-history. Natural philosophers and theologians used variations on the God-as-clockmaker metaphor for centuries, until, of course, Darwin threw a spanner in the works. Mainspring is an entertaining science fantasy set in a clockwork universe, as Lake takes the metaphor literally to see where it winds up. (Pun intended.)
I was rather surprised to discover that it doesn't just stick with that natural-theology backdrop but actually has a lot to say about the redemptive power of faith, love and Christ-like self-sacrifice. I was even more surprised that it didn't take a predictably "subversive" tack either. It's unorthodox and probably post-Christian, but it doesn't follow all the usual modern orthodoxies either. I suppose you could say it's both post-modern and post-secular.
I think it was definitely influenced by Gene Wolfe - the main character is named Hethor, which could conceivably be a coincidence, but I'm pretty sure I caught echoes of events in The Book of the Long Sun and The Book of the New Sun. There's also some Ringworld in there, mixed into an alt-universe, steampunk, high-seas boy's adventure. And don't forget the theology. Overall, it's a lot of fun. I'll try to do a proper review at some point, but my track record on proper reviews has not been great lately. You may just want to go ahead and read the book.
I see Lake has a short story available online that has religious elements, but I haven't read it yet. And apparently a new novel set in the same universe, entitled Stemwinder, is on its way.
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6 comments:
Glad you liked it!
Don't look for STEMWINDER. It's been retitled ESCAPEMENT, and will be published in June.
signed, the Editor.
Thanks for the recommendations. Lake's short story THE CLEANSING FIRE OF GOD was quite good. I had never read anything by him before and look forward to reading MAINSPRING and ESCAPEMENT.
I've read some of his other stories, and they're good...even if some seem to try too hard to be grotesque. I've had this one on my list of books to keep an eye out for for a while, but haven't read it yet. Some reviews make it sound like I'd love it (even from reviewers who didn't care for it much), but some have made it seem less so.
This will help move it back up somewhat on that list. Sounds good.
Thanks for the recommendation -- will look out for that one.
So. Tell us about Cuba.
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