Customer Reviews

Ancients of Days: The Second Book of Confluence

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Part of the magic of "Child of the River" was the gradual unfolding of the complexity of the planet Confluence: the sentient machines, the extraordinarily complex caste system of the society, the huge sweep of time across the culture. That there is a rollicking good tale running through the first two books now, makes McAuley's creation quite an accomplishment. Although these books are written as a trilogy, the typical beginning-middle-end of that form doesn't seem to be the prevailing idea here. This story is both expanding and contracting in unexpected and thoroughly enjoyable ways. The "Angel" character is a little preachy with her history, but McAuley is building a whole cosmology full of intrigue and creative, almost footloose ideas. In other words, it succeeds in doing what good science fiction can do, it takes us out of our own cultural and technological limits so that we can look back at them in a whole new way. "Ancients of Days" has me looking forward to the third book . . . .

Reminiscent of Silverberg's Valentine series, this superb novel takes place on a long, narrow artificial world. The world is completely innundated with sophisticated machines, ranging in size from smaller than cells to large as whales. The planet itself is a machine, and the young protagonist, Yama, is a unique being who has the ability to control the machines. His powers make him a puppet in an on-going struggle for power. The action is fast and very exciting--at one point, I was yelling out loud! Great series, imaginative and beautifully written.

I enjoyed this book more than his first. McAuley got around to explaining how all came into being and now a lot of it makes more sense. I recommend this series for those who are waiting for the next Jordan (Wheel of Time) book. Yama reminds me of Rand (e.g. people want to kill/serve him and people are afraid of his powers and some want to use him).

In Ancients of Days, the second tale of McAuley's Confluence trilogy, Yama continues to explore the world of Confluence in the hopes of finding his people and learning who and what he is. With the ability to control the wonders of Confluence, Yama explores the largest city on Confluence, Ys, and then travels down the Great River, meeting diverse peoples and slowly unraveling his capabilities to control and manipulate the wonders of Confluence.

Ancients of Days continues a very creative and intricate story. The details of the world of Confluence are what makes the story really stand out. McAuley has a knack for describing the environment of his tale in a most complex and almost Byzantine-like manner. (Indeed the only other author of comparable talents that I can think of would have to be Kim Stanley Robinson and his depiction of Mars in his Trilogy about that planet's colonization and terraformation.) McAuley's descriptions of Confluence are so strong, that even when the plot lags a bit, his descriptions of the setting carry the story.

The only significant bother with the story as a whole was that not enough information was given about Yama's origins...it felt like we were being strung along at times. But, hopefully the final tale in the trilogy will answer all the questions that have been raised and end things in a satisfying manner. I am looking forward to picking up the final book in the none-too-distant future.

Having pulled off the doubly impressive feat of creating a new world that doesn't feel like a retread of all the other futuristic SF worlds that had come before, and making us care quite a bit about a hero named "Yama", McAuley now brings us back to that world for the second book in the series. For those who don't quite remember, poor Yama lives on a world that appears to have been created some time ago by people with above average stellar engineering skills (to say the least) who then proceeded to seed it with different bloodlines based off Earth animals (part of the fun is trying to figure out who is based off what) and . . . vanished. Perhaps to live in a black hole. Ooh.

This is where Yama comes in. Apparently one of the early bloodlines was a group called the Builders. Like the Preservers, they're not around anymore either and it seems that Yama might be one of them. Somehow. Aside from the fact that he looks like no one else on the world, he also has the ability to control the zillion machines that are running around the place. On the downside, everyone wants a piece of him and not for "attaboy!" reasons.

For a book that seems to have been conceived as one big unit that was then split into three different books to avoid people seeing a giant tome and going "Ahhh!", McAuley does an excellent job of avoiding "middle child syndrome", where you feel like the book is just killing time before you get to the big climax. While the beginning makes no sense without reading the previous book, it ends at a logical cliffhanger that threatens to shift the very status quo that we've gotten used to and yet harkens back to the earlier conflicts of the first book.

His world is so well-thought out that it's frightening, to the point where you start to imagine McAuley's house having maps and drawings and notes covering all the walls. It's that detailed and given all the shortcuts that SF tends to take with this kind of thing, especially since the fanbase is used to the conventions, it's a little awe-inspiring. This isn't a world you can make assumptions about because nothing works the way its supposed to.

Yes, the book is a bit of a travelogue which is pretty much the standard for this kind of thing but McAuley pulls it off with quite a bit of flair, taking us down all sorts of vistas and making sure that none of them ever repeat, while at the same time never letting you lose sight of the notion that this is all one functioning world. One that is about to be torn apart. For all the varied and differing areas we're taken through, you can get a sense of how it all interlocks and fits together. And frankly, if I spent this much time on creating a new world, I'd show off every inch of my imagnation that I could.

But, for the plot to work, we can't just have everything laid out before us, there has to be a mystery. And true to that, McAuley continually pulls back the layers, with new revelations appearing at each new stop, new information coming up or new wrinkles in that information. Everyone's got motivations, not all of them obvious (and he does a neat trick of having no one trust one character but stringing it out for so long that when he does actually turn, you're still surprised) and every time Yama has a "everything you know is wrong!" moment, it's clear that this probably won't be the last one.

It all feels utterly organic and while it may lack the allegorical depth of Gene Wolfe's world-building (but there's few writers who can touch Wolfe, period, so it's kind of an unfair comparison), McAuley gets everything else right, continuing everything that was good about the first book (the staggering level of narrative detail, the fascinating layers of Confluence, the varied and nuanced characters) and giving us more of the same. Which is not a bad thing and if things go where they look like they'll be going, the final book is going to be one heck of a revelatory ride.

I've read both books in this series and I'm not totally sold on all the hype. These books are OK, but not great. The premise is interesting and imaginative, but did hold my attention. I think the main problem is the author's confusing writing style. His main character is a stereotyped version of every other "young hero with extraordinary powers, making his way through a dangerous world pursued by evil/politically motivated government/authoritative officials", that we've seen countless times in modern SF. His supporting characters are weak and uninteresting. I like the initial book's premise in which the goo and the bad sides weren't so clear cut and the reader is still not sure if the hero is following the right path. With a little more attention to detail in the writing, this series might pan out in the end.

The story of Confluence flows like the great river..., unmitigated..., through three volumes.

Like any larger story, it suffers from a slowing in the middle. The Act II doldrums, I have heard them called. In 'Child of the River', Yama and the world of Confluence are fresh and bright. In 'Ancients of Days', Yama and the world of Confluence are weather-worn and trodden. The path has been set, and now it must be followed.

The beauty of Paul McAuley's writing still seeps from the pages in a way that forces you to yearn for the hardcover copy. Like the 'Puranas' - the Confluence version of the Bible, though greater and more aged - there is a kind of wonderment in just the words. But unlike 'Child of the River', there is a meticulous pondering in Book Two: a foraging for story. It is there, embedded within its philosopy on religion, thought, and science - in that order - that the simplicities of religion are easily expunged, the encouragement of questioning easily inititiated, but the psuedo(?)-constants of scientific fact more difficulty tackled; as being 'constants', they have arisen before... Is it possible to have a new idea?

McAueley entertains, undoubtedly, and forces thought simultaneously. This alone makes for an engaging read. But amongst the beautiful imaginings and descriptions, the talents are hightened a great deal.

So what are the faults? A little expectation of the unexpected not met. A little too much of the far-fetched 'omega-point-theory' mixed in with an otherwise previously unimagined outcome of universal life. And a little too little wind along the Great River.

That said, one must not judge the parts as a whole.

On to 'Shrine of Stars'

Read this book (and the first of the series) for the wonder of experiencing a unique world as it unfolds through the naive eyes of our reluctant hero-to-be Yama.

The construct world of Confluence and the variety of societies and species of "men" and machines that inhabit it, brings to mind Rama on steroids. Yamas ongoing discoveries about his world and its history are the real story here. Which is lucky, since the plot is rather predictable (young naive man with odd powers is center of conflict between warring sides trying to control him.) The world of Confluence was so enjoyable, I would have given the books 5 stars if the so called plot had possessed ANY originality.

So, if you require a riveting, page turning, read through the night plot you need to pass this series up. If you are a big science fiction/fantasy fan who enjoys new worlds and the time effects that turn facts into myths and legends you will enjoy a romp through Confluence with Yama.

I liked the first book. I started on the second book with great gusto. I got about halfway through and put it down. I was just confused. Too much plotting, too little detail on the plotting. It's a shame because in the first book I actually cared for the characters.

The book is still unfinished. I still might pick it up later and try to undo the first impression!

Why? Because he can't write these Confluence books fast enough. Ever wonder where humanity or its descendants will be? Not 10, 100 or 1000 years from now - but 100000 years? Well wonder no more, because McAuley has created a whole new Universe, populated by wonderous machines and hybrid species. And they are hurtling thorugh space on a planet so artificial and with a geometry so unique that it takes your breath away. The scope of this book - technically and philosophically - outstanding. WHole heartedly reccomend this book. Take a river boat ride down the Ganges river someday, after you have read the book....