Customer Reviews

Cradle of Splendor

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

 

 

Patricia Anthony has written this novel with obviously extensive understanding of politics, gender relations, the UFO subculture and the craft of writing. It is a tragic, sad tale, filled with absurd moments and startling beauty. Her characters are vivid and surprisingly believable in their eccentricities and obsessions. Her canvas is wide and it contains a full spectrum of people whose lives (and deaths) are woven into an intricate and subtle mosaic of mystery and tragedy.

The novel is provocative science fiction, compact and quite as readable as her previous books. It is a bit eccentric, as perhaps expected, and eminently comparable to a Phil Dick novel. But you wouldn't mistake hers for his. As he was, she is. An original.

... Patricia Anthony is an incredibly talented writer, andCradle of Splendor is probably her best book. Yes, it's full of darksexual violence, but that *is* the point - or, at least it's one ofthem. This is a complicated work, written with a sort of eerie lyricism that's compelling and beautiful. I hope more people will give this book a chance.

Dark Fantasy better describes this bitterly sexist diatribe. Science Fiction it is not! I enjoyed Patricia's Cold Allies and Brother Termite. Those two titles amused my mind and stimulated my thoughts. However this book left me with nothing. If you get your kicks reading about violent homosexual conquest, bloody incest, and indulgent female self-torment then knock yourself out. If you want Science Fiction you will be frustrated at the lack of answers, the lack in fact of any extrapolation of what promised to be a fascinating exploration of anti-gravity and its effect on society after the first chapter, and the overwhelming anger against males that this book portrays. I place this in the same category as those hack-n-slash horror films that are advertised as so-called Science Fiction.

One day I have to figure out how to give a book no stars 'cause I feel horrible about giving "Cradle of Splendor" a star since it deserves none. This may be the worst book I have ever read (and I've read a lot of books). Let's just get it out in the open: this is a bad book. Bad writing, moronic storyline, and annoying characters. Bad enough I had to put up with cliched writing and a asinine plot but I couldn't understand half of it! I'm still not exactly sure of what happened. Some kind of alien/sex-thing..not that it matters. And let me just say that this book is very offensive to Brazilians. Throughout the book she describes Brazilians as lazy, dirty, incompetent, violent and stupid. She describes Brazilian society in the worst way possible and at the end thanks a Brazilian family for hosting her. I wonder what they would think of the beautiful way she depicted their country...don't buy this book. Please.

I have to be honest here--this is the one novel by Anthony that I just couldn't finish. I had absolutely no interest in the plot, characters or narrative voice used. Don't get me wrong, there are things to admire about the book but admiration doesn't mean it's a great novel or even a good one.

There are enough recaps of the plot here so I won't go there. Let's just say this is the least appealing of her well written books. Someone commented that it had moronic plotting. I don't think that's the case, it's just not a compelling or interesting story. Everybody stumbles. We sometimes race along at such a pace that we don't pay attention to the cracks in the sidewalk or the uneven pavement. Here Anthony fell in love with the concept of creating a novel around her beloved Brazil. Unfortunately, the concept is much better than the execution.

Patricia Anthony's oblique style of storytelling is usually an ill fit with her broad-stroke plots, which is why her novels Brother Termite and Happy Policeman missed the mark and are worth reading only for Anthony's stylism. In Cradle of Splendor, however (as with Cold Allies before it), Anthony finds a plot sufficiently multifaceted and enigmatic to match her style. It is hard to explain the plot, not only because so much of it is a surprise but also because so much of it is left to speculation. Given how little of the story is spelled out, it is surprising how well Anthony's writing holds the reader's attention. I cannot call Cradle of Splendor a failure because it leaves us with so many questions, possibilities, and levels upon which it can be taken. I am sure that was Anthony's intent, and I found it a welcome and interesting challenge. Her ambiguity would make Cradle of Splendor an excellent novel for book-club discussion -- and her writing makes it a good read.

Brazil is attacked when spies discover that its government has acquired advanced technology.    There are many characters involved in subterfuge in independent plots.  Characterizations are good, though none of the characters are very likeable or easy to identify with.  The book reads like a Quentin Tarantino movie:  a rapid sequence of highly visual, often violent episodes.  I'm not motivated to read more of her books, though they have won awards.

Reading this book was like going to dinner at friend's house and smelling something wonderful in the kitchen. Yet when the meal was served it was something totally different and unappetizing. It starts out with an interesting idea but then spends the rest of the book hinting around it while venturing off in some pseudo-spy story with unwarranted and disturbing sexual overtones. One is left with a lot of unanswered questions about the activities behind what the author wrote. Her notions on international relations was simplistic, at best. Very disappointing.

I'm giving this book one star, only because Anthony's writing was compelling enough to keep me reading until I had finished the entire book, whereupon I promptly threw it in the trash and wished I had never read it. She took a promising, intriguing premise and twisted it into something horrifying and sick. I can honestly say I wouldn't recommend this book to my worst enemy.

The content of this book pertains directly to things happening in the world right now. Welcome to the cosmos humans. Its a brutal but light filled universe. For Now. Get Alive and Hurry Up. The FTL information WILL NOT manifest until environmental synergy is achieved. Thats the only exception I take with the book. Picking the lock on cosmic consciousness indeed. If we get 5% more than we have now we are monsters compared to what we are, and thats saying a lot, because in many ways we are monstrous animals already. The greatest Hunters The Planet Has Ever Produced. Built on the Serpent, and HOT blooded. BG