Customer Reviews

Drylands End

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

 

 

I checked Dryland's End out on a whim, and I'm glad that I did--instead of buying it on a whim. Were it a movie, it's the sort I'd recommend you don't buy but perhaps check out from Blockbuster for a night's entertainment--and then go watch something better.

Felice Picano is not a good storyteller. He's not horrible, but his ability to hold my attention--compounded by awkward language, cookie-cutter characters, and terrible science--waned as I got further through the book. I only made it halfway through before my desire to find out the "great mystery" behind everything petered out completely, in large part due to the fact I couldn't stand any of the characters. The protagonist, Ay'r, is lackluster and uninteresting, with nothing to distinguish him from his companion P'al at all. Many of the female characters--despite Picano's "revolutionary" premise of a female-ruled society--end up as nothing more than bags of machismo, men with their breasts pasted on. Instead of being fascinating, the move is as boring as portraying all dominant male characters in the same light--and utterly uninteresting.

While it claims to be a work of "science" fiction, and given Picano's reference in the introduction to the works of Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov, the science--especially the biological science--is terrible. At several points we're supposed to believe in the idea of "Fasts", space ships with "Plastro-Beryllium" (Plastro-Beryllium, by the way, is atomic number 900--despite the fact science has yet to discover any stable, natural element beyond 92!) hulls that can shrink to the size of an electron and because "electrons have next to no mass" they can exceed lightspeed. (As anyone who knows anything about linear accelerators can tell you, this is patently not so!) At others, we're presented the idea that a society with cloning techniques perfected to the point they can produce perfect children from three or more genetic contributors could be completely wiped out by a "microvirus" that renders its women sterile and changes the X chromosomes into something "completely different". (This is after destroying the reproductive organs completely in under twenty-four hours, with the only symptoms--instead of the expected massive internal hemorrhaging or blood poisoning or other evidences of toxic shock as several pounds of cell-death products are suddenly dumped into the blood stream--being a mild rash and a high fever.)

Needless to say, as a student of biology, this made me want to bash my head into a wall repeatedly in attempts to reassert my suspension of disbelief. Alas, this was not to be.

All of these problems are compounded by Feli. Pic. insistance on use. contract.s aft. having intro.d the term they corresp. to only onc. or twi.. This, coupled with the capitalization of EVERY new species name and EVERY new term he's invented, made for terribly choppy reading--as did the poor editting job and the absolutely horrible dialogue that ended in exclamation points half the time! (At least his characters weren't so excitable as to use two!!)

Anyway. Off the top of my head I can name several books that took on the topics Picano attempted to cover in this "opus" of science fiction, and did it better. His story suffered from trying to cram in a coming-of-age story (try Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card) with a futuristic society ruled by women cheek-by-jowl with one ruled by men (Heart of Gold, Sharon Shinn), with gender roles either switched or made equivalent and consequence-free sex abounding (Dreamsnake, Vonda McIntyre), in which an important role was played by a special new atomic element that allowed space travel (Psion, Joan D. Vinge, but don't just read it for the politics!)...

I could go on. But it does suffer seriously from the attempt to cram in far too much at once, which resulted in a host of uninteresting or laughably unbelievable characters, a murky plot, and the general unreadability of the book--combined with poor editting and horrid writing style.

Do yourself a favor--save the sixteen bucks, or go buy Ender's Game and Psion. It'll be much more worth your time.

This is not your average sci-fi novel. It ranks among the best, including 2001. Picano creates an imminently believable future where the "three species" live in relative, but strained harmony under the slowly unraveling Martriarchy.

Much like Star Wars, the book chronicles the disintegration of the Matriarchy but has numerous and intriguing subplots: a philosophical cyber rebellion; the burgeoning autonomy of a "wild west" planet that's filled with the equivalent of mega oil fields and Los Angeles-like denizens in search of sinful fun; and realpolitik power struggles within the Matriarchy itself. Also intertwined is the search for a cure to a virus that threatens to end human reproduction The cure is found on the slowly flooding distant planet of Dryland -- hence the title. The world created by Picano is phenomenally believable and even prescient. He introduces the reader to new languages, new forms of space travel, new cultures, new species -- bu! t he bases everything on plausible science. His knowledge of geology, space, military tactics and history are almost encyclopedic. Dryland's End is perhaps the most intelligent page-turning Sci Fi novel I have ever read. I honestly couldn't put it down. Picano is the master of plot! Other Picano books include "Like People in History" "Ambidextrous" and "The Lure." Enjoy!

We are at the end of a millenary Galactic Empire. A Matriarchy rules. Unfortunately, a virus has developed that has rendered women infertile and unable to reproduce. This, obviously, threatens their dominance.

Ay'r, the protagonist, his companion Pa'l, and a representative of the Matriarchy, are sent to the flooding world Pelagia on a mysterious mission. The book has a magnificent prose that narrates the exploration of the doomed world of Pelagia, its rapidly developing tribes, and the strange mythology of the inhabitants.

The homosexual ability to reproduce becomes the central research that Ay'r's parents were developing in Pelagia, and Mr. Picano guides us through this discovery in a brilliant and enjoyable way.

Meanwhile, a cyber-rebellion threatens the Matriarchy and all humanity. The solution to this crisis is somewhat linked to what happens on Pelagia...

In spite of its gay thematic, it is one of the best science fiction books ever written.

Set 5000 years in the future, Dryland's End is a queer-friendly sci-fi book that takes some getting used to but in the end is a fascinating experience. Picano not only makes up worlds and societies, he also invents some languages to go along with them. This makes for some confusing passages, not at all helped by the extremely sloppy editing that has been perpetrated here. Characters who are not in a particular scene all of a sudden are identified as having made a statement, simple words are misspelled, etc. and sometimes you may feel like throwing the book across the room. But wait. Eventually the thousands of characters and many different subplots come together and it turns out that it wasn't that byzantine a plot in the first place. If you enjoy taking a look at what our descendants might be up against in the future, take a look here. You might be dissappointed but you won't be terribly bored. If you have not read a Picano book before, I suggest starting with Ambidextrous, but fans will have a good time here.

_Dryland's End_ is a romping sci-fi novel that manages to combine valid scientific and social theories(gender politics, human evolution, nurture vs. nature) without losing sight of the message or the story. Kudos to Picano for creating characters foreign to our 20th century mores and perspective, yet utterly familiar in their essential human needs, ambitions, and desires - for power and position, family and genetic legacy, food, shelter, and security at any cost. Picano does not so much plant some new concepts as he does yank our post-modern society out by the roots, shake it to remove the dirt, disect, discard the dead and dying stalks, and transplant the whole. The concepts may all have been voiced before by other writes, commentators, etc. but never in one place - my reaction in the end was not so much surprise as satisfaction, even bemusement. All in all this is a strong, solid read, lush with details and a sly humorous tone. The ending is so abruptly balanced, yet haunting, that the novel begs a sequel, or at least an extended epilogue! It reminded me of other socially-and/or technologically-mindful authors such as Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale), Anne Rice (Cry to Heaven), and Frank Herbert (the Messiah trilogy). Definitely a worthwhile read for sci-fi fans, history buffs, politicians, feminists, and anyone who already claims to have an open mind. Read the book and prove it!

I read the book when it was first published. I couldn't put it down. The characters are charismatic, the setting interesting, the advanced science was enthralling yet believable. If I had a holodeck, I would visit all the settings and characters in Drylands End. If only life on earth could be as exciting! Having read many things by Picano, science fiction was a side of him that I hadn't seen. I wanted the book to go on and on.After finishing the book I was lost. Someone needs to do a screenplay of this story. If you enjoy a good read that is captivating and draws you right into the story, don't let it's length stop you, this one is a MUST!

There should be no doubt about Mr Picano being a talented author: despite the many unnecessary abbreviations already pointed out by other reviewers his writing is proficient.

We face here a long, hard SF novel, fairly well paced; a good plot structure (one chapter for the outer space adventures of Ay'r and companions - one for the intrigues of politicians); interesting issues such as racism, distribution of wealth, individual vs general interest, alternative sexuality. All this coming from an unspecialised writer, one who does not write SF only.

One severe flaw I found in this novel is the lacking characterization of some of the main characters: Ay'r, for example, who in my opinion lacks depth and acts inconsistently; P'al too is someone whose thoughts and actions are inexplicable. For such major flaw only I would have taken three stars, but this is a very long novel and it is clear that Mr Picano chose to focus more on the width of scope, a goal he achieved.

Another problem is to believe that a culture that can mesh the genes of three different people to produce a single embryo and possesses artificial wombs can have difficulties in conquering a virus who simply destroys the woman's natural womb (anybody knows that any body cell contains a complete dna which could theoretically be duplicated and cloned into a new being).

Some readers might be confused by the first chapters: the author introduces a lot of characters and settings at a time and it takes quite a bit of concentration to keep all the loose threads in mind until they finally begin to intertwine.

I took all stars out of the rating because I really do not like how Mr Picano treats some issues. Everyone is entitled to his own opinions and the novel is good but I simply could not stand that attitude.

I wish to discuss the matter thoroughly but to do so I have to give away much of the plot. Those who have not read the novel yet may therefore wish to stop reading NOW.

SPOILER ### SPOILER ### SPOILER ### SPOILER

Ay'r's father chose, when there was still no cyber virus in sight, to study new reproductive possibilities, such as the possibilities for males to carry children in their own womb and was therefore prosecuted by the matriarchy which saw his attempts as a menace. Though I am a strong supporter of the idea that an entirely sane and emancipated male has to possess and develop many psychological aspects traditionally considered feminine, I cannot see how it can seem right to alter a perfectly functional course of things for the sake of scientifical research.

After his ban from the Matriarchy Ay'r's father and "mother" decide to continue their researches in the faraway world of Pelagia. To do so they kidnap the young men of the planet, inject them with hormones and dna and implant them with an artificial womb to assign them later to a companion. These chemicals alter their character, nature and partly their body, changing perfectly straight men into sex starved effeminate gays and forcing them to bear at least a child.
Such chemical, if existent, would probably make the joy of many transexuals and I would not object such a substance but I happen to find it disgusting to force such a change on an unwilling subject. Moreover parenthood is not a task to be undertaken lightly nor to be forced on someone. The changed boys are said to be happy with their new life, their change is useful to prevent the end of humankind due to the above mentioned cyber virus and Ay'r cursorily mentions his being perplexed about the kidnappings but he later accepts the fact and is going to become a rich man thanks to the patent of the process without the author's bothering to make any more objection.
Of course this is only smalltalk, there being no such DNA chemicals, something I am deeply thankful for, but I simply cannot cope with such a lax sense of what is right and wrong. Nothing (not even the end of humankind) can justify such lack of ethics and respect for human dignity and freedom of choice: an author is at freedom to mention anything for the sake of a good story but he should not try to convince us that what is wrong is wright.

Please do note. If you love science fiction you will enjoy this but it has very progressive themes. So if you think your male pride will get hurt... Maybe you shouldn't read it.. If you enjoy alternative sexual oriention lesbian or gay male then you might enjoy it. But remember this book is first Science Fiction before it is gay. If you don't enjoy both in some capacity this will not be a good read and should be avoided. Everyone has different taste in books. You should know already whether you would be interested or not.

As far as the characters I do agree that their was amazing development. They really did exist in my mind. The plot is conceivable as in way way in the future conceivable. Some things did make me question the validity of the situations. But not enough to dislike or turn away from it and I'm the type who would find those things. Beautiful piece of Science fiction.

I got a used copy of this book and was glad I hadn't paid full price. It bothers be when the characters start reciting History lessons as a way of explaining the story.
I felt like I was reading a techinical manual and not enjoying the book.
One of the few books I didn't even finish.

I'll admit up front I don't really get science fiction so maybe that's why this novel felt so weighty and endless. I keep hoping one day I'll find a great sci-fi book and, suddenly, a whole new world of fiction will open up to me. And, this book was highly recommended so I tried but, same old story. I never once felt involved and only occassionally engaged. Admittedly, the author is adept at this sort of fiction but, for me, this was one of those books you pick up and two pages later your mind is wandering because, for one, you can't even pronounce the character names and there's just too much going on - too many worlds to be explained and I tried and tried to just fall into the story but no such luck. The plot finally kicks in but that's after about four hundred pages. Until then, it's a lot of ideas (some profound, some not), endless streaming dialogue and endless streaming speculation of future worlds, the future of gender, feminism, robotics, etc., etc. Again, I'm not a sci fi buff so it's probably just not for me.