Customer Reviews

Foreigner: Book Three of the Quintaglio Ascension

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've waited years for this, and it was worth the wait. Some people perhaps didn't read Sawyer's Quintaglio series when it first came out, because all they saw were the dinosaurs on the covers. But the fact that his characters are intelligent saurians is almost incidental. This whole series is really a discussion of science and faith, and an examination of what breakthroughs in science would be like if they were really crucially important (what if it was a matter of life and death how the solar system was arranged -- not just for Galileo, but for EVERYONE [the plot of FAR-SEER]; what if the truth of evolution over creationism was the key to a species' survial [that's FOSSIL HUNTER]; and what if a breakthrough along the lines of psychoanalysis was the only thing that would stop a genocide [the current volume, FOREIGNER].) All three are wonderfully told, but FOREIGNER holds the most surprises and twists, not to mention packing the biggest emotional whallop. Bonus: a comprehensive "Quintaglio Concordance," drawn from all three books, at the end. As the cover quote from a Canadian newspaper says, "A fine end to a brilliant series."

As the concluding work in the Quintaglio series of planetary destruction, this book draws together many elements introduced earlier. Although ostensibly a dinosaur, Afsan's character grows more human with each volume. As a reflection of current Euro-North American society, Foreigner is hard to beat. That reflection may be too vivid for some. Sawyer has a fine talent for portraying reality, whether on an imaginary planet or right next door. This series remains a challenging read.

A trilogy of sub-plots keeps your interest alive through the main theme. The saurians are learning about their own world while striving for the means to escape it. Sawyer depicts the violent mental disruptions of racism with talent. Although dinosaurs mate for reproductive ends, he manages to introduce a new feature of their lives, jealousy versus loyalty. While the accounts of Novato, Afsan's mate and his son Toroca are compelling, it's the relationship of Afsan, the continuing primary character in this series, that renders this book worthy of note. His association with the practitioner of the new therapy of psychology makes hilarious reading. Mokleb, the 'therapist,' is a marvelous rendition of the money-grubbing cockroaches that infest Earth's cities today. She's a Freudian, of course, with all the fanciful ideas of conscious and subconscious ['high' and 'low' mind] and dream interpretation that has bled many a bank account dry during the past century. Her negotiation with Afsan over payment for the therapy sessions is too vividly real to be missed.

If you are new to Sawyer, by all means start the trilogy at the beginning and follow it through this volume. You will learn much about your own world as Sawyer reflects it in Afsan's. The series is a good addition to any library of speculative fiction. The only truly speculative part of Sawyer's works is the 'people' portrayed and their location in the cosmos. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Foreigner is a satisfying conclusion to the Quintaglio series. How to get off the moon before certain destruction? How to deal with a newly discovered dinosaur species? Why do the gest Quintaglios have such rage and then contrition when seening those new dinosaurs? It's not just dinosaurs, it's pyschology and family and thinking outside the egg. Loads of fun and lots of thought in this terrific read.

The 1st and 2nd best are Far-Seer and Fossil Hunter .... this is the third volume in that trilogy and although I'm ranking them 1,2,3 in order of release this is not really an example of the law of diminishing returns. This time out it's the dinosaurian Freud .... surprising choice (I'd expected a dino Einstein) but Sawyer makes it work wonderfully, with his earlier creation .... the dino Galileo named Afsan .... undergoing pscyho-analysis! Wonderful end to a wonderful series by a Nebula and Hugo winning Canadian author.

Foreigner
Robert J. Sawyer
Tor, Jul 2005, $13.95
ISBN 0765309726

Afsan's Saurian punishment for declaring that the Face of God is a planet that the Qintaglio home sphere orbits as its inner most moon was being blinded. His related theory that their "orb" will be destroyed in about a century is met with mixed results. Those who believe the astronomer ponder how to go off planet when ocean voyages are difficult enough while Afsan negotiates a fee with therapist Mokleb to help him mentally "see" how to overcome his natural irrational behavior and adapting to using his new grown eyes.

Meanwhile Afsan's spouse Novato studies an alien spacecraft found in the southwestern Frahtoolah Province. At about the same time that Novato nervously evaluated the craft, her son Toroca, while on geological survey aboard the ocean going Dasheter, meets a second sentient saurian race on a small archipelago. This shakes the Qintaglios more than Afsan's "taking God out of our skies" with a biological blow to the belief they are the superior race of God. These scientific advances, instead of saving the race from the breaking up of their moon, lead to war.

This reprint of the final tale of the Qintaglio Ascension is a fabulous science fiction story that makes the saurian races seem real as the audience will obtain a historical, anthropological, and psychological perspective especially of the Qintaglio culture. The three prime well written subplots tie together in a delightful climax. Fans of the series will appreciate the dual first contacts by Novato and Toroca, but especially enjoy Mokleb getting Afsan on the couch to psychoanalyze him so that he can understand the irrationality of the species (move over Freud). It is best read this novel after the first two books in the series to fully savor the saurian culture but FOREIGNER can definitely stand alone.

Harriet Klausner

I, personally, think that this book is the greatest one ever written, if you can overlook some off colored parts. (You need to read the others too.)

A fitting end to the Quintaglio series, "Foreigner" continues the time-compressed scientific progression from the dinosaur equivalent of Galileo to Charles Darwin to the Wright Brothers and beyond human endeavor to interstellar space travel. Well written and interesting, Sawyer once again works his magic and keeps the reader engrossed from beginning to end.

After years of reading the book teasers at the end of other sci-fi books, I found a copy of Fossil Hunter at the local bookstore, and eventually got ahold of the other two books in the trilogy from the library. I don't think that the books are worth the price that Amazon is charging, but with some luck, you'll be able to find the older printings if you keep your eyes open at used bookstores and book sales

The series is a good allegory for European scientific progress, with various Quintalago dinosaurs representing Galileo (Afsan), Darwin (Toroca), the pioneers of flight (Novato), and Freud (Mokleb). The behavior and culture of the Quintalagos really makes you think about how alien societies might think and behave, and what it would be like to encounter a culture so radically different from your own. The characters are all unique and memorable, each with their own personalities and charm.

Although this trilogy is not Hugo-award worthy, it has earned a permanent place on my bookshelf. The best indication of how much I came to care about the characters is that I have read the final book 3+ times, and cried in the final chapters each time. You just can't beat that.

An exciting and interesting conclusion to Robert Sawyer's trilogy about intelligent descendants of the dinosaurs. Naturally in the way that fiction often does, it wraps up the loose ends almost too well. I was interested to discover that this is some of Sawyer's earliest published work. It has been a while since I read any of his more recent work but I think there is a contrast - the protagonists in the Hominids series are not nearly as certain or guaranteed of success.

What actually happens in the book? It would be difficult to say much without giving away a lot of the plot, but from the blurb you can doubtless gather that the Quintaglios discover they are not the only intelligent species on their moon. What they find out about their neighbours leads to very difficult times indeed, and threatens the goal of escape from their doomed home.

Foreigner


Foreigner (1994) is the third and final book of Sawyer's Quitaglio Ascension trilogy.

In Foreigner Sawyer borrows elements from real Human History to add bits and pieces to his characterizations. In this one he borrows bits and pieces from Guy de Chaulia, Sigismund Schlomo Freud Also; there is a little Japanese Kamikazes. There that's enough clues. Go out and get this book!

If you enjoyed The Fossil-Hunter and the Far-Seer as much as I did, you'll want to read this concluding book.


Next comes... nothing. Oh, well, I'll check out his short stories in Iterations, maybe read Calculating God, again. Or possibly the Neanderthal series ,hmm.


Sawyer does let his Liberal leanings peek out at you in this book, but not terribly so. The nose of the camel does get snuck under the tent.

All in all this is a delightful ending to a very pleasant trilogy.