Icarus (GollanczF.) [Paperback]

Roger Levy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2008 | Series: GollanczF.

In this exemplary work of pyschological acuity, the reader encounters a world where mankind has reached deep space. Separated from Earth and each other by unimaginable reaches of stars, forced to adapt to various diverse plantetary environments, the colonies have become isolated and inward looking, forgetting their pasts, losing touch with their humanity—that is, until a mysterious ship is found locked in the deep rock by a mining team, sparking a deadly conspiracy that threatens man wherever he is.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Initially, this impressive novel by British SF rising star Levy will fascinate but also puzzle readers. The characters are immediately intriguing, the writing vivid and tight, but how do the sections of action fit together? What does dangerous tunneling beneath the inhospitable surface of far-off planet Haven have to do with the way brutal lords control villages on the forest world Haze? And what could these distant civilizations have to do with a near-future televangelist exploiting human weakness on Earth? However, as scene follows melancholic scene, some containing disturbing violence committed on or by children, cross references begin to show that the parts are somehow related. Even as connections are revealed, it's never safe to relax into easy assumptions about the relationships among Levy's believably flawed, sometimes monstrous but sometimes hopeful characters as they explore the pain of alienation and the improbable miracle of isolated people coming together. (Sept.)
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From School Library Journal

Earth lies uninhabited. The planets Haze and Haven are its legacy. On Haven, humans live underground, restricted in their movements, activities, and thoughts. On Haze, the ruling Lords of the AngWat seize children from their families and destroy entire villages to keep down the population. When a group of miners from Haven discover the remains of an orbital escape pod containing knowledge that contradicts everything they have known, they become fugitives, marked for death and drawn to a rendezvous with rebels from Haze determined to find another way of life. The author of Reckless Sleep and Dark Heavens provides another dystopian vision, this time of places beyond Earth. Three separate threads merge into one tapestry of deceit and misaligned hopes in a tale of survival and struggle that belongs in larger libraries.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (May 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575079819
• ISBN-13: 978-0575079816
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,320,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark heart, August 30, 2006

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Archana - See all my reviews

This review is from: Icarus (GollanczF.) (Paperback)

This novel takes me to places I've not seen, places I dread, places so compellingly imagined that they look like real memories. The writing is subtle and controlled. The writer is clearly interested in power and persuasion, and the visions of hope offered to people by their (our?) leaders. The Captain is a particularly haunting character, disturbingly familiar in some ways and yet unique. At the heart of it all is a current of despair at our appetite for self-destruction. Icarus indeed.