Customer Reviews

Kethani

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

 

 

Interesting concept, but too much left unknown and somehow seemed to avoid the very philosophical concept, what is human, that was the center of the book. Aliens come to earth and "improve" humans, but you never meet the aliens, have no information on where they came from, what their real motivation is, and are they really friendly. An author could have started with a very different idea, how could a hostile alien race destroy human civilization without violence and with human cooperation, and written almost exactly the same book. In the end, humans ooh and ahh about how wonderful the aliens and human life now is, without actually giving any explanation. In this regard, reminds me of the Celestine Prophecy books that used a phony sense of wonder as justification. In summary, interesting, but not recommended.

This is an enjoyable read, despite it clearly being a collection of previously published short stories tied together with some additional chapters. My problem with the book is it raised more questions than it attempts to answer, and thus becomes really just an exploration of who would choose eternal life and who wouldn't. I see high hopes for a seguel that could explore key questions raised by the book but never answered. What is this alien race who provides eternal life all about? Who are their enemies who wish to stop them? Why did they choose humans to carry forth their message? What is this message? All in all, a quick, light read, but nothing that will stick with you.

Other reviewers have mentioned the episodic nature of this book: it's a collection of stories published in small 'zines over several years, with bridging material. That's a perfectly legitimate way to reuse material. The stories cover the arrival of the alien Kethani's station and a few decades after. Each story is set in the dead of a Yorkshire winter, so people are always driving their Range Rovers over snowy downs and up icy lanes, and after a while this obviously intentional mannerism grates. Does nothing Kethani-related happen in the summer?

The characters are a believable, and mostly nice, set of modern Brits who meet at the local pub every Tuesday night, each with credible quirks, foibles, and problems. (Well, credible to an American except for one quirk: do Yorkshire folk really drink that much beer? Pints and pints and pints every night?)

The Kethani gift is a small device, implanted under one's skin, which upon your death both signals a pickup crew and emits nanites to preserve your corpse. You are transferred by near-miraculous means to the Kethani world (or is it?) where you are reconstituted in healthy form, counseled and trained (in ways that you cannot recall in any detail later), and returned to the station from which you left -- or not; you may opt to take work elsewhere in the galaxy for the Kethani.

Each of the stories revolves around a personal decisions this system implies: is it moral to cheat death in this way, or a mortal sin? Should you accept the implant or not? Should you allow a minor child to be implanted? Is the person who comes back really the same person who died and left, and will that person still love what and who he/she loved before death?

Some larger questions are mulled by the characters: are the Kethani really working in humanity's best interests? What is the gift of immortality doing to society and the race? These questions are never answered, because (apparently) Eric Brown has not done the thinking to know the answer himself. It is not (I believe) that he's reserving the full story for a sequel; I think he really doesn't know. He had just invented the sketch of a situation that lets him pose a what-if question to provoke an interesting conflict. It's like the inane conversation you can start with "which super-power would be better: flight or invisibility?" Great for talk after the n'th pint of beer, but in the end, pointless.

In the book some people actually kill themselves in order to get on to the resurrection. A question that came to me after finishing the book: why do you have to die? Why can't you just walk up to the door of the transport station and say, "I'm ready, take me." The only explanation is the inscrutable alien nature of the inscrutable aliens. In fact the answer is: without the powerful symbol of death, the stories have no emotional driver. It's the juxtaposition of the great gift (a rejuvenated, disease-free body and unspecified philosophical training) with the great price (having to die) that makes these stories work. Take away that high cost of a ticket to Kethani and there's little impact.

But that's an arbitrary gimmick. It makes no sense that a race with these powers, these gifts to bestow, would put them behind such a barrier. There are other loose ends that are obvious in hindsight, such as, why would a race with the Kethani's powers need a vast number of human recruits? And why, when they can transport people instantaneously for light-years to and from their Earth stations, do they seem to be using "starships" elsewhere? In each case, the answer seems to be, because it needs to be that way to make the story work. It is this arbitrariness that makes the book seem "hollow" or "pointless" to other reviewers.

Finishing this book, I felt like I had consumed appetizers and got a glimpse at the main entree, but never got a chance to sample it. The story was riveting, as I got to know various characters and delve into their lives. But I was left wanting more and there needs to be a sequel to find out what happened with these people with updates on their lives. There also needs to be information about the Kethani, why nobody knows what they look like, what their world is like. This book has the potential to be staggering and momentous, but it is too short to reach that pinnacle. The premise, immortal life with the implant, will stay with me for a long time. I am deaf, so the concept of cochlear implants parallel to this immortality implant is a pretty interesting one.

This has to be one of the best syfy books I have ever read.
It is thought provoking and had me thinking and feeling and wondering what would come next. A fantasy of humanity (for the most part) is immortality, I never thought there would be so many facets to being immortal. It is well written, the characters well-defined and true to life. I was surprised at the low rating given it by 2 other readers.
It is not all science and gimmicky, but fresh and honest and true. Yeah this is the way it would be, this is what would happen, these are the hearts that would be broken and these are the joys to be had.
Expect to wonder and to feel and to want to read more from this fine author. Well done!
This is the way the world will end not with a bang but a whimper.

Though well written, the various viewpoints are hard to follow. The reader always ends up back at a pub. The one question that I had throughout the book (Why would aliens need US?) was never answered, merely hinted at near the end. It's designed, I think, to be a comfortable read, but I found it merely boring in more than one spot. It needs more tension, suspense. I don't suggest you invest in it if you're looking for space opera. It isn't here.

Eric Brown is a helluva writer, there's no doubt about that. 'Helix' was one of the best scifi novels I've read in years. 'Kethani', on the other hand, seemed to be missing something. It felt... almost hollowed out, as if it was the shell of a great book with the insides scooped out.

The book was originally published as a series of short stories over the course of the last ten years, with new 'interludes' linking each chapter written for this novelization/collection. As such, the book as a whole felt a little disjointed, since the narrator changed from chapter to chapter. To me, it would've made more sense to go back and re-edit every chapter to make them cohere more closely, to give them one voice.

Also, what worked for short stories (and very, very well, I might add) just didn't seem to cut it for a novel. Things are hinted at, speculated about, but we the reader(s) never get a real answer to anything. There was no payoff. There was no tension, no real overarching plot; as I mentioned before, this is a collection of short stories sharing the same background and characters. I think Mr. Brown would've been better advised to write a new novel from the ground up, building on the characters and settings and situations he'd detailed in the short stories.

There are some fascinating and thought-provoking speculations on exactly how immortality would affect us as human beings, and also how we relate to each other, person to person, soul to soul. But ultimately... it just wasn't enough.

If he does indeed plan to write a 'sequel' at some point, I'll definitely read it, but 'Kethani' was, to me, more of a tease.

Most SF writers these days seem to treat science fiction more as a setting than as a genre, telling stories that could be set anywhere, but laying them among the trappings of the future. This is not necessarily bad, a good story is a good story, but it takes away somewhat from what SF really is and really can do. This is the other kind of book. Kéthani tells a story that could not take place outside of the genre of science fiction. Without giving anything away, it's a story of mankind's reaction to a first contact situation that is unlike anything you've ever read before. A story of social and personal changes, told through the eyes and POV's of several close friends, the book is at the same time broad reaching and very personal. I don't want to give anything away or provide any spoilers, so I will simply say that this is a very thoughtful and thought-provoking novel, and that I'll be seeking out more of Eric Browns work as soon as possible.

I was very disappointed with Kéthani.

Here's the plot. Aliens arrive, they implant you with a device to store your DNA and Memories. When you die (or commit suicide to rush up the process), they get rid of all the bad stuff in you and make a "Stronger, Smarter, Younger, Better" you. Then you are given the option of returning to space to be a Kéthani missionary or resume your life on Earth. Did I mention you live forever. (not really, but every time you die they reconstruct you so in theory you can live forever). Happy ending, the end.

I was expecting (hoping for) some sort of catch but there was none. Happy ending, the end.

Then there was a murder by one a Kéthani enemy and I thought it might get interesting but nothing was made of it. Instead they made the guy forget everything about it. Then there was the issue of cleaning up of your body, mind and soul. Well, that's your identity and you are not the same when you come back so that part of you dies forever. Your just a body with some dead person's memories. Happy ending, the end.

When a mysterious alien race, the Kethani, offer Earthlings the gift of eternal life, they change the human world on all levels... but there is a hidden secret which will further affect how the human race decides to change. "Kethani" is a gentle yet pointed story of evolution that makes for a passionate, involving read hard to put down. A perfect addition to any science fiction lending collection.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch