Customer Reviews

Kingdom of Cages

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
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Sarah Zettel has achieved something very hard to do, particularly in SF. This story is both heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. You will be surprised to see how fully you will be drawn in.

Helice Trust and her two daughters, Chena (age 13) and Teal (age 10), are refugees, with as little personal civil rights as refugees typically have. Determined to better their condition, Helice applies for and gets admittance to the villages of Pandora. She is aware that the global government, at odds with the rest of human civilization, has determined that her genetic makeup is nearly perfect to solve a problem they have to solve, and want to use her for biological experiments. In spite of being offered an easy way out (they're willing to pay everything she wants), she will not bear a child for them to be used as a lab rat. Although we don't get to know Helice that much in this story, she is certainly the moral center.

Tam is the remote but protective official who has charge of the village, and he is determined to support Helice in her free choice. But he may be overmatched by the planet's politics.

What fuels this books emotional impact is that Chena and Teal are fully convincing as real sisters. They love each other, and are capable of annoying each other only as real siblings can. One moment they are quibbling, the next playing a shared game that they made up. One of the games is to make up heroic stories about their missing dad, which they indulge in fully aware they are fantasies and not likely to be for real. Both girls are outgoing and inclined to get in trouble, but are still fully devoted to their mom and accept her corrections without question.

Chena is more than willing to fight for what she wants, even willing to take on a fistfight with a bigger boy her first day on Pandora rather than take an insult, but is then perfectly willing to make friends with the guy's sister. It's hard not to like someone like that. Determined to do her part and help her mom, she finds a way to make money in their new home, and eventually ends up in a fight with nearly the whole planet.

If this story has a flaw I think that the galactic crisis seems somewhat contrived. There is really very little explanation or theory why every human colony would go into an irretriveable death spiral, and the proposed solution really makes no sense. But that is the storm in the ocean; what this story is about is what is going on in the boat. Well worth reading.

As mutating diseases and environmental disasters devastate the various planetary colonies scattered around the galaxy, all eyes focus on the planet Pandora, an isolated research outpost, where it is hoped that a cure can be created. The Pandorans want to keep their planet pristine, so with the threat of invasion if they fail, they begin genetic experiments to find the cure. Helice Trust's genetic make-up is perfect for the experiments and the Pandorans eventually manipulate her into volunteering to bear the child they've created. The experiment turns out to be worth killing for, and Helice's two daughters Chena and Teal find themselves equal targets. Five years later, Chena and Teal are fugitives from the Pandoran scientists who are determined that they should take their mother's place. But there are other forces at work on Pandora that could be either friend or foe for the two teenagers, so whom can they trust? Zettel's novel is a compelling and fast-paced read that poses several intriguing ethical questions. While the five-year jump between parts one and two is quite jarring, it does make some sense for the story. And the ending is almost too tidy, but this doesn't take away from the overall enjoyment of "Kingdom of Cages", which ultimately is quite entertaining and thought-provoking. I'm not quite sure what the cover has to do with the story, though.

This novel starts brilliantly, with an intriguing premise, a strange world and culture, and a cast of interesting, complex, yet likable characters. It's unfortunate that it peters out at the end, with a conclusion that manages to feel both rushed and hanging. I get the feeling this might have made a better duology, an idea reinforced by the five-year "jump" that occurs in the middle of the book which, while it ultimately makes sense, is nevertheless jarring.

My favorite aspect of the book is the fact that it presents all sides of every situation, from every perspective. We're first led to sympathize with the Pandoran's refusal to allow refugees to immigrate to their planet, then later to demonize them for it. Likewise, the interplanetary Authority and its representative, Beleraja Poulos, are first painted as bad guys, throwing their weight around and using force and terror to bully the Pandorans into helping them. Later, as we learn more about Beleraja and the situation she faces, we start to respect her courage. Zettel refuses to paint her characters in black and white; each has complicated motivations and conflicting values and it's quickly obvious that there's no "right" solution.

Even the situation presented to the two main protagonists, young sisters Chena and Teal Trust, is fraught with "do the ends justify the means" quandaries. Told their genetic makeup is uniquely suited to creating a cure for the mysterious disease striking colonized worlds across the galaxy, they are nevertheless hesitant to allow the Pandorans access to their bodies. Their qualms are perfectly understandable, yet also selfishly motivated. What if the Trusts could save lives through the sacrifice of their freedom (or perhaps lives)? Would it be worth it?

Zettel, unfortunately, makes little attempt to answer this question. The second half of the book seems to lose focus, dissolving into a confusing jumble of double-crossing. The scenes with the city-mind of Pandora, an artificial intelligence named Aleph, are so full of promise yet so ultimately confusing and secondary to the main plot that we are left frustrated.

Yet overall, this is a fascinating book with a lot of great ideas. The images of the ecology of Pandora are great, as are the descriptions of the unique culture the Pandorans have created to protect it. And Chena and Teal Trust are absolutely believable as adolescents and sisters, flawed yet likable and resourceful. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes intelligent science fiction.

All the worlds that humans had settled on were in trouble. All the humans were dying. The Authority called it "The Diversity Crisis". Only one planet remained untouched, Pandora. The Pandorans were isolated from the Authority and kept close to nature. No machines, no medicines, only "Guardians". The Authority was desperate and gave Pandora an ultimatum: Help find a cure or be destroyed.

There was no need for prisons. Anyone who broke the law forfeited their body right. That meant The Hothouses took them for experimenting on to find a cure. The Eden Project was a theory of creating a fetus with a high immune system that would not turn against the body of the mother hosting it. Of course, this meant only certain females were compatible. Luckily, the closest genetically perfect hosts, one family, left the Athena Station and settled on Pandora. They were (single parent) Helice Trust, and her young daughters, Chena and Teal. If they refused to volunteer for the Hothouse, they were to be forced.

Pandora was ruled by governments called "Family". Each colony (complex) had a Family. Each member of the Family had a "Conscience" which was a chip that strongly persuaded the member to do what was considered right. Each complex had a "City-Mind", an artificially created (but living) intelligence that WAS the complex, itself. Aleph was the city-mind for the Alpha Complex, where the story took place. She kept in touch with all the other city-minds. The city-minds took care of the Families, who in turn, took care of the villages in the colony. However, someone had been making covert alterations to Aleph without her knowledge. Someone who was out to force the Trust women into the Eden Project. Someone who altered nature's insects to kill any invaders the Authority may send.

***** This is the story of Helice, Chena, and Teal Trust. The story covers a ten year span, after all it deals with genetics. It is so well written that it was surreal! I found myself fully engrossed in the story and detested any time I had to stop reading. Highly recommended! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch

"Kingdom of Cages" (2001) is a science fiction novel by SF and fantasy author Sarah Zettel. Zettel won the Locus Award for Best New Novel for "Reclamation" and also wrote the New York Times Notable Book of the Year "Fool's War".

"Kingdom of Cages" is set in the far future. Humanity has colonized and spread out over countless planets. Recently, dozens of the colony planets are suffering environmental collapse and strange new diseases, threatening to wipe out the human race. One planet, Pandora, is untouched by this crisis. Pandora is the most Earth-like of all the planets and is kept in pristine shape by its inhabitants, ecologists and geneticists, who live in dome cities to study and preserve the natural riches of their planet.

As the story begins, representatives from the dying colony planets deliver an ultimatum: Pandora's brilliant scientists must find a cure for the impending crisis, or their untouched paradise will be destroyed. The main characters of the novel, the young girls Teal and Chena Trust, are chosen to participate in the "Eden Project" which will presumably save humanity. They quickly find out that Pandora's scientists may need more from them than they are willing to give.

"Kingdom of Cages" is an interesting novel which works on many levels: an environmental story, a science fiction novel and a coming of age tale. However, I found some plot elements unlikely or far-fetched, and some things are extremely over-simplified. This, combined with the young age of the two protagonists, make this novel sometimes resemble Young Adult or adolescent fiction. It's also disappointing that the resolution seems rushed and unsatisfactory after almost 600 pages. Despite all of this, "Kingdom of Cages" is not a bad read for young SF readers, fans of Sarah Zettel and maybe those who are particularly interested in ecology.

Note: The cover art, a piece by renowned fantasy artist Michael Whelan, is beautiful ... it doesn't seem to have much to do with the story.

Having heard from others about Sarah Zettel, I instantly bought Kingdom of Cages as soon as I saw it. Especially after having just finished Sharman DiVono's Blood Moon, Kingdom of Cages is a quick read despite its 588 pages.

Kingdom of Cages follows the all-female Trust family - primarily the two daughters, Chena and Teal - and their unwanted role in saving the Human race from a deadly disease wiping out entire planets' populations. Pandora is the final known planet capable of sustaining Human life, and is absolutely "backward" compared to the life the Trusts had known previously while living aboard the orbiting space station Athena; Pandora is a diehard environmentalist's sweetest dream, with the little technology allowed comprised entirely of natural elements and thus often in need of maintenance and repair.

Yet the people of Pandora are essentially slaves to the ruling families; most of the commoners are fully aware of their condition, but accept their fate and do everything possible to stay in line and not cause any problems. Chena and Teal, however, are intent on bucking the system and escaping back to Athena, ultimately to rejoin their long-lost father. Yet, despite the allies they find along the way, there is so much working against them that their battles seem absolutely doomed.

The political intrigue between the rulers and the commoners, Pandora and Athena, and Pandora and the rest of Humanity provides a triple-threat that underscores the impending apocalypse and the Trusts' unwilling role in the crisis. Unfortunately, the tale wraps up too quickly and too "cleanly" given the situation in the final thirty pages. Overall, however, Kingdom of Cages is an excellent novel which fans of science-fiction will certainly enjoy.

Planets & peoples have been ravaged by environmental collapses & mutating diseases of the Diversity Crisis. All except Pandora, a 1000-year-old biogenetics research outpost where respect for the ecosystem has become a fanatical religion & a genetically controlled population lives in smug, peaceful, self-sufficient isolation.

Then a starfleet of desperados breaches their paradise carrying an ultimatum: either the hot-house Pandorans use their genius to solve the Crisis or their world will be destroyed.

The Pandorans develop a plan which requires two of their children to be sacrificed to evade the approaching Crisis. Chena & Teal cannot escape from their perfect paradise, so how will they survive?

Sarah Zettel's gripping narrative is rare & I could not put Kingdom of Cages down - I found myself reading far into the night.

Go buy this book because if you truly love SciFi - you will not be disappointed!

Readable adolescent sci-fi from an author who has done much better work. There are good ideas here and some likeable characters, but most of the good stuff is is insufficiently developed and subordinated to the rather psychotic, stunted viewpoints of a couple of main characters. We sort-of care about the characters - but not as much as we could. Meanwhile, the conflicts seem increasingly shallow as we learn more about them. Many events seem unnecessarily contrived, and the final resolution is unsatisfactory.

If I sound disgruntled, it's because I really like this author and felt let down by Kingdom. This novel doesn't measure up to her earlier rough-but-thought-provoking Reclamation, her excellent Fool's War and Playing God, or (my favorite) Quiet Invasion. By comparison, this one is a waste of time.

Sarah's created a complex society of people that are desperately pressured to find a solution to the problems of disease facing the other colonies. It explores characters of depth and complication. Admittedly, I didn't like this book on a personal level. But living in NYC right now I find it difficult to look at some of the ruthless mindsets created in this book. There is a strong level of violence and cold praticality in this book that ring true for the kind of story the author's creating. There is pain and triumph, victory and defeat--all very powerful, but this is not a light work and I admit I couldn't quite deal with the darkness of the plot. I also didn't find that I could identify strongly with any of the characters. The entirety of the plot remained a little to distanced for me to do that. Still, an excellent book that I reccomend to those who enjoy good, epic SF and strong female characters.

Zettel has created a real vision of place in the ecologically protected world of Pandora and its cramped, decaying orbiting station of Athena, and populated it with a wide range of fully-realized characters in a plot full of twists, turns, adventure, loss and redemption. Her main character, Chena Trust, is one of the best fictional characters I've ever met in a book. Zettel balances detail with suggestion to make her story move briskly through a real-feeling world. It's a deft maneuver, leaving her time to develop not only her protagonist, but half a dozen supporting characters to where you could pick them out of a lineup. I even like her invented names, though Chena's mother's is a bit obvious. This book was a runner-up, I recall, for the PKD award, and it deserves some award. Don't let the chance to read something really engrossing go by - this is for people who love sci-fi swashbucklers, character-driven adventures, and alternate history/future scenarios.

Zettel also raises - in storyline, not preaching - important concerns about technology, human agency / freedom, and ecology.

I'm definitely looking forward to my next book by this author.