Customer Reviews

Manta's Gift

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I picked up this one at a used book sale at the local library for next to nothing... not because reading the back cover (or the front cover for that matter) grabbed my attention (because they most certainly did NOT), but becuase I knew Timothy Zahn from his work on the Star Wars "Heir to the Empire" trilogy and had really enjoyed his writing. Turns out, it was a very good pickup that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Unlike a lot of contemporary sci-fi, this one actually DOES make an effort at including science into the fiction, and Zahn does incorporate several creative and thought provoking ideas and concepts into the life and ecology of the Jupiter that he creates.... (as odd and implausible as some of those ideas and "science" may be, they should at least make the reader step back and say 'hmmm, interesting'). Zahn succeeds in giving his story an "old school" sci-fi feel to it that a lot of newer entries into the genre seem to be lacking.

For all the science and creativity though, the story really succeeds becuase the characters are interesting and sympathetic, the plot is fast paced and exciting, the book is not easy to "figure out" 200 pages before the finish (i.e. there is suspense), and the writing is sharp and clear. This one MORE than met my expectations, and I'll be hitting more of Zahn's work when the next opportunity presents itself. In my opinion at least, that's pretty high praise for an author, and this book was well worth the read.

Thankyou Timothy Zahn for such a wonderful book!

One of his most original stories in years, Manta's Gift is about a young man, Matt Raimey (that's the name, right?), who, through an unfortunate skiing accident, becomes paralyzed. He thinks his life is over, until a mysterious man offers him a second chance: be born again as a manta ray-like Qanska.

It follows Raimey being born in an alien womb, all through his younger years, and into adulthood, when he finds out that he was really put there by Earth to spy on the Qanska for some reason (I won't give it away).

Mr. Zahn has created a unique alien species here, even more than in Conquerors' Heritage. What makes it more difficult is that they are so less advanced, and bear no resemblance to humans at all. He had to invent how they moved, what food they ate, their social structure, and their interdependence with their natural predators. It has nothing to do with technology, and a lot more to do with biology. It all seems amazing to me that he did it at all, let alone make it so interesting. Though slightly longer than I expected (in pages), it is very fast-paced, much more than Angelmass. Although that book had its flaws (few as they were), Manta's Gift comes to near perfection.

If I have anything bad to say about this book, it would be that Mr. Zahn left the book open for a possible sequel, then went off to write the Dragonback series (which I am very much looking forward to). Will there ever be a sequel to this excellent book? Even if there isn't, Manta's Gift is a book that should be on any self-respecting sci-fi fan's shelf.

Timothy Zahn has an amazing ability of bringing readers' imagination a new gift with every book he writes. "Angelmass" (Tor, 2001) was one of my picks for the best in Science Fiction last year, and "Manta's Gift" certainly did not disappoint me.

Set primarily in the atmosphere of Jupiter, there are some echoes of Robert K. Forward's "Saturn Rukh" but with science focusing more on the biological rather than physics. The fast paced storyline is part mystery, part adventure, and all science fiction--combined in a highly-accessible style. Highly recommended.

I couldn't put this book down once I started. Timothy Zahn does it again with this great Sci-fi adventure. Once you think you know what's going to happen, Zahn twists the story and you just never know the ending. An unbelievable tale that every sci-fi reader must read.

Timothy Zahn is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. He has a knack for developing characters and story without pausing the fast-paced action that usually occurs in his novels. And having said that, Manta's Gift is not exactly an action novel. This book is more about the "human condition"; what makes a man a man? Can a man be someone/something else?
The mind of paraplegic Matt Raimey is reborn into the body of an alien Qanska living in the skies of Jupiter in order to help humanity and the Qanska understand one another better. There are, of course, ulterior motives for both species, and that is one of the themes of the book. The other is Matt's ability/inability to cope with his new existence. Will he be a human in a Qanska body, will he become a Qanska, or will he become a tool for one species to use against the other?
This book was sort of a slow read due to the limited action, but I was never bored and needed to know what was going to happen next.

Well at least that's how I see it. And that's my opinion of it in a very short form. Read my review about Angelmass to see why I think they're similar. But then again I don't see a problem with authors using similar concepts from their own books. Isn't that what you kind of half to do when you're pretty widely written? As well some people might find some similarities between them. Similarities between Icarus Hunt and Survivor's Quest were minute, mainly the mystery aboard a starship.

But anyway, this book was one of my favorites this summer. Of course I've rediscovered reading books. I first discovered reading books (outside of elementary school assignments) by reading Star Wars: Heir to the Empire (Zahn). Well I read every book until the New Jedi Order, then i picked up reading again with Survivor's Quest (Zahn). So I decided to read any Zahn book I came across and this one will always be a favorite.

Why? Becuase of what it does. A person is talked into going into a fairly unfamiliar situation and asked to survive and is given a purpose for doing so. Well this purpose isn't exactly the True reason and this person also eventually ends up having to save this new, unfamiliar place he's been thrust into. (Sounds like Angelmass so far). But this is no Academic Scientist being thrown into enemey territory as a spy to research Angels. This time a paralyzed young man, Raimey, is REBORN as an alien. I may not be widely read but that's a first for me. Then he therefore must live as one, becoming one of them, but at the same time he's essentially human, with many human emotions and ideals. This becomes one of the major conflicts in the book, dealingn with being Qanskan or Human or both at the same time.

Eventually, as one would expect, truths are told. But is it in time? There's a Adjutor type character here (Liadof of the Five Hundred) who puts "nation's cause" above all else and can really start to mess things up.

Zahn has done a wonderful job of bringing together his very complicated logic and "problem solving" into this book as people try to figure out what is actually going on, especially the character that has this "going on" going on him. It comes down to defining what is truly human, if that can actually be defined. But compared to the Qaskan, this is the difference between survival and death.

But this was my opinion...

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This is a solid, straightforward first-contact/coming-of-age/action-adventure tale, set on Jupiter -- or, more accurately, within Jupiter's thick atmosphere, where the ray-shaped Quanska live. The Quanska (literally) ran into a human Jupiter probe, to the surprise and consternation of both races. Once communication is established, the Quanska offer a near-term fetus as a host-body for a human brain. Matt Raimey, a young quadriplegic, is recruited, and is duly reborn as a baby Quanska.

"I love the central idea of Manta's Gift -- an ornery, shallow and callow human youth trades a hopeless existence as a quadriplegic for a chance to be reborn as an alien being with a (reasonably) human mind. The description of a birth from the point of view of the thing being born is... interesting. The depiction of what is a truly alien society -- in setup, in physiology, in mindset -- is well done, and is a fascinating thread to follow throughout the book. Everything is accounted for, in suitably alien ways..."
-- Alma Hromic, SF Site

Once the earthly Powers That Be twig that the Quanska aren't native to Jupiter, they want that alien stardrive -- now! Rather than trade for it, they send a goon to extort it. She opens 'negotiations' by kidnapping a bunch of Quanska children. Worse, the kids escape...

In a fine twist, the Quanska themselves are desperate for human help with their big problem -- their introduced ecology is falling apart. And there's a catch to their 'stardrive', too.

The crisp dialog and hardball power-politics remind me of prime-period Resnick (eg. SANTIAGO). On the downside, the Quanska Big Secret is, well, incredible. Fortunately, it's revealed late, and the book has other virtues. But it's sloppy and dumb [note 1, *SPOILERS*].

"As usual, he draws his characters simply-there is a distinct tendency to caricature-and often poses them rather stiffly on the stage. Yet Zahn is ingenious in his plotting and well versed in keeping things moving. Manta's Gift leaves the reader feeling very satisfied." --Tom Easton, Analog

My favorite Zahn remains Spinneret (1985), and if you missed that one, you're in for a treat. MANTA isn't in that class, but it's an entertaining way to pass an evening. My grade: "B".

"Manta's Gift suffers by comparison to Poul Anderson's classic novelette, "Call Me Joe," which covers virtually the same thematic ground of a transmogrified human agent becoming a true Jovian... his Rainey remains a human in a Qanska suit throughout."
-- Norman Spinrad , Asimov's
Note 1.)

**SPOILER WARNING** **SPOILER WARNING**

The ecologic crisis turns out to be caused by, of all things, *dead bodies* piling up in Jupiter's lower atmosphere. The bodies block some of the healthful radiation from below, that turns out to be a requirement of the Quanska ecology.

OK, fine, but the Quanska have only lived on Jupiter for 2000 years! Further, they are stated to be a small population -- a few million -- and long-lived, to boot. And this is *Jupiter*, fer chrissake, which is, umm, rather large...

BOTE calculation:
100 yr lifespan = 20 generations in 2000 years. Even assuming a Quanska population of 100 million, this is just 2 billion corpses, which ain't gonna block much of that healthful Jupiter rads at all. Elapsed time to calculate this: about 2 minutes.

This is the sort of scientific gaffe common in the pulps fifty years ago. It's embarrassing, and disheartening, to see this sort of thing now, from a reputable, well-educated author.

Over the last six months i have reread Manta's Gift over four times. The book takes place many years in the future in the atmosphere of Jupiter. The plot is nothing amazing as far as Sci-Fi goes, but the potreyal of the characters and situations are beautifuly written. One of the more interesting points of the book is the Culture Clash that takes place between the human mind of Manta and rules that govern an inherent prey race, vs a hunter race like humans.
One of the things that set this book apart is Zahn's style of "tricking" you into thinking the book is almost over. Time and time again he brings up situations when most other authors would leave the book off there.
But at its heart, the book is a timeless story of culture clashes mixed with despairing romance unlike the happy endings found in most books today. Zahn combines his knowlage of science with an extremely creative imagination to creat a fantastic read, highly recomended

The holy grail of science fiction is to write a novel from a truly alien perspective in a way that will not only make sense to English-language readers but that will allow them to enter into that perspective and to make it their own. That is precisely what Timothy Zahn has accomplished with Manta's Gift. This is a novel that takes place almost entirely in the gaseous layers of Jupiter, the home of manta-like creatures that guard a secret that humanity needs to know-- and will do anything to discover.

Zahn's writing is sophisticated and richly detailed, and his characters are very easy to get invested in. He manages to employ alien jingoism believably and without the need for intrusive editorial explanation, but doesn't go overboard. The result is a sci-fi novel you won't be able to put down. With Manta's Gift, Zahn joins Orson Scott Card at the top of the list of my favorite novelists.

This yarn reminds me of something I read in Carl Sagan's Cosmos book about hypothetical life-forms that could possibly exist in the atmosphere of a gas giant planet. This story goes even deeper into the 'what if' of such an idea. Zahn's writing is fast-paced, and the complexities of the plot make this a real page-turner. When I bought the book I wondered how dramatic life could be in a herd where all the creatures seem to do is eat, sleep, mate, and fight off predators. But this author has woven so many hidden agendas into this story, mostly surrounding the Qanska's interaction with Manta and his with the humans that you're kept guessing about what's going on right up to the last minute.