Customer Reviews

Not Less Than Gods (Company)

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

 

 

This is an odd book, a standalone Company novel that I think would actually work better for someone who does not know the series than for those of us who know and love it (which might explain the very lackluster reviews I've seen of it online).

Not Less Than Gods is written in a third-person omniscient near-objective mode, meaning the narrator knows everything about everyone in the story but rarely delves into their thoughts and feelings, staying detached. Despite what the jacket would lead you to believe, it never enters Edward's head -- he is a cipher to those around him and to the reader. I resented this mode at first -- it seemed to leave a great gaping hole in every scene -- but the introduction of Rabbi Canetti reveals that this was a very deliberate choice on Baker's part and one, in fact, that I believe would make the book for those who have not read the Company novels (and have the eyes to see it).

To one who has not encountered the Company before, this novel has a central theme -- the danger of creating a monster and then giving it a soul. It is a Frankenstein tale, plain and simple, with Dr. Nennys as Dr. Frankenstein and Edward as his monster -- a subtler monster than Shelley's, but just as horrifying to the average bystander and just as innocent. We the reader cannot see Edward's perspective for this to work, however, because he does not know that he is a golem; the objective tone Baker uses reinforces her message.

The novel still is not entirely effective; I think it would have been stronger had Baker dipped more into the ancillary characters' heads, and it is rather slow starting and episodic throughout. It is also more steampunk than I expected, paying far more attention to the workings of all the wondrous machines than were really warranted by the story. But I think that if I did not know the Company novels already, I would have been quite moved by the climax as Ludbridge watches Edward realize what exactly he is.

However, I do know the Company novels, and I have met Edward before. I know his history already. Most importantly, I know how much more of a complete person (as opposed to a golem with a soul) he is than this book gives him credit for, so I am resistent to giving him the pass that this book provides him on all those shady ethical issues. With all that extra knowledge, I was left almost entirely cold by the novel. I wanted, instead, the novel that the book jacket led me to believe this was -- a real dip into Edward's psyche before Mendoza ran into him in California, something more realistic psychoanalysis than allegory. Or, at least, something with a bit more humor and action, some of the dashing zest for life it seemed Edward had (in amongst his raging egomania).

So all in all I'm frustrated by this novel, but I nonetheless hope it does well, and it would be very nice if it finds an audience outside of Baker's core Company fans.

I have read all of Kage Baker's books and most of her short stories. I think she is a fantastic writer. "Not Less than Gods" is just not up to her standard. The characters are caricatures and I don't feel like I know any of the characters any better than when they were introduced in this book. The story is cookie-cutter: one adventure after another where they mysteriously have an anachronistic device that will just happen to save the day. Now, I'll have to go write a glowing review for one of her other books to maintain my equilibrium, but this book is a clunker. I made myself finish so that I could write an honest review and it was exasperating.

Your reaction to the announcement of Not Less Than Gods by consistently excellent SF and fantasy author Kage Baker will probably depend to a large extent on how familiar you are with her The Company series. If you haven't read any of the Company novels or collections, the story of the Gentlemen's Speculative Society (GSS) and one of its operatives, Edward Alton Fairfax-Bell, sounds like an interesting and entertaining steampunk novel. However, if you're familiar with the Company series, your reaction to a novel about "Edward's creation and recruitment by the GSS, his training, and his first mission" will probably be more of the "I want it and I want it NOW!" variety, with the number of exclamation points determined by how enthusiastic you are about the main series. (I limited myself to one, to avoid the impression that this review was written by a teenage girl. Mentally, please feel free to add a few more.)

In a nutshell, the Company series deals with the operatives of Dr. Zeus Inc., a 24th century company that has discovered the secret of time travel and naturally decides to use it for corporate profit, sending quasi-immortal cyborgs back in time to collect lost art, extinct plants and so on.

One of the things I like best about the Company series is the way the information is slowly revealed throughout the series. For example, the excellent first novel in the series, In the Garden of Iden, at first reads like a more or less self-contained story about Company botanist Mendoza, but it takes on a completely different meaning when you read the later books in the series, because there's a huge story arc building up throughout the series, with layers upon layers added to the plot and the characters as the revelations build up.

The two stand-alone Company novels Kage Baker released after the completion of the main series, The Empress of Mars and Not Less than Gods, have a completely different impact depending on how familiar you are with the series, because fans already know the entire story and are now being filled in on specific aspects of it -- in the case of Not Less Than Gods, the early life of Edward Alton Fairfax-Bell, who makes his first Company series appearance in Mendoza in Hollywood. In that sense, it's a bit similar to The Life of the World to Come, but about Edward rather than Alex Checkerfield. Even though it feels like a prequel, using that term doesn't make much sense in a series that deals with the nature of time travel.

Even if you haven't read any of the Company novels, Not Less Than Gods is still a very entertaining read. Kage Baker includes enough hints about the nature of the Company to make sure that new readers will have a broad idea of what's going on -- or at least as much as the main characters do. Even without this, the novel is a rollicking adventure story set in the Victorian era, about a small group of GSS agents traveling across Europe and the Middle East, causing havoc and (in the process) affecting history in several ways. They're armed with an array of -- for that period -- advanced gadgets and weaponry, a distinct appreciation for alcoholic beverages, and a good dose of jolly-old-boy British witticisms. Young Edward is a fascinating character, different from his peers in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, idealistic, tortured, and brave. As always, Kage Baker's prose is delightfully sly, always sounding as if she is sharing a subtle joke with her readers, gradually drawing you in as she unfolds the plot.

As a long-time fan of Kage Baker, I was extremely pleased with Not Less Than Gods. If you're in the market for an excellent SF series, I'd probably still recommend starting with In the Garden of Iden first, but Not Less Than Gods is a solid addition to the Company series and works surprisingly well as a standalone novel.

As someone who has never read any of the other "Company" novels, I found this to be a fairly entertaining, steampunk spy-romp with just a bit of sci-fi "technology can be dangerous in the wrong hands" moralizing. It doesn't have a plot as much as a series of well-written episodes where the hero, the extraordinary Edward Bell-Fairfax, learns a series of bitter truths about himself or the world around him.

Ignoring the other reviews about how it doesn't make sense in the context of the other novels in the series, it actually works fairly well in building its own alternate history complete with secret societies, advanced (for the time) technology, and international intrigue. The idea of a worldwide network of affiliated secret societies whose members aspire to ideals beyond nations, but who can't help but favor their own is an intriguing one that could have been explored more.

Honestly, the descriptions I've read of the other books in "The Company" series don't interest me, but I would enjoy a broader exploration of the world described here.

Not Less Than Gods (2010) is a standalone Alternate History novel. It takes place in England and elsewhere during the nineteenth century. In the past, early natural philosophers started a secret society to invent devices to improve the human condition. During the Dark Ages, the group was split into several subgroups. The invention of radio has brought these separate groups closer together.

In this novel, Edward Alton Fairfax was born in England in 1825 AD.

Nennys is an English Doctor and scientist. He is a member of the Gentlemen's Speculative Society, the English branch of the ancient society.

Amalthea R. is an English Lady. Despite spirited arguments with her father, Lady Amalthea is independently wealth and lives in a small establishment with her deaf and ancient nurse, Mrs. Denbigh. She also has three very good looking male servants and a quite plain maid.

Septimus Bell is an English gentleman. He and his wife Dorothea were quite happy for ten years.

Robert Richardson is a disabled veteran of the Napoleonic Wars. He is working as the butler of the Bells.

Ludbridge is a Residential Member of Redking's Club. He was a former officer in the Royal Marines. Now he a member of the Society.

Hobson and Pengrove are also Residentials of the Redking's Club. They are members of Ludbridge's team.

In this story, Lady Amalthea finds herself without transportation when her carriage breaks down. Dr. Nennys offers Mrs. Denbigh and herself a ride in his carriage. On the way home, she dozes off and wakes up in a bed with one of her lovers.

Mrs. Denbigh is safe at home in her own bed when Amalthea arrives. The Lady is puzzled, but thinks nothing of it until she descovers herself pregnant. She takes leave from social affairs for a few months and then gives the baby to those running the facility.

Septimus and Dorothea are childless and decide to do something about it. After consulting many doctors and other quarks, Dorothea becomes pregnant. But the child is stillborn.

Dorothea goes quietly mad. Then Nennys appears and offers Septimus another child. The child will come with a stipend to cover expenses. The boy is now called Edward Alton Bell.

Dorothea seems to know that something is wrong, but then calmly ignores the child. The boy also comes with a nurse, but Richardson loses his patience with her indifferent approach. After the nurse is fired, the household staff takes charge of the child.

Septimus and Dorothea spend most of their time abroad and the cook and the other women on the staff spoil the child. Richardson questions their methods and the cook agrees. Thereafter, Richardson become a substitute father for the boy, but the women still spoil Edward.

Dr. Nennys arranges for Edward to attend Overton, a private school. Nennys is the headmaster and closely supervises Edward's education. Then Nennys gets Edward a position as a midshipman in the Royal Navy.

Edward rises to the rank of Commander, but is imprisoned for striking his captain. Nennys gets him off the prison ship and takes him to the Redking's Club. There he meets Ludbridge and is introduced to Hobson and Pengrove.

This tale presents Edward with an opportunity to work for the benefit of the working class. The Society has developed various technological advances to relieve mankind of many hardships. They are also getting help from the future.

Edward seems to have already benefited from the Society. He is larger and stronger than most men and also has more endurance. His senses are also much more sensitive than most.

This story focuses on lifting mankind through selective technology. Some dangerous technological advances are suppressed by the Society and the other related groups. Yet it also address the effects of certain psychotic leaders, such as the Russian Czars.

The author died recently, so this volume will probably not have a sequel. Hopefully another volume was written and not yet published. In any case, she has left a legacy of many volumes in the Company series and several other works, including The Anvil of the World.

Recommended for Baker fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of an industrial revolution, covert operations, and competent agents. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

Notice the "Good Writing" in the subject line. This book, like all Kage's books, is well-written. By that, I mean it is literature - not cheap tabloid "prose" found in so many books today. But the best writing in the world could not help this dragging story of non-action.

Soviet Russia is the ultimate dark pit for literature. Nothing happens in that lifeless, empty society. But Tsarist Russia is not close behind and unfortunately the reader spends an inordinate amount in that boring, depressing wasteland. The story itself makes no sense, especially if one is familiar with the "Company" novels. If future denizens are aware of the Crimean War, then why the need for spies or espionage? As Baker has stated numerous times, the cardinal rule of time travel is that recorded events cannot be changed. It makes no sense to race across Europe to depressing Russia in order to collect information on a war they know will happen. The same logic applies to rulers. If we already know who will be tsar, king, dictator or president and cannot prevent it, why all the hocus pocus?

The best parts are those dealing with Edward, his mysterious birth, life and ultimate purpose. Both birth and purpose are touched (lightly) but the focus is on his intensive training for one of the numerous variations of the Company. Another missing element was a romantic interest that resided in the earlier "Company" novels. Where is Mendoza?

I suppose the big shocker was supposed to be the airship but after traveling across Europe in an underground, luxurious train, encountering cyborgs and wondrous machines, the discovery of a flying saucer is somewhat less than affecting.My Grade - C-

In London in 1825, unmarried Lady Amalthea R. gives birth to a boy. Neither aristocratic parent wants to raise him so Dr. Nennys leaves the newborn with Mr. and Mrs. Bell who recently gave birth to a stillborn. They reluctantly take the unwanted infant into their home, but mostly ignore him. Eventually Dr. Nennys ships the neglected child, Edward Bell-Fairfax, to boarding school.

Edward joins the British navy, but his childhood and his unique skills of instant reaction thinking and super strength make him a loner, who fails to fit in with bands of brother warriors. He leaves unwelcome again, but Edward joins the Company of scientists and undercover agents. Dr. Ludbridge tutors Edward who is amazed with the friendly acceptance of him as well as the annual message from the future. The teacher and his prize student travel to the continent where Edward tries to influence the outcome of the Crimean War. He learns from his effort that to achieve his idealistic vision of a better world, good intentions are not enough and dirty deeds are sometimes the only solution.

This work of speculative fiction is an intriguing look at the past of one of the more fascinating Company characters; before Edward and botanist Mendoza becomes a pair. For die hard fans of the recently completed saga only who will appreciate how far Edward came from being unwanted, abused and neglected with only sinister Dr. Nennys interested in manipulating the child to take advantage of his uncanny skills. Yet through all that he remains an idealist who finds his niche with the Company and his soul with Mendoza.


Harriet Klausner

Only plough this this obviously unfinished and disheveled work if you are prepared for disappontment. It's either an early unpublished draft wheeled out by Baker's estate or the result of an absent or unwilling editor. Quite terribly written, full of plot holes and logic gaps. It was a labour to finish. Very NOT recommended. Check out Baker's excellent Company books instead and steer clear of this misanthrope.

Baker's first book about the worldwide, million-year machinations of Dr. Zeus Inc. -- the Company -- was _In the Garden of Iden,_ and it was highly original, and innovative, and dramatic, presented intriguing characters, and was filled with excellent writing. And it deservedly won a number of awards. The second and third entries in what became a sort-of series were pretty good, too. And then the author seemed to lose her way and things began to slip. The next couple of books were confused and confusing, with plot-lines that went nowhere and characters that seemed almost a pastiche of the earlier ones. And the series didn't progress from one book to the next but moved sideways as often as not. (Not necessarily a bad thing; it became a secret history "universe" rather than a traditional series.) The last book about the Company before this one, last year's _The Women of Nell Gwynne's_ (which doesn't even appear on the list of her books on the flyleaf of this one, oddly enough), did not impress me at all. This newest effort is part of that same subseries, set in London of the 1840s and `50s, about the Gentlemen's Speculative Society, which I thought at first was going to be an earlier version of Dr. Zeus, but which turns out to be largely in the dark about even its own future. Edward Bell-Fairfax is a talented and idealistic young recruit who seems to have been designed (literally) to be a secret agent on behalf of the Society, which is only one branch of a worldwide conspiracy that receives annual instructions from the far future -- they've been doing this for thousands of years -- and he becomes involved in an intelligence-gathering expedition into the territories which will be involved in the forthcoming Crimean War. To that end, they tromp around the Levant and Eastern Europe and, finally, St. Petersburg, taking photographs of defenses and battle venues and performing occasional assassinations. Bell-Fairfax's ideals won't survive the experience, which, perhaps, is the point Baker is trying to make. Otherwise, this is basically a 007-style romp with steampunk added, and seasoned with lots of blood. The writing is pretty decent, the brass-and-steam technology is interesting, and the characters are reasonably well done -- but I'm not sure I see the point of it relative to the larger story about the Company. Baker still has a ways to go to reclaim control of the world she has created.

Edward Bell-Fairfax, the illegitimate offspring of an aristocratic woman and no certain father, first serves in the British Navy and then is quietly whisked into the ultra-secret 'Company,' an organization whose purpose is to bring mankind into a golden age...no matter what the cost. Bell-Fairfax finds his ethics challenged as he learns the price he and the others must pay to bring about this new golden age as he and several collegues embark on a journey to the Ottoman Empire (Palestine and Constantinople) and Russia (the Crimean and St. Petersburg), exploring the location of the upcoming siege of Sevastople and the charge of the light brigade. While in Jerusalem, the members of the Company first came into contact with a group of Americans pursuing a dream of manifest destiny that included incorporating Russia in a tri-continent slave-holding empire.

Author Kage Baker combines talented writing, an intriguing character in Bell-Fairfax, and a fascinating time period and setting but somehow the story itself doesn't quite gel.

Bell-Fairfax and the others take photos of Russian (and Turkish) fortifications that will become key points during the Crimean war, but we're told that they can do nothing to influence the pre-determined history of that war so their efforts seem pointless. They're pursued by a group of Americans, but don't really take steps to confront and defeat their opponents. Their ultimate rampage against corrupt Russian secret police is tangential to their goals and sufficiently ambiguous that I was left wondering if we were being shown the futility of pursuing good ends through violence or the necessity of bearing those costs. As for the whole 'golem' thing, Baker stressed that point but I'm afraid I don't know where she was trying to go with it.

I'm a fan of Kage Baker and her Company series but NOT LESS THAN GODS, despite talented writing that kept me reading through the book, left me wondering why she'd bothered with this particular story, which is a shame. It should have been great, instead, it was... readable.