Set in Resnick's far future, where humankind has long spread out through the galaxy and there are as many alien races as there are planets suitable for colonization, Purgatory is a hard look at how many ways an advanced civilization can misunderstand a "primitive" race. HC: Tor.
Purgatory
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Set on the jungle planet Karimon as human colonists begin to dominate the reptilian natives, this intelligent, smoothly written but uninvolving novel from the author of Paradise is an acknowledged retelling of the European colonization of Africa. At first only noble-minded human missionaries come to Karimon, but they are soon followed by planetary developers in search of mineral and other resources. The exploiters play one tribe against another and mistreat the natives until their overlordship becomes intolerable and the tribes unite to rise up against them. Told as dramatized history, with the Karimons characterized simply as humans with lizard skins and the human characters presented as little more than old-fashioned stereotypes, the novel does not break new ground. While the parallel to African history has some pedagogic value, it makes for a thoroughly predictable story line.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
The indigenous reptilian tribes of the planet Karimon lived a life of rich simplicity until the arrival of men from the stars lured them from the old ways with a new religion and promises of material wealth. This series of linked stories by the author of Paradise ( LJ 5/15/89) and Ivory (Tor Bks., 1989) spans several generations and chonicles the destruction of a way of life in the name of civilization and progress. The parallel between this tale and the exploitation of the African continent is clear; so is the strength of this work's underlying message. Resnick is a polished storyteller who grows better with each outing. Most libraries should consider Purgatory for their sf collection.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I wonder why this book isn't more well known,
By A Customer
This review is from: Purgatory: A Chronicle of a Distant World (Mass Market Paperback)
I read this book mostly because I am interested in the integration of human's into an alien race. What I found though left me speechless. Resnick turns a human battle for profits into an alien battle for survival and supremacy of their home world. Potent symbolism and intricate character development, and an ending that will stagger you with tragedy. One of your best and most meaningful books Mike. Why doesn't anyone know about it?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Purgatory, the history of Zimbabwe and Robert (the mugger) Mugabe,
By
This review is from: Purgatory: A Chronicle of a Distant World (Paperback)
As a student of the history of Zimbabwe in general and Robert (the mugger) Mugabe in particuliar, I found this book facinating.Resnick is "right on" both as a history of Zimbabwe and the whole African continent. It reminded me a great deal of "Watership Down," in the aspect of a simple story being told while a whole different and significant story lurks just below the surface.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Sci-fi, Mediocre Writing,
By
This review is from: Purgatory: A Chronicle of a Distant World (Paperback)
I'll give Mike Resnick this: Purgatory is the most unique sci-fi novel I've read recently. The book chronicles the colonization of an alien world by the human race. It draws heavily from the history of Britain's colonization of Africa. Each section of the book covers an epoch of this history, so that it reads like seven interrelated novellas rather than a single coherent novel. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the book is that there are no clear good guys or bad guys; Purgatory is a tale that embraces ambiguity, and that refuses to paint good and evil in the stark black-and-white terms employed by most fiction. The novel also has a somewhat tragic surprise ending, which I won't spoil here. Suffice to say, it was quite effective. If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be "smart". I'm not sure, though, that it will satisfy most readers of science fiction. It does not fit the usual action-packed escapist mold, it abandons characters just as soon as the reader begins to get invested in them, and the writing is frankly somewhat lackluster. It is light on descriptive detail, which makes for a clean and unencumbered narrative but which also inhibits the reader from entering fully into the universe Resnick has imagined. I walked away from the book feeling pleased, but a little unsatisfied. Three stars.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
