Salt employs the classic sf situation of colonists engaged in the risky business of settling a new world far from Earth. When the colonists land, they discover that their new home has far less water than was expected, and seemingly endless, desolate, inhospitable deserts of another necessity of life, salt. The story concerns the two different groups of colonists, the Senaarians and the Alsists, and is told in alternation by Petja, an Alsist, and Barlei, a Senaarian. The two peoples are divided over a cultural misunderstanding about the "ownership" of children sired by Senaarians but mothered by Alsists. Begun while in transit to the salty planet, the dispute erupts in full-scale war after the decades-long voyage and first frantic period of settlement. The opponents' language and attitudes ring all too familiarly. A satisfying piece of standard sf that affords a chilling look at how clashes of ideology work out on a harsh world.
Regina SchroederCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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About the Author
Adam Roberts is Reader in English at London University. His first novel, Salt, was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award. He has also published a number of academic works on both 19th century poetry and SF.
