Sugar rain (The Starbridge chronicles) [Hardcover]

Paul Park (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Starbridge chronicles | Publication Date: 1989

The second book in the Starbridge Chronicles, Sugar Rain relates the stories of Thanakar and Charity Starbridge during the revolution that ended the first book in the series, Soldiers of Paradise. The generations-long winter has drawn to a close, and with it the power of the tyrannical Starbridge theocracy that maintained order during the years of hunger. But a cruelly pragmatic priest has set the stage for a new faith, and even those who defy him seem fated to play out roles that will inevitably bring it to pass. As Thanakar struggles in exile to find safe harbor for his adopted family, Charity Starbridge undertakes a mythic journey, passing through various underworlds to join him. Sugar Rain was a finalist for the Locus Reader Poll Award.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Two high-caste lovers dare to circumvent their predestined futures as the harsh decades of winter give way to the corrosive spring rains that signify violent social change for the great city of Charn. Reflecting the cultures of India and Southeast Asia in its exotic atmosphere and fatalistic philosophy, Park's sequel to Soldiers of Paradise ( LJ 8/87) celebrates the struggle of individuals to remain free in a world without choices. Highly recommended.--
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Morrow; 1st edition (1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557100292
• ISBN-13: 978-1557100290
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,924,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliantly morbid, decedant fantasy, February 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sugar Rain (Paperback)

I stumbled on Paul Park's three book in the "Starbridge trilogy" at my local public library, and since have read and re-read them a few times. They chronicle revolutionary times in a planetary culture ruled by decade-long seasons. The atmosphere is exotic and lush, yet shot through with extravagent morbid decedance.

The planet was apparently settled by a single human astronaut, but again that's not at all clear; you find that out only in bits and scraps. The most fascinating quality of the books is that they present a moment in the life of a culture, where you catch glimpses of distorted bits of the culture's origins. There is a certain amount of humor in this palimpsest -- a very dour, draconian state religion arises from misinterpretation of the human astronaut's psychotically erotic poetry.

While the book has obviously been inspired by the author's travels in India, the real India is but a starting point for Park's delightfully diseased imagination.

Park's book reminds me of both Nabakov's "Pale Fire" and Wallace's "Infinite Jest" in that the text on the page is only half the story; the other half is the blurred and corrupted text behind the text that the reader can infer from the primary text.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intricate, moody, and fascinating, March 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sugar Rain (Paperback)

I managed to collect and read all three books in the series a few years ago, and when I saw only one review, I had to jump in if only to encourage others. As an avid Sci-fi reader, after a while, all apocalyptic societies can run together. Not this collection. This is a brooding, complex world full of rich detail and lots of thought - both by the author and as a result of the reading. You'll be amazed by the callousness that exists in this world where science and magic and delirium and art are on equal footing, jumbled together in a well paced, conceptually terrifying, and just downright amazing series.