|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great, thought-provoking, heart-breaking book., September 13, 1998
I only discovered George Turner quite recently, after reading a review of one of his books in Locus. Sadly, he's now passed away, but the books he left before his death are some of the most challenging and scintillating science fiction I've read recently.In _Vaneglory_, which is the second book in a loose "Ethical Culture" trilogy (after _Beloved Son_), Turner continues his expose of the new society which has arisen in the wake of the collapse of our present society, a collapse which involved limited nuclear war, famine, ecological failure, etc. Turner is very pessimistic about humankind and our possibilities for learning from past mistakes. The new culture is expressly based on attempting to keep us from falling into the same traps, while the society's leaders continue to use any and all dirty tricks they can to keep and consolidate their power. 45 years after the end, Will Santley and Donald Baird are awakened from cryogenic hibernation at the Gangoil facility, an advanced Australian biological research station. The two men are "Gone Timers," representatives of a violent past who are accorded little or no status in the new society. When it comes out that there may be a race of immortal human mutations living among us, the race is on to capture and sequester an actual representative, a race that ranges from Melbourne Town to the ruins of Glasgow, Scotland. Turner never lets the book lag and continues to pile on idea after idea. This is a great combination of adventure and philosophy, with a heart-rending conclusion. Highly recommended (though you should read _Beloved Son_ first!).
|
by George Turner
