Customer Reviews

White Moon, Red Dragon (Chung Kuo, Bk. 6.)

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

 

 

...underneath a city almost the size of a continent, and you've got "the Clay". We learned in earlier volumes that this was scientist Kim Ward's homeland. But now, in this volume, we get a closer look at the place--much of this book is set there. This is an "underworld" with none of the romance of the Sewers Of Paris as depicted in "Les Miserables". Two hundred years of the Seven's rule have created an underclass of people in both a social and a geographic sense, and it's beginning to boil up into a conflagration we couldn't begin to imagine in present-day ghettos and barrios. Meanwhile, the rule of the Seven has been on the skids since the previous volume--the only T'ang who's still a viable ruler may be the most decent of the original Seven, but that fact doesn't help a bit. Arch revolutionary Howard Devore--a Stalinesque type who as a cure for tyranny is worse than the desease--has come back from his exile on Mars. In the words of James Baldwin, it's "the fire next time", and next time is right now.

I love the Chung Cuo serie. Great sweaping concepts, detailed and vivid persons, super grip on technichal details and thrilling plots. And then I read "White Moon, Red Dragon".

The first 400 pages are the usual thrilling page turners and then it just starts falling apart. The development, which is normally harmonich and logical suddenly fails details and reasons are missing. Persons reacts illogical and against their established personallity. Plots are build and suddenly abandoned. Other are suddenly pulled in from the left without any plausable explanation. Psychic powers and supernatual phenomenas suddenly enters the game.

You constantly ask yourself; "But why?" and the answers never comes.

The books "climax" completes this trend; a sea is drained just so that an invinsable army can be landed by a space amada on the opposite side and marched through the now empty basin and (surprise, surprise) 8 indians from Mars without really doing anything creates a flood, saving the world while a 9th indian talks in tongues. How and why the book as so many other things completly fails to explain.

Maybe this is just a very clever plot, building to the ultimative climax in book 7... or the book is just bad. I tend to conclude the second.

I'm likely gona get no. 7 in the seris just to see if Wingrove gets his act together.

Wingrove's Chung Kuo cycle has been compelling for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its believability. Despite his daring intent to combine politics, science, sexuality and history into one dangerous mix, his tale has never sunk into the category of easily-dismissable science fiction. He has done this by refusing to follow the lead of popular SF trends; he has, for the most part, eschewed the technical-laden side of SF storytelling, preferring to anchor his tale to the human element.

"White Moon, Red Dragon" departs somewhat from that formula, however, in its greater reliance on technology to progress plot and to solve problems, almost deus ex machina. But the masterpiece of the previous five books encourages me to expect a sublime and profound climax in Book 7, followed by an audible denouement that will bring Wingrove's vast vision to fruition.

This book is but a preliminary step to that greatness. Though paler than its predecessors, it nonetheless reflects their glory and brilliance.

Filled with fast pace intrigue ,that kept you glued to each page ,book 6 countiued with the all the emotions that were so wounderfully expressed in all the prievous novels ,love,war,loylty,honer which ultimately led up to the disaterous confrontation between what was left of a fairly stable socity ,against total barbaric anarcy .I thought this finale war should have ended the seris ,but it seems mr windgrove has other plans .The big but is that he seemed to have run out of ideas the ending was to sudden after getting to the point of the grand climax then it all spirled down ward I was totaly disappointed ,however trusting in mr windgrove`s never ceasing to amaze me imagination the next installment ,should (I hope)make up for the disappointing ending in a otherwise excellent scifi novel.

In the history of SF, Wingrove's Chung Kwo series has really remained under the radar - and very undeservedly so. It has all of the best aspects of first-rate science fiction: plausibility, outstanding character development, and the detailed creation of a world which seems so possible, and remains logically consistent. And as is the case with the best of SF, Wingrove's work can be read as a stark analogy to some of the major issues facing humanity: war and peace, overpopulation and environmental destruction, privacy and individuality, freedom and security.

Here, Wingrove weaves a series of interrelated story lines taking place in the not-too-distant future, when China has become the sole ruler of the Earth, and a highly populated and strictly enforced caste system leaves billions dwelling in an artificial series of levels covering the entire surface of the planet.

Despite the autocratic (and invasive) oversight of the rulers, individuals with talent and ambition seem to be able to rise.

Having read this series when it first appears in the 80's, I decided to recollect used copies of the original so that I could re-read the entire series. In doing so, I discovered that there is a plan to republish the original 8 (with some new material which explains the time gap between the present and the first book), and publish the remainder in shorter segments, for a total of 20. The project is scheduled to start in 2011, and probably run over a period of years.

Another caution: the 8th and final book in the original series is extremely hard to find; most used book sites are asking $50 and up (if they have it at all).

But this is a wonderful, memorable series well worth reading.

Take the chance and embark on a long journey with David Wingrove. You will not be let down. Problem is, you will see nothing of your friends or family for the next three months.

But, that is what you are looking for in a book, isn't it?

David Wingrove's Chung Kuo series, always rich in detail andbrimming with fascinating concepts, becomes even more thrilling andfast-paced in this sixth installment. While some of the changes in character may seem abrupt it seems clear that Wingrove has been planning these changes carefully from the outset. The pace is fast and furious, the action colorful, and just when you think Wingrove is going to fall back on a conventional plot twist, he surprises you. Unlike other SF series, Chung Kuo is a single, multi-part novel. It is recommended that you begin wiht the first volume and read the following books in order, so that you may fully appreciate the intricate tapesty that is Chung Kuo.

After the brilliant Under the Tree of Heaven, the sixth Chung Kuo book just falls on its face. The culmination of all forces coming together to fight one battle that will determine the fate of the Cities and the Han just feels forced. The writer begans to dispatch with characters at an astounding rate and nothing works right.

The Clay gets a better picture in this one than in others as Howard DeVore starts working with the lowest of the low in order to create his empire and take over. Pitor Lehman makes strides with his power struggle and most of the other characters follow along.

Yet, it just doesn't work as a narrative. I began to get tired of the characters and I got the feeling that the author had tired of them as well. They haven't developed as much as he'd like and they just limp along in this book trying to have something to do besides repeat everything we've known about them up to this time. Yes, Kim Ward is a genius with a strange dark side that comes out occassionally. Yes, Lehman is trying to destroy the world. Yes, Devore is a creep who runs everything. Sure, there are some surprises like Ebert continuing the path of redemption that he started in the previous book (even if there were absolutely no indications that he'd ever be on such a path) or Kim Ward as a married man, but they are few and far between.

As it stands, this is an interesting book and it's the last book of the struggle between the T'ang and the reformers. The next book is supposed to be about the next step as is the 8th book. Still I find myself believing the naysayers concerning the next few books since Wingrove is showing his weariness with this world here.

The Chung Kuo series to this point has been a wonderfullyintertwined set of characters and situations. The characters DavidWingrove has developed are complex and realistic. The world they inhabit is strange, intriguing, and strangely familar at the same time. With this novel it seems he runs out of steam. He builds conflicts wonderfully and develops the struggles between the opposing forces, and then flies in a solution (or new conflict depending on how you look at it) that dashes everything he built up. The new plot twists feel unsatisfactory simply because there is no basis for them. His characters have interesting quirks or personality flaws that he introduces and then seems to drop. I'll get the next book in the series on the basis of the previous five and the hope that he can recapture the magic that was in those books for me.