The Wild [Paperback]

David Zindell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1996

A galactic search for the truth fires this magnificent epic of war and discovery on both a human and cosmic scale.The Wild: a chaotic place where ten elite lightship pilots dared to venture. A place where one of those pilots, Danlo wi Soli Ringess, will learn the fate of his father. Did Mallory Ringess die during that first expedition to the Wild? Or did he become a god? Opinions vary, but Danlo's search is focused on one objective: the truth. It is a truth that will not only reveal his father's assassin, but could also lay bare the secret to a killer virus that only Danlo survived.


From the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The epic of Danlo wi Soli Ringess of Nevermore, interstellar pilot, adventurer and the sole survivor of the Devaki tribe, continues in this elaborate space-opera sequel to The Broken God. Charged by the Master Pilot with discovering the reason behind the destruction of numerous star systems, Danlo takes his diamond-skinned starship on a quest that is hindered by predictable plotting and stilted dialogue ("You speak in paradoxes and riddles"). Zindell creates a universe loaded with spectacle: computers so immense that their components form orbital rings around suns, artificial intelligence that has evolved to godhood and technology that can shatter stars into novas. But Zindell's narrative conflicts are merely retread versions of plot devices that click with near-cliche familiarity. Despite these shortcomings, Danlo remains likable, for his sheer pageantry and color.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Fans of universe-building science fiction who haven't discovered Zindell's sweeping Requiem for Homo Sapiens are in for a treat. In this third installment in the series, Zindell continues the galaxy-spanning adventures of Danlo wi Soli Ringess, whose growth to manhood on the winter world of Icefall culminated in initiation into an elite order of lightship pilots. Now Danlo joins a battalion of fellow pilots on a sacred mission to establish a new religious order in a volatile region of space known as the Wild, where the hidden Architects of the Old Church are exploding stars in their quest to remake the galaxy. Hoping to stop the destruction and find his lost father, Mallory Ringess, who, according to legend, has become a god, Danlo penetrates the Solid State Nebula to confront a network of moon-size biocomputers that will challenge his beliefs and the foundation of human existence. Zindell embraces a wealth of tantalizing ideas, from mystical philosophy to exotic hyperspace physics, in a breathtaking saga that, completed, should match the grandeur of Herbert's Dune or Asimov's Foundation. Carl Hays --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (July 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553762192
• ISBN-13: 978-0553762198
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,788,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you thought there was lots o' thinking in the LAST book, January 27, 2001

By 

Michael Battaglia - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wild (A Requiem for Homo Sapiens) (Mass Market Paperback)

Zindell takes them up another notch here, both increasing the "philosophy" department and the "science-fiction" department at the same time. Here, Danlo (our hero) ventures into the Vild with a bunch of other Pilots in an attempt to find a cure to the disease that might just ravage his people . . . and maybe in the process find out just what his father became, if he's even still alive. And to say that this just scratches the surface of the stuff that's going here isn't any hyperbole at all. Before the quest is over (if it really ends) Danlo will find himself talking to gods, visiting strange worlds, playing a game of wits with an assassin and basically trying to avoid getting killed by basically not trying to avoid getting killed (it makes more sense in the book). It's a change of pace from the last book on the surface only, there's more science-fictional elements but since Danlo is visiting different cultures with different technologies it's perhaps inevitable and Zindell throws out enough ideas to give a horde of other writers enough meat to work with for years. At the same time, the philosophy has become more cutting, I think Zindell is hiding some of his own comments on various subjects, religion in particular, or even just having too much belief in any one thing. Danlo remains as fun as ever, though it is becoming a bit of a running joke that he tends to answer everyone's questions with questions of his own, but hey, it's part of the fun. Most of the characters are well rounded, more than just mouthpieces for various arguments (most of them at least) . . . if there's anyone I could compare this too, it'd have to be Isaac Asimov, since at the core his novels always were two people debating some highbrow concept for a bunch of pages . . . while at the same time there was very little action. Same here. If you want rampaging shoot 'em ups with bodies piled everywhere and wild careening space fights and people saying things like "So, Zolar, we meet again", this isn't the place to look. However if you want a brooding, thoughtful SF epic that might just stimulate the brain cells a bit and make you care about the wacky people infesting this book, well here you go. It's right here.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of all the Neverness books, November 11, 2003

By 

Travis Cottreau (Wellington, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wild (Requiem for Homo Sapiens No. 2) (Paperback)

While "Neverness" beats this novel for originality, this one is better in every other way. The author is now more polished there is more of what I liked about the Neverness universe presented in this book. Mostly, we see Danlo's search for the God Ede, which leads him to system after system in what is certainly a quest for the holy grail.

I feel that if you liked the other Neverness books, or any other books by Zindell, you will also like this book.

I don't think that there are any other authors who capture the feel of these novels, only Frank Herbert is close in his Dune series. I feel that Zindell is actually better though. I'm sure that many would disagree, but you don't see an author like Zindell very often, and I feel he should be given his due.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!! Even better than his previous 3 books!, August 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Wild (A Requiem for Homo Sapiens) (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read Zindell's previous 2 books - Neverness and The Broken God - and I didn't think it would be possible, but he improved even on those two. This book, The Wild, is probably a little more science-fictionesque than the other two, since Danlo visits some worlds where the technology is more advanced (and more a part of the plot) than on Danlo's home planet of Neverness, where the other two books take place. But since I'm a hard sci-fi fan, that to me was good. The previous reader maybe has a point with there being a lot of philosophy, but I didn't find that overbearing - it just seems to be a part of Danlo's persona, to think about that kind of thing a lot. But of all things about this book (and the other two), Zindell does a great job of making Danlo to be a likeable and even admirable character, with just enough flaws to make him seem human. Can't wait to read the last one in the series.