Mississippi Blues (Paperback)

by Kathleen Ann Goonan (Author) "The first sunset after Cincinnati's awakening was fiery, flaring incandescent red and yellow sheets of light through transparent intense blue, coloring the coming night as..." (more)
Key Phrases: Shaker Hill, New Orleans, All-Seeing Eye (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Mississippi Blues is a uniquely twisted vision of a postapocalyptic future in which nanotechnology is just the most recent rung humanity has climbed in its techno-evolution. Goonan's story features a wild ride down the Mississippi to "Norleans," propelled by a nanoplague that may or may not be humanity's saving grace. Our heroine Verity rescues a motley group from metapheromonal slavery in Cincinnati, and they set off on boats and rafts to an uncertain utopia at the end of the river. On the way, they encounter everything from whirlpools to religious zealots to a terrifying little town that would be best described as the bastard child of Las Vegas and Westworld. It's a swirling, existentialist voyage with a meandering soul; weak in structure but strong in concept, with an ending that smacks of sequels to come. --Jhana Bach

From Library Journal
Goonan (The Bones of Time, LJ 3/15/96) follows up her acclaimed first novel Queen City Jazz (LJ 11/15/94), which showed how nanotechnology changed the world, with this excellent sequel. Verity travels down the river from Cincinnati to Norleans experiencing postnanotechnological America. Full of vibrant descriptions and musical analogies, this novel offers an optimistic view of the future, albeit a strange one. For most sf collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st Trade Pbk. Ed edition (June 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312868936
• ISBN-13: 978-0312868932
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,114,136 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Goonan's best, an epic played out intimate scale, January 24, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Adelphi, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mississippi Blues (Hardcover)

The epic proportions and pacing of this book are only gradually revealed to the reader. It begins as an adventure quest; the cast and their mysterious histories accrete and generate a story with much gravity. Several running themes are carried: free will as a gamble, the power of music, the cruelty of slavery and Otherness in general. Heroics tend towards healing and guiding rather than fighting. A loose, disorganized quality to the characters, jerky narrative flow and occasional pedantic tone prevented my fuller enjoyment of the book. It's more focused and substantial, however than her earlier books--all in all, a good read.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read, but..., February 9, 2000

By	BK Miller (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mississippi Blues (Hardcover)

Mississippi Blues builds upon the world and characters in Queen City Jazz. Although the plot lags in places, overall the book unfolds with exactly the kind of upbeat pessimism good blues music is famous for. It's not The Bones of Time, but still a very satisfying read.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slow start, but worth the wait., January 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mississippi Blues (Hardcover)

How many times have you wished you could change other people's minds? Imagine that power being within reach of any determined individual or group -- philosophies and core beliefs and even whole identities spreading (literally) as viruses. Now imagine that this has been going on for hundreds of years. This is a book that dares to think big, and to answer its own questions with unflinching candor. And there's action, too!