Carnival (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: stud males, Miss Pretoria, New Amazonian, Old Earth (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this enjoyable, thought-provoking science fiction adventure, interspace ambassadors Vincent Katherinessen and Michelangelo Kusanagi-Jones have been sent by the Old Earth Colonial Coalition to the renegade planet of New Amazonia, a planet where women rule and men are kept as worker bees and house breeders. Because Old Earth treats its women as subservient, they have no female ambassadors, but Angelo and Vincent are gay—or "gentle"—and though they are shunned by the dictatorial government they serve, they're the only negotiators acceptable to the Amazonian rulers. The two men arrive ostensibly to return stolen art, a show of goodwill that will hopefully reopen long-stalled diplomacy between the two governments. In truth, they have been sent in an effort to secure, by any means necessary, the secret to the mysterious power source that runs Amazonia. Playing the deceitful powers against each other, however, Angelo and Vincent are really working toward an agenda of their own, one that will decide the fate of humanity itself. Like the best of speculative fiction, Bear has created a fascinating and complete universe that blends high-tech gadgetry with Old World adventure and political collusion. (Dec.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Despite the scandal that clouded their last job together, AIs Michelangelo Kusanagi-Jones and Vincent Katherinessen have been reunited for a diplomatic mission to New Amazonia. Their ostensibly peaceful mission involves returning priceless art to previous owners, but they've also been sent to find out the secret of New Amazonia's seemingly inexhaustible supply of energy. One of them is planning to ensure failure, which will be a blow to the Coalition and also the terrible assessments of the AI governors. New Amazonia challenges them, for while its gynocentric society, though not completely beloved by all, makes their maleness a handicap, their relationship, which is illegal back on Earth, is the only thing that allows them to be diplomats on New Amazonia. More than human politics are in play here, though, for the city, which was left behind by an unknown nonhuman intelligence, has secrets to hide. Bear's exploration of gender stereotypes and the characters' reactions to the rigid expectations of a world of strict gender roles proves fascinating, as does her exploration of political systems gone too far in more than one direction. Her sense of pacing and skill with multifaceted characters prone to all sorts of confused motivations and actions also enrich this action-packed, thought-provoking story. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (November 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553589040
• ISBN-13: 978-0553589047
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #438,101 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and twisty planetary SF adventure on gender themes, March 14, 2007

By	Richard R. Horton (Webster Groves, MO United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Elizabeth Bear's new novel is an exciting and twisty science fiction adventure story. Bear wields several fairly traditional (and not always quite so traditional) SF tropes with expertise: a female-dominated human culture, radical environmentalists killing off most of the Earth's human population, a dueling culture, transcended intelligences, AIs in control of society. This all works very well together, in a story that makes the reader think, makes the reader mad (with perhaps some disquiet), and keeps the reader turning the pages.

In a future after AI "Governors" programmed by radical environmentalists caused the depopulation of Earth, leading to colonization of a variety of other worlds, the Governors and the Earth-dominated "Colonial Coalition" are trying to re-integrated these worlds. Many years after a botched mission to one such world, New Amazonia, they have sent two diplomats to try again - and in particular to negotiate access to this planet's mysterious free energy technology.

The Coalition diplomats are Vincent Katherinessen and Michelangelo Kusanagi-Jones, secretly lovers who have been apart for years after their careers crashed. But New Amazonia's leaders will not negotiate with any but women or what they call "gentle" men. Homosexuality is generally taboo in the Coalition, and women are usually not allowed positions of power, so Vincent and Angelo are the best available choices. New Amazonia, we learn, is ruled by women. Men are kept as slaves, though in better conditions (for the most part) than say blacks in the American Antebellum South. Heterosexual males are matched in Trials: battles, often to the death, with the best chosen to be members of household, where they live in a sort of purdah. "Gentle" males are allowed slightly greater privileges.

The central New Amazonian character is Lesa Pretoria (one small conceit I enjoyed was the use of Old Earth world capitols as family names), an important figure in the Security Directorate. Her family is ranged on the political side urging continued separation from the Coalition. They are also involved in the more local issue of increased rights for males. (Motivated in part by Lesa's concern for her very intelligent young son.) Arrayed against them are the current government leaders, nominally in favor of the status quo, and of some attempt at rapprochement with the Coalition, and possibly secretly aligned with radical groups urging extermination of the male population.

So this is quite a political stew that Vincent and Michelangelo step into. And of course they each have their own secrets - even from each other. The motivations of all of the characters interact complexly, especially as there are not just two but several possible outcomes. And into all this is injected a surprising additional player: a representative of the disappeared original natives of New Amazonia.

It all plays out very entertainingly. There are twists upon twists. There is lots of neat SFnal detail. There is plenty of slam-bang action. Most of all this makes pretty good sense as well ... perhaps there are a couple of holes, but in general things were well explained. The resolution is mostly emotionally satisfying but perhaps a slight letdown - I felt Bear pulled her punches just a bit at the end. Plus, there is something of a deus ex machina aspect to the involvement of New Amazonia's natives - though that's not quite a fair statement as that was all foreshadowed from the beginning, and described in bits and pieces throughout. Carnival is a very fine SF novel, a contemporary SF novel with contemporary concerns that reads like a traditional SF book (in the best sense).

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars seeing the world through new eyes, March 4, 2007

By	amf0001 (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

The best science fiction allows you to look at the world today with new eyes (I could never look at water the same way after reading Dune: years later seeing a hose pipe flowing into the street still makes me wince.) This book too, makes you look at familiar things in a new way. And what better recommendation can a book have! This is a really good find!
Slow to start, dense and thickly plotted, but then the characters and worlds click into place and it becomes wonderful! The plot moves a long but it is the world building that works best for me - looking at gender roles and alternate ideas of taboos and cultures. I loved it. Happy find!

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh take on political science fiction, September 12, 2007

By	lb136 "lb136" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

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Elizabeth Bear ("Hammered," "Scardown," "Worldwired") now has written a standalone that intrigues on many levels. The setup's a stunner--on what's now "Old Earth," environmental cuckoos have created AIs called "The Guardians," which have "culled" most of the planet's population in the name of Greenness. Under the Guardians an apparently fascist governing body known as "The Coalition" rules. Humans, however, have managed to settle a number of worlds under the Coalition, and in the process have pretty much put women back in the kitchen.

Except, that is, on the planet called New Amazonia, where women rule and duel (heterosexual males are called "stud males" and are no better than slaves; homosexual males are called "gentle" and have more rights). The Coalition wants the planet's mysterious source of cheap energy so--not having women (which the New Amazonians would of course prefer) to throw into the fray--they send two gay men (former lovers at that) as ambassadors (make that spies) ostensibly charged with returning art taken from the New Amazonians, but actually to obtain, by hook or by crook they will, the source of the planet's cheap energy.

The two spies, Michelangelo Kusanagi-Jones and Vincent Katherinessen, each have their own agendas, as do the women who are members of New Amazonia's government, most notably Lesa Pretoria--a security chief for the government--who has her own view of things.

The story takes place during the planet's carnival, a word that, as a headnote tells us (and this proves important), is derived from the Old Italian carnelevare, which means "farewell to the flesh."

The book's all about the clashes--of culture (the men shun meat; the women wear guns), of agendas (everybody you'll encounter is out for themselves), of sexual relations. And it's subtle. Ms. Bear sets everything out logically, but her explanations for how things got this way are shadowy and indirect. She tosses out pieces of information about the worlds she's built in a sentence or two here and there, in a "by the way" fashion.

Then, too, there's the intricate plotting, which works like an old-fashioned clock. It takes plenty of winding to set it in motion, but once it gets going it flows along smoothly and logically.

It's a great read.