| SF Reviews by Aaron M. Renn | By Author - By Title - By Date Reviewed |
Conclusion: Highly Recommended
What can I say, Ken MacLeod does it again. This is another great effort from him. Fans will not be disappointed. However, unlike with his other books, this one is much better if you know what has happened before. It sure helps if you've already read The Stone Canal. Don't buy this as your first MacLeod novel.
MacLeod's books all are vaguely similiar. They inhabit the same future history. They have the various political fringe groups and in jokes. The implications of artificial intelligence are explored. But yet the books are all very different in tone and scope. The structure of this novel harkens back to The Stone Canal. There are two parallel time streams going, with chapters alternating in between. In this one though, both of them take place in "real time" as opposed to TSC, where one stream told the main story and the other did simultaneous backfill over a long period of time. This one also is more slow moving, but makes up for it with what is probably the best ending of any of his books yet. It also takes his fondness for pubs to a whole new level. Every chapter the characters were stopping by the local watering hole for a drink. Made me damn thirsty. Also, this novel is a slightly different variant on the MacLeod future history. Some of the events in TSC and The Cassini Division obviously never happened or turned out differently.
At some time in the undisclosed future, humans are once again preparing to reach for the stars. At some time past, most modern computer technology had been swept away by someone called the Deliverer. And indeed many technologies and philosophies are viewed with the same level of acceptance as, say Satan worship. Meanwhile in our other thread, we get to follow the adventures of Myra Davidov after the death of a certain someone at the Khazakstan border in TSC.
The only real complaint I have about this book is how the same people always seem be the key players and keep running into each other. I groaned when we found out C3P0 and R2D2 were in with Anakin and Obi-Wan from the beginning. Similarly, I cringed when I saw some of the folks Myra ran into. This is clearly a nitpick, which should show the depths to which I have to sink in order to find something negative to say about this otherwise excellent and well-written book.
I'm always bothered when writers create something popular, then milk it with endless sequels. That's why I'm happy to report that I've heard that MacLeod is now working on Something Completely Different. I definitely think it's time to give this universe a rest while we still love it and want more, rather than when we've had enough.
%A MacLeod, Ken %T The Sky Road %I Orbit %D 1999 %G ISBN 1-85723-755-2 %P 291 pp. %O hardcover, £16.99
Reviewed on 1999-10-05
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