The Miocene Arrow: Amazon.ca: Sean Mcmullen: Books

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From Library Journal

In the fourth millennium, war looms between the lands once known as America and Australia. As a new airborne weapon, the Miocene Arrow, threatens to rule the skies, assassins and spies seek to uncover its origins and properties. Set in the same postapocalyptic universe as his groundbreaking Souls in the Great Machine, McMullen's latest effort elaborates on the evolution of a strange and, ultimately, mystifying future. Recommended for most sf collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

McMullen transplants his tales of a postapocalyptic fortieth century from Australia to North America. The mysterious Call, which originated down under in Souls in the Great Machine (1999), profoundly affects the Americas, too, physically and socially. Carefully placed tethers and padded walls in three Callhavens in the former U.S. prevent the meager population from making for the sea every few days. In other regions, the Call comes continuously; nothing larger than a terrier can resist it. The other incontrovertible power in peoples' lives is the Sentinels, orbiting satellites that systematically fire on any land or air vehicle larger than 29-and-a-half-feet long. A highly organized, relatively peaceful society exists in the Callhavens; ritual combat between kingdoms is popular, but all-out war is a thing of the past. Then one quiet night on the very edges of the Callscour, a new factor enters the equation: people seemingly unaffected by the Call or the Sentinels. Their origin, agenda, and minuscule physical differences will soon create devastating havoc. With remarkable imagination and insight, McMullen conjures factions, personalities, and plots, including well-placed glimpses of a lost, past America. A complex and lively story, rich with the action and reaction of human treachery, courage, battle-fueled passion, and quiet devotion. Roberta Johnson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Each time that any wing ascended in Mounthaven it was a minor pageant. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

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4 star:		(6)
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4.3 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars About Time!!!, Jun 24 2003

By

David "dtstrange" (Pleasant Hill, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Miocene Arrow (Mass Market Paperback)

If you are like me, and have been looking for an exciting, original and interesting Sci-Fi series for quite some time now, then I whole heartedly encourage you to read this book and the others in this series as well. If you are a fan of the various Star Wars books and other soft Sci-Fi, you best go back to scraping your pennies together so you can buy the next Harry Potter book or something as this book won't be up your alley.

The second book of the Great Winter Trilogy should not be read without reading the first, if only for the fact that you will have deprived yourself of some of the character development and the background for this novel. I don't see how this book can stand on it's own. Read, "Souls in the Great Machine" first and you'll enjoy this one all the better.

These books are original, interesting and have a way of hooking you into them. It's been a long time since I've read a Sci Fi book that has been this much FUN to read. Like other reviewers, I don't know why this book is not getting the attention it deserves. Both books are certainly better then anything that has won the Hugo or Nebula in the past 10 years and I encourage anyone with a love of Science Fiction to read McMullen's work. Don't let the fact that he's Australian stop you, which is the only conceivable reason that I can think of that has stopped this series from getting the praise it richly deserves. Oh, that and the fact that most book stores only stock Star Wars and Star Trek knock offs and people who love those books probably wouldn't get McMullen. Read and enjoy.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent sequel, more interesting ideas, May 21 2003

By

Joe (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Miocene Arrow (Mass Market Paperback)

Sean McMullen is perhaps the most innovative scifi-adventure writer to come onto the shelves (in the U.S.) in the last decade. Souls In the Great Machine was incredibly innovative, with some very creative and realistic ways of dealing with his postapocalyptic nightmare world. This novel, the sequel to Souls, did not quite reach that level of creativity and innovation, but nonetheless was still very creative and interesting. His obvious knowledge of early industrial revolution technology and culture makes this series very fun to read, and he continues to find interesting ways to re-create lost or impossible technology, including airplanes in this new installment to the series.

The feudal society that he develops for the peoples of the Rocky Mountain region of the former U.S.A. is an interesting counterpoint to the protodemocratic Greek and Chinese influenced civilization he envisions in Australia. To some extent the characters that carry over from one book to the next seem rather artificial, as if he had written these books separately at one point and then decided to make them a series (he may have -- several books published in Australia have similar names, and I suspect are what became this series.) Nonetheless, I was amused by the continued antics of everyone's favourite lady's ..., and his Lady the former abbess.

Overall, this series is highly entertaining and full of interesting concepts. Don't expect the level of innovation he has in Souls, but nonetheless expect a very creative and fun story with some deeper meanings and philosophical experiments throughout. Would interest a fan of John Barnes, Iain Banks, or even Larry Niven.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Spellblinding Sequel to Masterpiece Souls, Jan 9 2002

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Francis Frisina (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Miocene Arrow (Hardcover)

Once again, Sean McMullen proves that he can accomplish both character development, fantastic world-making, and still tell an excellent story filled with romance, loyalty, betrayal, chivalry, civil rights, death, life, and decision. The focus characters, Serjon Feydamor, unlikely hero of a tragic war, and Bronlar, Serjon's misplaced love, are developed so richly that the reader can not help but be moved when something unfortunate comes between the two. The story drew me in so deeply that I did not want to leave the fantasy. I felt like I owed something to the characters, to their lives, to keep on reading, and watch as teh beautiful story unfolds.

The book is satisfying in every respect. McMullen is an author who should be hailed as one of the top Science Fiction writers of our time. Let McMullen take you on a romance through the skies in "The Miocene Arrow" - buy and read this book!

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Miocene Arrow
During the last two weeks I have read both this book and it's predecessor in this series. I appreciated that the author incorporated technology which was both plausible and... Read more

Published on Nov 26 2001 by TIM CHEN

5.0 out of 5 stars An absorbing sf action saga
By the middle of the fortieth century, the Call continues its domination of animal life in North America by hypnotizing humans to die like lemurs into the oceans. Read more

Published on April 22 2001 by Harriet Klausner