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Far Seer
 
 
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Far Seer (Paperback)

by Robert J Sawyer (Author) "Afsan often escaped to this place ..." (more)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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From Publishers Weekly

Sawyer ( Golden Fleece ) postulates a world (not the earth) in which dinosaurs, called Quintaglios, have evolved to humanlike levels of civilization--cities, formal government and religion. While on a sea pilgrimage to a heavenly body known as the Face of God, Afsan, a prodigy and apprentice to the court astrologer, makes some astounding discoveries with a "far-seer" (i.e., telescope). He realizes that the stars and planets and moons are at varying distances from his world; that the world is round; that the planets revolve around the sun; that their planet is also a moon that will crash into the planet it revolves around and that they must build flying machines to save themselves. Unfortunately, the planet they revolve around is the Face of God, and Afsan's discoveries go against the Quintaglios' religion, though some see him as a messiahlike prophet. Sawyer does a fine job presenting the physiological features of Quintaglios but is less convincing in making one young stargazer play the combined roles in Quintaglio society of Pythagoras, Magellan, Copernicus, Galileo, da Vinci and Jesus of Nazareth. Science Fiction Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


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The Face of God is what every young saurian learns to call the immense, glowing object which fills the night sky on the far side of the world. Young Afsan is privileged, called to the distant Capital City to apprentice with Saleed the court astrologer. Buth when the time comes for Afsan to make his coming-of-age pilgrimage, to gaze upon the Face of God, his world is changed forever- for what he sees will test his faith... and may save his world from disaster! --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Richly detailed world, Aug 9 2008
By ocelott (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Far-Seer: Book One of the Quintaglio Ascension (Paperback)
Ok, the story itself was fascinating. Sawyer did a phenomenal job on the world-building, creating a believable and original society with fierce carnivores constantly fighting their nature in the name of civilization. He never tries to overload us with concepts or explanations, instead letting the smaller details fill us in on a need-to-know basis that sucks you in right up until the end. The Quintaglios are a fantastic invention, and I think I'm a little addicted now. I found myself reading to find out more about Quintaglio society rather than trying to unwrap the plot, which should speak volumes about the amazing world Sawyer has created. I was particularly intrigued by the Quintaglio belief that the flat Land was essentially a boat sailing down the endless River, thus explaining the frequent earthquakes.

The characters are all recognizably human, in spite of their dinosaur tendancies. Afsan is a brilliant, open-minded student, perhaps more naive than is healthy, but ultimately likeable and easy to relate to. His mentor, Saleed, is a harsh master of the "it's better if the student works it out for himself" school of thought. Afsan's close friend Dybo, the prince, is full of human fallibility along with his dinosaur instincts. The characters are all a fantastic amalgamation of human and dinosaur, and while they're easy to relate to, Sawyer never lets us forget that the Quintaglios are not human. It's a difficult balance to achieve, but Sawyer makes it look easy and feel natural.

I was, I admit, vaguely irritated by the ending of the book. It felt like Sawyer realized he only had fifty pages left to wrap everything up, so he did it as quickly as possible. It was all just too clean, with characters suddenly changing their mind about some huge issues. I realize it's the first book in a trilogy, and some of these things may be dealt with in more detail in future volumes, but it just didn't wrap up as tightly as I was expecting for a book with the incredible eye for detail that Far-Seer had been up until that point.

Far-Seer is full of fascinating concepts, enough that I probably missed a few things on my first read-through. It's definitely worth taking a second read, and I find myself hoping the library has books two and three stocked up so I can return to the world of Quintaglios again soon.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Top notch SF novel, April 28 2008
This review is from: Far-Seer: Book One of the Quintaglio Ascension (Paperback)
"Far-Seer" is a novel written by Robert J. Sawyer, about a race of intelligent dinosaurs called Quintaglios. Evolved from Tyrannosaurs transplanted to another world 65 million years ago by aliens, the Quintaglios are a very religious people, who worship a celestial object that they call Galatjaroob, or "The Face of God". They believe that the land they live upon is a giant boat that floats down an endless river.

During the course of the story, the main character, Afsan, an apprentice astrologer, goes on a pilgrimage across the ocean to see The Face of God. During his pilgrimage, he uses the newly invented "Far Seer" (the Quintaglio word for "Telescope") to study the sky and The Face of God. He comes to several startling conclusions; that the world is round, not flat, and that the so-called Face of God is in fact a giant planet that their world orbits. Another fact that he has discovered is of far more dire importance; the moon they live on orbits too closely to The Face of God, and will one day break apart due to the stresses this causes.

Afsan's claims attract significant attention from Det-Yenalb, the Quintaglio high priest. The Royal family, descended from the prophet Larsk, who discovered The Face of God, rules by devine right, and Afsan's discoveries threaten this rule. Afsan's claim that the world is coming to an end also attracts the attention of an ancient cult known as the Lubalites, who believe Afsan to be their Messiah fortold in the Prohpecy of Lubal. Afsan must fight to convince his fellow Quintaglios the dire truth, as the fate of their civilisation hangs in the balance.

Far-Seer is a highly allegorical tale; Afsan is a reptilian amalgimation of Copernicus and Galileo, and his persecution at the claws of Yenalb for his theory of heliocentrism parallels the Catholic Church's Inquisition of Galileo, (their representation as dinosaurs not an unintentional move on the author's part.) Though the plot and the allegory and the setting warrant interest on their own, Far-Seer is primarily a very character driven story; always a plus for a SciFi novel, which often tend to lose themselves in exposition and turn their characters into one-dimensional plot devices. The characters are interesting and well developed, consistantly alien while also being relatable. Indeed, there are no human characters in this book; this may be fascinating or a major turnoff depending on how much importance one vests in human characters.

I highly reccomend it, as well as the equally compelling second and third books in the Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy, Fossil Hunter and Foreigner, (which feature a Quintaglio Darwin and a Quintaglio Freud, respectively.) I give Far-Seer a five out of five.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Midwest Book Review - great story from the sci fi master, Jun 26 2004
By Laurel Johnson (Kansas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Far-Seer: Book One of the Quintaglio Ascension (Paperback)
To borrow a phrase from an earlier review of Far-Seer, Robert Sawyer is the "master of biological speculation." After reading five of this author's books, I'll add my spin on that statement by saying he is the sci fi master, period. Far-Seer is a parable without equal.

Afsan is a simple country saurian, chosen as apprentice to Master Astrologer Tak-Saleed. Afsan enjoys the tranquility and peace of the night sky, entertains solitary thoughts of mysteries, and faces life with gentle humor despite his hunter's instincts. Afsan's world is one of landquakes and erupting volcanoes. His species is Quintaglio - meat eating dinosaurs. Afsan's destiny is set long before his birth.

If you believe it's impossible to sympathize with a dinosaur, think again. You'll be drawn into Afsan's life as I was, experiencing each rite of Quintaglio passage: the thrill of the hunt; his first ocean voyage to see the Face of God; his first encounter with a female. And you'll share his wonder while examining the heavens through a far-seer (telescope); his joy at proving the earth round; his horror when all signs point to the destruction of the world Quintaglios call home.

Robert Sawyer makes it all so real. This is a touching story, personable and intimate and thrilling. The saurian characters are believable as they struggle with the hypocrisies and territorial instincts of civilization. I can scarcely wait to read Books Two and Three.
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