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4.0 out of 5 stars
Familiar ideas made fresh again, Aug 2 2000
John is a mariner, the captain of a beastship. He has reached the pinnacle of his career, sacrificed and worked his whole lift to attain his goal. Yet he is still unhappy. For, despite his nominal title of captain, he is really only a passenger on a great beastship. The real control belongs to Tug, an Arthroplana, and John will never have a chance of even communicating with the beastship Evangeline, much less controlling her.He sails the stars, asleep in a womb onboard the ship, awake only a fraction of the time. He takes long, exotic trips, and each time he returns to port, years have passed. The fashions change, the people cycle through peroids of austerity and "freedom." Each time, the succeeding generations are tinier, changed to make less impact on the environment, and more despairing. Humanity strives to learn from its mistakes which destroyed Earth. It has made itself smaller to make less impact and attempts to live in total harmony with the environment, neither taking nor leaving nothing from it: everything is completely biodegradable, totally temporary. Their numbers dwindle, and as the years pass, the old knowlege from Earth is lost, censored, and destroyed. Though their livespans extended up to two hundred years, their puberty is delayed as long as possible, so by the time it comes, they are no longer fertile. They live dominated by the Arthroplana, mere visitors on the planets the live on, dissenters "readjusted" or sent as workers to isolated mining stations, because only the Arthroplana have interstellar travel. And as the years pass, it seems the Arthroplana's tolerance grows shorter. John has just lost his contract, and the only institution willing to hire him is the Human Conservatory. They want him to survey Earth, to find out the condition of the planet. The Arthroplana say that it is long dead, poisoned and toxic. They think that the Arthroplana are lying... ---- I think the major difference between the author's Megan Lindholm writing and Robin Hobb writing is that it's grittier. Her only science fiction novel takes some standard SF themes and makes them fresh and different. Her chracters, as always, are exquistely portrayed. The plot was somewhat predictable but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. I especially enjoyed John and Connie's reactions to Earth. Their reactions felt very natural, and Lindholm made me feel their feelings of total alieness on this planet. The name sums it all up: Alien Earth. I found this book reminded me of The Madness Season, by C. S. Friedman. Alien Earth superficially covers some of the same themes and ideas, but despite the common elements, The Madness Season is a totally different and enjoyable book. Friedman shares the ability to draw well-rounded, intriguing characters. If you liked this book, you should check out The Madness Season. ------ From the back cover of Alien Earth: Far from home, the Human race tries to atone for killing Terra thousands of years ago. Rescued by the enigmatic Arthroplana in their mysterious Beastships, they have been inserted into the fragile ecologies of alien twin worlds where they must make no impact, where every drop of water must be returned. Humanity has adjusted--or tried to. Despite the constant watch of the Arthroplana and the Human Conservancay, John Gen-93-Beta has agreed to captain the Beastship Evangeline on an unthinkable journey to a dead planet...Earth. And so begins an engrossing voyage of discovery for five travelers: John, his first mate Connie, stowaway Raef, Tug the Arthroplana, and the Beastship Evangeline herself. On a planet none quite expected, each learns the power of being human. ---
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