The Phoenix Exultant: The Golden Age, Volume 2 (Hardcover)

"The Golden Age" is hard sci-fi crossed with deep philosophy and dropped into the middle of a labyrinth; "The Phoenix Exultant" is a Shakespearean comedy or romance, with heroic adventures, damsels in distress, pirates (yes, pirates!), spies, and soldiers. Without a doubt, Wright pulls off his elaborate plot and juggles his wide-ranging characters with skill. However, because a great chunk of it is told through the eyes of the novel's heroine, Daphne, the middle book just doesn't have the same "feel"--for lack of a better word--as the bookends.

Don't get me wrong, as this is still an excellent novel, one which does little to detract from the greatness of the trilogy. Like its brothers, this one was polished off over the course of a couple of days as it is so captivating. It rates 4 stars only because it is not quite as good as the other two.

Opinion: Wow again! These books will provide entertainment on my 2nd and 5th readings I'm sure due to me missing half the connections I'm supposed to be making. I just can't keep everything straight in my head as to who is projecting themselves ans who and why and what their normal state of being is. However, the story is so good that it doesn't really matter on the first reading. There are several groups out to stop Phaethon and several who secretly wish to eschew the boycott and help him. Loopholes abound. Hooray for a lawful society. The ending sets up the next book The Golden Transcendence. I found the conclusion wholly satisfying. The plot was advanced sufficiently and enough questions were answered just enough to feel like stuff happened even though only about 2 weeks pass. I would rate this 4.5 stars out of 5 same as the last book.

Recommendation: I recommend this book again to anyone enjoying sci-fi. I especially recommend it to anyone who read the first book.

"The Phoenix Exultant" begins with our hero, Phaethon, in exile. He finds relative safety in a Seussian town peopled by the dregs and outcasts of the Golden Oecumene. Phaethon is trying to reclaim his ship, from which the book takes its title, but to do so he must first overcome the vice and lethargy of those around him, skirt the terms of his exile, and battle agents of his unknown enemy.

One of Mr. Wright's strengths is his ability to craft an amazing array of fascinating characters, and he certainly delivers again in this book. We learn quite a bit more about Phaethon's wife, Daphne. Or rather, it is a close copy of Daphne, which sets the stage for interesting complications in the love story. Some reviewers found the Daphne subplot too corny, but I felt it charming. Other interesting characters include, but are not limited to, Old-Woman-Of-The-Sea, the Bellipotent Composition, and the soldier Atkins, who sees a little action. There are many more characters, and Mr. Wright helpfully includes a lengthy list of "dramatis personae" at the beginning of the tale to help readers keep track.

The book also continues the philosophic and moral themes begun in the first volume. Phaethon, a man of ability, intelligence and ambition opposed in the first book by society's elite for threatening the peaceful order of civilization, is challenged in this story by the lowest rung of humanity, people who prefer to lose themselves to drugs or computer stimulation rather than to engage in productive and satisfying work. Phaethon also grapples with fundamental questions when he realizes whom he is fighting and comes to understand that they stand for everything anathema to his understanding of a rational and sane universe. Those looking for something meaty in their space opera will find plenty to gnaw on here.

As in the first book, there is plenty of imaginative technology kicking about Mr. Wright's future. He avoids the temptation to flaunt fundamental physics like the Second Law of Thermodynamics and the Special Theory of Relativity, but delights in speculating about the far-out possibilities offered by quantum weirdness and computing on a planetary scale. Practically each page has something weird and wonderful that would be worthy of a short story in its own right.

Finally, the writing is simply great. These novels have more in common with classic literature and plays than with the gritty, journalistic/pulp style that marks much science fiction today. It has been a long time since I've had the pleasure of simply savoring dialogue and turns of phrase in a science fiction book.

If there's anything negative to say about "The Phoenix Exultant" it is that it is wedged between two stronger tales (the sequel is "The Golden Trascendence", which I read before writing this review). The first book concluded by saying Phaethon's tale would be wrapped up in "The Phoenix Exultant", so it appears Mr. Wright may have had too much material for one sequel. This proved to be a good thing since the trilogy definitely stands as is, but the second volume perhaps suffered slightly by being made into a bridge between the firmer shores of the first and third books.

Nonetheless, I wholeheartedly recommend this book for those who liked the first one.