November 22, 2005
Ventus by Karl Schroeder
Ventus is being terraformed continuously by a whole ecosystem of nanotech AIs called Winds. The Winds were supposed to create a Earth-like paradise out of an otherwise hostile planet for future human colonists. However, something went wrong in the years between the start of the terraforming process and the arrival of the colonists. The Winds are not hostile to the humans but neither are they subservient to them. The humans are treated like any other part of the constructed ecology of the planet. Any attempt by the humans to substantially mould their environment is brutally struck down by the Winds. The colonists have survived on Ventus, living within a feudal culture.
Jordan Mason is somewhere near the bottom of the feudal structure. He has just started working, taking his father's place, as a stone worker for the local Salt Inspector. His life seems set towards one of idyllic village life and oppressive bondage to his masters. Except he seems to be having visions of events that happen far away. Events that are verified to be true. Before he can explore his powers, he is abducted by a local member of the aristocracy, Calandria May, who seems to be hunting for something with her friend, Alex Chan. Both of them seem to be visitors from off-world, from a unknown culture alien to Ventus.
Calandria's quest is to find a certain General Armiger and to kill him. Just when Calandria and Alex meet up with Jordan, Armiger is killed in a skirmish with the Winds. However, even in death, Armiger is more powerful and unpredictable that Calandria fears him to be.
A first glance reveals few original sf ideas in this novel. Many of the basic ideas have been seen before in earlier sf, but there is still a lot of originality that clearly shines through. The combination of nano-technology and artificial intelligence towards the startling application of terraforming an alien planet might have been imagined before, but never like this.
The sensibility of the novel has drawn several favorable comparisons from other reviewers with the recent novels of Vernor Vinge. Like Vinge's work, the big scientific ideas provide the internal structure for an adventure story. It is a safe bet that if you liked "A Deepness in the Sky", that you will find this novel appealing as well.
The novel is long, but the length is just about adequate for the adventure to proceed at a natural pace. It also provides space for nine major characters to be completely fleshed out in a way that is rare in this genre. It is also an example of the young-adult sf tale done with the right sensibility.
An ancient sage held that in earlier ages, humans held the senses in different ratios, according to the media by which they communicated and expressed themselves. Hence, before writing, the ear was the royal sense. After writing, the eye.
We say that similar ratios pertain between emotions. Each civilization has its royal affect and its ignored or forgotten feelings. Or rather -- there are no distinct emotions. ...
The task of a queen is to rule her people truly. The task of the Queen of Queens is to rule truth itself. We know that the highest act of creation is to create new emotions, superior to those that, unguided, have fallen to us from Nature. And this We shall do.
As We have won new fields and towns from Nature, We shall win new feelings, superior to love and loyalty, from the field of the human heart.
%T Ventus %A Karl Schroeder %I Tor Books %D 2000 :mass market edition 2001 %G ISBN: 0812576357 (pb) %P 662 %K science-fiction
Review written: 2002/12/20
Posted by anoop at November 22, 2005 11:05 PM