A savagely satirical take on the consequences of repressive doctrine and the power of collective action.
A dissident is condemned to dangerous work on a distant world containing mysterious ruins from a vanished alien society.
Professor Arton Daghdev’s xenobiology research violates the orthodox principles of the governing Mandate, which dictates that science must support the idea that humans are the pinnacle of all evolution, everywhere. He’s also been secretly dabbling in more direct revolution—or at least, talking about it—but the authorities don’t know that. For his academic trespasses, he’s shipped off to serve as convict labor on the planet Kiln, where ancient ruins suggest there was once an intelligent race. His job is to find the remains of this race and furnish evidence of just how much like humanity it was. Instead, he discovers a world full of metaspecies—communities of symbiotes who have united into single organisms—and a sullen population of convicts who cannot trust each other enough to pull off a successful uprising against the sadistic commandant and brutal guards. The symbiotes of Kiln seem anxious to add humans to their collection; unfortunately, such attempts usually lead to madness and/or death for the human. But a catastrophic encounter with one such group of life-forms provides Arton and his fellows with both insight into the race of the builders and a possible way of winning liberation. The biological puzzle of life on Kiln depicted here is fascinating, reminiscent of biologist/SF author Joan Slonczewski’s The Children Star (1998). The biological aspect of the story is a tool to support Tchaikovsky’s primary message, which is a vivid illustration of how suspicion can undermine both an authoritarian regime and any potential resistance to that regime. In this novel, a lack of honesty and poor communication can literally kill. But at the same time, all talk and no action is no path to success, either.
A savagely satirical take on the consequences of repressive doctrine and the power of collective action.Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9780316578974
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Orbit
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.
A French art historian’s English-language fiction debut combines the story of a loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter with an enlightening discussion of art.
One day, when 10-year-old Mona removes the necklace given to her by her now-dead grandmother, she experiences a frightening, hour-long bout of blindness. Her parents take her to the doctor, who gives her a variety of tests and also advises that she see a psychiatrist. Her grandfather Henry tells her parents that he will take care of that assignment, but instead, he takes Mona on weekly visits to either the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Centre Pompidou, where each week they study a single work of art, gazing at it deeply and then discussing its impact and history and the biography of its maker. For the reader’s benefit, Schlesser also describes each of the works in scrupulous detail. As the year goes on, Mona faces the usual challenges of elementary school life and the experiences of being an only child, and slowly begins to understand the causes of her temporary blindness. Primarily an amble through a few dozen of Schlesser’s favorite works of art—some well known and others less so, from Botticelli and da Vinci through Basquiat and Bourgeois—the novel would probably benefit from being read at a leisurely pace. While the dialogue between Henry and the preternaturally patient and precocious Mona sometimes strains credulity, readers who don’t have easy access to the museums of Paris may enjoy this vicarious trip in the company of a guide who focuses equally on that which can be seen and the context that can’t be. Come for the novel, stay for the introductory art history course.
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798889661115
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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