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A review by mdstepp1998
Desolation Road by Ian McDonald
4.0
Hmm...this is a tough review to write for it is not written in a traditional novel format. The best I can describe Desolation Road is it is like watching a TV show. There are individual episodes that have a short story arc and moral message, while there is usually some overall story arc that binds them all together.
Each chapter follows an individual character. The initial dozen or so stories chronicle the creation of Desolation Road - a small town in the Martian Desert along a transplanet railroad track - and how each character came to find themselves in the town. The overall story arc is that of town founder, Dr. Alimintando, who was led to the site of the town by a little green martian. His character is central to the time traveling theme (he leaves early in the book to time travel search for the green martian) that is dispersed throughout the chapters (and plays a significant role in the closing stories).
The 30 or so chapters in the books middle follow each original character or the children they breed as each face different issues both normal and science fiction. Each are often as simple as falling in love and any consequences that fall out from it or as fantastical as one of the characters becoming a temporary god of machines (because the usual god needs to take a break essentially). Some of these stories are excellent, engrossing, and I wish were longer (any story involving the Mandella's, Tenebrae's, and Jericho). Others seemed almost like fillers and just slowed down the books rapid pace (Stalin, some of the Adam Black stories).
The final 20 chapters or so bring all of the characters stories together in a very action packed and interesting finish. The town itself is brought full circle and there is a nice twist at the end that brought a smile.
Overall, this all may seem quite random - and it is at times - but in the grand scheme of the book it makes sense. I felt a great sense of wonder - something that seems to be missing from some of the more recent science fiction bestsellers - and for this it is a must read. Each chapter, or episode, provides a short story that never drowns itself in detail, but really gives a sense of how unique each character is and how that transforms their decision making. There are villains and heroes and many in between. There are stories about politics, bureaucracies, angels, gods, the dying planet Earth, family bickering, stealing children, murder, love, secret societies, war, aliens, lasers, and really anything else you can think of from modern day science fiction stories.
It really is a grab bag of science fiction wrapped in a great world building story. Any fantasy/sci-fi reader should check it out.
Each chapter follows an individual character. The initial dozen or so stories chronicle the creation of Desolation Road - a small town in the Martian Desert along a transplanet railroad track - and how each character came to find themselves in the town. The overall story arc is that of town founder, Dr. Alimintando, who was led to the site of the town by a little green martian. His character is central to the time traveling theme (he leaves early in the book to time travel search for the green martian) that is dispersed throughout the chapters (and plays a significant role in the closing stories).
The 30 or so chapters in the books middle follow each original character or the children they breed as each face different issues both normal and science fiction. Each are often as simple as falling in love and any consequences that fall out from it or as fantastical as one of the characters becoming a temporary god of machines (because the usual god needs to take a break essentially). Some of these stories are excellent, engrossing, and I wish were longer (any story involving the Mandella's, Tenebrae's, and Jericho). Others seemed almost like fillers and just slowed down the books rapid pace (Stalin, some of the Adam Black stories).
The final 20 chapters or so bring all of the characters stories together in a very action packed and interesting finish. The town itself is brought full circle and there is a nice twist at the end that brought a smile.
Overall, this all may seem quite random - and it is at times - but in the grand scheme of the book it makes sense. I felt a great sense of wonder - something that seems to be missing from some of the more recent science fiction bestsellers - and for this it is a must read. Each chapter, or episode, provides a short story that never drowns itself in detail, but really gives a sense of how unique each character is and how that transforms their decision making. There are villains and heroes and many in between. There are stories about politics, bureaucracies, angels, gods, the dying planet Earth, family bickering, stealing children, murder, love, secret societies, war, aliens, lasers, and really anything else you can think of from modern day science fiction stories.
It really is a grab bag of science fiction wrapped in a great world building story. Any fantasy/sci-fi reader should check it out.