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Finches of Mars
‘My final Science Fiction novel’ - Brian Aldiss
Brian Aldiss has announced that this book, Finches of Mars, will be his final science fiction novel. And what a way to end one of the most illustrious careers in the genres.
Set on the Red Planet, it follows the stories of a group of colonists and the problems they have in setting up a new society. Life can be sustained by new life will not prosper - the women on the planet only ever give birth to stillborn children.
Exploring many of the author’s classic themes, this is a landmark novel in any genre.
Brian Aldiss has announced that this book, Finches of Mars, will be his final science fiction novel. And what a way to end one of the most illustrious careers in the genres.
Set on the Red Planet, it follows the stories of a group of colonists and the problems they have in setting up a new society. Life can be sustained by new life will not prosper - the women on the planet only ever give birth to stillborn children.
Exploring many of the author’s classic themes, this is a landmark novel in any genre.
203 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
43 people are currently reading
591 people want to read
About the author
Brian W. Aldiss
834 books673 followersPseudonyms: Jael Cracken, Peter Pica, John Runciman, C.C. Shackleton, Arch Mendicant, & "Doc" Peristyle.
Brian Wilson Aldiss was one of the most important voices in science fiction writing today. He wrote his first novel while working as a bookseller in Oxford. Shortly afterwards he wrote his first work of science fiction and soon gained international recognition. Adored for his innovative literary techniques, evocative plots and irresistible characters, he became a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 1999.
Brian Aldiss died on August 19, 2017, just after celebrating his 92nd birthday with his family and closest friends.
Brian W. Aldiss Group on Good Reads
Brian Wilson Aldiss was one of the most important voices in science fiction writing today. He wrote his first novel while working as a bookseller in Oxford. Shortly afterwards he wrote his first work of science fiction and soon gained international recognition. Adored for his innovative literary techniques, evocative plots and irresistible characters, he became a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 1999.
Brian Aldiss died on August 19, 2017, just after celebrating his 92nd birthday with his family and closest friends.
Brian W. Aldiss Group on Good Reads
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
August 10, 2015
I am thoroughly disappointed.
There are a few parts of the novel that I can latch onto and say, "Yes, this snippet seems fairly interesting," but they are too few and far between, suffering from either a lack of imagination or a serious review of what good authors have already accomplished over the last two decades when dealing with the familiar topic of Mars colonization.
Even that might have been forgivable if the common thread tying each snippet had been strong enough to make me want to keep reading. It could have been anything; perhaps a strong or interesting protagonist, maybe a triggering and unusual idea or possibly a striking image, or failing that, a few better poems beyond those that were painstakingly reproduced in the novel. (I strongly suspect is Mr. Aldiss's own, but I haven't made any attempt to confirm this supposition.)
Unfortunately, I came to a very, very late conclusion that yes, indeed, this novel's point was that we need to get our brightest off the damn planet and start again elsewhere. Unfortunately, this was told to me explicitly in the appendix, and I didn't have the pleasure to come to this conclusion on my own during the main reading. Instead, I was subjected to a sub-par Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear, but only including the population of Mars, a sub-par Mars only slightly as interesting as Greg Bear's Moving Mars and far, far behind Kim Stanley Robinson. There are other examples I could have made, but make up your own mind: How interesting is a colony of six towers representing different parts of Earth, fully dependent on supplies coming from Earth, and watching them be forced to flounder as all the Earth falls apart from it's own inadequacies? Does it sound like a pared-down version of everything else you might have read? It does to me.
As for characters, the most interesting, and I am loathe to admit that they are anything like interesting, is a snot-nosed punk who got his mother pregnant, and the mother was prematurely praised for having produced the first viable child born on Mars. I thought to myself, "Is this going to be the thread that keeps this disjointed and rambling narrative going?" The answer is, fortunately or unfortunately, "No."
The people are varied and variously semi-likeable or not at all likeable, and few of them have much time on the stage, and almost none of them have anything very important to contribute to the narrative.
If I had come into this hoping just to read a book of pessimistic slice-of-life vignettes that watched humanity's eventual implosion, even that could have been accomplished with a great more aplomb. I wouldn't, therefore, have wanted or expected
I don't generally give out reviews for books that I haven't liked, because I generally do a lot of research before I pick up a book. This case was a bit different for one reason. I was given the opportunity to read it through Netgalley, and the other novel I had recently reviewed for Mr. Aldiss kicked serious ass and I want to praise it to the moon. Literally. On a spiderweb.
This novel simply felt like there was no love driving it, or that it was produced like a bunch of scraps thrown together in hopes that the reader would see something brilliant in it that doesn't really exist. And perhaps there might have been, assuming that strong thread I mentioned had kept a hot and burning fire running through it, and a decent editor to quash that freaking ending and demand a rewrite.
According to the author, this is his last novel. He has been writing for a long time, and many people have praised him. I've praised him with my limited knowledge of his works, and I was perfectly willing to give this novel the benefit of the doubt because he earned a great deal of leeway with Hothouse.
This novel hasn't squandered all my goodwill, either. I'm most definitely going to read some of his other earlier works and be sure I have a truly decent sample to judge the author by. After all, I am one of those people who absolutely adored the movie A.I., and it was only recently that I finally grokked the fact that Mr. Aldiss wrote the short story on which it was based. I can go by the fact that two out of three is still a winner, and this novel is probably an outlier.
That being said, I've got to be honest: I did not like Finches of Mars, but I'm also not assuming this is a truly characteristic sample of his work. At least, not yet. If you're new to him and want to read his stuff, just please, please don't read this one. There's simply too little to recommend it.
There are a few parts of the novel that I can latch onto and say, "Yes, this snippet seems fairly interesting," but they are too few and far between, suffering from either a lack of imagination or a serious review of what good authors have already accomplished over the last two decades when dealing with the familiar topic of Mars colonization.
Even that might have been forgivable if the common thread tying each snippet had been strong enough to make me want to keep reading. It could have been anything; perhaps a strong or interesting protagonist, maybe a triggering and unusual idea or possibly a striking image, or failing that, a few better poems beyond those that were painstakingly reproduced in the novel. (I strongly suspect is Mr. Aldiss's own, but I haven't made any attempt to confirm this supposition.)
Unfortunately, I came to a very, very late conclusion that yes, indeed, this novel's point was that we need to get our brightest off the damn planet and start again elsewhere. Unfortunately, this was told to me explicitly in the appendix, and I didn't have the pleasure to come to this conclusion on my own during the main reading. Instead, I was subjected to a sub-par Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear, but only including the population of Mars, a sub-par Mars only slightly as interesting as Greg Bear's Moving Mars and far, far behind Kim Stanley Robinson. There are other examples I could have made, but make up your own mind: How interesting is a colony of six towers representing different parts of Earth, fully dependent on supplies coming from Earth, and watching them be forced to flounder as all the Earth falls apart from it's own inadequacies? Does it sound like a pared-down version of everything else you might have read? It does to me.
As for characters, the most interesting, and I am loathe to admit that they are anything like interesting, is a snot-nosed punk who got his mother pregnant, and the mother was prematurely praised for having produced the first viable child born on Mars. I thought to myself, "Is this going to be the thread that keeps this disjointed and rambling narrative going?" The answer is, fortunately or unfortunately, "No."
The people are varied and variously semi-likeable or not at all likeable, and few of them have much time on the stage, and almost none of them have anything very important to contribute to the narrative.
If I had come into this hoping just to read a book of pessimistic slice-of-life vignettes that watched humanity's eventual implosion, even that could have been accomplished with a great more aplomb. I wouldn't, therefore, have wanted or expected
I don't generally give out reviews for books that I haven't liked, because I generally do a lot of research before I pick up a book. This case was a bit different for one reason. I was given the opportunity to read it through Netgalley, and the other novel I had recently reviewed for Mr. Aldiss kicked serious ass and I want to praise it to the moon. Literally. On a spiderweb.
This novel simply felt like there was no love driving it, or that it was produced like a bunch of scraps thrown together in hopes that the reader would see something brilliant in it that doesn't really exist. And perhaps there might have been, assuming that strong thread I mentioned had kept a hot and burning fire running through it, and a decent editor to quash that freaking ending and demand a rewrite.
According to the author, this is his last novel. He has been writing for a long time, and many people have praised him. I've praised him with my limited knowledge of his works, and I was perfectly willing to give this novel the benefit of the doubt because he earned a great deal of leeway with Hothouse.
This novel hasn't squandered all my goodwill, either. I'm most definitely going to read some of his other earlier works and be sure I have a truly decent sample to judge the author by. After all, I am one of those people who absolutely adored the movie A.I., and it was only recently that I finally grokked the fact that Mr. Aldiss wrote the short story on which it was based. I can go by the fact that two out of three is still a winner, and this novel is probably an outlier.
That being said, I've got to be honest: I did not like Finches of Mars, but I'm also not assuming this is a truly characteristic sample of his work. At least, not yet. If you're new to him and want to read his stuff, just please, please don't read this one. There's simply too little to recommend it.
July 25, 2016
I would like to be able to say something nice about what is (according to his own statement) to be Mr. Aldiss’ last work of science fiction, but this present year is still 2015, and I expect quite a lot more of my SF than I found here. The book contains no plot, only a series of incidents culminating in what I will gently call a “classic” deus ex machina cop-out. The book contains no characters, only paper dolls draped in quirks and pushed about by impulses that neither they nor we have a chance of understanding. There is some poetic language here and there, but for the most part the narrative is as dry and airless as the Martian landscape.
The book is tired. There is no striving here, except perhaps by the man whose explorations of the Martian surface are ultimately futile. The six towers were built off-screen. There is no frantic analysis and experimentation to try to figure out why fetal development goes awry on Mars, meaning zero population growth and a very short future for the colony; only vague hopes that the “wombs” involved will “adjust.” The intense and unceasing work that must be required of all the colonists just to survive on Mars is invisible, and few of these people seem to be qualified to do anything useful anyway.
This is not my kind of science fiction.
But it gets worse. While I was musing over this book and this review, parts of the Internet exploded all over Michael Moritz and his problems with hiring women, and Jessica Nordell pointed out that “It’s Not Foot in Mouth Disease” when what it reveals is a deeply-embedded assumption that “women → lower standards.” (See the full article for the details.)
And I remembered the part of Finches that truly ticked me off, that revealed a mindset still lodged firmly in 1945. The colonists, Aldiss notes, are thoroughly and unsuperstitious modern people, but they nonetheless feel the “mystery” of life, which humans have been pondering since they invented thinking. “See,” he says,
Did you even see what was there? Go back and read it again.
Fine, I’ll help. The synaptic pathway revealed here is: “woman → passive.” There are not two people whose constant daily efforts are bent toward joint survival, one by hunting and guarding, and the other by seeking out, gathering, and preparing at least half of the food that keeps them both from starving. There is one thinker and one inert object, one owner and one property, one fucker and one fuckee, one active force and one passive thing, one human and two animals. They could both have been staring into the fire contemplating the meaning of life, both being fully human, but as Nordell pointed out, inculcated reflex will have its way.
It doesn’t matter that many of the book’s “characters” are female, and theoretically accomplished. Almost everybody is neurotically disabled to some degree, women and men alike. Among the male characters is a gatekeeper impotently enraged by his cuckolding; a literally impotent astronomer; the WTF Oedipal thing that I can’t even, seriously; and a man who only finds fulfillment with the exotic, sexualized Other in the Chinese tower. The lot of them drift along through a story with no tension, occasionally making gestures toward doing something about their situations. It is thus a deeply feminized world. The angry man rages but his only acts are mindless flailing; the one happy man moves out of West tower to the Chinese one, where a large majority of the population is female. Most of the women in West live in a dormitory whose door is guarded (à la the fascinating seraglio of old) by a man who is easily bribed.
Life on Earth will end, the book implies, because nobody is left with the balls to stop it.
It manages this despite the fact that warfare, that quintessentially masculine activity, is reported to be widespread down on the planet. Civilization itself lies helpless before the onslaught, legs spread wide for the deadly screwing-over.
Earth goes dark, and Mars is left on its own.
Bugger that for a lark, as Sir Terry taught me to say. I’m sorry I ever read this book.
The book is tired. There is no striving here, except perhaps by the man whose explorations of the Martian surface are ultimately futile. The six towers were built off-screen. There is no frantic analysis and experimentation to try to figure out why fetal development goes awry on Mars, meaning zero population growth and a very short future for the colony; only vague hopes that the “wombs” involved will “adjust.” The intense and unceasing work that must be required of all the colonists just to survive on Mars is invisible, and few of these people seem to be qualified to do anything useful anyway.
This is not my kind of science fiction.
But it gets worse. While I was musing over this book and this review, parts of the Internet exploded all over Michael Moritz and his problems with hiring women, and Jessica Nordell pointed out that “It’s Not Foot in Mouth Disease” when what it reveals is a deeply-embedded assumption that “women → lower standards.” (See the full article for the details.)
And I remembered the part of Finches that truly ticked me off, that revealed a mindset still lodged firmly in 1945. The colonists, Aldiss notes, are thoroughly and unsuperstitious modern people, but they nonetheless feel the “mystery” of life, which humans have been pondering since they invented thinking. “See,” he says,
here’s a man. It’s night and he sits by a small fire in a forest. The seasons are turning; it grows colder. His woman lies by his side, not asleep but with no speech or movement. The man has a dog, part wolf, on a leash, made restless by the crackle of burning sticks.
These three beings are in a continent almost uninhabited. It is full of trees. The trees grow straight, in silent competition, one with another. The man tears branches off the trees to burn, to keep him warm. He sits there, hands out to the blaze. He thinks. He is attempting to think about the mystery.
He can’t even name it, but he feels its presence.
Did you even see what was there? Go back and read it again.
Fine, I’ll help. The synaptic pathway revealed here is: “woman → passive.” There are not two people whose constant daily efforts are bent toward joint survival, one by hunting and guarding, and the other by seeking out, gathering, and preparing at least half of the food that keeps them both from starving. There is one thinker and one inert object, one owner and one property, one fucker and one fuckee, one active force and one passive thing, one human and two animals. They could both have been staring into the fire contemplating the meaning of life, both being fully human, but as Nordell pointed out, inculcated reflex will have its way.
It doesn’t matter that many of the book’s “characters” are female, and theoretically accomplished. Almost everybody is neurotically disabled to some degree, women and men alike. Among the male characters is a gatekeeper impotently enraged by his cuckolding; a literally impotent astronomer; the WTF Oedipal thing that I can’t even, seriously; and a man who only finds fulfillment with the exotic, sexualized Other in the Chinese tower. The lot of them drift along through a story with no tension, occasionally making gestures toward doing something about their situations. It is thus a deeply feminized world. The angry man rages but his only acts are mindless flailing; the one happy man moves out of West tower to the Chinese one, where a large majority of the population is female. Most of the women in West live in a dormitory whose door is guarded (à la the fascinating seraglio of old) by a man who is easily bribed.
Life on Earth will end, the book implies, because nobody is left with the balls to stop it.
It manages this despite the fact that warfare, that quintessentially masculine activity, is reported to be widespread down on the planet. Civilization itself lies helpless before the onslaught, legs spread wide for the deadly screwing-over.
Earth goes dark, and Mars is left on its own.
Bugger that for a lark, as Sir Terry taught me to say. I’m sorry I ever read this book.
May 1, 2015
Synopsis: Omnipresent war, resource depletion, and overpopulation rule a dystopian 22nd century vision of our Earth. Universities set out to rescue humanity. They found six colonies on Mars, their colonists choosen from the best, severe restrictions like no religion and no pets at all imposed upon them, and they know that it is a one-way trip. All hope seems to be lost when they find that all children are stillborn. But then, they find life-forms on Mars.
Analysis: SF Grandmaster Brian W. Aldiss is one of my favourite authors with his works spreading from the 1950s to now, reaching from experimental Barefoot in the Head to space opera like Helliconia Trilogy, and non-fiction like his invaluable Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction. When he announced at the age of 87 that Finches of Mars will be his last novel, it was a very melancholical message for me, and I can't set this aside when reading the novel.
It is not the first time that Aldiss covers Mars - he reacted to Kim Stanley Robinson's 1990s Mars trilogy (starting with Red Mars) with White Mars. Finches of Mars stands in this tradition.
It has no coherent storyline, no linear plot at all: like in his New Wave times, Aldiss heavily interleaves vignettes of dialogues spreading different timelines. This reflects one central topic of this novel, namely timelessness. The title reflects Darwinian theory of separating species which would biological problems of humanity on Mars. It is a dystopian view on our future, but never falls into complete despair. There is always hope, as the unpredictable ending demonstrates.
I'm sorry to say that this work isn't written at the height of the author's skills - he throws in lots of commonplaces, looses focus with a couple of characters, and looses himself in topics like the meaning of life.
I fully understand readers who don't like this novel at all, who can't cope with literary SF. For me it was a fond farewell. I was tempted to give the novel only one or two stars because some parts are very hard to digest. In the end I couldn't, I had to like it, because it remembered me enough of the author's glorious days, and it is short enough to be worth the time.
Cross-posted from my Blog
Analysis: SF Grandmaster Brian W. Aldiss is one of my favourite authors with his works spreading from the 1950s to now, reaching from experimental Barefoot in the Head to space opera like Helliconia Trilogy, and non-fiction like his invaluable Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction. When he announced at the age of 87 that Finches of Mars will be his last novel, it was a very melancholical message for me, and I can't set this aside when reading the novel.
It is not the first time that Aldiss covers Mars - he reacted to Kim Stanley Robinson's 1990s Mars trilogy (starting with Red Mars) with White Mars. Finches of Mars stands in this tradition.
It has no coherent storyline, no linear plot at all: like in his New Wave times, Aldiss heavily interleaves vignettes of dialogues spreading different timelines. This reflects one central topic of this novel, namely timelessness. The title reflects Darwinian theory of separating species which would biological problems of humanity on Mars. It is a dystopian view on our future, but never falls into complete despair. There is always hope, as the unpredictable ending demonstrates.
I'm sorry to say that this work isn't written at the height of the author's skills - he throws in lots of commonplaces, looses focus with a couple of characters, and looses himself in topics like the meaning of life.
I fully understand readers who don't like this novel at all, who can't cope with literary SF. For me it was a fond farewell. I was tempted to give the novel only one or two stars because some parts are very hard to digest. In the end I couldn't, I had to like it, because it remembered me enough of the author's glorious days, and it is short enough to be worth the time.
Cross-posted from my Blog
October 13, 2013
Despite Brian W. Aldiss' huge presence in sci-fi, I came into Finches of Mars not knowing his work and with no expectations whatsoever so, while I can't say I was disappointed, like other reviewers, I will say I disliked the book.
Finches had a good premise and several good ideas which is what, I think, ended up shooting this book in the foot. My impression was that most of the time the author was trying so hard to express every single thought and idea, that the story itself completely lost its fluidity, becoming instead very chunky, with too much unrelatable characters, plotlines and scenes. Right from the start, there's a clear difficulty in making all the narrative jumps between what's happening in Mars and on Earth but, even when all the action shifts to the red planet, later on, it still remains a complicated read, with loads of different characters that are often mentioned in a chapter or two but not developed any further beyond the small allusion to their possibilities of development. All of what could be a great setting with several flawed characters in the most extreme peak of society, in space, is lost in the middle of all the preaching that ends up being done about how flawed the author feels that our society is and how much we need to evolve away from who we are.
Putting it simply,to me, Aldiss seemed so focused on using this book as his last stand against what he considers the downfalls of our society that he himself ended up creating several horrid characters, all firmly attempting to keep their moral high ground, while continuously behaving in ridiculously obnoxious and reprehensible ways, with no development whatsoever to justify them.
Reading the whole thing felt like a chore and I definitely took nothing from all this forced moralizing lesson.
Finches had a good premise and several good ideas which is what, I think, ended up shooting this book in the foot. My impression was that most of the time the author was trying so hard to express every single thought and idea, that the story itself completely lost its fluidity, becoming instead very chunky, with too much unrelatable characters, plotlines and scenes. Right from the start, there's a clear difficulty in making all the narrative jumps between what's happening in Mars and on Earth but, even when all the action shifts to the red planet, later on, it still remains a complicated read, with loads of different characters that are often mentioned in a chapter or two but not developed any further beyond the small allusion to their possibilities of development. All of what could be a great setting with several flawed characters in the most extreme peak of society, in space, is lost in the middle of all the preaching that ends up being done about how flawed the author feels that our society is and how much we need to evolve away from who we are.
Putting it simply,to me, Aldiss seemed so focused on using this book as his last stand against what he considers the downfalls of our society that he himself ended up creating several horrid characters, all firmly attempting to keep their moral high ground, while continuously behaving in ridiculously obnoxious and reprehensible ways, with no development whatsoever to justify them.
Reading the whole thing felt like a chore and I definitely took nothing from all this forced moralizing lesson.
April 6, 2015
https://koeur.wordpress.com/2015/04/0...
Publisher: Open Road
Publishing Date: August 2015
ISBN: 9781504005890
Genre: SciFi
Rating: DNF
Publisher Description: Doomed by overpopulation, irreversible environmental degradation, and never-ending war, Earth has become a fetid swamp. For many, Mars represents humankind’s last hope. In six tightly clustered towers on the red planet’s surface, the colonists who have escaped their dying home world are attempting to make a new life unencumbered by the corrupting influences of politics, art, and religion.
Review: I jumped at the chance to read a new work from Brian Aldiss coupled with my favorite publishing house. This was sadly disappointing. Akin to one big jumbled literary dump, Finches Of Mars is often times a schizophrenic foray into the memoirs of a depleted mind. It was so scrambled and heaped with non-relevant story line information that I quickly lost interest in the characters, world building and the plot.
Publisher: Open Road
Publishing Date: August 2015
ISBN: 9781504005890
Genre: SciFi
Rating: DNF
Publisher Description: Doomed by overpopulation, irreversible environmental degradation, and never-ending war, Earth has become a fetid swamp. For many, Mars represents humankind’s last hope. In six tightly clustered towers on the red planet’s surface, the colonists who have escaped their dying home world are attempting to make a new life unencumbered by the corrupting influences of politics, art, and religion.
Review: I jumped at the chance to read a new work from Brian Aldiss coupled with my favorite publishing house. This was sadly disappointing. Akin to one big jumbled literary dump, Finches Of Mars is often times a schizophrenic foray into the memoirs of a depleted mind. It was so scrambled and heaped with non-relevant story line information that I quickly lost interest in the characters, world building and the plot.
June 10, 2015
This is not an easy book.
Humans have established a colony on Mars. It's driven and funded by an international consortium of universities--the United Universities, or UU. The colony consists of six towers, of which the West, Chinese, and Sud-Am towers figure most prominently in the story. The colonists have been chosen for atheism and emotional stability. It's not altogether clear that they succeeded on the second point. Among the odd choices made is that the colonists get assigned computer-generated names, meaning nothing, to symbolize having cut their ties to Earth. It's as if they've established a sixties commune, more than a colony on Mars, in some respects.
The big problem haunting the colonists is that, ten years in, they've had a long series of miscarriages and stillbirths and horribly deformed babies that didn't live even five minutes, but no successful live births. The colony seems doomed.
Most of the action, which mostly consists of conversation and interior thoughts, is on Mars, but we also get interludes on Earth, where we learn that the colonists are probably in even more trouble than they realize. Earth is sinking into s growing series of wars--which include a successful invasion of eastern North America. The UU is getting tired of supporting a colony that seems doomed anyway.
It isn't just the tough subject matter that makes this book hard to enjoy. It's clear that Mr. Aldiss dislikes, if not the human race, at least the 21st century. There are items called "screamers" which, in context, appear to most likely be cell phones. Some other items are called "shriekers," which might be tvs, or maybe something else. It appears that "partners" has completely displaced "husband/wife," which might imply an adoption of gender-neutral terminology, but no. The man in a couple is called the "partner," while the woman is the "partness." There is not one single likable, admirable, compelling, or even especially interesting character in the book. All the interest comes from their circumstances--though it can't be denied that a colony striving to survive on Mars is a pretty interesting circumstance.
I do want to be clear that none, or at least very little, of this is a failure of writing. Aldiss hasn't lost it. This book surely has an audience, and audience that will think I am a nut with low tastes.
I'm just not that audience.
I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
Humans have established a colony on Mars. It's driven and funded by an international consortium of universities--the United Universities, or UU. The colony consists of six towers, of which the West, Chinese, and Sud-Am towers figure most prominently in the story. The colonists have been chosen for atheism and emotional stability. It's not altogether clear that they succeeded on the second point. Among the odd choices made is that the colonists get assigned computer-generated names, meaning nothing, to symbolize having cut their ties to Earth. It's as if they've established a sixties commune, more than a colony on Mars, in some respects.
The big problem haunting the colonists is that, ten years in, they've had a long series of miscarriages and stillbirths and horribly deformed babies that didn't live even five minutes, but no successful live births. The colony seems doomed.
Most of the action, which mostly consists of conversation and interior thoughts, is on Mars, but we also get interludes on Earth, where we learn that the colonists are probably in even more trouble than they realize. Earth is sinking into s growing series of wars--which include a successful invasion of eastern North America. The UU is getting tired of supporting a colony that seems doomed anyway.
It isn't just the tough subject matter that makes this book hard to enjoy. It's clear that Mr. Aldiss dislikes, if not the human race, at least the 21st century. There are items called "screamers" which, in context, appear to most likely be cell phones. Some other items are called "shriekers," which might be tvs, or maybe something else. It appears that "partners" has completely displaced "husband/wife," which might imply an adoption of gender-neutral terminology, but no. The man in a couple is called the "partner," while the woman is the "partness." There is not one single likable, admirable, compelling, or even especially interesting character in the book. All the interest comes from their circumstances--though it can't be denied that a colony striving to survive on Mars is a pretty interesting circumstance.
I do want to be clear that none, or at least very little, of this is a failure of writing. Aldiss hasn't lost it. This book surely has an audience, and audience that will think I am a nut with low tastes.
I'm just not that audience.
I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
August 28, 2015
A acreditar no que se lê sobre este livro, é com esta vénia que Brian Aldiss despede-se da ficção científica. E que vénia. Finches of Mars é FC depurada, mais próxima do experimentalismo literário legado ao género pela New Wave do que da rígida estrutura narrativa entre aventura e infodump que caracteriza a maior parte desta literatura. O enredo é traçado com grandes pinceladas, sem mergulhar em pormenorizações. Se este livro fosse um quadro, seria uma obra impressionista. Ou uma paisagem abstracta de De Stäel. O todo está lá, mas quando nos aproximamos para contemplar os pormenores esfumam-se nas pinceladas largas.
Fugindo aos pressupostos do que deve ser um romance de FC, assemelha-se a um rascunho estrutural que, nas mãos de outros escritores, daria material para uma infindável série de múltiplos livros que explorariam até à exaustão os inúmeros caminho que Aldiss expressa. A tentação de escreve escritores menores que Aldiss é grande, mas seria incorrecto. Grandes escritores de FC também fariam o mesmo. Mas é bom ler esta capacidade sintética, pegar num livro com o seu quê de épico e saber que não se vai espraiar ao longo de milhares de paginas em diversos volumes.
O título não nos prepara para o romance, embora o defina na perfeição. É algo que só nos apercebemos ao terminar o livro, demonstrando a escrita de um mestre como Aldiss, que nos vai levando pela mão através dos caminhos ínvios da sua mente até a um destino certo. Os tentilhões do título, referência directa à Origem das Espécies de Darwin, são a chave da obra.
Não esperemos um futuro risonho. O futurismo, aqui, é desolador. Estamos num futuro próximo, com a humanidade a começar a dar os primeiros passos no sistema solar. A Lua é habitada continuamente, apesar de haver uma restrição de noventa dias de permanência por razões de saúde. As primeiras bases marcianas, financiadas por uma improvável coligação de universidades, estabelecem a primeira colónia humana no planeta vermelho. Quem para lá vai sabe que não há possibilidade de regresso. Aldiss não é um optimista, sublinhando os efeitos nocivos das viagens pelo espaço sobre o corpo.
Abrigados em torres, os colonos marcianos vivem uma vida regrada na nova fronteira. São assolados por um trágico mistério, que coloca em perigo a viabilidade da colónia. É impossível levar a cabo uma gravidez bem sucedida no planeta, e as tentativas dos colonos traduzem-se numa desolação de fetos nado-mortos. Talvez, intuem, sejam necessárias adaptações biológicas evolucionárias para que os ventres humanos possam parir noutro planeta.
Aldiss não escapa à tentação de povoar o planeta com formas de vida alienígena. Fá-lo com uma espécie de lagartos mamíferos que sobrevive nas profundezas marcianas, onde há água em abundância, e talvez o ecossistema que permite a sua existência. Estranha-se este uso do artifício da criatura isolada encontrada num planeta desprovido de vida, esquecendo que formas de vida complexas não existem por si só mas dependem de ecossistemas, mas as pinceladas amplas do romance abrem espaço a esta ideia.
Sabendo que não há regresso possível, que a vida é difícil num planeta inóspito, que não parece haver esperança numa primeira geração de colonos nascidos em Marte, o que é que os leva a fazer a viagem? Aldiss, claramente influenciado pelos tempos contemporâneos, traça um retrato de um planeta à beira da extinção. As guerras violentas sucedem-se, os mais poderosos países são invadidos e os conflitos envolvem o uso desregrado de armas nucleares. Mesmo no final do livro, Marte perde o contacto com a Terra, e se não nos é dito o porquê, não é difícil intuir.
Para romance de FC, este é especialmente desolador. Mas haverá um bizarro, quase surreal mas também nostálgico, toque de esperança. Os sobreviventes em Marte serão visitados pelo que a principio parecem ser alienígenas, mas se revelam humanos vindos do futuro, seres cuja biologia evoluiu para se adaptar à vida fora do planeta Terra. E os colonos marcianos, que se julgam à beira da extinção pela incapacidade orgânica de levar a gravidez a cabo, são os antepassados directos desta futura humanidade que aos nossos olhos parece alienígena. É aqui que entram os tentilhões de Darwin, referência erudita à teoria da evolução. O momento do primeiro contacto é uma homenagem de Aldiss à FC clássica, com um casal a ser surpreendido por uma nave que aterra e de onde saem três estranhas criaturas que os saúdam. É um momento tão filme de série B que é impossível não sorrir.
Finches of Mars é um romance inquietante. Desolador, longe do optimismo da FC mais actual, mas também a não se meter no campo das distopias. É... diferente. Essa diferença é sublinhada pelo forte lado experimental na técnica narrativa. Não há longos infodumps a enquadrar aventuras bem gizadas. Este romance constró-se em fragmentos, por vezes dispersos, sem um grande esforço em aprofundar as personagens nem em definir os momentos da história. Este carácter fragmentário, em mãos menos experientes do que as de Aldiss, condenaria o livro. Não é o caso. Lê-se como se contempla um quadro impressionista. São manchas fragmentadas o que vemos de perto, e é quando nos afastamos que nos apercebemos da beleza do conjunto.
Fugindo aos pressupostos do que deve ser um romance de FC, assemelha-se a um rascunho estrutural que, nas mãos de outros escritores, daria material para uma infindável série de múltiplos livros que explorariam até à exaustão os inúmeros caminho que Aldiss expressa. A tentação de escreve escritores menores que Aldiss é grande, mas seria incorrecto. Grandes escritores de FC também fariam o mesmo. Mas é bom ler esta capacidade sintética, pegar num livro com o seu quê de épico e saber que não se vai espraiar ao longo de milhares de paginas em diversos volumes.
O título não nos prepara para o romance, embora o defina na perfeição. É algo que só nos apercebemos ao terminar o livro, demonstrando a escrita de um mestre como Aldiss, que nos vai levando pela mão através dos caminhos ínvios da sua mente até a um destino certo. Os tentilhões do título, referência directa à Origem das Espécies de Darwin, são a chave da obra.
Não esperemos um futuro risonho. O futurismo, aqui, é desolador. Estamos num futuro próximo, com a humanidade a começar a dar os primeiros passos no sistema solar. A Lua é habitada continuamente, apesar de haver uma restrição de noventa dias de permanência por razões de saúde. As primeiras bases marcianas, financiadas por uma improvável coligação de universidades, estabelecem a primeira colónia humana no planeta vermelho. Quem para lá vai sabe que não há possibilidade de regresso. Aldiss não é um optimista, sublinhando os efeitos nocivos das viagens pelo espaço sobre o corpo.
Abrigados em torres, os colonos marcianos vivem uma vida regrada na nova fronteira. São assolados por um trágico mistério, que coloca em perigo a viabilidade da colónia. É impossível levar a cabo uma gravidez bem sucedida no planeta, e as tentativas dos colonos traduzem-se numa desolação de fetos nado-mortos. Talvez, intuem, sejam necessárias adaptações biológicas evolucionárias para que os ventres humanos possam parir noutro planeta.
Aldiss não escapa à tentação de povoar o planeta com formas de vida alienígena. Fá-lo com uma espécie de lagartos mamíferos que sobrevive nas profundezas marcianas, onde há água em abundância, e talvez o ecossistema que permite a sua existência. Estranha-se este uso do artifício da criatura isolada encontrada num planeta desprovido de vida, esquecendo que formas de vida complexas não existem por si só mas dependem de ecossistemas, mas as pinceladas amplas do romance abrem espaço a esta ideia.
Sabendo que não há regresso possível, que a vida é difícil num planeta inóspito, que não parece haver esperança numa primeira geração de colonos nascidos em Marte, o que é que os leva a fazer a viagem? Aldiss, claramente influenciado pelos tempos contemporâneos, traça um retrato de um planeta à beira da extinção. As guerras violentas sucedem-se, os mais poderosos países são invadidos e os conflitos envolvem o uso desregrado de armas nucleares. Mesmo no final do livro, Marte perde o contacto com a Terra, e se não nos é dito o porquê, não é difícil intuir.
Para romance de FC, este é especialmente desolador. Mas haverá um bizarro, quase surreal mas também nostálgico, toque de esperança. Os sobreviventes em Marte serão visitados pelo que a principio parecem ser alienígenas, mas se revelam humanos vindos do futuro, seres cuja biologia evoluiu para se adaptar à vida fora do planeta Terra. E os colonos marcianos, que se julgam à beira da extinção pela incapacidade orgânica de levar a gravidez a cabo, são os antepassados directos desta futura humanidade que aos nossos olhos parece alienígena. É aqui que entram os tentilhões de Darwin, referência erudita à teoria da evolução. O momento do primeiro contacto é uma homenagem de Aldiss à FC clássica, com um casal a ser surpreendido por uma nave que aterra e de onde saem três estranhas criaturas que os saúdam. É um momento tão filme de série B que é impossível não sorrir.
Finches of Mars é um romance inquietante. Desolador, longe do optimismo da FC mais actual, mas também a não se meter no campo das distopias. É... diferente. Essa diferença é sublinhada pelo forte lado experimental na técnica narrativa. Não há longos infodumps a enquadrar aventuras bem gizadas. Este romance constró-se em fragmentos, por vezes dispersos, sem um grande esforço em aprofundar as personagens nem em definir os momentos da história. Este carácter fragmentário, em mãos menos experientes do que as de Aldiss, condenaria o livro. Não é o caso. Lê-se como se contempla um quadro impressionista. São manchas fragmentadas o que vemos de perto, e é quando nos afastamos que nos apercebemos da beleza do conjunto.
May 24, 2014
When I look back over the legendary Brian Aldiss' Science Fiction works, it will be with fond memories; as I'm sure it will be for many others, who have had the pleasure of reading them. It also pleases me to think that there are still many that I am yet to read. It then becomes all the more unfortunate, that Finches of Mars will be his last. It provides a good piece of trivia for future pub quizzes, but sadly this book falls short in many ways.
At around two hundred pages in length, it's rather a short read, but that is not the main problem here, in fact it's a plus. Reading this book felt very much like eating a sandwich without any filling. There's the bread and the butter, but when it comes to sinking your teeth into the tasty part, it is chronically lacking.
The main premise is very clever and should make for a gripping read, and a real celebration of Aldiss' career. However, those ideas are never fully explored. Finches of Mars is in fact brim full of ideas, which echo the great mans' previous novels, but many are mentioned fleetingly or in conversation between characters. In many ways it feels more like you are reading an outline for a novel, rather than a complete story.
It was very kind of Brian Aldiss to try and leave us with a parting gift, but I sincerely mean it when I say, "Really Brian, you shouldn't have!"
At around two hundred pages in length, it's rather a short read, but that is not the main problem here, in fact it's a plus. Reading this book felt very much like eating a sandwich without any filling. There's the bread and the butter, but when it comes to sinking your teeth into the tasty part, it is chronically lacking.
The main premise is very clever and should make for a gripping read, and a real celebration of Aldiss' career. However, those ideas are never fully explored. Finches of Mars is in fact brim full of ideas, which echo the great mans' previous novels, but many are mentioned fleetingly or in conversation between characters. In many ways it feels more like you are reading an outline for a novel, rather than a complete story.
It was very kind of Brian Aldiss to try and leave us with a parting gift, but I sincerely mean it when I say, "Really Brian, you shouldn't have!"
June 13, 2013
Purportedly the last book by this great author, which is perhaps why I expected it to be an outstanding book. If you know you're writing your last book, you may want to put everything into it. It must be a tricky situation, and I don't envy the author.
Sadly, this will not be a book I would remember him by. There are far better ones by this author.
It wasn't a convincing book at all. The speculation of life on Mars just couldn't be believed. He may have stood a chance if he selected a different planet, but really, in 2013, it was unbelievable.
So I tried to read it with my okay-this-is-SF-from-the-70's-with-rockets-and-Mars-and stuff hat on.
That didn't help either.
There's some darn weird stuff going on: the notions of evolution are really weird and wrong, there's this thin and undeveloped sexual theme, strings of half-developed characters, unbelievable reactions (to the fire), there's a vaguely explored (and again unbelievable) normon whizzing around, there's weird stuff going on down on earth (none of which you could believe), there's .....
Look, I read science fiction - I'm all for stuff that's unbelievable - but it has to be coherently unbelievable. I didn't find that here. Sorry.
Sadly, this will not be a book I would remember him by. There are far better ones by this author.
It wasn't a convincing book at all. The speculation of life on Mars just couldn't be believed. He may have stood a chance if he selected a different planet, but really, in 2013, it was unbelievable.
So I tried to read it with my okay-this-is-SF-from-the-70's-with-rockets-and-Mars-and stuff hat on.
That didn't help either.
There's some darn weird stuff going on: the notions of evolution are really weird and wrong, there's this thin and undeveloped sexual theme, strings of half-developed characters, unbelievable reactions (to the fire), there's a vaguely explored (and again unbelievable) normon whizzing around, there's weird stuff going on down on earth (none of which you could believe), there's .....
Look, I read science fiction - I'm all for stuff that's unbelievable - but it has to be coherently unbelievable. I didn't find that here. Sorry.
September 21, 2013
It's been a long, LONG time since I have abandoned a book part-way through (1998 'The Two Towers' - Tolkien) but I have admitted defeat with this one. I had great hopes for it, but I found it extremely dull. The premise is interesting, and having loved 'The Martian Chronicles', I looked forward to a new take on the colonisation of Mars, but the characters were 2 dimensional, there's no hint of a plotline that I can see, and it reads as flat and tedious as a blandly written science paper by someone who is academically brilliant but lacks the fire to put it into words.
My first attempt at reading Brian Aldiss, and definitely my last.
My first attempt at reading Brian Aldiss, and definitely my last.
May 6, 2015
Aldiss provides a mostly speculative vision of what life on Mars would all be about.
Earth has become mostly uninhabitable due to a number of reasons ---over-population, constant warfare and lack of natural resources. A small grouping of humans is sent to begin colonizing Mars. They live in 6 separate towers and face the challenges of life on a new planet --- breathing, no above-ground oceans, climate, etc.
Of course, life on Mars brings it's on woes --- the most puzzling is the fact that every baby born in the ten years on the planet is either still-born or deformed. An intelligent and thrilling read for real sci-fi fans only!
Earth has become mostly uninhabitable due to a number of reasons ---over-population, constant warfare and lack of natural resources. A small grouping of humans is sent to begin colonizing Mars. They live in 6 separate towers and face the challenges of life on a new planet --- breathing, no above-ground oceans, climate, etc.
Of course, life on Mars brings it's on woes --- the most puzzling is the fact that every baby born in the ten years on the planet is either still-born or deformed. An intelligent and thrilling read for real sci-fi fans only!
July 10, 2019
There were a lot of problematic thoughts and ideas, like transphobia and racism, none of which were called out. This was written from a very conservative perspective, and it was grating over time. There was potential here for a feminist dialogue, but that's clearly not where the author decided to go. Also, this isn't a book I'd recommend to anyone needing a plot as there wasn't really one or to anymore needing character development as most characters were only discussed very briefly.
TRIGGER WARNINGS
Possible SPOILER ALERT
Incest, violence, domestic violence, transphobia, racism, sexism
TRIGGER WARNINGS
Possible SPOILER ALERT
Incest, violence, domestic violence, transphobia, racism, sexism
July 30, 2017
Great premise--stranded colony on Mars faces existential threat--but clunky writing and technical errors discourage reading.
Examples:
“… high-kneed gait the lessor gravity of Mars encouraged.” No, look at the moon walkers.
“Such water as there was flowed…” No, such water as is on Mars is frozen. Unlike the Earth, Mars does not have a warm core.
“…left leg enclosed in plaster…” Plaster? For a broken leg on Mars? When everything else is so high-tech?
“It was Rooy who spoke next. ‘…?” he said. No need to a tag when you identified the speaker.
“Guardianship was considered to be an important post.” Then goes on to tell us how the critical functions are automated. If the Mars colony is near subsistence level, why waste manpower on ceremonial, at best, functionaries?
Examples:
“… high-kneed gait the lessor gravity of Mars encouraged.” No, look at the moon walkers.
“Such water as there was flowed…” No, such water as is on Mars is frozen. Unlike the Earth, Mars does not have a warm core.
“…left leg enclosed in plaster…” Plaster? For a broken leg on Mars? When everything else is so high-tech?
“It was Rooy who spoke next. ‘…?” he said. No need to a tag when you identified the speaker.
“Guardianship was considered to be an important post.” Then goes on to tell us how the critical functions are automated. If the Mars colony is near subsistence level, why waste manpower on ceremonial, at best, functionaries?
March 26, 2024
This was weird. This was really weird and not at all in a good way. I kept reading thinking that something was going to happen, that all the weirdness was going to pay off, especially because there was this recurring theme of the revival of religion among the forced atheism of the colony, and of the revival of purely human things like keeping pets, and making art, and being creative and inventive to solve problems...and then they just died. I kept thinking they would get explored, but they never did, and then we literally got a deus ex machina to end the book...and an afterword of how humanity is ruining the planet slapped in our faces. Which was, again, really weird. Cannot recommend, will probably be turning the copy I have into rags for cleaning my car because it was so bad even the library didn't want it, and based on the reviews no one else will either.
February 11, 2020
I really wanted to love this, but - while it started off strong - it didn't keep my full attention for very long.
December 16, 2025
Did not enjoy the writing style. Concept was interesting, but solving the whole thing with time travel felt like nonsense to me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2015
reviews.metaphorosis.com
1.5 stars
A set of six vaguely nationalist colonies have been established on Mars, reliant on precarious assistance from a coalition of universities on a fractious, threatened Earth. Despite extensive social planning, life on Mars is difficult. Reproduction has so far proven impossible.
I've read a number of Brian Aldiss' books over the years. While I've never really been taken with any of them, they've left behind a memory of intellectual musing - of a submerged quality of writing that should come out on closer examination. Actually reading the books, unfortunately, doesn't bring it out. To steal inspiration from Aldiss, it's a bit like reading Origin of Species, to find that while convincing and intellectually stimulating in overall concept, the individual passages are extremely dry. Finches of Mars is said to be Aldiss' last SF book, and I'm afraid it submerges his good qualities even further than usual.
The finches of the title refer to Darwin's findings in the Galapagos - finches with widely differing beaks that proved a catalyst for his thinking about natural selection and evolution. The finches in Aldiss' book are the humans of a small Martian colony, who have, in part, consciously evolved beyond religion, at least. That's about as far as the metaphor goes before descending into muddle. The human reaction to a series of still births, a constant topic, is not so much evolution as application of technology.
There's a subsidiary theme about 'an intensity of regret and delight' in considering what is and what could have been and what is missing, especially in the context of failed reproduction and the personal costs to colonists of their travel. While touched on repeatedly, and a frequent topic of character dialogue, Aldiss' message never really goes beyond 'humans feel this'.
Beyond those intellectual elements, the story offers remarkably little of interest. The structure and sequencing are not terribly coherent. The dialogue is wooden and unnatural. The setup and many other aspects are far from credible. Most of the book reads like a (dull) historical study followed by one non-sequitur after another. The ending is jolting. The science is thin, inconsistent, and partly nonsenical, the human motivations even thinner. There are traces of sexism and bigotry. The characters claim that 'important questions engage' them, but thy don't, really. I searched for subtle, clever connections, allusions, allegories. They're just not there, and the whole book is so thickly wrapped in mumbled philosophical fragments that it's difficult to make much of.
In some ways, this book is the antithesis of Andy Weir's The Martian. Where that book was all about optimistic, can-do pragmatism, this one is all about pessimistic despair and ennui. Weir's book observes an individual in a situation that could actually happen. Aldiss describes the entire species through events that never could. Where Weir's book succeeded at simple, matter of fact narrative, this one reaches for intellectual, philosophical complexity and fails. If you're looking for a book about Mars, read The Martian; pass this one up.
I can't recommend this book to anyone but serious Aldiss completionists. His message is good - humanity is screwing up badly. Aside from that, Finches is simply not a good book, and not the memory you want to have of a writer considered one of SFF's masters.
NB: Received free copy from Net Galley.
April 10, 2015
I feel bad giving this 2 stars. I feel bad about what I am going to say. So I will start with my bad thoughts. What is the deal with short books lately? If your going to provide all these grand little tidbits and then < >, see that empty space.That is what happens to the grand little tidbits. Nothing. At first I thought, religion? really? Not in the mood. Then I thought, childbirth on a new planet, well that's interesting. Trying to live on Mars, that's interesting. Sustaining said colony, ok, I get it. The random news from Earth (pay attention).
August 11, 2015
I received a republication copy of this book (August 4, 2015) through NetGalley with the understanding that I would publish are review on my blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google + pages along with NetGalley, Amazon and Goodreads.
I requested this book because I am interested in science fiction and I have never read any of the books by Brian Aldiss. This is to be his final book and I thought that I would give it a try based on the ratings of several of his other novels.
I must confess that this book was a major disappointment. After forcing myself to finish it I was pleased to see from other reviews that this is not indicative of his other works. The writing style and lack of character development was borderline amateurish and not what I expected from a long-time successful author.
My recommendation, based on what others who have read his prior works have stated, is to not waste your time on this book, but read his earlier books for a truly engaging read.
I requested this book because I am interested in science fiction and I have never read any of the books by Brian Aldiss. This is to be his final book and I thought that I would give it a try based on the ratings of several of his other novels.
I must confess that this book was a major disappointment. After forcing myself to finish it I was pleased to see from other reviews that this is not indicative of his other works. The writing style and lack of character development was borderline amateurish and not what I expected from a long-time successful author.
My recommendation, based on what others who have read his prior works have stated, is to not waste your time on this book, but read his earlier books for a truly engaging read.
January 20, 2020
Too edgy. What religious person traumatised Aldiss as a kid? I'm an atheist too, but Aldiss didn't have anything to say about it, just, "religion bad", and it was brought up for no plot reason.
And he doesn't understand orbital mechanics, at one point the pilots of a rocket die, and their ship ends up heading for the sun instead of earth. You don't end up heading for the sun unless you're very deliberate about it and have an absolute tonne of fuel to get there.
I only kept reading because I'm a dumbass and when I find myself hating a book I keep reading anyway because I feel like I'm letting the book win if I give up.
And he doesn't understand orbital mechanics, at one point the pilots of a rocket die, and their ship ends up heading for the sun instead of earth. You don't end up heading for the sun unless you're very deliberate about it and have an absolute tonne of fuel to get there.
I only kept reading because I'm a dumbass and when I find myself hating a book I keep reading anyway because I feel like I'm letting the book win if I give up.
November 18, 2017
I hate the idea of giving a one star review to a Brian Aldiss book, but this was truly awful. If it had been written in the 1950s, I would say it had aged badly. But it was written in 2012. Not a great note for such a great writer to end on. Four hours of my life that I won't get back. And yes, I know, I should have just stopped reading when it became very obvious that it wouldn't get better (about 1 or 2 very short chapters in).
The premise is a Mars colony set up by the brightest and best from the "United Universities". Unfortunately the nod at diversity fails completely due to some clumsy ethnic stereotyping. And by "brightest and best", he means "atheist and agnostic" only. I did wonder whether Aldiss meant this ironically. Like maybe this was the "new atheism" taken to its ultimate and absurdist conclusion, with the Mars colony as a logical positivist Hell. But no, apparently not.
There was a glimmer of a clever twist in the penultimate chapter, before it descended into B-Movie hokum as the colony's enlightened descendents travel back in a time ship for no obvious reason. Sorry did I give away the end? Just be amazed that I got that far.
Time to blow the dust off the Helliconia trilogy and remember happier days.
The premise is a Mars colony set up by the brightest and best from the "United Universities". Unfortunately the nod at diversity fails completely due to some clumsy ethnic stereotyping. And by "brightest and best", he means "atheist and agnostic" only. I did wonder whether Aldiss meant this ironically. Like maybe this was the "new atheism" taken to its ultimate and absurdist conclusion, with the Mars colony as a logical positivist Hell. But no, apparently not.
There was a glimmer of a clever twist in the penultimate chapter, before it descended into B-Movie hokum as the colony's enlightened descendents travel back in a time ship for no obvious reason. Sorry did I give away the end? Just be amazed that I got that far.
Time to blow the dust off the Helliconia trilogy and remember happier days.
March 19, 2025
It’s not good. The way this author writes about women is the literal worst. Like actual “the active and the passive sex”-stuff. Felt incredibly, shockingly outdated. Also just glosses over all the supposed sf elements like it’s all just there. Felt lazy. Why so many boner mentions. “He’s always erect” you know what no thank you actually. Boring and bad! I’m gonna leave this at work, don’t want it taking up space in my bookshelf tbh.
Also the incest thing? Like for no reason and just not. I have no words whatever. If you’re gonna put incest in your book you have to work a little. This was just… bye.
Also the incest thing? Like for no reason and just not. I have no words whatever. If you’re gonna put incest in your book you have to work a little. This was just… bye.
February 5, 2023
i did not like this book one bit. and it even pissed me off in some places
December 26, 2017
Read it, sort of: I gave up on this book halfway through. I kept hoping it would get better but it didn’t.
May 10, 2020
Odd turns if phrase and slow
August 7, 2015
Review Originally Posted At: FictionForesight
In accordance with current FTC Guidelines, please let it be known this book was received through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
At first glance, The Finches of Mars seems to be riding the wave of popularity from other near-future space exploration books like Andy Weir’s The Martian. In the first few chapters it becomes clear that this is not at all the case. Author Brian W. Aldiss is a long-standing giant in the world of science fiction and this, his terminal science fiction work, encompasses the vast worldview of an elderly and accomplished writer. If you are looking for a concrete story with believable characters and quick wit, you’ll have to look somewhere else. What you’ll find here is a partially developed glimpse into a social philosophy, with some space and exploration to round it out. Finches of Mars is the story of Earth’s early efforts to fund and support a colony on Mars. A coalition of universities send a population consisting of erudites and hermits to start a new world. Ideally this new civilization, forged from only the brightest and skeptical minds, will be free of prejudice, violence, and social inequality. Unfortunately, the mission is just as flawed as any existing human effort and the colonists begin to struggle.
I will say, this novel is not for the science fiction initiate. It lacks any coherent structure as a story, and follows not a singular protagonist but a host of characters with difficult names. There is little to connect us to these characters except for the occasional vignette of life story, and keeping their roles separated is not easy. Much of the narrative jumps between Earth and Mars, and skips to different points in the timeline without much guidance. It is, at best, difficult to follow. Aldiss seems to spend a good deal time elucidating on humanity’s faults and playing out various consequences to existential short-sightedness, rather than building a compelling speculative story. His language is rife with self-importance and pretension – the word “umwelt” is frequently bandied about.
As preachy as Finches of Mars is, I still found it to be manageable and interesting enough to finish. It is less of a story and more of an exposé on the true meaning of “civilization,” and how different facets of humanity – religion, art, language, sex, the pursuit of knowledge – are expressed and shaped by the greater environment. The “umwelt,” if you will. While it discusses these themes, it also explores a reasonable future for human civilization, and how the downfalls of society manifest themselves in a new world. It was interesting in itself to see an established science-fiction voice implant the “classic” tropes of time travel and extra-terrestrial ideals in a near-earth, near-future scope. Aldiss explores that missing link between human evolution and the universe beyond – the human timeline between The Martian and Asimov’s Foundation. It is most definitely not for everyone, but it speaks to a specific few who prefer a broad, loose exploration of ideas rather than a presentation of facts.
(www.FictionForesight.com)
In accordance with current FTC Guidelines, please let it be known this book was received through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
At first glance, The Finches of Mars seems to be riding the wave of popularity from other near-future space exploration books like Andy Weir’s The Martian. In the first few chapters it becomes clear that this is not at all the case. Author Brian W. Aldiss is a long-standing giant in the world of science fiction and this, his terminal science fiction work, encompasses the vast worldview of an elderly and accomplished writer. If you are looking for a concrete story with believable characters and quick wit, you’ll have to look somewhere else. What you’ll find here is a partially developed glimpse into a social philosophy, with some space and exploration to round it out. Finches of Mars is the story of Earth’s early efforts to fund and support a colony on Mars. A coalition of universities send a population consisting of erudites and hermits to start a new world. Ideally this new civilization, forged from only the brightest and skeptical minds, will be free of prejudice, violence, and social inequality. Unfortunately, the mission is just as flawed as any existing human effort and the colonists begin to struggle.
I will say, this novel is not for the science fiction initiate. It lacks any coherent structure as a story, and follows not a singular protagonist but a host of characters with difficult names. There is little to connect us to these characters except for the occasional vignette of life story, and keeping their roles separated is not easy. Much of the narrative jumps between Earth and Mars, and skips to different points in the timeline without much guidance. It is, at best, difficult to follow. Aldiss seems to spend a good deal time elucidating on humanity’s faults and playing out various consequences to existential short-sightedness, rather than building a compelling speculative story. His language is rife with self-importance and pretension – the word “umwelt” is frequently bandied about.
As preachy as Finches of Mars is, I still found it to be manageable and interesting enough to finish. It is less of a story and more of an exposé on the true meaning of “civilization,” and how different facets of humanity – religion, art, language, sex, the pursuit of knowledge – are expressed and shaped by the greater environment. The “umwelt,” if you will. While it discusses these themes, it also explores a reasonable future for human civilization, and how the downfalls of society manifest themselves in a new world. It was interesting in itself to see an established science-fiction voice implant the “classic” tropes of time travel and extra-terrestrial ideals in a near-earth, near-future scope. Aldiss explores that missing link between human evolution and the universe beyond – the human timeline between The Martian and Asimov’s Foundation. It is most definitely not for everyone, but it speaks to a specific few who prefer a broad, loose exploration of ideas rather than a presentation of facts.
(www.FictionForesight.com)
January 5, 2015
The finches referred to in the title, are the Galapagos finches which helped Darwin to understand that birds had evolved to suit specific circumstances and were equipped to survive in particular locations.
Aldiss, whose major work was the Helliconia trilogy, says that this will be his last book. It seems to me that he is now not concerned about possibly offending anyone and so he says again what SF has been saying for generations - Earth is doomed to die from overpopulation.
He presents a staggeringly unlikely habitat on Mars - six towers, each funded by universities, when it is more likely that solar and background radiation would incline colonists to dig into the rock for shielding. The towers are totally dependent on imported foodstuffs from Earth, and no live animals are allowed, when it seems clear that any colony would be establishing gardens, chickens and fish tanks in order to be self-sustaining. Food is an expensive payload.
I don't see a mention of where universities are getting this money, and consider that industrial, business-driven space exploration is far more likely.
Aldiss says that religions are forbidden on Mars, blaming Earth's terrorism, overpopulation and intolerance on illiterate people following primitive writings.
Sadly for the colonists, their babies are all born dead or die swiftly. The conclusion is that people have not evolved to live on Mars, in hypoxia, cold, low sunlight and low gravity. Aldiss is telling us that it may be that the Earth is the only world where we can live as a race, having evolved here. His characters did not suggest sending Andean mountain dwellers or Tibetans to Mars; this would be a good start as these people have each evolved their own means of survival in hypoxia and cold.
This book is a useful discussion starter. Sadly in my view it does not make for a riveting read. As it is a short book, those who start it will probably finish it, but by the end we have barely seen more than one side of the main characters and have not gained much sympathy for them. The constantly jumping viewpoints, through persons, times and locations, can be coped with but serve to create a disconnect between the reader and the characters. There is no real protagonist and all but a couple of the Martian dwellers come across as ineffectual.
Devotees of Aldiss will no doubt want a read of this not at all cheerful book. Some of the themes are also present in the Helliconia world where a planet with an eccentric orbit, which is alternately baked and frozen over the centuries, has evolved people who are adapted as a race to cope with the challenges presented. The first two books are an excellent read; the third is the least good.
Having recently read The Martian by Andy Weir, I would recommend that hard SF adventure aficionados read that enjoyable book instead of Finches of Mars.
Aldiss, whose major work was the Helliconia trilogy, says that this will be his last book. It seems to me that he is now not concerned about possibly offending anyone and so he says again what SF has been saying for generations - Earth is doomed to die from overpopulation.
He presents a staggeringly unlikely habitat on Mars - six towers, each funded by universities, when it is more likely that solar and background radiation would incline colonists to dig into the rock for shielding. The towers are totally dependent on imported foodstuffs from Earth, and no live animals are allowed, when it seems clear that any colony would be establishing gardens, chickens and fish tanks in order to be self-sustaining. Food is an expensive payload.
I don't see a mention of where universities are getting this money, and consider that industrial, business-driven space exploration is far more likely.
Aldiss says that religions are forbidden on Mars, blaming Earth's terrorism, overpopulation and intolerance on illiterate people following primitive writings.
Sadly for the colonists, their babies are all born dead or die swiftly. The conclusion is that people have not evolved to live on Mars, in hypoxia, cold, low sunlight and low gravity. Aldiss is telling us that it may be that the Earth is the only world where we can live as a race, having evolved here. His characters did not suggest sending Andean mountain dwellers or Tibetans to Mars; this would be a good start as these people have each evolved their own means of survival in hypoxia and cold.
This book is a useful discussion starter. Sadly in my view it does not make for a riveting read. As it is a short book, those who start it will probably finish it, but by the end we have barely seen more than one side of the main characters and have not gained much sympathy for them. The constantly jumping viewpoints, through persons, times and locations, can be coped with but serve to create a disconnect between the reader and the characters. There is no real protagonist and all but a couple of the Martian dwellers come across as ineffectual.
Devotees of Aldiss will no doubt want a read of this not at all cheerful book. Some of the themes are also present in the Helliconia world where a planet with an eccentric orbit, which is alternately baked and frozen over the centuries, has evolved people who are adapted as a race to cope with the challenges presented. The first two books are an excellent read; the third is the least good.
Having recently read The Martian by Andy Weir, I would recommend that hard SF adventure aficionados read that enjoyable book instead of Finches of Mars.
October 4, 2014
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
I grew up around a lot of science fiction as a kid/teen: Arthur C Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Ben Bova and, of course, Brian Aldiss. When I saw that this was to be the great man's last science fiction novel, I had to take a walk down memory lane and see what he had in store.
Sadly, the truth is that this was not a great read. There were flashes of his best works but they were just that - momentary shining lights in an otherwise drab story. It promises much: the colonisation of Mars, although certainly not a new idea, was interesting for the reasons why it didn't work out regarding evolution. However, at times I felt like I was reading a research paper and not a novel.
The characters were hard work as well. There was no real depth to any of them, no real development along the way that the reader could really sink their teeth into. I never felt like I "knew" any of the many people who inhabit this story. Instead, it felt like I was reading a rough draft and the characters just hadn't been fleshed out yet.
I was a huge fan of Aldiss' and I am a little sad that this may be the last work of his I read. Maybe time to go back and hit the Helliconia series once again.
Paul
ARH
I grew up around a lot of science fiction as a kid/teen: Arthur C Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Ben Bova and, of course, Brian Aldiss. When I saw that this was to be the great man's last science fiction novel, I had to take a walk down memory lane and see what he had in store.
Sadly, the truth is that this was not a great read. There were flashes of his best works but they were just that - momentary shining lights in an otherwise drab story. It promises much: the colonisation of Mars, although certainly not a new idea, was interesting for the reasons why it didn't work out regarding evolution. However, at times I felt like I was reading a research paper and not a novel.
The characters were hard work as well. There was no real depth to any of them, no real development along the way that the reader could really sink their teeth into. I never felt like I "knew" any of the many people who inhabit this story. Instead, it felt like I was reading a rough draft and the characters just hadn't been fleshed out yet.
I was a huge fan of Aldiss' and I am a little sad that this may be the last work of his I read. Maybe time to go back and hit the Helliconia series once again.
Paul
ARH
December 28, 2015
It seems grandmaster Brian Aldiss at one time declared that Finches of Mars would be his last science fiction novel. He has since published a mainstream fiction novel - Comfort Zone. He has had an amazingly long writing career spanning from the 1950s until now, but is best known as the leading British writer and editor of New Wave Science Fiction in the 1960s and 70s.
In this short novel, a colony has been established on Mars, consisting of six towers filled with academics from a declining Earth. Among other selection criteria, colonists must have no adherence to religion. They are segregated into six towers on the plains of Tharsis by national origin, and there is a problem with inability to give birth to viable children. The style of this writing is reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut, where odd things can happen without necessarily being reasonable. In fact, the novel makes more sense on a metaphorical level than it does literal. Mars itself is an acronym for Mankind Achieving Renewed Society, and on that level plays out a search for human meaning. Well, at least for the here and now of humanity.
Unfortunately, on a literal level the story is so full of implausibilities, as to not provide a good foundation for the philosophical musings. While I could intellectually understand what Aldiss was doing, I was never able to suspend my disbelief in his completely unreasonable Martian setting.
And characters? Pfooey. We don't need no stinkin' characters. A few stick-figures will suffice to represent human perspectives and needs.
In this short novel, a colony has been established on Mars, consisting of six towers filled with academics from a declining Earth. Among other selection criteria, colonists must have no adherence to religion. They are segregated into six towers on the plains of Tharsis by national origin, and there is a problem with inability to give birth to viable children. The style of this writing is reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut, where odd things can happen without necessarily being reasonable. In fact, the novel makes more sense on a metaphorical level than it does literal. Mars itself is an acronym for Mankind Achieving Renewed Society, and on that level plays out a search for human meaning. Well, at least for the here and now of humanity.
Unfortunately, on a literal level the story is so full of implausibilities, as to not provide a good foundation for the philosophical musings. While I could intellectually understand what Aldiss was doing, I was never able to suspend my disbelief in his completely unreasonable Martian setting.
And characters? Pfooey. We don't need no stinkin' characters. A few stick-figures will suffice to represent human perspectives and needs.
May 4, 2016
Well, this was a bit of a wade. It's an odd one to go out on, if this was actually his last Scifi title. I found I didn't really give a shit about anything that was going on. Really, I only pushed through out of a sense of duty to the grand old master of British Scifi. Aldiss has written so much that you can allow him the odd dud now and again. The problem is, when you announce that it's your final title in the genre people are going to expect some kind of grand summing up. And I suppose that's what we've got here. It's just that it's probably not what we wanted/expected. To me it feels kinda tired, and i don't mean the writing or the ideas; there's a real sense of weariness at play here that makes it difficult to engage with the story, but I guess that's maybe how it feels when you are well into your 90s and the same old cruel and terrible shit still keeps happening in the world. So let's all move to Mars and evolve! Or not.
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