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The Fall Revolution #4
The Sky Road
Centuries after the catastrophic Deliverance, humanity is again reaching into space. And Clovis, a young scholar working in the spaceship-construction yard, could make the difference between success and failure. For his mysterious new lover, Merrial, has seduced him into the idea of extrapolating the ship's future from the dark archives of the past.
A past in which, centuries before, Myra Godwin faced the end of a different space age--her rockets redundant, her people rebellious, and her borders defenseless against the Sino-Soviet Union. As Myra appealed to the crumbling West for help, she found history turning on her own strange past--and on the terrible decisions she faces now.
The Sky Road is a fireworks display, a bravura performance, and the most amazing novel yet by one of the powerful new voices in science fiction.
A past in which, centuries before, Myra Godwin faced the end of a different space age--her rockets redundant, her people rebellious, and her borders defenseless against the Sino-Soviet Union. As Myra appealed to the crumbling West for help, she found history turning on her own strange past--and on the terrible decisions she faces now.
The Sky Road is a fireworks display, a bravura performance, and the most amazing novel yet by one of the powerful new voices in science fiction.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
18 people are currently reading
877 people want to read
About the author
Ken MacLeod
113 books768 followersKen MacLeod is an award-winning Scottish science fiction writer.
His novels have won the Prometheus Award and the BSFA award, and been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards. He lives near Edinburgh, Scotland.
MacLeod graduated from Glasgow University with a degree in zoology and has worked as a computer programmer and written a masters thesis on biomechanics.
His novels often explore socialist, communist and anarchist political ideas, most particularly the variants of Trotskyism and anarcho-capitalism or extreme economic libertarianism.
Technical themes encompass singularities, divergent human cultural evolution and post-human cyborg-resurrection.
His novels have won the Prometheus Award and the BSFA award, and been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards. He lives near Edinburgh, Scotland.
MacLeod graduated from Glasgow University with a degree in zoology and has worked as a computer programmer and written a masters thesis on biomechanics.
His novels often explore socialist, communist and anarchist political ideas, most particularly the variants of Trotskyism and anarcho-capitalism or extreme economic libertarianism.
Technical themes encompass singularities, divergent human cultural evolution and post-human cyborg-resurrection.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
August 28, 2021
I missed this one when it was published, two decades back. It's the familiar KenMac two-track narrative, with his familiar politically-charged SF. Starts out very well indeed: a sweet romance in an alt-future Scotland, preparing to regain the stars. The "past" thread is set in the International Scientfic and Technical Workers' Republic, an odd microstate surrounding an alt-Baikonur, and an ally of Kazakhstan. A hostile Sino-Soviet remnant state is preparing to invade the ISTWR. In one of MacLeod's nice nods to real history : a "David Reid" (compare to John "Ten Days that Shook the World" Reid) leads "Mutual Protection," a very strange labor-camp outfit with Nefarious Plans.
The book is intensely political, to the point of being annoying to this 2021 American. The Trotskyite/Fourth International stuff goes on, and on, and ON -- I mean, I get that WW1 was the Great Tragedy for Europe. But not for the US, OK? And his casual denigration of Middle America is seriously annoying, to one who grew up there. OK, this is from a character, and a minor plot-point, but still. Grump, grump. Bad enough to get this kind of crap from the US Coastal Elites!
It was interesting to see the alt-future tech projections for turn-of-the 21st-century in MacLeod's alt-histories. Myra, the MC in his past (alt late 20th to early 21st C) thread, has just gotten her nanotech rejuvenation, which she's been putting off for no good reasons. Everyone else who can afford it gets their first rejuve in their 20s, so they can stay young forever! Which sounds good to me. You may recall Drexler's "Engines of Creation" (1986), a very influential and way too rosy projection of near-future advances in nanotechnology, just about none of which have happened (yet). Not that they aren't still theoretically possible.... Another turn-of-the century SFnal work, Vernor Vinge's "Singularity" prediction, also shows no sign of coming anytime soon. Which is why it's always risky to write near-future SF! Or confident predictions for the Real World....
While failure to predict technical progress isn't a good reason to downcheck a book, the ramshackle plot-structure was a turn off. As was the ending, with a damp-squib reveal of the Deliverer's actions circa 2050. There are good bits, and the writing is clever & sharp, but the book never quite clicked for me. Weak 3 stars: OK to pretty good. One of MacLeod's weaker books, I thought. But still worth reading, for a die-hard MacLeod fan like me!
The book is intensely political, to the point of being annoying to this 2021 American. The Trotskyite/Fourth International stuff goes on, and on, and ON -- I mean, I get that WW1 was the Great Tragedy for Europe. But not for the US, OK? And his casual denigration of Middle America is seriously annoying, to one who grew up there. OK, this is from a character, and a minor plot-point, but still. Grump, grump. Bad enough to get this kind of crap from the US Coastal Elites!
It was interesting to see the alt-future tech projections for turn-of-the 21st-century in MacLeod's alt-histories. Myra, the MC in his past (alt late 20th to early 21st C) thread, has just gotten her nanotech rejuvenation, which she's been putting off for no good reasons. Everyone else who can afford it gets their first rejuve in their 20s, so they can stay young forever! Which sounds good to me. You may recall Drexler's "Engines of Creation" (1986), a very influential and way too rosy projection of near-future advances in nanotechnology, just about none of which have happened (yet). Not that they aren't still theoretically possible.... Another turn-of-the century SFnal work, Vernor Vinge's "Singularity" prediction, also shows no sign of coming anytime soon. Which is why it's always risky to write near-future SF! Or confident predictions for the Real World....
While failure to predict technical progress isn't a good reason to downcheck a book, the ramshackle plot-structure was a turn off. As was the ending, with a damp-squib reveal of the Deliverer's actions circa 2050. There are good bits, and the writing is clever & sharp, but the book never quite clicked for me. Weak 3 stars: OK to pretty good. One of MacLeod's weaker books, I thought. But still worth reading, for a die-hard MacLeod fan like me!
May 3, 2021
15 February 2009 – *****. This is the fourth novel in the Fall Revolution series, although it is not strictly a sequential series. The books are:
#1 The Star Fraction (1995) - Prometheus Award winner 1996.
#2 The Stone Canal (1996) - Prometheus Award winner 1998.
#3 The Cassini Division (1998) – Nebula Award nominee 1999.
#4 The Sky Road (1999) – British SF Award winner 1999.
Be aware that Ken Macleod's Fall Revolution books are not set sequentially, but still should be read in the order they were written. The Sky Road follows two story lines, one of which occurs within the same timeframe as The Stone Canal, but where one major character makes a critical different choice regarding nuclear weaponry. The other story line is centuries later, in the alternate future that decision leads to. But you should still read the prior books to understand the backstory of this one.
That said, while the action of this novel is fast-paced and engaging, the bewildering array of political systems and humanity-transforming events I've come to expect from MacLeod are contained within the framework of an already established (although alternate) future history. In fact, surprisingly, the more future story line focuses on a powerful and elegant love story. Even though Merrial is not who she at first appears to be, she and Clovis start a relationship that may transcend her deceptions. That uncertainty of whether his feelings for her will survive, and the reader's gradual discovery of how the two story lines relate to one another, drive the novel to a satisfying conclusion.
I really enjoyed this book.
#1 The Star Fraction (1995) - Prometheus Award winner 1996.
#2 The Stone Canal (1996) - Prometheus Award winner 1998.
#3 The Cassini Division (1998) – Nebula Award nominee 1999.
#4 The Sky Road (1999) – British SF Award winner 1999.
Be aware that Ken Macleod's Fall Revolution books are not set sequentially, but still should be read in the order they were written. The Sky Road follows two story lines, one of which occurs within the same timeframe as The Stone Canal, but where one major character makes a critical different choice regarding nuclear weaponry. The other story line is centuries later, in the alternate future that decision leads to. But you should still read the prior books to understand the backstory of this one.
That said, while the action of this novel is fast-paced and engaging, the bewildering array of political systems and humanity-transforming events I've come to expect from MacLeod are contained within the framework of an already established (although alternate) future history. In fact, surprisingly, the more future story line focuses on a powerful and elegant love story. Even though Merrial is not who she at first appears to be, she and Clovis start a relationship that may transcend her deceptions. That uncertainty of whether his feelings for her will survive, and the reader's gradual discovery of how the two story lines relate to one another, drive the novel to a satisfying conclusion.
I really enjoyed this book.
May 21, 2012
The Sky Road is one of my favorite books. It may not scrape the top of my all-time list, if assembling such a list would be possible but it ranks right up there. First of all, it's Ken Macleod. Talk about a great writer- I just posted a review of The Cassini Division that pretty much detailed some of the many reasons why he's awesome. I'm not going to bother repeating myself again here. (Just to say again: for serious sci-fi fans, this guy is a MUST read at some point... for people who just like interesting, well-written books- he's worth checking out.)
But back to the book: What Macleod did with his original 'Fall Revolution' series of 'The Star Fraction' (review forthcoming) 'The Stone Canal' (also forthcoming) and 'The Cassini Division' was to add a fourth novel, 'The Sky Road' which posits an alternate future based on one of the protagonists making a slightly different choice in 'The Stone Canal.' (I know I'm reading this books in a random, truly effed up order and for that I apologize. It's my own personal summer reading festival and I'm just grabbing and going!) That concept alone is kind of cool to me. Change one little thing and spin off a whole other book from it? Very 'Sound of Thunder.' I like it.
And the resulting book is excellent as well: roughly half is set in the far future, where a young scholar by the name of Clovis is working on humanity's first space ship in centuries when he meets his mysterious new lover Merrial who convinces him that in order to protect the ship, they need to seek answers in the past... where we find the other half of the book- Myra Godwin is facing the collapse of civilization as we know it, her rockets are redundant, her borders defenceeless and the West is too decadent and weak to help her as she confronts the terrible decisions she has to make. Decisions that Clovis and Merrial must work to uncover centuries later as Merrial's mysterious people 'the tinkers' know what Myra left behind in her files... (DUM-DUM-DUM!!!!!!!)
No more spoilers... you'll just have to read it for yourselves. I liked the structure of this novel. Alternating chapters between Myra's past and Clovis and Merrial's future keeps each side of the plot clear and easy to understand. Plus, it makes understanding the connections between them easier as well. But to me, the past makes for a much more compelling read than the future in this book. Myra Godwin is a tough, strong, powerful woman haunted by her past and forced into making a terrible decision- but it's the world that Macleod builds around her that I find to be all too believable somehow. Almost post-apocalyptic with the United States balkanized and torn asunder, Europe weak and powerless and a Sino-Soviet Union plowing eastward with nobody powerful enough to stop it. And Macleod leaves Myra's fate unknown at the end of the novel, despite the fact that she's hailed in Clovis and Merrial's time as 'The Deliverer'
Overall: Another great read from Ken Macleod... (just as a side note- I find that while it's helpful to read his Fall Revolution series in 'order' it's not necessarily a requirement. 'The Sky Road' stands alone just fine by itself as well as within the larger story of the series.) Characters are well drawn and compelling, the story is one that pulls you in and keeps the pages turning. Excellent stuff!
But back to the book: What Macleod did with his original 'Fall Revolution' series of 'The Star Fraction' (review forthcoming) 'The Stone Canal' (also forthcoming) and 'The Cassini Division' was to add a fourth novel, 'The Sky Road' which posits an alternate future based on one of the protagonists making a slightly different choice in 'The Stone Canal.' (I know I'm reading this books in a random, truly effed up order and for that I apologize. It's my own personal summer reading festival and I'm just grabbing and going!) That concept alone is kind of cool to me. Change one little thing and spin off a whole other book from it? Very 'Sound of Thunder.' I like it.
And the resulting book is excellent as well: roughly half is set in the far future, where a young scholar by the name of Clovis is working on humanity's first space ship in centuries when he meets his mysterious new lover Merrial who convinces him that in order to protect the ship, they need to seek answers in the past... where we find the other half of the book- Myra Godwin is facing the collapse of civilization as we know it, her rockets are redundant, her borders defenceeless and the West is too decadent and weak to help her as she confronts the terrible decisions she has to make. Decisions that Clovis and Merrial must work to uncover centuries later as Merrial's mysterious people 'the tinkers' know what Myra left behind in her files... (DUM-DUM-DUM!!!!!!!)
No more spoilers... you'll just have to read it for yourselves. I liked the structure of this novel. Alternating chapters between Myra's past and Clovis and Merrial's future keeps each side of the plot clear and easy to understand. Plus, it makes understanding the connections between them easier as well. But to me, the past makes for a much more compelling read than the future in this book. Myra Godwin is a tough, strong, powerful woman haunted by her past and forced into making a terrible decision- but it's the world that Macleod builds around her that I find to be all too believable somehow. Almost post-apocalyptic with the United States balkanized and torn asunder, Europe weak and powerless and a Sino-Soviet Union plowing eastward with nobody powerful enough to stop it. And Macleod leaves Myra's fate unknown at the end of the novel, despite the fact that she's hailed in Clovis and Merrial's time as 'The Deliverer'
Overall: Another great read from Ken Macleod... (just as a side note- I find that while it's helpful to read his Fall Revolution series in 'order' it's not necessarily a requirement. 'The Sky Road' stands alone just fine by itself as well as within the larger story of the series.) Characters are well drawn and compelling, the story is one that pulls you in and keeps the pages turning. Excellent stuff!
September 17, 2017
Storyline: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 2/5
An odd inclusion to the Fall Revolution series, The Sky Road offers a more capable MacLeod, much more in control of pacing and buildup. It also was the least original of the four installments, lacking the verve and technological, science fiction ambitions of the rest.
What was really enjoyable here was the incremental revelation of the post apocalyptic future. The hints and glimpses were tantalizing, keeping the reader engaged and contemplating how and when it fits together with the events of The Star Fraction, The Stone Canal, and the Cassini Division. Those others were already a tangle of storylines, perspectives, and timelines - overlapping, crosscutting, prequeling, and sequeling. In this way this fourth book is a puzzle piece which one gets to examine and place. MacLeod's descriptions and the envisioned world makes for a promising experience of discovery.
However initially intriguing, as the pieces fall into place and the picture comes into view, one cannot keep cynicism at bay. The Cassini Division had given plausible explanations for how that radically different future had come about, but the few justifications here did more harm than if the causes had been left unlinked with their consequences. The more MacLeod revealed, the less I was enamored with those fun connections we were supposed to be making. The path from A to B to C (or if following the circumlocution of the series - A to T to D to W to G to M to F - or something the like) was less believable and made less sense the more I read.
Neither was technological development a major embellishment for this one. The weapons in The Star Fraction were a source of glee for science fiction action enthusiasts, but the present world offers no such indulgences and, frankly, also seems incompatible with the life and times of Moh Kohn. There are some fun glimpses of alternative technologies but these get pushed to late in the book and are but quick peeks.
What does seem to be on MacLeod's mind was more inner workings of Trotskyism in the future. In the Star Fraction, I had to try hard to enjoin MacLeod in his enthusiasm for the minor and many intricacies of Communist schisms. That was more work than it was worth in book one, and I would have been happy to have moved on to something else. Books two and three, however, feature a lot of the same ideas and arguments - with additional nuance undoubtedly - but still with the series' incessant carping over options and beliefs that are never successfully conveyed as meaningful. Those middle two compensated though by being more technologically centered with ambitious plots. For this fourth volume, MacLeod returns to the form of the first, removes the punk element from his writings on the cyber, tones down the cool in the gadgets, and makes the biography of a Communist leader his focal point. I found it too redundant. We had already seen some of his points and insights on the struggle over whether or not to compromise one's principles - theoretical and ideological purity versus pragmatism and present lived lives. Those were thoughtful debates written from a perspective I hadn't encountered in science fiction before, but I had gotten enough with the first books in the series. I found it an odd choice to do it all over again. There's probably some nuance - some difference in the compromise - that I overlooked. Some nuance that is important in leftists debates, but I'll charge MacLeod again with failing to communicate the import of these differences to his readers. Despite my many misgivings, I enjoyed the telling for the majority of the book. It was only as MacLeod's positions for his final moves and points that I realized that nothing better was to come and skepticism won out over credulity.
P.S. I would not recommend this as a stand-alone title. It wouldn't be entirely incomprehensible, but it assumes you have a knowledge of the past political events and relationships.
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 2/5
An odd inclusion to the Fall Revolution series, The Sky Road offers a more capable MacLeod, much more in control of pacing and buildup. It also was the least original of the four installments, lacking the verve and technological, science fiction ambitions of the rest.
What was really enjoyable here was the incremental revelation of the post apocalyptic future. The hints and glimpses were tantalizing, keeping the reader engaged and contemplating how and when it fits together with the events of The Star Fraction, The Stone Canal, and the Cassini Division. Those others were already a tangle of storylines, perspectives, and timelines - overlapping, crosscutting, prequeling, and sequeling. In this way this fourth book is a puzzle piece which one gets to examine and place. MacLeod's descriptions and the envisioned world makes for a promising experience of discovery.
However initially intriguing, as the pieces fall into place and the picture comes into view, one cannot keep cynicism at bay. The Cassini Division had given plausible explanations for how that radically different future had come about, but the few justifications here did more harm than if the causes had been left unlinked with their consequences. The more MacLeod revealed, the less I was enamored with those fun connections we were supposed to be making. The path from A to B to C (or if following the circumlocution of the series - A to T to D to W to G to M to F - or something the like) was less believable and made less sense the more I read.
Neither was technological development a major embellishment for this one. The weapons in The Star Fraction were a source of glee for science fiction action enthusiasts, but the present world offers no such indulgences and, frankly, also seems incompatible with the life and times of Moh Kohn. There are some fun glimpses of alternative technologies but these get pushed to late in the book and are but quick peeks.
What does seem to be on MacLeod's mind was more inner workings of Trotskyism in the future. In the Star Fraction, I had to try hard to enjoin MacLeod in his enthusiasm for the minor and many intricacies of Communist schisms. That was more work than it was worth in book one, and I would have been happy to have moved on to something else. Books two and three, however, feature a lot of the same ideas and arguments - with additional nuance undoubtedly - but still with the series' incessant carping over options and beliefs that are never successfully conveyed as meaningful. Those middle two compensated though by being more technologically centered with ambitious plots. For this fourth volume, MacLeod returns to the form of the first, removes the punk element from his writings on the cyber, tones down the cool in the gadgets, and makes the biography of a Communist leader his focal point. I found it too redundant. We had already seen some of his points and insights on the struggle over whether or not to compromise one's principles - theoretical and ideological purity versus pragmatism and present lived lives. Those were thoughtful debates written from a perspective I hadn't encountered in science fiction before, but I had gotten enough with the first books in the series. I found it an odd choice to do it all over again. There's probably some nuance - some difference in the compromise - that I overlooked. Some nuance that is important in leftists debates, but I'll charge MacLeod again with failing to communicate the import of these differences to his readers. Despite my many misgivings, I enjoyed the telling for the majority of the book. It was only as MacLeod's positions for his final moves and points that I realized that nothing better was to come and skepticism won out over credulity.
P.S. I would not recommend this as a stand-alone title. It wouldn't be entirely incomprehensible, but it assumes you have a knowledge of the past political events and relationships.
February 21, 2011
This is the second MacLeod book that I've read; the first was The Cassini Division. I picked up Cassini in hardcover almost immediately because so many people were raving about it, and it left me completely cold. A perfectly adequate book, as to plot, world-building, writing, etc., but absolutely nothing about it engaged me sufficiently to really overcome the fact that the protagonist is the villain of the piece, and she's not all that interesting a villain. I preferred to see her be defeated, but I never worked up any great concern even for that. It was only the New Mars section that really seemed to me to reward the effort of bothering to read it.
Given this reaction, it will probably surprise no one that I did not rush out to buy The Sky Road. I ignored it for months, and eventually picked it up at the library in a burst of idle curiosity about why MacLeod inspires such enthusiasm.
I can't say that I'm a convert, but I do rather wish I'd read The Sky Road first. Not only did I find it far more engaging and enjoyable than The Cassini Division; I think I'd have enjoyed The Cassini Division more if I'd read this first.
I'm a little hazy on MacLeod's future chronology, so I can't really say whether this book is set before or after Cassini, although my money would be on "before". A few centuries after the Deliverance, humanity is once again building a spaceship, its first attempt to return to space since the Deliverer turned all the satellites and habitats in Earth orbit and at the Lagrange sites into so much space junk in her attempt to remove one particular danger. A young scholar who hopes to research the life of the Deliverer is approached by a tinker who, after seducing him, tells him of her fears that near-Earth space may be filled with space junk, and recruits him to help get access to the Deliverer's files, which might answer the question. The scholar, Clovis, agrees, and he and the tinker, Merrial, head off to Glasgow to do a little not-quite-illegal research.
Over the next few days, his life and his worldview get pretty thoroughly smashed to bits. Nothing is as he believed it to be, including Merrial, and including himself.
I found Merrial, Clovis, and their world and their problems a lot more interesting and worth my reading time than Ellen May and hers. If that's not quite the ringing endorsement that those who better appreciate MacLeod's work would make, at least I'm more likely now to pick up another of his books, and see if his virtues as a writer become further clarified for me.
Given this reaction, it will probably surprise no one that I did not rush out to buy The Sky Road. I ignored it for months, and eventually picked it up at the library in a burst of idle curiosity about why MacLeod inspires such enthusiasm.
I can't say that I'm a convert, but I do rather wish I'd read The Sky Road first. Not only did I find it far more engaging and enjoyable than The Cassini Division; I think I'd have enjoyed The Cassini Division more if I'd read this first.
I'm a little hazy on MacLeod's future chronology, so I can't really say whether this book is set before or after Cassini, although my money would be on "before". A few centuries after the Deliverance, humanity is once again building a spaceship, its first attempt to return to space since the Deliverer turned all the satellites and habitats in Earth orbit and at the Lagrange sites into so much space junk in her attempt to remove one particular danger. A young scholar who hopes to research the life of the Deliverer is approached by a tinker who, after seducing him, tells him of her fears that near-Earth space may be filled with space junk, and recruits him to help get access to the Deliverer's files, which might answer the question. The scholar, Clovis, agrees, and he and the tinker, Merrial, head off to Glasgow to do a little not-quite-illegal research.
Over the next few days, his life and his worldview get pretty thoroughly smashed to bits. Nothing is as he believed it to be, including Merrial, and including himself.
I found Merrial, Clovis, and their world and their problems a lot more interesting and worth my reading time than Ellen May and hers. If that's not quite the ringing endorsement that those who better appreciate MacLeod's work would make, at least I'm more likely now to pick up another of his books, and see if his virtues as a writer become further clarified for me.
September 7, 2008
MacLeod also has a way with words, similar to but possibly not as witty as, his Scots counterpart Banks. MacLeod's world is also more dystopian, more dour, and more overtly political. If we were talking of cities, Banks's world would possibly be London or Edinburgh, while MacLeod would be Manchester or Glasgow.
Oh, I should mention that this is part of a series and, unless you've read the earlier books, you are likely to be confused about where all this is coming from/heading. This particular one is about a couple of people at different times and deals with themes including meaning-making, understanding climactic events, alternative interpretations and the pursuit of knowledge (and its implications)
It's also jolly good fun (and a quick read!).
Oh, I should mention that this is part of a series and, unless you've read the earlier books, you are likely to be confused about where all this is coming from/heading. This particular one is about a couple of people at different times and deals with themes including meaning-making, understanding climactic events, alternative interpretations and the pursuit of knowledge (and its implications)
It's also jolly good fun (and a quick read!).
April 18, 2012
Whoops. It turns out this is the last book in a series and I read it first. I enjoyed it, but I think I will not read the first books, since I already know how the story ends. Not a bad book though I would most likely recommend reading them in order so the maybe the beginning will not seem as confusing as it did for me. You can still understand everything going on without reading the first ones, but it is probably better to read them in order.
August 12, 2016
I read this some months ago but I am just getting around to adding it. This is by far the best of this series. The political and ideological themes are more subtle than the first three, and are far better for it, and the characters are much richer and more believable. I thought was going to be annoyed at it being an alternative future to that presented in the first three books in the series but actually it worked rather well.
May 27, 2017
This whole series is way better than it has any right to be, considering you could describe it as "Trostkyists in space!".
This, the final book, is my favourite along with the 1st one, but they are all good.
This, the final book, is my favourite along with the 1st one, but they are all good.
April 21, 2025
I really felt like I should have liked this, but didn't get on with it at all as you can tell by the star rating and the fact it took me an almost unprecedented month to finish.
I probably read it too sporadically to get into, which didn't help, but I never really felt that I understood the point?
I get that everyone smokes all the time because they have the technology to avoid the ill effects, but I personally find the smell of cigarettes pretty repulsive, so everyone constantly lighting up genuinely put me off the book somewhat.
I didn't care about any of the politics. I think the book was meant to be an examination of how communism might actually work, but I really don't care about the factional, political-theory version of politics that the book stems from.
I could never even bring myself to care about the characters. Clovis fell in love with Merrial because she bit him a lot when they had sex, great. Myra leading her doomed nuclear state, sure.
Unfortunately, it just never gripped me. Oh well!
I probably read it too sporadically to get into, which didn't help, but I never really felt that I understood the point?
I get that everyone smokes all the time because they have the technology to avoid the ill effects, but I personally find the smell of cigarettes pretty repulsive, so everyone constantly lighting up genuinely put me off the book somewhat.
I didn't care about any of the politics. I think the book was meant to be an examination of how communism might actually work, but I really don't care about the factional, political-theory version of politics that the book stems from.
I could never even bring myself to care about the characters. Clovis fell in love with Merrial because she bit him a lot when they had sex, great. Myra leading her doomed nuclear state, sure.
Unfortunately, it just never gripped me. Oh well!
June 22, 2020
I've come to the end of Ken MacLeod's 4 volume The Fall Revolution. Yet again, we meet a set of new characters, Clovis, a decorate student working to earn money on the construction of the first space vessel for centuries, his to be girlfriend, Merrial, a 'tinker' girl, and a host of other characters based around the construction site on Loch Carron in the Highlands of Scotland. Time? Not made totally clear, but the distant future. Clovis is studying The Deliverer who is seen as having delivered humanity from what? Conflict, nuclear annihilation, capitalism, the machine age. It's not exactly clear. Interwoven with this is the story of Myra, who we last met in volume 1, The Star Fraction when she was the first 'squeeze' of Jon Wilde. Now she is the leader of a breakaway stat from Kazakhstan, the International Scientists and Technical Workers Republic. This part of the book is set in 2058 when following The Fall the Earth, as we have learned earlier in the series in respect of the UK, has split into myriad small politics. At one stage Myra visits the UN outside of which in excess of 2300 flags of member states fly! Even the USA has split with the east as far as the Appalachians and Florida vying with the west up to the Rockies as being the true heir to the whole. The middle comprises of many small entities, Bible Belters, White Racists, Native Nations etc. The author continues with the themes that have pervaded the series, the overthrow (mainly) of capitalism, the rise of quasi communism and socialism as the main economic force - although all communism is not seen as a good thing by the characters, both aided by pervasive nanotechnology, the effect and desirability, or not, of autonomous AI and (a trope with much contemporary sci fi) the possibility of greatly extended, or even eternal it appears to be suggested, life spans, again aided by nanotechnology. However, it is very clear that the author does not like the Green Movement and his future seems to continue to use plastics. But, the book was written over 20 years ago. And the Kyle Line from Inverness has at least been electrified by Clovis and Merrial's time! But how electricity is generated is not made clear. The large hydro plant at Loch Carron has long ceased working and its immense caverns put to other uses. I have one major complaint which is I wish the author had supplied a time line. It can be a little difficult to know where each book fits into the pattern, especially with all the different characters. I assume, although I may be wrong, that everything in this book predates the middle two, The Stone Circle and The Cassini Division. Does this book and its predecessors deserve 4*? I think so, given the author's imagination and his dealing with major themes. You may not like his political stance, but he deserves credit for his explorations of the possibilities.
June 20, 2020
Jesus...it's hard for me to review this book, but I'll try my best.
When you look at the cover, its tempting to think that the story will be about "men reaching into the skies" for the first time, like what the blurb seems to imply.
This is a science fiction book where the science fiction takes a back seat to the politics, and dear God is there a lot. I can't say I care much for it.
The gist of the book is alternating chapters between the past (during the Sino-Soviet war) and the present (in which mankind recover)
The past centers around Myra, the leader of Kazakstan or something, trying to defend her country against an invasion by the Sino-Soviets. It sounds cool. Sure it does. But it isn't.
Because Myra's chapters center around people blabbing about the situation, mostly in terms of politics. We have Myra trying to cut a deal with one organization or country or another, them saying no, and that's what moves the plot along. Some people loved it apparently. I really didn't.
In the mean time, there's this whole conflict going on with the Sino-Soviet expansion (one of two main antagonists)and we only get to see a fraction of it. It kinda sucks to be honest. Since MacLeod apparently deals in hard science fiction, it would be nice for that to be the focus of the story. A serious war going on with realistic technology.
In the present we have Clovis. Clovis' story seems unnecessary, as he's living in the aftermath of a world after the Deliverance (apocalypse basically). From the rocket ship (the Sea Eagle) on the cover, the title Sky Road, and the blurb, you might think the story is about the trials and tribulations of the first challenge of space exploration--getting the vehicle, intact and functional, into space in the first place.
But no. The present chapters are about Clovis discovering things from the past. And there's just as much talking and politics here as there is in the past, and it was just boring. I was bored for much of it.
So what do I unquestionably like about the book? Well, for one the title is good. So good even Clovis likes the sound of it. That and the cover convinced me to buy it in the first place. What else? One of the chapters is called "Light Weapons." That's a really fucking good title, for a book, for a chapter, for anything. It's punchy and dramatic. In that chapter, we get one of the few scenes of action as satellites do battle in space.
I first read this book when I was much younger, and I didn't know until later (after I'd read it) that it was a sequel of the Fall Revolution books, and actually the last in the series. The author writes in his first book that all the books are standalone and can be read in any particular order. I'm hoping the others are more interesting than this.
When you look at the cover, its tempting to think that the story will be about "men reaching into the skies" for the first time, like what the blurb seems to imply.
This is a science fiction book where the science fiction takes a back seat to the politics, and dear God is there a lot. I can't say I care much for it.
The gist of the book is alternating chapters between the past (during the Sino-Soviet war) and the present (in which mankind recover)
The past centers around Myra, the leader of Kazakstan or something, trying to defend her country against an invasion by the Sino-Soviets. It sounds cool. Sure it does. But it isn't.
Because Myra's chapters center around people blabbing about the situation, mostly in terms of politics. We have Myra trying to cut a deal with one organization or country or another, them saying no, and that's what moves the plot along. Some people loved it apparently. I really didn't.
In the mean time, there's this whole conflict going on with the Sino-Soviet expansion (one of two main antagonists)and we only get to see a fraction of it. It kinda sucks to be honest. Since MacLeod apparently deals in hard science fiction, it would be nice for that to be the focus of the story. A serious war going on with realistic technology.
In the present we have Clovis. Clovis' story seems unnecessary, as he's living in the aftermath of a world after the Deliverance (apocalypse basically). From the rocket ship (the Sea Eagle) on the cover, the title Sky Road, and the blurb, you might think the story is about the trials and tribulations of the first challenge of space exploration--getting the vehicle, intact and functional, into space in the first place.
But no. The present chapters are about Clovis discovering things from the past. And there's just as much talking and politics here as there is in the past, and it was just boring. I was bored for much of it.
So what do I unquestionably like about the book? Well, for one the title is good. So good even Clovis likes the sound of it. That and the cover convinced me to buy it in the first place. What else? One of the chapters is called "Light Weapons." That's a really fucking good title, for a book, for a chapter, for anything. It's punchy and dramatic. In that chapter, we get one of the few scenes of action as satellites do battle in space.
I first read this book when I was much younger, and I didn't know until later (after I'd read it) that it was a sequel of the Fall Revolution books, and actually the last in the series. The author writes in his first book that all the books are standalone and can be read in any particular order. I'm hoping the others are more interesting than this.
July 30, 2015
Clovis colha Gree is a historian. A scholar spending the summer term as a labourer in the space ship yard because he didn't quite manage to secure sponsorship for his continuing studies at the University. The staff of the ship yard work hard during the day and play just as hard at night, and it is in the town square, looking for a dance and a drink and perhaps a warm embrace for the night that Clovis first encounters the mysterious Merrial.
Merrial is a rare beauty, but more surprising than her looks is her easy confidence and her manner with Clovis, behaving more as if she had known him her entire life than as if they were strangers who had just met.
Clovis' friends are uneasy with his new acquaintance, and he soon learns why. Merrial is a tinker. An engineer. A member of an insular caste of people who work in a field in which the common folk fear to tread. Tolerated and, from a distance respected, because they are the children of the Deliverer, protected by her pronouncement: "When you take the cities, spare the scientists and engineers. Whatever they may have done in the past, you need them for the future," the tinkers do not often associate with the village locals, and Clovis is about to enter a new world and a new way of looking at it through his association with Merrial.
Cut to a time pre-Deliverance when one time revolutionary and current state leader Myra Godwin is preparing to attend the funeral of her ex-husband while simultaneously searching for a way to protect her small and failing workers' republic from the advancing hordes.
Ken MacLeod's The Sky Road swings effortlessly back and forth between the adventures of Clovis and Merrial, trying to assure the success of their future by uncovering the truth of their past, and that of Myra, struggling to atone for the sins of her own past and trying desperately to hang on to the remnants of her crumbling dream.
Just who are the tinkers? And who is the Deliverer? Why has her true story been hidden from the children of the future, and, if the future cannot remember the truth of the past, is it doomed to repeat it?
MacLeod has created two distinct and integral worlds in his visions of pre and post socio-technological collapse Earth. Both are fascinating paintings of alternative societies as well as dire warnings of our own possible futures. We have an exciting and dangerous path ahead of us, and The Sky Road asks some poignant questions concerning that path.
Part science fiction, part political intrigue and part social commentary, The Sky Road is an intelligent read, fascinating in scope and poetic in language.
Merrial is a rare beauty, but more surprising than her looks is her easy confidence and her manner with Clovis, behaving more as if she had known him her entire life than as if they were strangers who had just met.
Clovis' friends are uneasy with his new acquaintance, and he soon learns why. Merrial is a tinker. An engineer. A member of an insular caste of people who work in a field in which the common folk fear to tread. Tolerated and, from a distance respected, because they are the children of the Deliverer, protected by her pronouncement: "When you take the cities, spare the scientists and engineers. Whatever they may have done in the past, you need them for the future," the tinkers do not often associate with the village locals, and Clovis is about to enter a new world and a new way of looking at it through his association with Merrial.
Cut to a time pre-Deliverance when one time revolutionary and current state leader Myra Godwin is preparing to attend the funeral of her ex-husband while simultaneously searching for a way to protect her small and failing workers' republic from the advancing hordes.
Ken MacLeod's The Sky Road swings effortlessly back and forth between the adventures of Clovis and Merrial, trying to assure the success of their future by uncovering the truth of their past, and that of Myra, struggling to atone for the sins of her own past and trying desperately to hang on to the remnants of her crumbling dream.
Just who are the tinkers? And who is the Deliverer? Why has her true story been hidden from the children of the future, and, if the future cannot remember the truth of the past, is it doomed to repeat it?
MacLeod has created two distinct and integral worlds in his visions of pre and post socio-technological collapse Earth. Both are fascinating paintings of alternative societies as well as dire warnings of our own possible futures. We have an exciting and dangerous path ahead of us, and The Sky Road asks some poignant questions concerning that path.
Part science fiction, part political intrigue and part social commentary, The Sky Road is an intelligent read, fascinating in scope and poetic in language.
July 6, 2015
The future can be a lot of things, but an odd Scottish fantasy/communism mashup? Not for me. ‘The Sky Road’ is book four of a popular series by Ken Macleod, but I for one just did not get pulled in. The world itself is very intriguing and different from most science fiction futures out there, but it is painted rather opaquely. You are given hints, rather than full explanations, as to what the relationships are between Scotland and the rest of the world. For those that read books one through to three, this may not be an issue, but I picked it up thinking it was a standalone book based in the Fall Revolution series and was lost. A book that wants to be part of a series, but also unto itself, needs to cater for both markets; Macleod seems to have missed explaining things to new readers.
The steep learning curve has happened to me before in novels and does not always end up being fatal, but for ‘The Sky Road’ it was just one of the issues. It was a little annoying that Macleod spent little time explaining what was happening in the wider universe, but seems to spend an inordinate amount of time having his characters look at a hill or loch. Things could still have been saved if there had been a compelling story or characters. Unfortunately, this was not the case as Clovis colha Gree is a bit of a wet blanket and not the most interesting of people to follow.
With a universe that was hard to understand, whilst still being allowing too much time to examine extraneous minutia, ‘The Sky Road’ ended up being a book that I actively stopped liking towards the end. Fans of the earlier books are sure to get something from this novel, but I could not recommend it to new readers.
The steep learning curve has happened to me before in novels and does not always end up being fatal, but for ‘The Sky Road’ it was just one of the issues. It was a little annoying that Macleod spent little time explaining what was happening in the wider universe, but seems to spend an inordinate amount of time having his characters look at a hill or loch. Things could still have been saved if there had been a compelling story or characters. Unfortunately, this was not the case as Clovis colha Gree is a bit of a wet blanket and not the most interesting of people to follow.
With a universe that was hard to understand, whilst still being allowing too much time to examine extraneous minutia, ‘The Sky Road’ ended up being a book that I actively stopped liking towards the end. Fans of the earlier books are sure to get something from this novel, but I could not recommend it to new readers.
October 11, 2020
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3488524.html
Here the setting shifts between a near-future Central Asian statelet, run by one Myra Godwin-Davidov; and a utopian anarcho-communist Scotland centuries hence, where young historian Clovis is working out what exactly Myra did to change human society and is seduced by the "tinker" Merrial (actually a member of a technologically advanced separatist tribe). MacLeod is a political writer whose interest is in the overthrow of the class structre as a means to liberation. The book is tightly constructed and builds to a coulpe of revelations in each timeline that are both surprising and satisfying, with shafts of humour which are sometimes satirical and sometimes just Scottish. I enjoyed returning to it
Here the setting shifts between a near-future Central Asian statelet, run by one Myra Godwin-Davidov; and a utopian anarcho-communist Scotland centuries hence, where young historian Clovis is working out what exactly Myra did to change human society and is seduced by the "tinker" Merrial (actually a member of a technologically advanced separatist tribe). MacLeod is a political writer whose interest is in the overthrow of the class structre as a means to liberation. The book is tightly constructed and builds to a coulpe of revelations in each timeline that are both surprising and satisfying, with shafts of humour which are sometimes satirical and sometimes just Scottish. I enjoyed returning to it
June 2, 2021
I like Ken Macleod's work - which always poses important questions set in challenging environments - but this is the only one I have re read. Whether you know the Fall Revolution series or not, this is a curiously engaging and timely read in terms of its critique of consumer capitalism (here known as 'the Possession') and the controlling potential and destructiveness of AI. The book sets out to explain how humanity might rise to these problems before obliterating itself and does this through a convincing splitting of the narrative into time periods. We flip between the days just before the Deliverer (the character of Myra, maverick leader of a small socialist republic) changes the course of human history and those of a young historian Clovis hundreds of years in the future trying to make sense of it all (as humanity begins to experiment with space technology again). This works well. However, it's not a book for those who know nothing of the Left as a lot of knowledge is taken for granted, although the depictions of leadership dilemmas and challenges of decision making when many lives are at stake is convincing and chilling in its indifference. There is however, plenty to enjoy and speculate upon - the 'tinker' culture and the mysterious Merrial, partner of Clovis, the setting of the space base near Applecross in North West Scotland, the diversity of struggles and political bargaining that Myra has to do - but one is still left with a sense of anti-climax and a lot of unanswered questions.
Some Science fiction dates well, but there are aspects of this which doesn't. For a book written in late 90s some speculation about ecological issues and climate change ought to have been forthcoming (many of Macleod's peers were smarter like that), so the absence of this perspective is telling with the Greens reduced to puritanical stereotypes and enclaves of guerilla fighters (even the evocation of Luddism is wrongly used).
I rarely give 5 stars and this is 3/4 rating and will remain a lovely comfort read to dip back into and wonder with when the mood takes.
Some Science fiction dates well, but there are aspects of this which doesn't. For a book written in late 90s some speculation about ecological issues and climate change ought to have been forthcoming (many of Macleod's peers were smarter like that), so the absence of this perspective is telling with the Greens reduced to puritanical stereotypes and enclaves of guerilla fighters (even the evocation of Luddism is wrongly used).
I rarely give 5 stars and this is 3/4 rating and will remain a lovely comfort read to dip back into and wonder with when the mood takes.
January 12, 2023
Ihmiskunta tavoittelee taas avaruutta, satoja vuosia suuren katastrofin jälkeen. Clovis, nuori historiantutkija, työskentelee avaruusaluksen parissa maailmassa, jossa edistynein teknologia on pannassa, sekä kapitalismi että kommunismi ovat hirvittäviä haamuja historiasta ja tietokoneiden parissa touhuaminen on erityisen kansanryhmän, tinkerien, etuoikeus.
Joka toisessa luvussa palataan joitain satoja vuosia taaksepäin, aikaan ennen tätä suurta katastrofia. Menneisyydessä – MacLeodin jännittävällä 2000-luvulla, joka on tuttua Tähtijaostosta – seurataan Myra Davidovia, pienen ja erikoisen sosialistivaltion johtajaa, joka yrittää selviytyä kansannoususta, ulkoisista uhista ja maailmanlaajuisesta vallankaappauksesta. Onneksi Myran johtamalla pikkuvaltiolla on ässä hihassaan.
Pikkuhiljaa lukijalle valkenee, mitä suuren katastrofin taustalla oli, ja miten se saattaa vaikuttaa uuden avaruusraketin menestykseen. Clovis joutuu mukaan asioihin, joihin ei välttämättä olisi halunnut, Myra taas on varsin tietoisesti mukana kansainvälisen reaalipolitiikan kiemuroissa. MacLeodin vallankumouksen jälkeinen 2000-luku on sekamelska pikkuvaltioita – Myra vierailee YK:n päätoimistossa, jonka pihalla liehuu yli 2 000 valtion liput – ja erilaista vasemmistopolitiikkaa.
The Sky Road on samaa Fall Revolution -jatkumoa, jonka Tähtijaosto aloitti. Myran juonikuvio sopii yhteen Tähtijaoston ja sarjan muiden kirjojen (The Stone Canal ja The Cassini Division) kanssa, mutta kirjan esittämä tulevaisuus on omanlaisensa. Suosittelen lukemaan vähintään Tähtijaoston ennen tätä, mielellään ehkä muutkin sarjan kirjat. (11.6.2010)
Joka toisessa luvussa palataan joitain satoja vuosia taaksepäin, aikaan ennen tätä suurta katastrofia. Menneisyydessä – MacLeodin jännittävällä 2000-luvulla, joka on tuttua Tähtijaostosta – seurataan Myra Davidovia, pienen ja erikoisen sosialistivaltion johtajaa, joka yrittää selviytyä kansannoususta, ulkoisista uhista ja maailmanlaajuisesta vallankaappauksesta. Onneksi Myran johtamalla pikkuvaltiolla on ässä hihassaan.
Pikkuhiljaa lukijalle valkenee, mitä suuren katastrofin taustalla oli, ja miten se saattaa vaikuttaa uuden avaruusraketin menestykseen. Clovis joutuu mukaan asioihin, joihin ei välttämättä olisi halunnut, Myra taas on varsin tietoisesti mukana kansainvälisen reaalipolitiikan kiemuroissa. MacLeodin vallankumouksen jälkeinen 2000-luku on sekamelska pikkuvaltioita – Myra vierailee YK:n päätoimistossa, jonka pihalla liehuu yli 2 000 valtion liput – ja erilaista vasemmistopolitiikkaa.
The Sky Road on samaa Fall Revolution -jatkumoa, jonka Tähtijaosto aloitti. Myran juonikuvio sopii yhteen Tähtijaoston ja sarjan muiden kirjojen (The Stone Canal ja The Cassini Division) kanssa, mutta kirjan esittämä tulevaisuus on omanlaisensa. Suosittelen lukemaan vähintään Tähtijaoston ennen tätä, mielellään ehkä muutkin sarjan kirjat. (11.6.2010)
June 20, 2024
(3 Stars)
In parallel stories, we learn about people learning about when nuclear weapons were set off in space, destroying all satellites and leaving a ring of debris preventing new ones.
This was the best MacLeod so far, because it gave mysteries to consider instead of just debating different forms of socialism in committee. However, it did also include that. I don't think I've specifically mentioned MacLeod's portrayal of Greens - I am not sure if he means the Euro political party or environmentalism as a movement - but boy does he seem to hate them. From my current perspective, that seems rather silly, but, to be fair, so are some of the most extreme environmentalists (as I write this, two folks have just tossed orange liquid on Stonehenge, for some reason).
Anyway, we know from very early on that the protagonist in old time is going to do what she does, leaving that side of things pretty well covered. The new time stories are more interesting, but the parts that could be the most suspenseful (what was found on the ancient computer? what does the dossier of the old time protagonist's papers contain?) are irrelevant and only lightly touched on. How the new time came to have the structured society it does could have also been interesting, but it again is just very straightforwardly and brutally answered in a single gulp, without exploration or discovery.
I just don't think I like MacLeod's books very much, which is both surprising and a shame. Maybe the next one (Cosmonaut Keep) will have less discussion of discussions of socialist theory (without ever educating the reader about it), but at this point I'm not all that hopeful.
In parallel stories, we learn about people learning about when nuclear weapons were set off in space, destroying all satellites and leaving a ring of debris preventing new ones.
This was the best MacLeod so far, because it gave mysteries to consider instead of just debating different forms of socialism in committee. However, it did also include that. I don't think I've specifically mentioned MacLeod's portrayal of Greens - I am not sure if he means the Euro political party or environmentalism as a movement - but boy does he seem to hate them. From my current perspective, that seems rather silly, but, to be fair, so are some of the most extreme environmentalists (as I write this, two folks have just tossed orange liquid on Stonehenge, for some reason).
Anyway, we know from very early on that the protagonist in old time is going to do what she does, leaving that side of things pretty well covered. The new time stories are more interesting, but the parts that could be the most suspenseful (what was found on the ancient computer? what does the dossier of the old time protagonist's papers contain?) are irrelevant and only lightly touched on. How the new time came to have the structured society it does could have also been interesting, but it again is just very straightforwardly and brutally answered in a single gulp, without exploration or discovery.
I just don't think I like MacLeod's books very much, which is both surprising and a shame. Maybe the next one (Cosmonaut Keep) will have less discussion of discussions of socialist theory (without ever educating the reader about it), but at this point I'm not all that hopeful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2022
J'avais autant d'espoir que de crainte en commençant ce quatrième et dernier tome du cycle Fall Revolution de Ken MacLeod. Après un premier tome à l'univers prometteur mais au récit un peu décevant, puis deux excellents volumes, je pouvais espérer le meilleur comme le pire pour conclure le cycle. Heureusement, c'est le meilleur qui est au rendez-vous.
Le récit est d'abord déroutant : il se déroule plusieurs siècles après les événements des tomes précédents, mais sur une Terre très différente, où la technologie a regressé et où la conquête spatiale ne fait que recommencer après des siècles de stagnation. Cette situation est due à des événements ayant eu lieu quelques années après la Fall Revolution, dans une version alternative de l'histoire que nous avons suivi depuis deux tomes. Ce n'est pas toujours simple à suivre, d'autant que l'univers imaginé par Ken MacLeod était déjà riche avec d'ajouter cette complication, mais le récit est captivant du début à la fin et j'ai beaucoup aimé les personnages que nous suivons dans le futur. Le récit parallèle des mésaventures de Myra Godwin dans le passé, s'il n'est pas toujous facile à suivre, est indispensable pour comprendre où l'auteur veut nous amener.
Ce quatrième tome offre en tout cas une conclusion magistrale, à la fois épique et poétique, à un cycle qui a su me séduire après un premier volume un peu lent. Ken MacLeod a écrit ici une des plus grandes sagas de science-fiction que j'ai eu l'occasion de lire.
Le récit est d'abord déroutant : il se déroule plusieurs siècles après les événements des tomes précédents, mais sur une Terre très différente, où la technologie a regressé et où la conquête spatiale ne fait que recommencer après des siècles de stagnation. Cette situation est due à des événements ayant eu lieu quelques années après la Fall Revolution, dans une version alternative de l'histoire que nous avons suivi depuis deux tomes. Ce n'est pas toujours simple à suivre, d'autant que l'univers imaginé par Ken MacLeod était déjà riche avec d'ajouter cette complication, mais le récit est captivant du début à la fin et j'ai beaucoup aimé les personnages que nous suivons dans le futur. Le récit parallèle des mésaventures de Myra Godwin dans le passé, s'il n'est pas toujous facile à suivre, est indispensable pour comprendre où l'auteur veut nous amener.
Ce quatrième tome offre en tout cas une conclusion magistrale, à la fois épique et poétique, à un cycle qui a su me séduire après un premier volume un peu lent. Ken MacLeod a écrit ici une des plus grandes sagas de science-fiction que j'ai eu l'occasion de lire.
November 20, 2023
The 4th book in the Fall Revolution is seated firmly in the future Earth this time. This alt-future follows the totally crazy multi-political SFnal tack to its natural conclusion. And what conclusion could an aging-slowed, politically ultra-conscious populace come to after tech or looming AI and functional immortality has settled in?
Chaos. Always chaos. People who believe generally find a way to keep on believing and getting others to join their power fantasies. Or if it isn't a power fantasy, it's often close enough to being a power fantasy as to make no real difference.
Even so, this particular novel reminds me so much more of the first in this universe. That one was pretty much us undergoing massive advancements and the means to enact our political fantasies. The Sky Road picks up after a great deal of time has passed and it kinda goes backwards. There are the post-physical populations and those who decided to stay behind in smaller communities, using old tech and living lives much like what we've got. And of course, there are the historians.
It's interesting. It's complicated. It's definitely worth reading this series. I rarely see anything like it anymore. This kind of SF should not be forgotten. It reminds me of 70's political SF updated to modern SFnal ideas while almost reaching the level of Singularity.
It may not get a lot right, of course, but we don't read SF for the future predictions. We read it for the possibilities. :)
Chaos. Always chaos. People who believe generally find a way to keep on believing and getting others to join their power fantasies. Or if it isn't a power fantasy, it's often close enough to being a power fantasy as to make no real difference.
Even so, this particular novel reminds me so much more of the first in this universe. That one was pretty much us undergoing massive advancements and the means to enact our political fantasies. The Sky Road picks up after a great deal of time has passed and it kinda goes backwards. There are the post-physical populations and those who decided to stay behind in smaller communities, using old tech and living lives much like what we've got. And of course, there are the historians.
It's interesting. It's complicated. It's definitely worth reading this series. I rarely see anything like it anymore. This kind of SF should not be forgotten. It reminds me of 70's political SF updated to modern SFnal ideas while almost reaching the level of Singularity.
It may not get a lot right, of course, but we don't read SF for the future predictions. We read it for the possibilities. :)
March 19, 2025
This is really two stories. The first is of Myra Godwin, a political heavyweight from the dawn of human longevity treatments in the 1990s, who helped broker the dismantling of the nuclear stockpiles and who is credited with ushering in the workers’ state, giving her almost mythical status as the Deliverer. The second is centuries later, when a project to send people back into space is about to commence, and concerns history student Clovis, who is doing his thesis on the Deliverer and who is manipulated by a pretty girl into accessing forbidden devil documents - computer data. The girl Merrial is a tinker (computer user) and the data which Clovis finds throws some serious doubt over the presumed unsullied behaviour of Myra Godwin. Nukes secretly placed in orbit, or even at L5, wars run in milliseconds by a military AI, and megadeaths. Ken MacLeod takes his series of socialist SF to its rambunctious conclusion with the threat of an ablation cascade still extant and the revelation that some people from the 2059 Revolution are still alive! Can be read alone.
January 2, 2024
(I’ve accidentally started with the fourth instalment of The Fall Revolution begun in 1996, and finished here in 1999, so the AI speculation is quite prescient. )
The author has penned an interesting story here about history, politics, his love of nature and an intimate knowledge of Scotland and has imagined a future trajectory of science and society without, in my experience becoming overly preachy. Admittedly I was once an idealistic socialist/anarchist in my youth who has since become an escapist cynic who normally avoids even alternative history and is deeply disillusioned with even green politics, but I still believe it was an extraordinary feat of imagination. It made me think and I have definitely added him to my list of authors to follow. It's not quite genius level hard SF like Iain M. Banks or Cixin Liu but I'm happy to say it's close, I'd reckon about 4.6 stars.
The author has penned an interesting story here about history, politics, his love of nature and an intimate knowledge of Scotland and has imagined a future trajectory of science and society without, in my experience becoming overly preachy. Admittedly I was once an idealistic socialist/anarchist in my youth who has since become an escapist cynic who normally avoids even alternative history and is deeply disillusioned with even green politics, but I still believe it was an extraordinary feat of imagination. It made me think and I have definitely added him to my list of authors to follow. It's not quite genius level hard SF like Iain M. Banks or Cixin Liu but I'm happy to say it's close, I'd reckon about 4.6 stars.
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February 7, 2023Clovis, a scholar working on spaceship construction yard, meets a "tinker" named Merrial. She shares an interest in his historical studies. Those studies focus on the end of a previous era of space exploration. Myra Godwin was the leader of small country/scientific community in Kazakhstan. Her home is surrounded by hostile forces. She tries to rally allies to aid her. It was a bit hard to get into. There is a lot going on politically in the Myra sections. She perseveres under the the most difficult circumstances. In the end the book shows that nothing will stop mankind form going into space.
January 22, 2023
Lots of people smoking and drinking to excess because they care so very, very deeply about their ideals and commitment to Communism. This would have telegraphed coolness for me when I was between the ages of 14 and 20, but now I require more character development. And I am sympathetic to this perspective! Even with nuclear apocalypse hanging in the balance, I just could not muster a fuck. I tried, I really did. Did Not Finish.
September 4, 2025
The first Ken Macleod book I read, I think it was in an offer at Waterstones when it was first out in paperback. I thoroughly enjoyed it then and I enjoyed it again all these years later. It’s my favourite Fall Revolution book, and a contender for my favourite Ken Macleod.
I already had a strong interest in anarchist political philosophy before I read this book and I am now reminded that the twists and turns of communist philosophy might also be an interesting read.
I already had a strong interest in anarchist political philosophy before I read this book and I am now reminded that the twists and turns of communist philosophy might also be an interesting read.
September 13, 2022
Three and a half stars
More leftist sci-fi from Ken MacLeod, well written and sketching a different future society. This alternates the past storyline with the future one which is always interesting when well-executed to see how one informs the other.
More leftist sci-fi from Ken MacLeod, well written and sketching a different future society. This alternates the past storyline with the future one which is always interesting when well-executed to see how one informs the other.
April 8, 2018
Stuff happened.
January 10, 2021
Perhaps I made a mistake in reading this book first (rather than any of the others), so it's possible I missed out on some sorely needed context, but this book was, to say the least, dull.
September 5, 2022
Far better than the Cassini Division. Well written, moving, a pleasure to read.
March 31, 2024
not so much Communism in this book compared with other Ken MacLeod books
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