Knight Moves

by Walter Jon Williams

A Philip K Dick Award-nominated novel. Eight hundred years ago Doran Falkner gave humanity the stars, and he now lives with his regrets on a depopulated Earth among tumbledown ruins and ancient dreams brought to life by modern technology. But word now comes that alien life has been discovered on a distant world, life so strange and impossible that the revelation of its secrets could change everything. A disillusioned knight on the chessboard of the gods, Doran must confront his own lost promise, his lost love, and his lost humanity, to make the move that will revive the fortunes both of humans and aliens . . . Knight Moves is an engrossing and evocative read, a tale of immortality and love and death rendered in a style that reminds me more than a little of the early Roger Zelazny. Williams’ people are intriguing and sympathetic, and his portrait of an Earth left transformed and empty by a humanity gone to the stars, where aliens dig among ancient ruins for old comic books while the creatures of legends stir and walk again, will linger in my memory for a long time. Williams is a writer to watch, and– more importantly– to read. –George R.R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones Knight Moves uses an unmatched cast of characters, human and otherwise, to tell an intriguing story. –Fred Saberhagen, author of the Book of Swords Trilogy

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Ebooks, Science Fiction Fantasy, Own

317 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 1985

About the author

Walter Jon Williams has published twenty novels and short fiction collections. Most are science fiction or fantasy -Hardwired, Voice of the Whirlwind, Aristoi, Metropolitan, City on Fire to name just a few - a few are historical adventures, and the most recent, The Rift, is a disaster novel in which "I just basically pound a part of the planet down to bedrock." And that's just the opening chapters. Walter holds a fourth-degree black belt in Kenpo Karate, and also enjoys sailing and scuba diving. He lives in New Mexico with his wife, Kathy Hedges.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really, really tempted to quote some lines from the Bob Seger song as a review here, but that would be kind of cheesy so let's just pretend that I did, okay? Right. Originally published in February of 1985, this book has a whole lot of different focuses and concepts and ideas, all of which get dimmed a bit in the reflection of each other. There's a kind of post-modern, post-human vibe (very popular in the '80s!), along with a noticeable influence of Zelazny and Moorcock on familiar sf tropes such as teleportation and unlimited power and immortality and so on and on. There's also a decided influence or flavor of ancient Greek philosophy and mythology. It's not an altogether happy story, but it's a very thought-provoking and memorable one. And there's a poignant, bittersweet romance, too... sweet summertime, with autumn closing in.... sorry...

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doran Falkner, inventor of the Falkner Generator, has given humankind the stars, and near-immortality. Now he’s been asked to try for a trifecta. There are some surprises along the way that it would be unfair to reveal. Suffice it to say that this is a science-fiction romance, and if you haven’t read it yet, or in awhile, you should. The review you want to read is Jo Walton’s, https://www.tor.com/2008/10/20/knight... "It isn’t Zelazny. It isn’t Williams’s best work. But it’s a ton of fun all the same. It’s a lovely book to re-read curled up in a comfy chair on an autumnal Sunday afternoon."

Thank you, Jo, for reminding me of what a good book this is. I’d forgotten, really, and will plan on another reread, some years down the line. It’s not the sort of book that will get dated, or go out of style. Strong 4 stars, and one of WJW’s better books.

[Geldar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t let the first 20% of this book fool you, this is not a post-modern meta-novel set in Ancient Greece and you will eventually understand what’s going on. And if you’re like me, you’ll love the remaining 80% and never really quite know where the book is heading, right up until the end, at which point you’ll be disappointed and confused, because there’s still years, decades, and centuries of story left to tell that you’ll just have to dream up yourself. Anyway, this type of meandering thoughtfulness, peculiarity, and wisdom is right up my alley, and I hope that there’s a never-ending sequel. Thirty years doesn't seem an especially long time to wait.

P.S. Don't read any descriptions of this book prior to reading it (other than the cover, which is awesome).

[Andy Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A SIMPLE MAN'S REVIEW:

I received this book as part of a bundle and it sounded like the sort of thing I might like: space travel, future technology, and aliens. What I was not expecting was the depths in which this book considers the meaning of life and death, love and loss. It was a fantastic surprise!

The surface story follows a man in an era when humans can live forever and travel to the stars. Oddly enough, he owns most of the Earth, although most humans have moved off it at this point anyway, and his routines and perspective, by themselves, make for an interesting read. But when he is convinced to work on another project with one of his old loves, the story gains depth since she is a Die Hard (people who allow themselves to die naturally), which means the people they love have to watch the process. And for those who do not die, at what point does life become nothing more than going through the motions?

This is a fun and thought-provoking read. It deals with human relationships as much as future technology and it's always fun to see how people from the past predicted how the future would be.

Read it!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every now and again, I'm in the mood for Walter Jon Williams' deeply thought-through novels of the postsingularity or posthuman condition, despite their tendency to occasional pessimism about love and the human ability to discover meaning.

This is such a novel, and it's a good one. Genetically engineered centaurs represent "wild" or pre-civilized humanity, noble savages speaking Ancient Greek and composing beautiful poetry. Several alien characters, and several human characters, demonstrate the risks of indefinite lifespan: the ennui, the potential solipsism and madness, continuing now-meaningless routines out of habit, and the hope represented by still finding challenges and fresh things to explore.

Even though the plot developments are enabled by not one, but two instances of what could be thought of as deus ex machina (or machinae ex alieni, to be more accurate), I didn't feel they suffered from that. It's the response of the protagonist as much as his struggle that's interesting, and because he has struggled the resolution still feels earned, even though it's supplied by someone else. Not all of the contradictions and dilemmas are neatly resolved, which is also good; if they were, it would raise the question of what would motivate him for the rest of his long life.

An odd issue with the Kindle edition is that quotation marks are frequently missing (usually opening ones). I'm not sure if that's a scanning problem, a typing problem attributable to the author, or what. Otherwise, there are few errors, and the language is smooth and competent.

[Shaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is, as many have said, quite reminiscent of some of Zelazny's work and does have an occasionally lovely lyrical turn. I have mixed feelings about pretty much all the characters, but the story was quite fun.

[Andreas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books starts with a typical science fiction scenario: The setting is a future in which humanity has found a more or less limitless source of energy and a treatment for aging itself, so that eternal youth (barring accidents) is the norm. Space travel exists, but still takes a lot of time so that travellers usually spend the journey in suspended animation. On a distant planet, a species of grazing animals is discovered which, to the mild surprise of the humans, has a stable population, but no natural predators. Things get even more interesting when it is discovered that occasionally, one of these animals vanishes and immediately reappears elsewhere on the planet. An expedition is started to investigate these spontaneous teleportations in the hope of finding a faster way to travel between the stars.
In a way that is probably not so typical for science fiction novels, the preparation of this expedition takes up about two thirds of the book and the reader realizes very soon that the book is actually about several other things, like the effect of general immortality on the human culture and particularly about one of the immortals who loves a woman who has decided to age more or less naturally, accepting her eventual death. That being said, the reveal of the teleportation secret is very interesting, and actually quite hilarious.
I really enjoyed this mixture of a scientific mystery, speculations about a future human society and a complicated love affair, especially since there is always a dose of dry humor available to lighten things up.

[Brian Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very Zelazny-esque story about an immortal person who owns most of Earth and is essentially retired to play with hobbies and focused on classic Greek myths and culture ... invited (or begged) to join a scientific research team that may have stumbled on to actual teleportation. Does he have any trace of his former scientific brilliance? Can this help humanity's existential ennui?

There are a few twists and turns -- some characters show up firmly on the WJW whimsy side of things, but there are some haunting scenes underlying real emotion in the setting.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had some interesting ideas and was written skillfully, but there was minimal to no character development. And it is very much of its time (40 years ago) which means I found a lot of the social roles rather creaky (cigarettes, weird psycho mom stuff, odd sexual and relationship dynamics.

I’m interested to see what the book club says.

[Beth Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book club read. Very good, very Zelazny-esque. I did have a few issues with logistics, but mostly I just read and enjoyed.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's as if WJW couldn't decide what kind of book Knight Moves was supposed to be. Is it the story of second thoughts by the man who gave humanity limitless energy and immortality? Is it a story of that same man rekindling a long-lost love? Is it about his attempt to find the secret of the mysteriously teleporting "lugs"? Those elements could all be interwoven, but WJW really doesn't seem to be able to keep all the balls in the air at once. Instead he works one theme for a while, puts it down, picks up another, and then moves on again. Oh, and then he inserts a far-too-long section about how another immortal who Our Hero has to deal with seems to have gone off the deep end, which section tries to be a psychological thriller but mostly just seems like a diversion from the main plot.

There are elements of a fascinating story here. What would happen if humans had access to immortality and energy but only STL travel? How would our societies develop on other worlds? If you had the power to create a successor species to humanity, what would you create? Alas, Williams sets a reasonably interesting chess board, but then just shuffles a few pieces about, never developing a position and not even managing to play to a draw.

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whereas Ambassador of Progress owed heavily to Darkover, Knight Moves is very reminiscent of Roger Zelazny's classic This Immortal (or ...And Call Me Conrad, in some versions). But Williams only reminds you of the other work in this novel, and makes the idea his own by some startling variations on the theme of the jaded immortal.

A large part of Knight Moves is the travel to the planet of mystery. In fact, you are surprised to discover that you're halfway through the book and you still have yet to see the mystery first-hand. Williams' ending also reflects this long struggle to get to the mystery in its very unfulfilling deus ex machina solve of the mystery, supposedly the purpose of the book. I was very disappointed with the ending because it didn't fulfill the promise of the background or the characters. For readers who are more interested in character rather than plot this may prove no problem, but I felt cheated.

But it's the backdrop for which I recommend the book. I realize these novels of character are highly prized by some and recognize that Knight Moves is a rewarding book as such. I just wish it could have supplied both character and plot.

I suggest that people read three of Williams' five SF novels in print to date. Of the three I recommend, this is the weakest, but only by millimeters.

[Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can understand some of the low ratings for this book--if you're looking for the typical shoot-em-up space opera, this ain't it. Knight Moves is long on characterization and psychology, and short on plot. Oh there is one, and it's pretty interesting, but it isn't really what the book is about.

This book reminded me of the Dancers at the End of Time trilogy, in that it asks these questions: what do you do with yourself if (a) you're immortal and (b) there's no scarcity? and comes up with some pretty interesting answers.

[Dave · Rating 1 out of 5]

So far, no good. The mystery of the teleporting kangaroos has completely failed to interest me. The amorphous alien archaeologist -- nope. The protagonist rekindling a romantic interest with an octogenarian? NO!

After The Rift... yikes. If Williams hadn't written Aristoi and Days of Atonement, I might be inclined to write him off after this.


- final verdict: I wish there was a lower rating than one star. What a pile of crap. Absolutely horrible.

[Clark Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The vision of who the protagonist is never really falls to the page, but you receive frequent hints that the author has a fascinating character in mind. Loved all the classical allusions, but this sci-fi futuristic take on This Immortal / American Gods never really settles on a presence for the protagonist that makes him interesting enough to have lived as long as he has.

[Jo Walton]

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2008/10/knig...

[Clyde · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better books by a very good writer.

[Jonathan Palfrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was in Forbidden Planet, the London sf bookshop, looking in vain for something to read on the train, when I found this. It came with an enthusiastic review from George R. R. Martin comparing Williams to the young Roger Zelazny. Oh well, I thought. That’ll do.

In the end I read something else on the train. Later, I read eight chapters and then put the book down. I was disgruntled to find that it fitted its description rather too closely: not only was it like Zelazny, but it came close enough to Zelazny’s first novel to be accused of imitation. Not just the writing style, but the restless immortal seeking in future Greece for traces of the past, the alien influence, the creatures out of human legend (in this case centaurs created by genetic engineering). It felt like the guy had read This Immortal and decided, Hey, I can do that too. The whole feel of the thing was so similar.

The idea of someone deliberately trying to copy a specific book of Zelazny’s seemed bizarre and even rather pathetic. But it wasn’t a bad imitation; and eventually I picked up the book again.

In due course it livened up and diverged enough to become imitative only in style; and, in the end, I have to admit it was quite a good read, more or less up to Zelazny’s own standards; lacking something of his flair, perhaps, but not giving ground on characterization, poetry, or philosophy. The plot is reasonably coherent and encompasses love, death, humour, and sadness. Zelazny fans could check it out.

(Review written in 1985)

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was way better than I had anticipated. I must confess I had never heard of Walter Jon Williams. It’s been my loss. I kind of stumbled upon this book, it was mentioned in an article on Tor.com as an interesting tale about an earth emptied of humanity. The story is much more interesting and complex than that. It was the author’s style of writing that made reading this book so enjoyable. Just excellent sci-fi. I’m looking forward to reading more of his books.

[Maria Longley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doran Falkner thinks he's done his part in society by "inventing" infinite energy and allowing people to live almost forever but then he gets called in to deliver teleportation-please-thank-you-very-much. Can't a man (? post-human?) just hang out with his centaurs in pease? Luckily there are some teleporting aliens they can all go to investigate. There are people who refuse immortality and it is of course that area that is the most interesting (not all the goofy science...).

[Regine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roger Zelazny’s This Immortal is an old favorite of mine, one that I’ve re-read many times to savor the language and mythological flair. So at first Knight Moves seemed a startlingly similar iteration of Zelazny, with less joie de vivre. But it is still an entertaining read, and I would love to hear the centaurs sing.

[Shiny5711 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old-school Science Fiction, touching on ideas of the pros and cons of mortality, or immortality. A theme I seem to be hitting a lot lately. Any road, my favorite part? Mr. Williams uses words. Big words. Real words. Thank you for that, Mr. Williams!

[Vivek Hurry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite remarkable and ultimately enjoyable, although I took the longest break ever around the middle of the book. Basically catching up on the the Economist rather than reading this novel. I wonder why. I think I enjoyed the speculative ‘hard’ sf stuff better than the relationship stuff.

[Bev Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story, although the story-within-the-story required some serious attention not usually required by this type of book!

[lluke · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyable read but... felt like two deus ex machina instances in one book. lots to consider otherwise.

[Jemima Pett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate to admit it, but George RR Martin (in the blurb) is spot on. This does remind me of early Roger Zelazny. As it was originally published in 1985, perhaps that’s not surprising.

The story starts intriguingly, in Delphi. I’ve been to Delphi. It was my first independent holiday. For Doran Falkner, it’s his favourite home. The place where the oracle speaks to him, and centaurs speak poetry in Greek. The scene shifts, and I begin to get confused, then it shifts again and I start to settle into the complex world where most people have left Earth and taken up virtually limitless body renewal, all thanks to Falkner’s scientific discovery. Doran is a rich and relatively happy man, except that his love and science colleague Mary is a Diehard (we are left for a while to work out what this means).

A new discovery on a distant planet gets the scientists in a spin, and the story gets less weird, more exciting, and brilliantly world-built. It took me several days to get through the first third, and one session to get through the next. I trusted one of the reviewers who said it was a good book to curl up with, and I wasn’t disappointed. Although I did have my doubts for a while!

I expect I’ll be reading more by Walter Jon Williams.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 50 pages of Knight Moves were excellent, it brought up and discussed themes that reminded me of a combination of Roger Zelazny's books "This Immortal" and "Lord of Light". The writing was a bit whimsical, the characters interesting.

Then, the novel takes a turn into standard plot devices like romance and regret and forgets about all the interesting themes introducted in the first pages of the book.

Then, at the end, he comes back to the themes and tries to salvage the whole soggy mess.

If the author - Walter Jon Williams would rewrite this book and keep the major themes in mind - The earth depopulated and being investigated by an alien species - the impact of immortality on the human pysche - the effect of a diasporia on the human race, I would read that book in a second.

I'm probably hard on the book by rating it 3 stars, but I can't get over the disappointment of what could have beens.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, so distracted by the centaur-with-lyre on the cover and the narrator's Zelazny-style banter (yes, I'm on a Zelazny clone kick) I was expecting an entirely different book. If I'd remembered that my favorite WJW book is Aristoi and that Aristoi is, among other things, a meditation on the ennui of the nearly-immortal and almost-all-powerful, I would have been better prepared. Only maybe not, because Aristoi tarted that meditation up with all sorts of whiz-bang action and skullduggery and 'splodey, whereas this one is kind of slow and sad.I don't like it as much, but it might be the better book.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

An immortal curates Earth and recreates some of it's mythological creatures after humanity has left for the stars. Wait, am I reviewing This Immortal by mistake? No, despite the obvious similarities. The core of this book is about the effect on humanity, both as individuals and as a species, of the combination of immortality and space travel. However the book doesn't have a particular strong focus or deep exploration of the topic, so while it is a pleasant read it doesn't rise any further than that.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this novel after reading the author's recent blog post about the book's genesis and his reaction to its re-release in e-book format.

Now, I've read a lot of Williams work. Some are better than others, or they just resonated differently. This one was a lovely, lovely find.

He wrote it when he was 29, but it reads like something from a much more mature writer. It's also shows a strong Zelazny influence. There's some interesting science-y bits, as well as some philosophy, with a dash of a few perfect sentences that catch you unaware.

Is this a flawless book? No. It is, however, a solid 4.5 stars and I'm very glad I have finally encountered it.