In Solitary

by Garry Kilworth

Earth has been under alien domination for centuries; humans are isolated from each other by the laws of their masters. Only Cave, a human raised amongst the alien Soal, has any liking for the conqueror-race—or at any rate for some of them.

On losing his trusted position among them, Cave is banished to the mudflats where he meets Stella, a woman whose fierce personality is pulling the frightened humans together and turning them into revolutionaries. Cave, entangled in the meshes of more than one intrigue, becomes deeply and terrifyingly involved until the final confrontation among the ironically idyllic South Sea Islands.

This is a novel of intelligent animals subjected to an uncaring master-race and the protracted torture of solitude. The animals are called people.

With In Solitary Garry Kilworth makes a brilliant debut. There is a new star in the SF firmament.

Genres: Science Fiction

131 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Garry Douglas Kilworth is a historical novelist who also published sci-fi, fantasy, and juvenile fiction.

Kilworth is a graduate of King's College London. He was previously a science fiction author, having published one hundred twenty short stories and seventy novels.

Reviews

[Nick J Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

First-rate British New Wave Science Fiction. I loved it from beginning to end. The story works on two levels: as a parable regarding the damaging effects both socially and individually of xenophobia; and as an extrapolation on what could happen if the human race encountered an alien civilization more technologically advanced than itself. This is of course familiar territory. Wells started it with The War of the Worlds. What Kilworth brings to it is a multicultural sensibility that sees him responding with sensitivity to mid-1970s zeitgeist.

Kept strictly separate by their bird-like overlords, the remnants of Earth's human population are only allowed to meet up for the purposes of mating and child rearing. Issues of the psychological effects of loneliness are dealt with deftly but not dwelt upon. The protagonist actually spends very little time "in solitary", just enough for the point to be made before moving on with the plot, which is fast-paced and climactic. At 131 pages this is a short novel. It is tightly structured and does the job it sets out to do. Nevertheless, characterisation is well established for the three main proponents and the colonised Earth is drawn in adequate detail.

Kilworth's style is minimalist and his prose is crystal clear. He achieves a degree of literariness by means of poetry - his own inserted into the chapter headings, and Ted Hughes in the epigraph. Although these do feel a bit added on, they successfully express the feeling that the essence of life cannot be contained or imprisoned. Individualism, then. There is an implied pun regarding the Red Planet toward the end, forming part of the brilliant twist, and in some ways the novel could be considered a Cold War artifact. But it is much more than that. Garry Kilworth is a compassionate, empathetic writer. Although his novels are driven by ideas, his treatment of the human consequences of these ideas marks him as one of the more engaging and original authors working within the genre. In Solitary was his first novel. It comes highly recommended.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I missed something here. It reads like the kind of work that is using the SF form to examine some very present and real issue but I never "got" the subtext. Oh well.

[Piezke]

#Garry Kilworth: Einsiedler (1981)
##1. Auflage, Heyne Verlag, Heyne Science-fiction & Fantasy Nr. 3823.
##OT: In Solitary (1977).
##Deutsche Übersetzung von Hans Maeter.[1]
##Umschlagbild von Roy Michael Payne.[2]
##Science-Fiction-Roman, Dystopie/Postapokalypse.
##Mit Inhaltsverzeichnis, in 23 benannte Kapitel gegliedert.
##174 Seiten.
##Erster Roman von Garry Kilworth[3], zuvor eine kleine Anzahl Kurzgeschichten veröffentlicht[4].
##Mein erster von Kilworth war "Hexenwasser", der fälschlicherweise in derselben Reihe erschienen ist. Hat mir besser gefallen als "Einsiedler", auch wenn beide dieselben Stärken und Schwächen haben.
##Situation: Außerirdische Vogelmenschen, die Soal, haben die Erde erobert und die Menschen versklavt. Aufgrund der drakonischen Regeln der Soal haben sich die Menschen auf einen primitiveren Zustand zurückentwickelt. Sie dürfen kaum Kontakt zueinanderpflegen, das gilt auch für die Fortpflanzung. Aber wenn es darum geht, ist unsere Art erfindungsreich.
##Ein paar mehr oder weniger privilegierte Ur-Erdlinge werden als Haustiere gehalten. Hauptfigur Cave (sprechender Name) ist so einer bis zu seiner selbstverschuldeten Verbannung. Sein Schicksal ist an Prometheus angelehnt. Cave sucht Wissen und wird dafür von Vögeln bestraft.
##Irritierenderweise handelt das erste Kapitel vom Polynesier Tangiia und seiner unermüdlichen Suche nach dem Weibchen seiner feuchten Träume. Das wirkt zu Beginn unmotiviert, schildert immerhin die Strapazen der Menschen zur "Begattungsperiode". Denn Sex und Gewalt sind in den Monaten (es wird in Monaten statt in Jahren gerechnet) nach den Soal eins. Tangiia taucht später wieder auf, um mit Cave einen ebenso irritierenden bis unmotivierten Abstecher zu machen.
##Kilworth ist dort am besten, wo er die schöne Fremdartigkeit der Landschaft beschreibt. Er poetisiert das riesige Wattenmeer als einen Ort, an dem der Mensch keine Spuren hinterlässt und ahistorisch bleibt. Das ist ein Motiv des Romans.
##Cave zieht während der Ebbe von Nadelturm zu Nadelturm, um Unterschlupf zu finden. Nadeltürme sind Konstruktionen der Soal, die Zuflucht vor der Flut bieten und weiteren geheimnisvollen Zwecken dienen. In einem der Türme trifft er die mitleidlose Stella, die gerade entbindet. Mit dem Hünen Fridjt bilden die drei das Hauptgespann des Romans. Das Neugeborene stirbt, was wunderbar prosaisch erzählt wird. Die Menschen sind Leid gewohnt, also leiden sie weniger.
##Unter Stellas Führung proben sie den Aufstand gegen die Soal. Cave eher unfreiwillig. Als ehemaliges Haustier spielt er des Teufels Advokat, auch wenn die Teufel in "Einsiedler" nicht leicht bestimmbar sind.
##Dramatische Szenen, Action wird häufig erzählt, nachdem sie passiert ist. Das stört den Erzählfluss und spannend ist es nicht. Teilweise ist das dem Umstand geschuldet, dass der Erzähler nach dem ersten Kapitel nicht von Caves Seite rückt. Hätte er das getan, wäre die Hauptfigur vielleicht sympathischer gewesen. Manchmal ist Schweigen Gold, in Literatur ist zuweilen auch Gedankenlosigkeit Gold.
##Die Handlung zerfasert bald, denn wie angedeutet trennen sich die Wege der Figuren, weil Kilworth zwischendurch interessierter daran war, polynesische Kultur in einem Science-Fiction-Roman vorzustellen, als die Handlung voranzutreiben. Bei 174 Seiten ist das glatter Genickbruch. So sieht man Fridjt bald nicht wieder und wankt von Wende zu Wende.
##Dass Stella am Ende ein Marsmännchen ist, die mit anderen Marsmännchen ihre erbärmlichen irdischen Vorfahren befreien wollen, passt irgendwie ins Bild. Aufgerieben zwischen drei Welten, entscheidet sich Cave für die Rückkehr zu den Soal, immerhin mit Liebe im Gepäck.
##Mein Urteil? Schöne Beschreibungen einer bizarr verformten Welt, aber die Handlung säuft ab und der Spannungsbogen bleibt flach.

[1]https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Ma..., Stand: 14.06.2024
[2]https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?..., Stand: 14.06.2024
[3]http://www.garry-kilworth.co.uk/index..., Stand: 15.06.2024
https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/kil..., Stand: 15.06.2024
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?..., Stand: 15.06.2024
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_K..., Stand: 15.06.2024
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_K..., Stand: 15.06.2024
[4]http://www.garry-kilworth.co.uk/fullb..., Stand: 14.06.2024

##Weitere Links:
https://www.sf-hefte.de/Details.php?i..., Stand: 14.06.2024
Rezension: https://sciencefictionruminations.com..., Stand: 15.06.2024

[Nik Morton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Garry Kilworth’s debut novel In Solitary was published in 1977. Since then he has produced novels in a broad number of genres, among them science fiction, fantasy, and history.

Earth has been under the domination of aliens for centuries. The Soal are uncompromising, their laws stating: ‘No member of the Human Race born a native of the Planet Earth may have contact with any other such native by any medium, natural or otherwise, after the age of 170 months [just over 14 years-of-age] except for the performance of mating. No member of the Human Race under 170 months of age born a native of the Planet Earth may have contact with any male member of the same race. The penalty for disobedience of the Soal Law is death’ (p6). Hence, the males are effectively ‘in solitary’ all their life (save for the rare mating events).

The Soal resemble birds with pointed beak-like faces and a web of elastic skin joining the upper and lower limbs; fine hair-like feathers cover their bodies. They’re about a metre tall – ‘more like flying foxes than birds’ (p8).

The book begins with Tangiia – a native Polynesian – embarking to sea on a mating journey in the Oceania area near Ostraylea. Apparently the earthquake of 2083 Old Time had altered the physical relationship between Brytan and Yurop. Apart from the first chapter, the novel is in the first-person, related by another human, Cave, who is serving the Soal in Brytan – until he is banished to live among the mud people… Here, Cave meets a female, Stella, who is quite formidable. They live in tall towers – mushrooms – and barely subsist. Eventually, these two join forces with others, including Tangiia – all the while evading Soal patrols for, clearly, if they were caught congregating, they would be killed.

Of them all, Tangiia is the romantic: ‘She is what makes it so beautiful. Man was made to have woman by his side, otherwise there are just empty holes in our chests where our hearts should be’ (p70).

Kilworth has created an original scenario and populated it with humans and aliens who exhibit all the usual traits – anger, deceit, violence, hate and love. And close to the end, after a rebellion against the Soal, a twist in the tale is revealed.

At 139 pages, it is a short book, but packed with fascinating descriptions of an unusual environment and traumatic events.

[Apocryphal Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this short novel for it's cover by Adrian Chesterman, which, as you can see, is quite striking. It's about the remnants of mankind on planet earth and their alien overlords.

The book opens with one character sailing on the sea, looking for a particular woman. Then rather quickly shifts viewpoint (and from third to first person) in chapter 2, to another character named Cave, a rare human-among-the-aliens, who finds himself being exiled because he has a powerful enemy among the aliens, and his protector can no longer protect him. From there, he's out on the mud flats of doggerland, where humans live a lonely and muddy existence. When the tide comes in, they must race for one of the towers that dot the plain or drown. Inside these towers are several empty rooms, in which they are supposed to shelter alone, as it's forbidden to humans to intermingle, except during a brief mating season each 3 years. Cave, naturally, doesn't find himself alone, and the people he meets become his companions on an adventure to freedom.

This is Kilworth's first novel (of many). It’s quite a short one, about 140 pages, but it has some decent depth to it. It reminded me of many other aliens-rule-the-earth novels such as The Mount by Carol Emshwiller, The London Pen by Jean-Pierre Guillet, and Days of Grass by Tanith Lee - but it doesn't quite manage the heights of those. Despite being so short, this book drags a bit in the middle, and I didn’t find the end all that convincing. The usual (and pointless, IMO) complaints about early SF not having a lot of character development apply, but as these sorts of books go, this one is about on par. On the other hand, Kilworth does paint an eerie, Zardoz-like landscape here. Actually, I probably did most of the painting in my head, but it did remind of of Zardoz - but definitely better. Since I found it to be perfectly middling, 3 is the score!

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice short little book but I think it suffers from having everything told from one character's (Cave) perspective. As a result, a lot of the "action" is relayed to him after it has occurred by another character, eliminating much of the potential tension. If the story had also been told from Tangia's perspective, it would not only have been a better story, but also would have made the ending more significant.

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise and solid built up. I got invested into the characters and especially loved the dynamics between Tangii, Cave, Senna and Fridtj. Unfortunately the novel is quite thin and the build-up to the climax falls short because of it, which consequently makes the payoff/ending fall flat on its nose.

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more compelling, intelligent, and original than I had anticipated. It looks like Kilworth wrote a profusion of what is clearly absolute crap written solely for money, which makes this one all the more impressive. SOLID SCIENCE FICTION, bro.

[Peter2083 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this novel five stars because, unusually for a science-fiction novel (especially one that is so thin), the aliens that are portrayed within are so much more than the shallow, two-dimensional entities that one all too often comes across in science fiction. They have a history, culture and society that is elucidated to a great degree, and this in turn makes them plausible. One could almost imagine these creatures actually existing somewhere in our galaxy.

The main characters, whether human or alien, are complex, flawed, and far from the kind that are usually portrayed in this genre. There are no clear-cut heroes, no clear-cut villains, and this keeps one from being able to discern a pattern within the story that would allow one to guess how it will turn out in the end. The pace of the story is quick, and there is never a dull moment which, for me personally, is extremely important. Too many works of fiction stray onto wayward, and often bizarre, tangents that have little to do with the main plot or characters, which, in my opinion, is characteristic of poor storytelling. This book, however, keeps everything together and moving forward at a brisk pace, and the ending is fashioned in such a manner as to allow for the possibility of there being a sequel which, unfortunately, there never was.

Overall it's a great story that, due to its brevity, one can complete in a single afternoon.

[Alien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Die Soal, vogelähnliche ETs, haben die Erde besetzt. Sie haben die Menschen dezimiert. Sie Verbliebenen dürfen nur in abgelegenen Gegenden leben und das allein.

Das Szenario ist bemerkenswert originell, vor allem weil es Kilworths Debutroman war.
Allzu realistisch scheint mir die Schilderung der verbliebenen Menschen aber nicht. Nach ein paar Hundert Jahren mit solch absolut primitiven Lebensumständen wäre ihr geistiges Niveau wohl viel tiefer gesunken.
(die deutsche Übersetzung mit den eher geschraubten Dialogen verschärft die Unglaubwürdigkeit zusätzlich).

Die Wendung in der Handlung gegen Schluss (die ich hier nicht spoilern will) kommt unerwartet und verlangt dem Leser einiges ab. Mich hat es nicht wirklich überzeugt.

Und dann die Entscheidung von Cave ganz am Ende, das war dann wirklich für mich nicht nachzuvollziehen. Drum kann ich nur 3/5 Punkten geben.

[Joachim Boaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...

"Garry Kilworth’s first novel, In Solitary (1977), attempts to present a morally complex take on human revolt against brutal alien conquest. A brief read, In Solitary piques interest but doesn’t manage to provide compelling backstories to beef up its analysis of the morality of revolt.

Ultimately, In Solitary (1977) does not live up to its compelling premise. Recommended for die hard [...]"

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giving this 5 stars from my 11 year old self who loaned it from the local library and absolutely loved it.