Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard

Barsk #1

by Lawrence M. Schoen, J.G. Hertzler (Narrator )

An historian who speaks with the dead is ensnared by the past. A child who feels no pain and who should not exist sees the future. Between them are truths that will shake worlds.

In a distant future, no remnants of human beings remain, but their successors thrive throughout the galaxy. These are the offspring of humanity's genius-animals uplifted into walking, talking, sentient beings. The Fant are one such species: anthropomorphic elephants ostracized by other races, and long ago exiled to the rainy ghetto world of Barsk. There, they develop medicines upon which all species now depend. The most coveted of these drugs is koph, which allows a small number of users to interact with the recently deceased and learn their secrets.

To break the Fant's control of koph, an offworld shadow group attempts to force the Fant to surrender their knowledge. Jorl, a Fant Speaker with the dead, is compelled to question his deceased best friend, who years ago mysteriously committed suicide. In so doing, Jorl unearths a secret the powers-that-be would prefer to keep buried forever. Meanwhile, his dead friend's son, a physically challenged young Fant named Pizlo, is driven by disturbing visions to take his first unsteady steps toward an uncertain future.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook, Animals, Science Fiction Fantasy, Speculative Fiction

Audible Audio

First published December 15, 2015

About the author

Lawrence M. Schoen holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology, is a past Astounding, Hugo, and Nebula, nominee, twice won the Cóyotl award for best novel, founded the Klingon Language Institute, and occasionally does work as a hypnotherapist specializing in authors’ issues. He is a chimeric cancer survivor.

His science fiction includes many light and humorous adventures of a space-faring stage hypnotist and his alien animal companion. Other works take a very different tone, exploring aspects of determinism and free will, generally redefining the continua between life and death. Sometimes he blurs the funny and the serious. Lawrence lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his wife and their dog.

Reviews

[Mogsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2015/12/29/b...

UPDATED: US/Can giveaway 12/29/15-1/8/16 http://bibliosanctum.com/2015/12/29/b...

We’re just about nearing the end of the year, but apparently 2015 had one last big surprise for me. It came in the form of Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen.

I confess, I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I started this book because I dove in blind, and that’s actually the way I wanted it. When I first looked upon this novel in my hands, I was struck by this feeling that the less I knew about it, the more I would enjoy the experience. So I swore off reading any previews or early reviews and simply let go. I wanted this story to take me where it would.

Well, what an amazing adventure it turned out to be! Barsk was a mysterious and captivating journey from the very first page to the last, featuring a puzzle that begins with the novel’s title itself. According to a well-known myth, an elephants’ graveyard is a place where aged and dying elephants instinctively know to go when they reach the end of their days. There, they stay until they die, alone and far away from the herd.

This is how the story begins, in a distant future where humans have long since died out. Instead, walking talking anthropomorphic animal species dominate the galaxy. On an isolated planet named Barsk, a Fant named Rüsul receives a message in a dream telling him that his time is near, and that he should start making his way to an island whose location is only revealed to the Dying. Fant are a humanoid sapient race, but their features resemble those of an elephant—grey and furless skin, big flapping ears, and the distinctive long trunk. They’re also a species with deep-rooted cultural values, and they prefer to keep to themselves. The only contact Barsk has with the rest of the Alliance is through the trade of specialized pharmaceuticals developed and manufactured by the Fant.

The most desirable of these is koph, a drug that allows gifted individuals called Speakers to summon and interact with the dead. Meanwhile, a shadowy faction in the Alliance government wants control of koph for themselves and are willing to destroy Barsk and all its inhabitants in order to learn how to manufacture the drug. They begin kidnapping dying Fant on their way to the final island, disrupting the natural order of their lifecycle. A Fant Speaker named Jorl notices these disturbances, but gets captured himself when he goes to investigate, becoming the linchpin in the enemy’s grand scheme. He is subsequently blackmailed into Speaking with his dead friend Arlo, a koph researcher who committed suicide years ago to protect an earthshattering secret.

Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard is a novel that is unique in so many ways, I don’t even know where to start. I suppose a good place would be the setting, a galaxy home to not just Fant, but also dozens of other alien races referred to by the common names of the animals they resemble as well as an adapted form of their Latin genus, like the Ailuros (Giant Panda), Bos (Yak), Cans (Domestic Dog), Brady (Three-toed Sloth), Cynomy (Prairie Dog), Lutr (Otter), Taxi (Badger), Urs (Bear), and many, many more. It’s a veritable zoo of different species, and the appendix in the back of the book implies there are even more races beyond the ones that appear in Barsk. Schoen brings these anthropomorphic beings to life using a very interesting approach, making them speak and behave like humans while also giving them their respective animal traits. For example, the Brady are an even-tempered species that likes to take things slow and steady, while the Lutr are more excitable and move about with agile grace. In a sense, characters are given the impression of being alien but also familiar, making it easier to connect with them.

Barsk is also a science geek’s dream, touching upon a number of different disciplines and bringing their philosophies together. One of the central themes of this book is the question of Instinct vs. Learned Behavior, and the development of culture and social norms. It’s worth noting that all the species of the Alliance look down on the Fant, discriminating them for their lack of fur and overall unusual appearance. Fant themselves are highly reclusive, having negotiated a Compact hundreds of years ago that would forbid visitors from ever setting foot on their planet. The relationship between Barsk and the rest of the galaxy plays a vital role in the way things play out, not to mention it also highlights the sheer ingenuity behind the world-building as it relates to our own understanding of sociobiology.

I was simply in awe at how well everything came together in the end. Barsk is a strange book indeed, but it was weird in a wonderful, unexpected way that really appealed to me, due in part to the creative handling of the science fiction elements. A few sections involved very abstract concepts, but it was smooth sailing thanks to Schoen’s easy yet expressive style. This is a story that enticed me, pulled me in and kept me enthralled until I reached its conclusion. If you’re looking for a sci-fi novel that’s truly innovative and different, I highly recommend picking this up.

[Justine · Rating 5 out of 5]

2024 reread - still 5 stars
This remains a favourite book for me. It’s so inventive and emotionally engaging. I’m glad I took the time to reread it.

2016 read - 5 stars
Jorl is a Fant historian who is also a Speaker. Once he ingests a drug called koph he can speak with the dead by making a construct of the person using particles of memory called nefshons. Pizlo is the son of Jorl's deceased best friend, but because of the circumstances of his birth, Pizlo is not recognized as a person in Fant culture. But his mother and Jorl care for him regardless. It soon becomes clear that Pizlo has a kind of gift of his own, and living in the wilds as he has probably helped to cultivate it.

All the Fants live on Barsk, one planet in an Alliance of planets populated by uplifted mammals of various species. For reasons which later become clear, the Fants are universally reviled, and so the rest of the Alliance is happy to leave them on Barsk. But Fants are also the species from where Speakers originated, and while other species have been able to develop their own Speakers, none have been able to replicate the required drug. At least some elements of the Alliance eventually grow tired of relying on the reviled Fants of Barsk to supply koph, and of course the result is not a good one for the Fants.

The story is one that seems simple on the surface, but delves deep into questions of social engineering, racism and cultural bias. There are parts of this book that literally raised the hair on my arms and brought tears to my eyes.

"There's really only one choice you ever have to make in any act of creation. Will you be the instrument or the artist? If you're only now coming to realize that you've been a tool all your life, there's no one to blame but yourself. If you don't like that state of affairs, then act! Impose your will upon the world and walk your own path. If you don't, you'll just end up being a token in someone else's game; you'll continue to be used as they see fit. That's how the universe works. You don't have to like it, but you'd do well to get used to it."

The characters make the story here, and the author did a fine job of making them extraordinary in an ordinary way. Pizlo remains a child throughout; gifted and wise but simultaneously and brilliantly unjaded in a way only children can be. Jorl behaves as one would expect a historian asked to rise to the occasion, but also demonstrates a quiet inner fortitude that every one of us hopes to possess.

"No, maybe that's the way the world looks once you've already decided to take your path. Or maybe it's just you're so jaded, or you've bought into your own delusions. I don't know which, and I don't care. Those aren't the only choices: use or be used. There is more than being tyrant or servant."

This book is going on my favourites shelf. I definitely recommend it.

[Lata · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story of uplifted, anthropomorphic animals. And as the main characters are elephants, animals that I love for their intelligence and social dynamics, I was happy!

Just a note about the cover: I LOVED the image! The artist, Victo Ngai, has created other covers for various short stories and novels published by Tor, and I'm very fond of this artist's work.

The story stars with the interrupted voyage by an elderly Fant (as the elephant-like species is known) on his voyage to a Fant graveyard. Elderly Fant get a sense of when they're ready to die, and leave across the ocean to this graveyard. The story continues with Jorl, who is a Speaker, who, with the aid of a drug called koph, can speak to the dead by accessing and gathering the individual nefshon (memory) particles for this person. Jorl is a sort of uncle to a young Fant named Pizlo who is an albino and has various other issues and is seen as an abomination by the other Fants on Barsk, the Fant planet. Pizlo is a very curious six-year old and is fascinating.
Jorl begins investigating when he hears of elderly Fants going missing, and wonders if the disappearances are connected to an ancient Fant prophecy. There's a lot more going on in the story, centred around the Speaking ability and the drug koph.
The characters are interesting, there's commentary about racism and acceptance of those that are different. There are ethical quandaries, and I just loved little Pizlo. When I finally finished the book, I was left with a big smile.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zootopia for adults and telling a SCI/FI story.

Kung Fu Panda in outer space.

Good speculative fiction where anthropomorphic animals are the main characters and have colonized space. The author draws from classic SF inspiration from authors like Philip K Dick, Frank Herbert, CJ Cherryh, and Orson Scott Card.

While a SF story with animals as the characters could put off some readers and leave others dismissing this as a kitschy Dr. Moreau knock off (oh yeah, add Wells to the above list) author Lawrence M. Schoen fills this with mature writing and provocative allegories about racism, cultural identity and regulating development and behavior of a society. In his way, Schoen uses this cool sci-fi story with animals as a vehicle to explore ideas about the morality of genetic tomfoolery. Just because scientists can do something, should they? And if so, what might be the end result?

Most compelling for me was the idea of nefshons. These subatomic particles of saved memory sort of obliquely reminded me of the Star Wars midi-chlorians. But these are not little bits of creation but rather the essence of stored commemoration whereby a talented “speaker” can call up and converse with dead folks, even those long dead. In this way a character can even go back in time, discovering origins and disproving carefully maintained myth.

This starts slowly but Schoen is just taking time to do some seriously Wayne worthy world building and all builds up to a very satisfying end.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book caught my attention because of the beautiful cover and the intriguing title. And after I looked at the summary, I decided to read it because the story sounded interesting and certainly different than any book I'd ever read before. Because I'd never read a book that had human-like animals as characters, ones that walked upright and spoke, had hands and feet, were intelligent, wore clothes, and were basically like humans in every way except they weren't human. They were still for the most part, in looks at least, whatever animals they were such as elephants, bears, yak, badgers, and otters, complete with tails, trunks, horns, fur, etc. I know it sounds strange and not a little bit weird, almost too weird for me. But they were presented in a completely straight way that made this into no cute animal tale. These creatures were historians, scientists, politicians, military personnel, doctors, teachers, parents, students, and so on. And they had ambitions, hopes, and dreams for their future that some of them were to learn was in peril.

But what of the past? How did these creatures become this way, half animal and half human, and what happened to the humans since they were nowhere to be seen in this universe? And why were the elephants, who were known as the Fant, loathed by everyone else to the degree that the Fant were allowed to have their own planet where no one but their kind could reside or even visit? These and many other questions kept me turning the pages, looking for answers. I will tell you those answers were long in coming, though, and it tried my patience, as did the slow pace of the story with few climactic moments. Even so, I had to admire the imagination and heart that went into this book that was as humanistic as any featuring humans.

In this story, the Fant consented 800 years ago to live in exile from the rest of the universe so they could live with dignity among their own kind on Barsk, a planet no one else wanted to reside on due to the constant rain that had turned it into one gigantic rainforest. But the environment made it ideal for growing many items sought after by the rest of the universe. The most valuable item was Koph which only a small number of Fant knew how to produce from materials native to their planet. It was a drug that allowed most of those using it to trip out, while allowing those few with a special talent to speak with the dead. Those individuals called Speakers could, with the aid of Koph, summon molecule-like particles of those who had died and coalesce them into an interactive living image.

You can imagine how sought after this drug would be for those mourning their dead and for those in business and the military wanting to learn their secrets, especially since Koph was expensive and only a small percentage of the population could afford it. And the fact that the loathed Fant controlled its production meant trouble for them when certain powerful individuals sought to control it themselves, which is where this story took off.

But what kept me reading when the pace slowed wasn't really the questions I wanted answered or the cool world the author built. It was the well developed characters, mainly Jorl, a Fant who was a historian and a very special Speaker among his kind. He was smart, brave, sensitive, loving and loyal. He and Pizlo, the young son of his late best friend, who was an outcast from the circumstances of his birth and his appearance, were the best part of this book. They formed a great team when drawing upon their special talents as forces beyond their control closed in, threatening their peaceful people who had no malice toward those who had ostracized them.

This book had some really interesting things going for it, so I had really hoped to like it more than I did. But unfortunately, as the story progressed, it became more and more convoluted to the point that I gave up on understanding everything. Adding in the slow pace and attention to details that became tedious, I grew tired of this book before it ended, and disappointed that the author missed out on a great opportunity to make a point about the senselessness of prejudice. I was sad he took the story in a whole different direction. But I can't bear to give this book less than three stars for an original story set in an imaginative universe populated by memorable characters.

[Ctgt · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's really only one choice you ever have to make in any act of creation. Will you be the instrument or the artist? If you're only now coming to realize that you've been a tool all your life, there's no one to blame for it but yourself. If you don't like that state of affairs, then act! Impose your will upon the world and walk your own path. If you don't, you'll just end up being a token in someone else's game; you'll continue to be used as they see fit. That's how the universe works. You don't have to like it, but you'd do well to get used to it.

I saw this title bouncing around a few of those end of the year "best of" lists and happened across it at my library. Other than the book being well received, I knew very little about the actual story and sometimes these "blind" borrows from the library end up right back in the library a few days later, not this title.

I loved this story. Some interesting concepts, new ways of looking at old ideas, a fascinating world and several interesting and likable characters. Set in the far flung future where humanity is gone from the known universe, there exists an Interplanetary Alliance made up of various forms of sentient animals. The Fants are ostracized from most other races and live on the planet Barsk from which they supply many natural resources found only on this planet.

Our history tells us that we started on the world we call Dawn, but the actual record only begins with our Expansion and the formation of the first Alliance of Worlds, a ring of eight planets that were colonized just over sixty-two thousand years ago.

Jorl is a Speaker, by using a substance found on Barsk, Speakers can communicate with the dead, although not in the way you are thinking. This is the first of the concepts I really loved;

The nefshons she manipulated were subatomic particles of personality that dispersed upon their creator's death. But during the long course of a life, everyone transferred hundreds of particles with every touch. These in turn became the stuff of memory.

After ingesting the Koph, Jorl is the able to reform these nefshons and speak with whoever he is trying to summon. I found this idea of shared memory, the uses of memory and what might happen if all memories are removed very thought provoking.

Jorl is in the middle of a personal crisis, his best friend was recently killed in a research accident and Jorl is suspicious of the circumstances. This accident and the reasons behind it are the driving force for the rest of the narrative.

In the process of getting to the truth, the author builds a fascinating world using the physical makeup of the planet as well as cultural mores that have been created by this particular species. There are prophecies of The Matriarch concerning the Silence that lie at the heart of the story and we are also introduced to the practice of the offspring of non-bonded parents being shunned by society at large.

The author uses Pizlo, just such a child to illustrate this practice. Pizlo has basically been ignored all his life by everyone, except for Jorl and his mother who both go against this cultural norm and continue to treat Pizlo as they would any other child. It is impossible not to like Pizlo, who rises above his situation and uses the fact that he is mostly invisible to everyone to explore and take advantage of the "perks" of being ignored even though deep down he still longs for acceptance like any other child would.

The old man sure liked to talk. It bothered Pizlo that he could so hunger for more people to talk to him only to have that need by someone who had nothing to say.

Lest you think Pizlo is just an insert to build the world he becomes a major part of the rest of the book and his desire to seek out all the moons of Barsk so he can hear what they say to him leads to a startling revelation.

So many other ideas in here, the Fants exodus when an individual feels their death coming on, the anthropomorphic characters that actually have an explanation beyond "oh, the cute animals can talk" and the whole history behind the beginnings of the Alliance. Mash this all together and it made for wonderful story.

Initially I was thinking a high 4 star for this but as the weeks have gone by I continue to think about this book so that is usually a sign for me.

Highly recommended

10/10

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an unexpected pleasure. I absolutely loved the level of detail that went into the Fants and the character development was exceptional. Somebody told me that he had been thinking about this novel for 20 years and I think that really shows. This is a world that seems like it's alive. Surely this really exists somewhere? He did an excellent job of explaining these strange animals, as well as the lack of linguistic drift. IT WAS BRILLIANT!!!

The audio was good, although not exceptional. I think it would be just as enjoyable in either format.

4 stars on a reread.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barsk has quite a unique premise, in which the galaxy is populated by uplifted animals who have no cultural memory of the humans who engineered them 60,000 years before. The Fant (uplifted elephants) manufacture a drug that allows certain gifted individuals to speak to the dead, and distribute it to the other races in the Alliance in exchange for being left alone. An ambitious Yak senator decides he doesn't want to abide by this agreement anymore, and maneuvers to steal the secret of the drug from the Fant, even if he has to exterminate their entire race to get it.

I was drawn to this book because of the originality of its setting and plot, and ultimately found that was the best thing about it. The book is perfectly fine, with well drawn characters and nice details and fascinating explorations of the nature of death and memory. The story is engrossing enough and moves at a steady pace. But it doesn't quite "turn the corner," so to speak. It lacks the kind of dramatic urgency it seems to imply, and a lot of little things that bothered me started to pile up as the book went on. It reminded me of my reaction to another novel I read recently, Planetfall - another book with a weird and fascinating premise, possessed of many of the qualities that normally grab me in a story, in which the end result was strangely unexceptional.

While I was reading Barsk I was rooting for it to be a great novel, and I kept wanting to give it a more enthusiastic recommendation, all the while knowing that I just couldn't. Still, a pretty good effort overall. I think I can see some people liking this book more than I did, so if you are also intrigued by the premise, please give it a shot.

[Viv JM · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a real treasure - great worldbuilding, fascinating characters, and an immensly satisfying ending.

I listened to the audio version of this, narrated by J.G.Hertzler, and I think he did a really great job of the different voices, so that each character was completely distinct.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interstellar society of different species of anthropomorphic animals grapples with psychic powers, collective memory, prejudice and a trade monopoly on a critical resource. The comparison with key elements of Dune is stark.

Barsk is the home planet of the Fants (anthropomorphic Elephants) who have a Compact with the rest of the Alliance. The Compact preserves Barsk for just the Fants at the cost of ensuring a supply of the critical drug koph to the rest of the Alliance. This mostly suits the Alliance, because there is racial prejudice against Fants by most of the other species of the Alliance. The story begins with members of the Alliance breaking the Compact by kidnapping Fants in the hope that one of them will be able to share the secrets of koph manufacture.

We follow Jorl, a Fant who is also a Speaker, someone who can summon ghost particles to allow him to communicate with dead people. Also Pizzlo, the outcast son of Jorl's best friend who committed suicide a short while ago for mysterious reasons. These two get involved in the plot to break the Compact and face a threat to the Alliance, as well as the entire planet of Barsk and all Fants.

This is a beautifully crafted book. It has a really interesting interstellar civilization with loads of familiar, yet alien, different races. The psychic powers are also well conceived, as is the biology and civilization of Barsk itself. There's also some fascinating concepts at play, like the ability to redesignate a citizen to a resource, a powerful Council of Information and the sort of influence that people actively using precognition can have on present events.

The characters are also compelling with Jorl's quiet brilliance in the fact of unjustified prejudice and his willingness to act for his beliefs as well as Pizzlo's innocent use of his precognition.

I really enjoyed it and Schoen will be on my watch list for future books.

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not heard of this book or author when this book was announced on the Nebula Award list, although I did recently realize that the author and I are friends here in Goodreads. I did not go to great lengths to seek the book out, but the local branch of my public library had it available when I looked at the titles, so I figured it couldn't hurt. In a recent book speed dating project (which will post later on to my podcast,) I read the first 50 pages and was surprised to find I wanted to keep going. This is all to say that based on the description, I did not expect to finish the book, more of a "not my thing" kind of vibe, but I am pleased to be able to say I was wrong.

I do not like anthropomorphic animals.

I do not like them in animated films (or maybe I do not like animated films.) I do not like them as a metaphor (Watership Down.) I do not like them in fantasy (I often do not like fantasy.)

Except. The reason these elephants walk and talk is complex and, with a little suspension of disbelief, believable. They aren't the elephants of 2015. And they are living on an isolated planet where they have been somewhat ostracized by the other groups. They are known as the Fant, and not only do they walk and talk, they have created a complex society. Some are scientists, chemists working on a drug that the rest of the society uses.

And some are Speakers. These can talk to the spirits of the Fant who have passed on.

Here is where I need to say that I did not used to know much about elephants. But my in-person book club, of the International Center of the Upstate, recently read Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II. This is a non-fiction account of elephants in Burma between the world wars, but I learned a lot about elephants from it - how they communicate, how they form relationships, and even some Burmese elephant mythology.

That's why I knew that Pizlo was going to be special, because he was white. In Buddhist belief, the Buddha entered the world as his first incarnation in a white elephant. When that little tidbit of this obnoxious six-year-old elephant was revealed, I had to know where that storyline would go. A lot of the other details about the Fant show a lot of knowledge about elephants on the author's part, and I commend the way he pulled that research into this unique and compelling story.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

First - All I could picture the entire book was this - (from a favorite childhood book series - The Story of Babar



Anyway - 3 stars. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. This isn't a book I would proactively recommend to my friends, and if there were any follow up books, I probably wouldn't read them.

The best thing about the book was little Pizlo, the 6 year old albino elephant-person. His own people shun and ignore him for being different (and it's never explained exactly why they feel that way about him), but he's really cute. Best thing about the book.

As for the rest... The story meandered, got bogged down in a lot of details I really didn't care about. It was pretty slow in parts. I also don't really care for all the mystical mumbo-jumbo about reading people's minds and calling up the spirits of the dead. Also not a fan of prophecies. I'd love to see someone write a prophecy book where the prophecy was 100% clear and not obscure and missing important pieces.

I find most of the main storyline just convoluted and not believable. The ending was anticlimactic. There is almost no action in the book. No guns, swords, magic fireballs, space battles etc. Overall this book was just too slow for me. I can definitely see how other people would have liked it though - it just wasn't my thing.

I had this as an audiobook and the narrator was fantastic. He sounded exactly like you'd expect an elephant man to sound...so there's another plus.

[Allison Hurd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had so much of what I was really, really hoping for.

CONTENT WARNING: torture, loss of a loved one, drug use, genocide, bigotry, baby animals getting into scrapes.

Things to love:

-Uplifted animals. Elephants! Otters! But they're people! With their own cultural expectations!

-Language. We talk about why language would or would not evolve!

-Alien cultures. Listen, yes, there's space magic in this, but it works in the context of how a society would form one way.

Things that brought it down:

-Is it moustache twirling when its a yak?? Well, if yaks were to grow moustaches, this one would twirl it. Sad when simple animal differences would be a much more compelling villain than world domination type story arcs ever could.

-A bit overwrought. You know that scene in Romeo and Juliet where they each go on for like 5 pages about how life is too hard and they have to drink poison? And by the end you're like listen, drink it or don't, just change the subject. It got that way a bit.

Overall, very happy to have finally read this. Not sure I'll read the next one, simply because I'm less interested in the more human-seeming storyline for the second book, but this was a great experience for me.

[The Captain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahoy there mateys!  Though the First Mate and I have very different reading tastes, occasionally we do recommend books to each other.  He and I both read the following:

barsk: the elephants' graveyard (Lawrence M. Schoen)

We read and talked about the book and I enjoyed his viewpoint so I ordered asked him to write a review.  So you get one from me and a bonus additional review from me crew.  Please note that I write like I talk and the first mate writes like he thinks.  Hope you enjoy!

From the Captain:

This is one of the best books I have ever read.  Period.  The cover of this novel drew me in and the synopsis was weird and intriguing.  But the book sounded like something that I would need to be in the correct mental space for.  And I just didn't ever pick it up.

Then this year the First Mate and I were trying to figure out what our next joint audio book was going to be.  He happened to mention that he was thinking of re-listening to barsk and would I be interested?  I wasn't sure if I was in the right mood but his description of the book made me willing to give it a chance.  I am so frickin' glad.

This is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever listened to.  The opening sequence was one of the most beautiful and perfect ever.  It made me both cry and grin madly at the lush imagery and at the characters.  While the tone of the overall book is bittersweet, the world building, concepts, and characters stole my heart.  Aye, human-like elephants (Fants) are the main characters.  While it seems weird in concept, it is stunning in execution.  I cannot do this justice.  But I wish I could give all the crew members a copy.

One of me favorite things in this book (besides the amazing writing) was in the character relationships.  There is an older scholar named Jorl who helps teach a young Fant named Pizlo.  Their relationship was beautiful, poignant, and heart-warming.  I love them individually and love them even more together.  I am tearing up just thinking about it.  In fact all the characters are fascinating and fully realized - even the minor ones.

The world building is also exquisite.  The planet Barsk itself sounds extraordinary from the shadow dwell, to the various islands, and because of the people themselves.  The politics of the world were complex and fascinating, particularly the use of Speakers.  These Speakers are able to speak to the dead and this concept is central to the novel.  This book is nuanced and beautiful and watching the story unfold was like having the amazement of seeing the pearl slowly manifest before yer eyes.

Me words fail, fail, fail at how amazing this book is.  Please do yerself a favor and read this book that deserves all the love and more.  Check out the First Mate's words below and have them help tip this book off the tbr and into yer hands.  It be worth it.  Arrrr!

From the First Mate:

Barsk has one of those cover/synopsis combinations that always make me want to read the book but also makes me continually put it off, telling myself that I'll pick it up when I'm in the proper headspace to deal with something weighty. I don't know why I initially waited so long (around 2 years after purchase) to read the book, but I suspect I'm not the only one that has done so. Most of the people to whom I've mentioned the book have also said that they've had the book on their TBR for a while. I want to start a movement. Barsk deserves to be read and appreciated; this is an amazingly awesome book.

With absolute certainty I can state that Barsk would have been the best book that I'd read in any of the past years since it's been published. Schoen has written a deep, complex, perceptive, sad, and beautiful novel that, once read, has continued to come back to my thoughts over the last several years. Concepts raised in the work have been so intriguing to me and I've thought about them for so long that they're now like smooth stones in my mind that have been long handled.

On the first descriptive level, Barsk could seem a little silly. Yes, it's essentially a space opera populated with anthropomorphic animals and includes psychic abilities. Certainly understandable if someone took that element of the synopsis and assumed that the book was going to be something akin to Bucky O'Hare or Zootopia in space. And yet the very first scene of the novel is of an old artist waking up and coming to realize that his life is over, setting his affairs in order, and then making arrangements for the way the Fant (elephants) come to die on their world. That scene is achingly beautiful in its description. Subdued and introspective, it was definitely not the type of opening I was expecting for the novel, but it was absolutely perfect.

Then we meet our protagonists, Jorl and Pizlo, a psychic historian and a genetic abomination. A man who has been devastated by the loss of his best friend and the son of that best friend. Two kind, perceptive, unique characters who wonder through their world continually asking "why." As events in their world start to change the nature of their lives, both Jorl and Pizlo continue to ask "why is this happening," "is this good," and "how can I help to make things
better." Faced against the forces of the law, tradition, prejudice, physics, and even the the bounds of life and death, Jorl and Pizlo continue to search for the right thing to do. And we also get many beautiful conversations between the two of them on a myriad of topics.

The topic that is most central to the book is that of speaking to the dead. Schoen makes the decision to develop a scientific explanation for the psychic ability of Speaking. While not the first author to do so, Schoen's skill at presenting a plausible scientific backing for a psychic ability is truly first rate. Perhaps the aspect I admire the most is the way in which Schoen explores the boundaries of what is possible within the rules of what he's set up. Several
times various characters believe something is impossible only to have another character show them how that very thing is possible within the very rules of the universe as set up. A continually expanding exploration of various ideas.

As with any creative work that deals with death, loss, and prejudice, Barsk is a fundamentally sad book. While Pizlo has a child's fundamental optimism about the world, Jorl has been alive long enough to know that there's a lot of sadness in life. Jorl witnesses many things in Barsk that are fundamentally unfair and for which there are no good solutions. Schoen presents elements of dissatisfaction with the world and coming to acceptance with the way things are probably better than any author I've read in quite some time.

As I said before, Barsk: The Elephant's Graveyard is one of the best books I've ever read. It works perfectly as a standalone novel. In fact, that's what I thought it was when I first read it, only to be delighted a year or so later when it's sequel, The Moons of Barsk, came out. And, to be perfectly honest, The
Moons of Barsk is even better. The sequel is not as self-contained, requiring both the introduction of Barsk and ending on a dangling plot thread (though wrapping up the main storyline just fine).

Unfortunately, Schoen has indicated that his publisher has not expressed interest in getting a third book, which is totally unacceptable to me. There needs to be a Barsk revival. This series needs to be celebrated for the beautiful,
perceptive work that it is. More people need to read and love Barsk.

Also the audiobook version of Barsk is fantastic. Read by J. G. Hertzler (General Martok from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). His rich, resonate voice made me feel like I was sitting by a fire, listening to an older friend tell me a parable. Soothing, interesting, an informative.

Unreservedly recommended to almost everyone. Avoid if you're not currently in an emotional place to deal with a beautiful work that is fundamentally sad.

[Christina Pilkington · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5 stars

This is a book unlike I have ever read before. Almost the entire cast of characters are different types of sentient animals who live and thrive in worlds they rule themselves. And yet, while reading the book, I would often forget they were animals. They acted, spoke, thought and dreamed like humans.

And because of that there are such deep and thought provoking themes explored throughout this novel. I read this because it was short listed for the Nebula this year and I can see why. I read this book slowly, even though it was a short book, simply because I kept stopping to think about what I had just read.

It was beautifully written too, something not that common in a science fiction novel. It read a lot like literally fiction in the best sense possible.

I would have given this 5 stars, but the plot didn't always captivate me as much as I would have liked. I LOVE philosophical discussions and ideas - and there were plenty of those in this book. However, at times I felt the plot suffered a little because of that. Just a little though. Overall, it was an excellent read. I'd highly recommend it!!!

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Nebula-nominated novel has a very strong aura about it, bringing uplifted races of animals and main characters who are elephants in the far future.

Perhaps I should have done a bit more research before reading this novel, or perhaps the nature of the novel should have been telegraphed just a little bit better from the start, because I suffered a bit of aimlessness as I plodded through the initial sections of the novel. Where was this going? What's the purpose? Where should I expect this story to take me? I honestly didn't know.

Hell, it seemed almost as diffuse as the nefshons in the hands of a novice Speaker.

Huh. Well maybe that was the point, and maybe it wasn't, but unfortunately, I kept losing interest. I'd come back to it, repeatedly, because I'm a stubborn cuss, and that's good, because the novel *eventually* takes off.

The end is quite satisfying, and as long as you, dear reader, don't get overly bogged down in the generally and almost completely inexplicable revulsion and prejudice that every other race holds toward the Fants, then you will, much later, be treated to an actual reason for the psychosis. I'm not entirely sure I *buy* the reason, but there is a reason for it, and it even ties in to the main plot!

The good parts are very good, mind you, and I like how the implications are turned directly into actualities, but I get the weird impression that this entire novel could have been shortened to the second half, alone, and left as a stronger novella rather than a full novel. I had too many "why"s floating around that took away from my enjoyment as a whole, including the knee-jerk prejudice, the wandering and seemingly pointless early plots that seems to do little more than establish our two main characters, and the shockingly pure-evil-out-of-the-blue recommendations for genocide. I mean... is it just due to greed? Did I have to wait until the 90% mark to have an alternate reason for it? Of course, when we do have the reasons, it's all tied back into the other super-powerful reveals that is very superman and mythological.

Of course, I'm sure that isn't an accident, from actual references to kal-el and a scientist who really digs northwestern mythologies, to a borrowed nostalgia of Dune, Startide Rising, and even The Foundation Trilogy, at least in scope and history manipulation. I liked all of that. :) It's a good homage.

If you like novels that end strong even if they aren't awfully impressive in the beginning, BUT they start with an awesome premise that seems to hold a lot of promise, then definitely check this one out.

There's a rather interesting galactic empire waiting for you.

[Gregory Frost · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would you get if you put Orwell’s Animal Farm, Adams’s Watership Down, and Kipling’s The Jungle Book into a blender with David Brin’s “Uplift” series? You might well get Lawrence Schoen’s novel Barsk.

Rich in texture, full of great dialogue, and terrifically realized creatures, Barsk is ultimately a simple story of one character’s quest to find out why the world has gone wrong. For the first 300 pages it is anything but simplistic. It’s complex, fun, dramatic, emotionally compelling, and as layered as the very jungle in which his central characters, the Fants, dwell.

I realize that Schoen has released other small books from micropresses before this, but Barsk is truly his debut novel, and he nearly hits it out of the park. The engaging story is marred by a resolution that’s just far too easy and convenient for the central character given all that’s come before and that seems to lose its emotional core. It is nevertheless well worth the read for the rich texture of a remarkable invented world and creatures.

[Max]

I've never had a book about anthropomorphic elephants bring me to the brink of tears within the first ten pages before. In the good way!

[Hélène Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

(French review below - slightly different)

I've just read this book for the second time, with as much pleasure, fascination and admiration as the first time.

If perfect, universal books don't exist, perfect reads actually do, and "Barsk" was one for me. An outstanding read, that I'll keep in a special place, to re read and recommend.

To begin with, the writing is flawless. The kind of writing that would make any story, even without any fantastic or science-fi elements in it, delightful to read. A story told in an easy flow, with extraordinary credible and vivid characters, and a subtle manner to instill facts along the goings-on. All this makes for a splendid read... the imaginative and brilliant science-fi was the icing on the cake!

This capacity of writing about the ordinary lives of normal-extraordinary people isn't so usual, and reminded of one of my favourite author, Daryl Gregory.

But to come back to our elephants (would have been much more spiritual in French, as we say "revenir à ses moutons" - "comme back to ones sheep" to say " get back to the topic in hand"; too bad). I've always had a soft spot for altered humans but, until now, I was rarely, if ever, convinced by animal-human (or raised mammals) in science-fi literature. (A rare exception: the fabulous series "The Tide Lords" by Jennifer Fallon; so fun, so bright!). Maybe because of my job (I'm a vet) or because of too much or, at the contrary, not enough efforts put in this new kind og humanity, I often found animalish humains ridicule, cardboard-cutout in those stories - or worse, simply forgot that they're not supposed to be classic humans. The treatment of the people in "Barsk" (fants - elephants -, but also plenty other new animalish species, is absolutely perfect. Their body language, and uses of their bodies, especially with their ears and trunk for the fants, seem so natural that we never forget about what they look like, while forgetting being reading some fiction! (I've always believed that I missed a second pair of arms; but in fact I'm now quite sure I miss a trunk; so useful! so multi-purpose!).

The implicit universel themes of racism, banishment, prejudice, of rejection of what and who is considered as an anomaly are broached very delicately, never moralizing  or unduly transparent. For this point, I was frequently brought back to another of my favourite reads, "Earth's children" by Jean M. Auel.

The characters are all fantastic, so various and complex, illustrating perfectly the depths of human nature, its weaknesses and strengths, its politics, family ties and friendships. The main characters are all likeable, without being perfect, and one of the more important one, Pizlo, the child not supposed to be alive, shunned by nearly everybody, is incredible moving. Impossible not to love this precocious child, autonomous and free, living the life all fants deny him, nursing his passions and abilities in his own special way. I always applaud an author capable to show a gifted child, endowed with an outstanding intelligence, without making him speak and behave like a mini adult. Pizlo in very young, not even six years old, and for all his brilliance is still a small adorabl child!

Another thing I loved in the book: the main idea, about nefshons, could have make the story look-liked half science-fi half fantasy - a mix I don't appreciate much. But in fact, the whole concept of this book (and the second one that I'm currently reading while writing this review) has a perfectly clear scientific vibe, complex but coherent and credible. A feat!

"Barsk" shows incredibly original and intricate ideas, but never overwhelming. Another accomplishment! The alternative point of view, which I frequently distrust, here serves the story to perfection. The reader doesn't need to make any special effort, the rotation of narratives never frustrates them, as is used to tell the story in a very linear fashion. For such a complex world  and intricate story it's surprisingly easy to keep tract of all the characters and to understand the story's developement: All things come to those who wait...

I could probably rave about "Barsk" on and on, but I must stop somewhere, so let it be!

A book I warmly recommend to all people who love original and strong concepts and ideas woven is a finely detailed imagined world, with impeccable characters, alive, complex, who will accompany the reader for a very long time.

*********************************************

Même si les choses semblent avoir évoluées, il me semble encore fréquent que le prix à payer pour accéder à des récits de SF ou de fantastique haut de gamme soit de subir un style littéraire médiocre. Pas médiocre dans le sens de mauvais, mais médiocre dans le sens où le roman serait pour moi illisible si les thèmes traités n'étaient pas là pour retenir mon attention.
Hélas je suis "difficile", pour moi un bon auteur de fantastique au sens large du terme est un auteur qui saurait écrire un excellent roman de littérature blanche... ça me semble être évident pourtant, saperlipopette !

Bon, revenons à Lawrence M. Schoen, une des "autorités mondiales du langage Klingon" nous dit la jaquette de couverture - déjà ça commence bien ! ^-^ (l'auteur a d'autres cordes à son arc, le roman en est la brillante preuve).

Je suis fascinée par les romans de SF mettant en scène des post-humains, qu'ils soient des Intelligences Artificielles, des cyborgs, des humains biologiquement modifiés, ou des animaux anthropomorphisés - comme ici. Mais dans ce cas précis, je suis également très tatillonne. Le moindre effet niaiseux quand à la supposée nature intrinsèque de l'animal me crispe. L'absence de crédibilité d'un corps animal ayant accès à la parole et aux actes humains m'agace et m'empêche d'apprécier l'histoire. J'ai été ainsi fréquemment rebutée par des romans pourtant classiques et encensés : L'Épopée de Chanur de Carolyn J. Cherryh, Le cycle de l'Élévation, II : Marée stellaire de David Brin, Demain les chiens de Clifford D. Simak, pour en citer quelques uns.

Mais il m'arrive aussi d'être très enthousiaste, comme pour la fascinante série "The Tide Lords" (méconnue et non traduite, hélas) de Jennifer Fallon qui commence par The Immortal Prince, ou alors en mode SF une lecture récente qui sera sous peu proposée aux lecteurs francophones, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet ou encore, en mode fantastique, pour tous les romans d'un de mes auteurs fétiches, Daryl Gregory (son superbe Harrison Squared par exemple, et son pendant, traduit lui en français, Nous allons tous très bien, merci).

D'ailleurs c'est à Daryl Gregory que ce roman m'a parfois fait penser, non pas pour l'histoire ou les thèmes, mais pour l'excellence de l'ensemble. Tout est superbe !
Une narration très maîtrisée, tout en souplesse, avec des fils directeurs qui suivent plusieurs personnages, mais servant l'histoire d'une manière très linéaire, ce qui fait que le lecteur, au lieu d'être perdu ou frustré par ces sauts dans sa lecture, s'en trouve au contraire illuminé.

Les personnages sont extraordinaires d'humanité et de personnalité, l'humour affleurant est aussi ténu que malicieux. La connaissance de l'humain (oui, car les personnages, malgré leurs corps clairement à base animale, éléphant pour nos héros, ou diverses espèces à fourrure pour les autres, sont clairement humains) est puissante, sans stéréotypes, mais dessinant des personnages hauts en couleurs, très savoureux. La petite loutre libertine, arrachée à sa vie de luxure, forcée à mettre ses talents au service de ses "geôliers" ; l'adorable et étrange très jeune Fant, un enfant surdoué et presque irréel, qui n'aurait pas dû vivre et est ignoré par tous, à deux exceptions près (d'une manière qui rappellera quelque chose aux lecteurs des Les Enfants de la terre de Jean Marie Auel) ; le personnage central, un érudit tranquille et bonhomme, qui ne s'estime pas taillé pour la grandeur, ce qui en fait justement l'objet idéal ; le politique "bison", qui offre un tableau réjouissant - et tant d'autres !

L'intrigue est fascinante. J'ai adoré la manière dont l'auteur met en exergue et utilise pour le fil narratif, sans aucun préchi-précha, le racisme des races à fourrure pour les Fant, deux espèces humano-éléphantesques, dont les corps nus, les visages munis de trompe préhensile et d'oreilles expressives les répugnent au plus haut point, si bien qu'ils ont été exilés sur une planète humide, planète qui leur est exclusivement réservée en échange du commerce d'une drogue rarissime et incontournable, le koph.

Cette drogue incontournable permet en effet à certains des post-humains, Fant ou à fourrure, d'accéder à un état de transe permettant d'invoquer les morts.
Oui, rien que ça ! Et d'autres rares personnes ont des talents de télépathes, et d'autres de voir l'avenir, ou du moins des possibilités de futurs.
Cela pourrait paraître un peu too much et pourtant...
Un des points forts du roman est son immense crédibilité. Malgré les thèmes très décalés traités (animaux devenus humains, facultés cognitives "magiques") il n'y a jamais de ressenti de ridicule ou de colmaté. Tout est parfaitement cohérent et crédible dans le contexte. D'ailleurs les rares points que vous pourriez penser avoir été éludés par l'auteur sont en fait les bases de l'histoire !

Un autre point fort, et fondamental pour moi, est la maîtrise glorieuse des choix concernant le physique des personnages. Trop souvent, lorsqu'un personnage présente un physique inhabituel, l'auteur s'empêtre-t-il. Soit il en fait trop dans sa mise en scène, en détaillant sans cesse les éléments inhabituels - pour nous, pas pour le contexte ! - nous arrachant sans cesse à notre lecture pour nous ramener à notre réalité, ou alors, après avoir sommairement expliqué d'une manière ou d'une autre que le personnage avait, par exemple, un corps mélangé d'éléphant et d'humain, semble oublier ce fait pourtant fondamental et présente un humain classique, avec de rares allusions à une trompe ou des oreilles, qui tombent comme autant de cheveux sur la soupe.

Dans ce roman les personnages vivent ! Si on ne connaît pas tout de leurs corps atypiques, on comprend qu'ils sont tous bipèdes, dotés de mains, et capables de sourire et de parler, donc avec des bouches modifiées. Ensuite, les particularités de leurs corps sont fréquemment et élégamment mises en scène dans la narration, avec un naturel exquis qui soulève l'admiration !
Le langage oral est complètement réinventé, la manière d'utiliser sa trompe pour compléter les bras, pour se rassurer, pour présenter une posture réservée, les oreilles pour exprimer la surprise, pour se ventiler en cas d'émotion forte, le barrissement de surprise ou d'indignation...

La culture propre des Fants est également très bien pensée et incorporée au récit : les Fants sont humains, mais des humains autres, avec des goûts (alimentaires, vestimentaires) différents, des modes de vie (maisonnées de femmes et d'enfants, hommes plus souvent isolés, ne supportant pas trop la concentration masculine) différents, une manière de vivre (très écologique, plastique rarissime, acceptation de la pluie tiède à tout moment, un choix de fin de vie atypique avec un exil volontaire) différente.
C'est aussi un peuple raffiné, cultivé, paisible, qui vit en harmonie - à l'exception du refus du handicap, exception d'autant plus choquante, qui porte l'un des thèmes du récit.

Je pourrais continuer encore et encore, tant mon enthousiasme est grand, et tant j'aimerais continuer à penser aux personnages et à la suite de l'histoire, pourtant non prévue par l'auteur (choix cohérent mais frustrant), mais il faut être raisonnable ! ^-^

Un roman flamboyant, dense sans être envahissant, très humain sans concessions ni excès de violence, qui ouvre une fenêtre fascinante sur un ailleurs lointain, avec des humains variants, à la fois très différents et très semblables à ce que nous sommes.

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting setting and concepts. Not a big science based Scifi novel. More human interaction and culture based. A little slow to get going. Never really hooked me until the last 80 pages or so, when the ending has a solid payoff.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75ish stars.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthropomorphized animals rule the Galaxy now...the story mainly focuses on "Fant" (elephants) who are despised by the other races and live in exile on only one world of the Alliance. The other races long ago agreed to leave them in peace, as they produce drugs on their world that the Alliance needs. But that agreement has been broken...

This was slow going for me, listening to the audio version and getting distracted by other books. But it came to a delightfully satisfying conclusion.

[Beth Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barsk is darn good scifi that explores issues of history, race, and existence through the plights of anthropomorphic elephants and a wide cast of other creatures. It touches on hard science fiction issues but never goes too far. Most importantly, it's a book with a heart. It gripped me right from the start with a Fant accepting his call to go where all his kind must go when they die, but on the way he is kidnapped and held captive. The poor guy just wants to go and die in peace.

All of the characters are fantastic. I adored the precocious young Pizlo and a particular sloth character who gave me all the feels. Jorl is a fantastic protagonist, a Fant who is called far beyond his comfort zone as he begins his hero's quest. This book will definitely be on my nomination lists for the Hugo and Nebula.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are in a universe of anthropomorphic, uplifted animal species and four thousand inhabited planets. One of those uplifted species are the Fant. There are the Lox (African elephants) and the Eleph (Asian elephants).

Jorl is a Lox and a Speaker. With the help of a certain drug he can summon the memory particles of Fants he knew in life or knows through accounts of others. He sees and talks to dead people.

For unknown reasons the Fant are reviled by the other species in this universe and have been exiled to the planet Barsk, a water world with two island chains covered in rain forests and seven moons.

The other species, the Alliance, have a Compact with the Fant about non-interference and never setting foot on Barsk in return for trade goods exclusive to the planet. One of these goods is koph, the drug allowing the collecting of other‘s memories and the ability to talk to the dead. Some of the other species want to have better access to it, without having to rely on the Fant. They are not gentle about it.

The Fant, reviled by all others, are themselves not free of discriminating those that are different. Pizlo, the small son of Jorl‘s best friend, does not conform to the norm and is badly mistreated and ignored by his fellow Fant.

I rooted for Jorl and Pizlo, but other than that I found it hard to decide what other characters to feel for. Quite a few of them on either side of the conflict surrounding koph were not very nice people.

Where are the humans that uplifted all the races of the Alliance? That is one of the big questions.

There are a lot of characters in this book and many different species. Pretty confusing at first. I started taking notes early on, until I realized that there is an appendix at the back of the book of all the races. There is also an appendix detailing the islands of Barks and some of its moons. Read with caution, some of the descriptions in those appendices spoil parts of the book.

I‘m a little conflicted about this book. It was different, I liked the setting and the character development. It was a richly imagined world. But it also took me two weeks to finish it. It was just so slow and I couldn‘t work up much of an interest most of the time, despite the original idea and the good writing. I might have liked it more if the physical setting on Barks had been more detailed… maybe. I‘m unsure. I‘m also missing a satisfying ending for Pizlo. But maybe that happens in the next book, The Moons of Barsk, which I will very likely read as well at some point.

4.5/5 🌖🌖🌖🌖½

[Fantasy Literature · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I put in my ARC request for Lawrence M. Schoen’s new novel Barsk, all I knew about it was that the setting involved a group of worlds inhabited by a variety of anthropomorphic space-faring animal species, with the main focus on elephants (thus its subtitle: The Elephant’s Graveyard). C’mon. El-e-phants in Spaaaaaccce! How could I resist? But Barsk is much more than a funny-but-cool premise; it’s a thoughtful, moving, and provocative exploration of a host of issues, including but not limited to memory, history, free will, and power. Even better, Schoen doesn’t forget to ground his issues in characters we can care about, preventing the novel from devolving into mere abstraction.

As mentioned,... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book about humanity even though it's not about humans. I was somewhat hesitant at first about this one. Anthropomorphic animal stories aren't usually my favorite but this is so creative and original and so well written that it absolutely works. Huge thanks to my SpecFic friends because without them I wouldn't have picked this up on my own and it will most likely end up as a favorite of 2016.

[Mattia Ravasi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Video-review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRos7...

Excellent characterization and an inventive premise make Barsk a pleasure to explore and a great world to get lost into, especially for those who like a little economics, politics and science in their fiction.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most interesting and unusual sci-fi books I've ever read.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel with significant flaws, most notably in the form of elephantine holes in the worldbuilding, and yet enjoyable because of the characters and their struggle.

The setting (a galaxy filled with anthropomorphic/uplifted animals from Earth) is interesting, though the backstory, when it finally arrived, didn't surprise me even slightly. The psychic-powers aspects are rather old-fashioned in SF; they were big in the 80s, but no longer, and the handwavium is plentiful, obvious, and pretty clearly nonsense - plus the way in which it is ultimately used doesn't even make sense in its own terms. I'm referring to the duplication of the protagonist's self - which is made up of subatomic particles which, presumably, are finite in number - in order to give him more power.

I also found the ultimate solution to the problems of the main character overly tidy and optimistic (though perhaps the optimism in exiling the villain to somewhere he could eventually get back from is going to come back to bite the protagonist, or someone else, in a sequel).

I listened to the audiobook, so I can't comment much on the editing, except to observe that the author writes "run the gauntlet" when he means "run the gamut". I can comment on the narration: it was mostly OK, but sometimes the narrator's voice didn't match up with the description in the text very well. A solid B performance.

There was a lot I didn't believe in the worldbuilding; not just the psychic subatomic particles, but the massive amounts of medicines and drugs being produced by a population of a million people who mostly lived low-tech lives, and mostly didn't seem to be involved in that industry. Also, the six-year-old who didn't act like a six-year-old in pretty much any way (yes, I know he was special), and who, despite an active lifestyle and an inability to feel pain, was still alive.

I also wondered for a long time about the two different kinds of phant: lox and eleph (not sure of the spelling, since I listened to the audiobook) - although I eventually figured out, and confirmed by checking Wikipedia, that they corresponded to African and Asian elephants. This was a worldbuilding detail that wasn't exploited, a difference that made no difference. We were never told how the two groups' appearance differed, though it clearly did, since everyone could tell on sight which group any given phant belonged to; and there was no hint of an answer to the obvious questions: Do lox tease eleph in the schoolyard, or vice versa? Are eleph parents upset if their daughter brings home a lox boyfriend? If not, why not? This would have given the culture a bit more depth, and made the "furry people bad and prejudiced, non-furry people good and broadminded" division a bit less obvious.

Despite all these aspects that didn't work for me, there was plenty that did. I wanted the protagonist to succeed, I liked him and his supporting cast, and I felt for them because of the ordinary caring relationships that were depicted between them. There was a good amount of suspense in the plot, too. I have no complaints about the storytelling, except inasmuch as the issues with the worldbuilding turned into plot holes for me. By keeping my disbelief forcibly suspended, I enjoyed the book, and I would read a sequel (which I believe is underway).

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barsk is a novel of a many parts, let down by an inability to grasp some ineffable quality of grandeur. In the far future, science has proved the existence of souls, and a select group of Speakers can commune with the dead by taking the drug Koph, which grows only on one planet. All the humans are gone, and the sentient beings are various species of uplifted animals. Barsk, source of the drug, is also home to the despised Fants, descended from elephants. For 800 years, their world has been defined by the compact, where they provide pharmaceuticals including Koph to the galaxy, and the galaxy leaves them the hell alone, as laid out by the prophetic visions and political wiles of their long dead matriarch.

Into this mess stumbles Jorl, a Speaker of rare talent who faces a prophesied crises called the Silence. His quest involves the mysterious suicide of his best friend, his friend's troubled and gifted son Pizlo, a Senator willing to commit any crime to maintain his hold on power, and a new formulation of koph which turns the user into the next best thing to a God.

Now I read a lot of science-fiction, so this might be on me, but I can see where the main ideas of Barsk have been done before and with more style. The uplifted animals and messy galactic confederations are from David Brin, and there's a stylistic similarity with Brin beyond the uplift part, except that Brin at his best is pulpy and daring, where Barsk plods. The intermingling of precognition, politics, and a planet that is the sole source of a vital drug are the key elements of Dune, but Dune is a masterpiece which reflects some uncomfortable truths about human nature and potential, and Barsk falls into a mundane Zootopia style "species as destiny". The physical reality of souls, precocious children, and the term Speaker comes from Orson Scott Card's Ender series (though the speaking is very different, without the transgressive humanism of Card's Speakers for the Dead). And say what you will about Card, he has at times a keen eye for character and as a good a prose style as anyone in the genre. Again, Barsk is just average.

It's frustrating, because this isn't an bad book, and it kept me entertained all the way through, but it just had so little to say. There's a really good novella at the heart of this book, about a man (okay, elephant thing) who can intercede between the living and the dead, and how existing in that ultimate liminal space transforms his world. Does he heal traumas that we must learn to grieve over, or does he reopen wounds that are best left closed? Unfortunately, that novella is buried under a bunch of space opera cruft.