The Fall of Tartarus

by Eric Brown

Genres: Science Fiction

312 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

Eric Brown was a British science fiction author and Guardian critic.

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

even though this book is technically composed of short stories, it definitely reads like a novel. every story takes place on the planet tartarus, with the first one taking place 200 years before their sun is going to explode in a supernova and destroy the planet. each successive story takes place closer to this final event. so the characters and plot of each story are different, only the locale is the same.

this is my favorite kind of sf...involving alien beings on an alien planet.sometimes sf has so much hard science, it's enough to give you brainfreeze. this isn't like that at all, they are just really good entertaining stories. it's also kind of neat that the cities are named after french poets etc....baudelaire, apollinaire, and mallarme.

so if you like entertaining sf that doesn't tax the brain too much, this book is highly recommended. i have most of his other books and will definitely be reading them all.

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Brown (1960-2023) fue una de las voces más sólidas y constantes de la ciencia ficción británica contemporánea. Ganador en dos ocasiones del premio British Science Fiction Association (BSFA), Brown se alejó frecuentemente del hard-SF más gélido para centrarse en lo que él denominaba una ciencia ficción humanista. Sus relatos suelen explorar la soledad, el peso del pasado y el choque cultural en mundos alienígenas detallados y melancólicos. Sus influencias, que van desde el sentido de la maravilla de la edad de oro hasta la sensibilidad literaria de autores como Robert Silverberg, se reflejan con claridad en la antología que aquí nos ocupa.

La obra nos sitúa en Tártaro Mayor, un mundo tan fascinante como terminal. Situado en un sistema cuya estrella está a punto de convertirse en supernova, el planeta vive un largo y agónico crepúsculo. Mientras la comunidad galáctica organiza una evacuación apresurada y a menudo corrupta, los habitantes de Tártaro —colonos humanos degradados, sectas religiosas extremistas y aventureros de diversos sistemas— lidian con el fin del mundo a su manera

The Fall of Tartarus no es una novela convencional, sino una colección de historias interconectadas que construyen una atmósfera de fatalismo lírico difícil de olvidar. El mayor acierto de Brown no es la descripción técnica de la inminente supernova, sino la construcción del paisaje humano ante el desastre.

Destiny on Tartarus
Es el relato que abre el libro y presenta a Sinclair Singer, un joven que viaja desde la Tierra a Tártaro Mayor para descubrir la verdad sobre su padre, Gregor Singer. Al llegar, es estafado por un hombre llamado Buzatti, lo que le deja casi sin fondos. Sinclair utiliza un "cubo de persona", una simulación de la personalidad de su padre, para pedirle consejo, aunque la relación entre ambos es tensa y llena de reproches. Sinclair descubre, a través de un abogado, que su padre no era un simple colono, sino un mercenario que buscaba redención participando en una carrera fluvial suicida conocida como el Desafío de Caribdis.

A Prayer for the Dead
La historia sigue a Joe Sanders, un hombre que regresa a su hogar de la infancia en Tartarus cincuenta años antes de la catástrofe estelar, para reflexionar sobre un verano trágico de su juventud. El relato destaca por su enfoque retrospectivo y emocional, explorando temas de amor juvenil, tragedia y nostalgia en el contexto del inminente fin del mundo.

The Eschatarium at Lyssia
Se centra en el personaje de Fairman, quien es contactado por un Mensajero que afirma traer un mensaje del fantasma de su esposa muerta, Aramantha. La historia explora las creencias místicas de Tártaro y la idea de que la conciencia puede sobrevivir de formas extrañas en un mundo que se acerca a su fin físico.

The Ultimate Sacrifice
Relata la historia de Hans Cramer y su amada Francesca. Tras un accidente de nave, Francesca queda atrapada en la influencia de la Iglesia del Sacrificio Último. El relato es una cruda exploración del fanatismo religioso; los creyentes buscan la salvación a través de la mutilación física y el dolor extremo, creyendo que su sacrificio les permitirá trascender cuando el sol explote.

The People of the Nova
En este cuento se examina el impacto social de la evacuación de Tártaro. A través de Magnusson y una investigadora llamada Katerina, vemos cómo las corporaciones galácticas (TWC) gestionan la salida de la población y el destino de las tribus indígenas que se niegan a abandonar su hogar, prefiriendo morir con su mundo.

Vulpheous
En un mundo condenado por la inminente supernova de su sol, el explorador Connery se refugia en un remoto cráter volcánico. Su única obsesión es encontrar al Vulpheous, una criatura legendaria que habita en un lago de aguas estancadas. Allí conoce a Leona, una joven nativa terminal que cree fervientemente que el espiráculo de la bestia puede curar su enfermedad.

Hunting the Slarque
Presenta a Hunter, un rastreador que es resucitado de la muerte por un millonario llamado Alvarez para que cace a una criatura mítica: el Slarque. El Slarque es una raza alienígena inteligente y antigua que se cree extinta o involucionada. La historia se convierte en una búsqueda desesperada en la que Hunter espera también reencontrarse con su esposa, Sam, quien está en el interior del planeta filmando a estas criaturas.

Dark Calvary
Es la pieza final que cierra el ciclo. En ella, los temas de la fe desviada y el horror corporal llegan a su clímax. Vemos los últimos momentos de los personajes que han aceptado el dogma de la Iglesia del Sacrificio, esperando que la explosión de la supernova convierta sus sufrimientos en una forma de comunicación eterna con el cosmos.

El libro funciona como una elegía. Cada relato aporta una pieza al puzzle de Tártaro, mostrando que ante la muerte inevitable, el ser humano se refugia en la búsqueda de sus raíces, en el amor desesperado o en la locura religiosa. Brown utiliza la ciencia ficción para hablar, en última instancia, de la aceptación de la mortalidad.

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somewhere within every review that I write of Eric Brown's work usually appears a statement that he has [yet again] failed to disappoint me and this collection of eight interlinked short works is yet another superb example of this. This book showcases an author who writes consistently good science fiction and the stories overflow with so many of the ingredients which make up supremely entertaining yarns.

The main character is the planet Tartarus whose sun is going nova (a cataclysmic eruption and subsequent decline of a star) and each story is about characters who are either live on the planet or are returning for various reasons. The stories are arranged chronologically, with each one set closer to the impending supernova, from a couple of hundred years prior right up until the supernova engulfs Tartarus and those left there. Each story was originally published in sci-fi magazines between 1995 and 2000 and one of the stories, the novella Hunting The Slarque, won the British Science Fiction Association’s best short story award in 2000, a fact which doesn't surprise me one little bit.

This compilation shows that Eric Brown can't write bad stories, well I'm yet to read one. I'm left feeling satisfied and complete from reading these stories, each one fitting within Brown's tried-and-true formula which has amazing locations and events along with the character themes of loss, love, sacrifice and redemption. These ingredients really make the stories shine, just like just about every other piece of Eric Brown's work that I've read so far. I couldn't recommend this one any higher.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sure I've said it before, but Eric Brown is an author that I've come to enjoy a great deal. I read his Bengal Station trilogy over the past couple of years and this year I've been steadily getting hold of his back list. The Fall of Tartarus is a collection that I managed to get hold of a few months back, not really knowing what it would contain, but sure that this collection would meet my expectations. That it did and just goes to show that there is an author who writes consistently good science fiction.

This collection focuses on the colony world of Tartarus, a planet whose sun will go nova in the not too distant future - hence the rather suitable title. We follow different groups and people as they experience life and times on the doomed world, dating from a couple of hundred years prior to the supernova and ending with said event. Each story takes place at times closer and closer to the nova and we see a world change, the attitudes of those living there towards the mass evacuation and life in general for those few that visit Tartarus.

Destiny on Tartarus - 9/10
This is a story about Sinclair who travels to Tartarus to find out his father's fate, his mother informing him when he was younger that it was on this planet that he had perished. With little information we follow him from arrival on Tartarus, learning the hard way that kindness is not always what it seems, and then meeting a fabled Blackman who accompanies him on his journey of discovery. Culminating in the annual, and very dangerous, ship race across some of the roughest seas on the planet where Sinclair makes the discovery he travelled to Tartarus for.

This is an excellent story, possibly one of the best of the collection, and is the perfect starter to show you what to expect. It's a personal story that focuses on the motivations and goals of Sinclair, but also provides a good bit of worldbuilding to show what Tartarus is about and why it is unique beyond the impending supernova. It's a heartfelt and touching tale that I really enjoyed.

A Prayer for the Dead - 9/10
This is the story of Joe, who revisits his childhood home on tartarus before the supernova happens and reminisces about his childhood and the events that occurred over one particular summer. It's a story of friendships, relationships and strife, stemming from one day when he met a Zillion, an alien being that is living out the remainder of his life on the planet. With events leading to a relationship he has always dreamed of, and ultimately the distress caused by this and other actions. It's a nice tale and shows that Brown can easily write characters you want to read about and care for, culminating in a revelation that explains it all.

The Eschatarium at Lyssia - 7/10
This is the story of Jonathan, an artist who lost his wife on Tartarus, when he is visited by a messenger from the planet informing him that they were sent by his wife. He struggles to believe this, but still goes back to the planet to see what this vague message is about. When revisiting an ancient amphitheatre created millions of years ago by the Tharseans, he finds the answer to this question and discovers something strange and significant. While a good story, this isn't the greatest here. It's also fairly short, but still delivers with good characters and a very real and personal story.

The Ultimate Sacrifice - 6/10
This is a story of Katerina, a reporter, who has travelled to Tartarus to find her brother, or at least the fate he has suffered. Her investigations lead her to the Church of the Ultimate Sacrifice where the members of it practice penance physicale, a form of mortification. It's a short story that sheds some light on this aspect of religion on Tartarus, but while it's once again a personal story it isn't the best in the collection.

The People of the Nova - 7/10
Jenner is trying to find the Ey'an people in order to evacuate them prior to the supernova, and while one of them lives with him at the research camp they are no closer to tracking them down. He is haunted by the disappearance of his wife when she went on an up-river trek trying to find the Ey'an, and although they did the same work they had disagreements about the forced evacuation of all the people of Tartarus. What follows here is a story that looks at the morality of forcing people to abandon their planet, but also keeping it personal with Jenner's loss of his wife and the connection he has with Cahla, the native Ey'an that is staying with him. All in all it's a good look at what you would expect from a dying planet collection, with Brown giving it a suitably emotive touch.

Vulpheous - 8/10
Here's an interesting story where science meets religion, or at least meets legend, when Connery is trying to track down the last existing Vulpheous which he believes holds the cure to many diseases that are at current incurable. With a personal history in this he is determined to get what he came for, but he meets a native girl who has trekked to the Vulpheous in order to cure herself, as the local legends say it can. With these two meeting and friendship between them blooming Connery has to decide what he will do, either good or bad, to ensure he can evacuate the planet in time. Another good little story here focusing on further aspects of Tartarus and the secrets it holds. I quite enjoyed it, mainly because it invokes more emotion for the dying world.

Hunting the Slarque - 8/10
This is the story of Hunter, a man who was a victim of a Slarque attack on Tartarus. Usually these victims die, but his wife managed to put his remains in stasis which then underwent a regenerative process by a wealthy businessman. The cost - to return to Tartarus and find and capture a Slarque for this man's zoo. His wife had already returned there and it is only because of this reason that he agrees. While this seems a fairly straightforward tale there is a surprise at the end that makes it worthwhile, and Eric Brown once again shows how well he can create a connection to the characters and story in such a short space of time.

Dark Calvary - 8/10
This story follows Crammer and Francesca and brings back the Church of the Ultimate Sacrifice while also adding some further details of the Slarque. It's a suitable ending to this collection and one I won't go into detail about - it really needs to be read to be fully appreciated. A fine note to end the fate of the planet Tartarus on.

Conclusion
The Fall of Tartarus is a great collection of shared setting tales, each adding something to the overall picture of life on Tartarus in the time leading up to the supernova. While they mostly work as stand alone pieces it is much better to read them in this format. Brown is able to write sci-fi that doesn't venture into the realms of hard science, but he uses a consistently vivid backdrop to tell the tale of each of the characters here. It's because of this ability that I enjoy reading his works so much and he's possibly the most accessible sci-fi writer of recent years - I would certainly recommend anyone that isn't familiar with sci-fi to pick up his books and give them a go. And this one isn't a bad place to start at all. Highly recommended!

[Phil On The Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable group of stories set against a backdrop of a star going supernova. Very human tales dealing with death, love, loss and belief. They feel very British in tone. 3.5*

[Andy Butturini · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories were well thought out and didnt need the reader to have a degree on physics in order to understand what was happening on the future earth colony. The ending were complete and left no further questions

[Jennifer Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite unique from anything else I've read. A good read.

[Sara]

Dark calaviry
i went after yr another faces
to search magic
mireacle
temple of shaurq
and the bird tell the harm will go forever
dark after dark play by our apples
that appels i see yr faces at it
my tears come on yr wall heart
our love sing in theater
tent after tent
i search y
i kill yr sea
i kill yr step to that wind
i kill yr pincil that draw the map
but y cant kill yr love at my heart
at cross dark pain come to yr rest
sail the mask
what a mask y have now love
on my kneel take my wishs
to sign of love come to our happy