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Birthright #14
Agyarak
Duncan Rojas tudományos kutatót a galaktikus idő 6303-as évében váratlanul felkeresi egy különös, megszállott férfi, Bukoba Mandaka, az időközben már teljesen kihalt és elhagyott Föld egyik néhai, afrikai törzsének, a maszaiknak az utolsó leszármazottja. Mandaka egyetlen vágya, hogy még életében igazságot szolgáltathasson egykor dicső népének és visszaszerezze a Kilimandzsáró Elefántjának hatalmas, mítikus erővel bíró agyarait, melyek a galaktikus civilizációk évezredeiben itt-ott felbukkantak, majd nyomtalanul eltűntek. Duncan Rojas segítőtársául szegődik, kutatásaik azonban nem várt akadályokba ütköznek…
436 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1988
30 people are currently reading
518 people want to read
About the author
Mike Resnick
812 books551 followersMichael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
January 24, 2012
Brisk, effortless story-telling that engages you with its pleasing SF wrapper and then gradually fills up your core with its powerful central message of loss, pain, folly and hope. Resnick is one of my favorite story-tellers, especially when he touches on the exploration/exploitation of the continent of Africa, for which his passion is evident on every page. This book is one of his ABSOLUTE BEST.
I’ve previously touched on Resnick’s Africa esteem in my reviews of Paradise Review and Kirinyaga Review and his deep fascination and admiration for Africa in general and Kenya in particular shines through with such clarity in this work. While I have enjoyed many of Resnick’s novels and short stories and find him generally enjoyable, he is at his most moving and thought-provoking in these works where his love and respect for the source material is so “on the sleeve.”
PLOT SUMMARY & THOUGHTS:
Ivory, like most of Resnick’s science fiction takes place within his “Birthright” universe that covers the entire history of humankind over a period of just less than 23,000 years (from 1885 A.D. to 21,703 G.E.). For those of you unfamiliar with the universe, I would point you in the direction of Birthright: The Book of Man which is a series of short stories that give an excellent introduction to various periods of this future history. Plus it is a wonderful in its own right.
Ivory itself, after a brief stage setting prologue, takes place in the “present” of 6303 G.E. and primarily concerns the life paths of two main characters. Duncan Rojas is an artifact researcher/authenticator who you could think of as an “Indiana Jones” character, minus the adventures and the whip, who does his “questing” via a massive computer archive. Duncan works for a large megacorp that publishes the preeminent guide used by all the larger museums for confirming and cataloguing the authenticity of important historical artifacts.
Duncan is approached by a mysterious man who identifies himself as Bukoba Mandaka and claims to be the “last of the Maasai.” The Maasai were an African people that Resnick has used as the focus of most of his African stories. Bukoba hires Duncan to locate the Ivory tusks of the great “Kilimanjaro Elephant” and is willing to pay and/or do anything to obtain them. As he explains to Duncan, securing the tusks is a sacred task that has fallen to Bukoba because he is the last of his kind.
Why does Bukoba need the tusks? What is their significance and what purpose will they serve? Theses “whys” are slowly and beautifully revealed throughout the rest of the story which is told in a series of vignettes tracing the amazing history and journey of the Tusks, from their beginning in 1898 A.D. and all through their almost 7500 year history up to the present day.
One of the most captivating aspects of the story for me was that each vignette begins with a brief but beautiful “flashback” to the Kilimanjaro Elephant as it makes its final “living” journey in 1898 A.D. to the place it eventually dies, thus beginning the multi-millennium journey of the tusks.
Evocative and memorable, these passages demonstrate better than anything else Resnick’s deep love and respect for the “Great” elephant.
I thought the writing was wonderful and invokes powerful emotions without ever being sappy or melodramatic. The story itself is strong enough and Resnick uses his prose to service, rather than usurp, the tale. The use of vignettes as a plot device was the right choice for this story and Resnick does an amazing job moving forward and gradually revealing the mystery of the tusks.
The ending was magical. SIMPLY SUPERB!
5.0 stars. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!
Nominee: Nebula Award for Best Novel
Nominee: Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
I’ve previously touched on Resnick’s Africa esteem in my reviews of Paradise Review and Kirinyaga Review and his deep fascination and admiration for Africa in general and Kenya in particular shines through with such clarity in this work. While I have enjoyed many of Resnick’s novels and short stories and find him generally enjoyable, he is at his most moving and thought-provoking in these works where his love and respect for the source material is so “on the sleeve.”
PLOT SUMMARY & THOUGHTS:
Ivory, like most of Resnick’s science fiction takes place within his “Birthright” universe that covers the entire history of humankind over a period of just less than 23,000 years (from 1885 A.D. to 21,703 G.E.). For those of you unfamiliar with the universe, I would point you in the direction of Birthright: The Book of Man which is a series of short stories that give an excellent introduction to various periods of this future history. Plus it is a wonderful in its own right.
Ivory itself, after a brief stage setting prologue, takes place in the “present” of 6303 G.E. and primarily concerns the life paths of two main characters. Duncan Rojas is an artifact researcher/authenticator who you could think of as an “Indiana Jones” character, minus the adventures and the whip, who does his “questing” via a massive computer archive. Duncan works for a large megacorp that publishes the preeminent guide used by all the larger museums for confirming and cataloguing the authenticity of important historical artifacts.
Duncan is approached by a mysterious man who identifies himself as Bukoba Mandaka and claims to be the “last of the Maasai.” The Maasai were an African people that Resnick has used as the focus of most of his African stories. Bukoba hires Duncan to locate the Ivory tusks of the great “Kilimanjaro Elephant” and is willing to pay and/or do anything to obtain them. As he explains to Duncan, securing the tusks is a sacred task that has fallen to Bukoba because he is the last of his kind.
Why does Bukoba need the tusks? What is their significance and what purpose will they serve? Theses “whys” are slowly and beautifully revealed throughout the rest of the story which is told in a series of vignettes tracing the amazing history and journey of the Tusks, from their beginning in 1898 A.D. and all through their almost 7500 year history up to the present day.
One of the most captivating aspects of the story for me was that each vignette begins with a brief but beautiful “flashback” to the Kilimanjaro Elephant as it makes its final “living” journey in 1898 A.D. to the place it eventually dies, thus beginning the multi-millennium journey of the tusks.
Evocative and memorable, these passages demonstrate better than anything else Resnick’s deep love and respect for the “Great” elephant.
I thought the writing was wonderful and invokes powerful emotions without ever being sappy or melodramatic. The story itself is strong enough and Resnick uses his prose to service, rather than usurp, the tale. The use of vignettes as a plot device was the right choice for this story and Resnick does an amazing job moving forward and gradually revealing the mystery of the tusks.
The ending was magical. SIMPLY SUPERB!
5.0 stars. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!
Nominee: Nebula Award for Best Novel
Nominee: Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
January 1, 2017
What an epic story, and so powerful. I don't think that anyone with a soul could NOT be moved by this tale. A researcher on a distant planet is tasked with the challenge of locating a pair of enormous elephant tusks from an animal that died thousands of years prior on Earth, and the man wishing to obtain the tusks is quite an enigma, with a very profound reason for wanting the tusks.
Mike Resnick spins the yarn in his usual style, which is incredibly easy to read and confirms again that he is one of the best storytellers of any genre. Set in his Birthright universe with the usual impressive array of wonderful alien worlds and species with their associated differences, the story remains firmly rooted back on Earth in the wide open spaces of Africa.
I approached the book very relaxed and in no hurry, but the pace of the story is steady if not brisk, and I soon found myself progressing through at quite a good rate. While it has quite a serious tone, Ivory is a book that, while reading it, I found myself smiling and chuckling away quietly at many of the goings on surrounding the twists and turns of the journey of the the elusive tusks. The way that the book also follows, as chapter introductions, the original quest of the impressive Kilimanjaro elephant who grew the ivory, is in wonderful contrast to the future galaxy in which the main body of the story takes place. In fact, I thought that one of the best sections is the least "sci-fi" of the book, a portion of the story set in the late 19th century describing the hunt for the elephant across wild African plains. The conclusion of the story is very satisfying and sobering, leaving you in a contemplative state of mind like many of the other stories in Resnick's Birthright universe.
Apart from some of the action sequences being quite brief, this book is simply brilliant, the dialogue is wonderful and I really felt like I was "in the room" with the characters, listening to the conversations, seeing the looks on their faces and sensing their emotions. This is easily the best of Resnick's work that I've read so far, and goes right into the top group of my all-time favorite fiction books. There are so many more of his stories that I am yet to read and if they're half as good as Ivory then that is a very, very exciting prospect.
Mike Resnick spins the yarn in his usual style, which is incredibly easy to read and confirms again that he is one of the best storytellers of any genre. Set in his Birthright universe with the usual impressive array of wonderful alien worlds and species with their associated differences, the story remains firmly rooted back on Earth in the wide open spaces of Africa.
I approached the book very relaxed and in no hurry, but the pace of the story is steady if not brisk, and I soon found myself progressing through at quite a good rate. While it has quite a serious tone, Ivory is a book that, while reading it, I found myself smiling and chuckling away quietly at many of the goings on surrounding the twists and turns of the journey of the the elusive tusks. The way that the book also follows, as chapter introductions, the original quest of the impressive Kilimanjaro elephant who grew the ivory, is in wonderful contrast to the future galaxy in which the main body of the story takes place. In fact, I thought that one of the best sections is the least "sci-fi" of the book, a portion of the story set in the late 19th century describing the hunt for the elephant across wild African plains. The conclusion of the story is very satisfying and sobering, leaving you in a contemplative state of mind like many of the other stories in Resnick's Birthright universe.
Apart from some of the action sequences being quite brief, this book is simply brilliant, the dialogue is wonderful and I really felt like I was "in the room" with the characters, listening to the conversations, seeing the looks on their faces and sensing their emotions. This is easily the best of Resnick's work that I've read so far, and goes right into the top group of my all-time favorite fiction books. There are so many more of his stories that I am yet to read and if they're half as good as Ivory then that is a very, very exciting prospect.
March 3, 2023
"Parecen muy limpios para toda la sangre que arrastran con ellos"
Me ha dejado un vacío bastante grande, principalmente porque me lo he estado leyendo a pausas, a caladas profundas y en momentos en los que debía estar haciendo cualquier otra cosa que no fuera leer. Como ahora, a un día de otro examen que decidirá mi futuro, me lo he terminado en vez de estudiar Ejecución Penal.
Pero no me arrepiento, porque éste es otro de esos libros que pasan por tu vida para desquebrajar tu realidad y hacerte ver el mundo de formas prismáticas, místicas, amplias y creativas. Y valió completamente la pena el año que le dediqué, porque se quedará conmigo por muchos más.
Es interesante el contraste entre el humor sardonico, patético o las excentricidades de gente perversa, la maldad y frivolidad que encierra el ser humano, todo lo extraño que tenían algunos de los relatos, como el del tirano impotente sexual o el del embajador idiota que se dejó seducir por una idea demasiado buena para ser verdad, en contraposición con la injusticia y el dolor de otros. Es decir, me parecieron algunos tan profundos que tuve que darles una segunda leída más concienzuda al terminarlos, de tan fuertes que eran. De tan hondo que calaban.
A pesar de ello, la que más me ha gustado, es la de Tembo Laibon, al principio. Parece la más pulida, con más detalles, con las descripciones más cuidadas, que uno termina tomando como realidad por su fascinante cuadro de colores. Con esos personajes, es imposible no picar la curiosidad hasta del más indiferente. El detalle es que, cuando se acaba y vemos que esto se trata en si de la trayectoria por el universo de esos colmillos... Casi es decepcionante. Y digo casi, porque luego de abstraerme en los siguientes relatos, viendo como se sucedían las situaciones una tras otra, me di cuenta de que todo era interesante. No tanto como el relato inicial, vamos a reconocerlo, pero igual de fascinante.
Siguiendo ese mismo patrón de excentricidades, la calidad de los relatos va perdiendo lustre. Hasta el punto de que ahora al terminar la lectura, tengo borrosos varios. Pero eso no opaca los que si son buenos dentro del mismo, como los últimos antes del desenlace definitivo. Que por cierto, ese final, a mi juicio, se sintió demasiado abrupto. Y el hecho de que Duncan no sacase en limpio nada de esto, que se obligara a cerrarse en sí mismo mucho más que antes en base a éste suceso... No sé, creo que fue una decisión equivocada de su autor. Aunque seamos honestos, lo contrario habría sido esperado y típico, pero habría sido mil veces mejor.
Otra cosa que me gustó, fue que los protagonistas no eran los dos genéricos Kirk y Spock. Policía bueno y malo. Uno apasionado y efervescente, otro frío y lógico. Sino que ambos eran una mezcla de los dos, pero a distintos rangos, de modo que siempre se sentía la diferencia entre uno y otro. Y la forma en la que el uno abandonaba su mundo para unirse a la búsqueda del otro, es bastante asombroso. Había paralelismos en sus vidas, a pesar de que de verdad que no podrían existir seres más diferentes.
La pasión y fe de Budoka me ha traspasado el corazón en múltiples ocasiones. Parecía ser él el que se hallaba en un limbo de depresión contemplativa hacia el pasado, negándose a un futuro por su deber. Tiene que ser otro de esos personajes que se quedarán conmigo el resto de mi vida y a los que recurriré en momentos de agobio, como el que hay sobre mi desde el inicio del año.
Pero a pesar de todo, ese trasfondo, del que parece que nadie habla, ese impacto cristiano y místico, es lo que me ha dejado levemente trastocada. Un universo tan basto... ¿Y el mismo Dios para todas las criaturas? ¿Para todas las razas humanas y no humanas? Porque nótese el hecho de *Dios* pero en singular. Hablamos de un creador de todo y por tanto un solo Dios para TODOS... No es que lo esté criticando, porque en si me parece tan poético que me deja sin aliento, no obstante... ¿Debería esto tomarse a burla o como algún extraño y filosófico mensaje? ¿El ser humano estará atado eternamente a sus raíces y creencias aunque éstas terminen siendo solo eso?
Lo digo por que básicamente, la historia del tirano es un chiste de la religiosidad y la estupidez humana. Es claro, gracioso y patético, pero claro. O la de los voladores nocturnos, con esa manía de colgarse de sitios altos y la veneración a los objetos grandes ¿Pero qué hay de lo demás? No creo que el Dios del que se habla entre líneas haya sido puesto al azar. ¿El Dios al que se dirigía el elefante o al que le construyó el altar Mandaka? no me parecen figuras difusas de mentes desorbitadas.
Sin embargo... No hay una respuesta como tal al final... Es un *ojalá* un *tal vez* y fundirse con la nada o el abismo profundo después de haber vivido y visto eternamente cosas inimaginables.
Tendré que releerlo más adelante, con más tiempo y menos dolores de cabeza por tener el libro de leyes cerrado al lado, acusadoramente. No es un libro para leerse así sin más... Hace falta reflexionar mucho al respecto, muy profundamente.
Me ha dejado un vacío bastante grande, principalmente porque me lo he estado leyendo a pausas, a caladas profundas y en momentos en los que debía estar haciendo cualquier otra cosa que no fuera leer. Como ahora, a un día de otro examen que decidirá mi futuro, me lo he terminado en vez de estudiar Ejecución Penal.
Pero no me arrepiento, porque éste es otro de esos libros que pasan por tu vida para desquebrajar tu realidad y hacerte ver el mundo de formas prismáticas, místicas, amplias y creativas. Y valió completamente la pena el año que le dediqué, porque se quedará conmigo por muchos más.
Es interesante el contraste entre el humor sardonico, patético o las excentricidades de gente perversa, la maldad y frivolidad que encierra el ser humano, todo lo extraño que tenían algunos de los relatos, como el del tirano impotente sexual o el del embajador idiota que se dejó seducir por una idea demasiado buena para ser verdad, en contraposición con la injusticia y el dolor de otros. Es decir, me parecieron algunos tan profundos que tuve que darles una segunda leída más concienzuda al terminarlos, de tan fuertes que eran. De tan hondo que calaban.
A pesar de ello, la que más me ha gustado, es la de Tembo Laibon, al principio. Parece la más pulida, con más detalles, con las descripciones más cuidadas, que uno termina tomando como realidad por su fascinante cuadro de colores. Con esos personajes, es imposible no picar la curiosidad hasta del más indiferente. El detalle es que, cuando se acaba y vemos que esto se trata en si de la trayectoria por el universo de esos colmillos... Casi es decepcionante. Y digo casi, porque luego de abstraerme en los siguientes relatos, viendo como se sucedían las situaciones una tras otra, me di cuenta de que todo era interesante. No tanto como el relato inicial, vamos a reconocerlo, pero igual de fascinante.
Siguiendo ese mismo patrón de excentricidades, la calidad de los relatos va perdiendo lustre. Hasta el punto de que ahora al terminar la lectura, tengo borrosos varios. Pero eso no opaca los que si son buenos dentro del mismo, como los últimos antes del desenlace definitivo. Que por cierto, ese final, a mi juicio, se sintió demasiado abrupto. Y el hecho de que Duncan no sacase en limpio nada de esto, que se obligara a cerrarse en sí mismo mucho más que antes en base a éste suceso... No sé, creo que fue una decisión equivocada de su autor. Aunque seamos honestos, lo contrario habría sido esperado y típico, pero habría sido mil veces mejor.
Otra cosa que me gustó, fue que los protagonistas no eran los dos genéricos Kirk y Spock. Policía bueno y malo. Uno apasionado y efervescente, otro frío y lógico. Sino que ambos eran una mezcla de los dos, pero a distintos rangos, de modo que siempre se sentía la diferencia entre uno y otro. Y la forma en la que el uno abandonaba su mundo para unirse a la búsqueda del otro, es bastante asombroso. Había paralelismos en sus vidas, a pesar de que de verdad que no podrían existir seres más diferentes.
La pasión y fe de Budoka me ha traspasado el corazón en múltiples ocasiones. Parecía ser él el que se hallaba en un limbo de depresión contemplativa hacia el pasado, negándose a un futuro por su deber. Tiene que ser otro de esos personajes que se quedarán conmigo el resto de mi vida y a los que recurriré en momentos de agobio, como el que hay sobre mi desde el inicio del año.
Pero a pesar de todo, ese trasfondo, del que parece que nadie habla, ese impacto cristiano y místico, es lo que me ha dejado levemente trastocada. Un universo tan basto... ¿Y el mismo Dios para todas las criaturas? ¿Para todas las razas humanas y no humanas? Porque nótese el hecho de *Dios* pero en singular. Hablamos de un creador de todo y por tanto un solo Dios para TODOS... No es que lo esté criticando, porque en si me parece tan poético que me deja sin aliento, no obstante... ¿Debería esto tomarse a burla o como algún extraño y filosófico mensaje? ¿El ser humano estará atado eternamente a sus raíces y creencias aunque éstas terminen siendo solo eso?
Lo digo por que básicamente, la historia del tirano es un chiste de la religiosidad y la estupidez humana. Es claro, gracioso y patético, pero claro. O la de los voladores nocturnos, con esa manía de colgarse de sitios altos y la veneración a los objetos grandes ¿Pero qué hay de lo demás? No creo que el Dios del que se habla entre líneas haya sido puesto al azar. ¿El Dios al que se dirigía el elefante o al que le construyó el altar Mandaka? no me parecen figuras difusas de mentes desorbitadas.
Sin embargo... No hay una respuesta como tal al final... Es un *ojalá* un *tal vez* y fundirse con la nada o el abismo profundo después de haber vivido y visto eternamente cosas inimaginables.
Tendré que releerlo más adelante, con más tiempo y menos dolores de cabeza por tener el libro de leyes cerrado al lado, acusadoramente. No es un libro para leerse así sin más... Hace falta reflexionar mucho al respecto, muy profundamente.
July 22, 2010
What I love about Mike Resnick, among other things, is his non-pretentious prose style. He doesn't write like he has a dictionary out to look up the fanciest words for saying everything in an attempt to impress you. Instead, he just finds the right words to tell the story. So you don't need to read his books with a dictionary next to you either, and his books work for readers of all ages.
This book, one of several inspired by his love of and travels through Africa, is the story of Duncan Rojas and Bukoba Mandanka and the tusks of the Kilimanjaro Elephant, the largest to ever exist.
Rojas, a researcher for Braxton's Records of Big Game, is hired by Mandaka, the last living Masaai, to find the tusks which he believes are the secret to his people's lost power. While he won't explain why he needs them, he is paying handsomely, and Rojas cannot resist a good mystery.
As he researches the tusks with the help of his trusty computer, Rojas learns the stories of various people and aliens who have possessed them over time. The tusks have quite a colorful history, as does the elephant himself, and the stories are fascinating and rich with characters, world building, history and solid plotting.
The chapters run long, something I myself am guilty of, but that's because each chapter contains a historical story and a section about Rojas' research in the present as he learns the history.
In the end, the story raises powerful questions about tradition, faith, and mythology. As is typical of Resnick, the conclusion leaves us to provide our own answers, and there is certainly a lot to think about which resonates with you long after the book has been closed.
A not to be missed, rich story. Thoroughly enjoyable and compelling. For what it's worth...
This book, one of several inspired by his love of and travels through Africa, is the story of Duncan Rojas and Bukoba Mandanka and the tusks of the Kilimanjaro Elephant, the largest to ever exist.
Rojas, a researcher for Braxton's Records of Big Game, is hired by Mandaka, the last living Masaai, to find the tusks which he believes are the secret to his people's lost power. While he won't explain why he needs them, he is paying handsomely, and Rojas cannot resist a good mystery.
As he researches the tusks with the help of his trusty computer, Rojas learns the stories of various people and aliens who have possessed them over time. The tusks have quite a colorful history, as does the elephant himself, and the stories are fascinating and rich with characters, world building, history and solid plotting.
The chapters run long, something I myself am guilty of, but that's because each chapter contains a historical story and a section about Rojas' research in the present as he learns the history.
In the end, the story raises powerful questions about tradition, faith, and mythology. As is typical of Resnick, the conclusion leaves us to provide our own answers, and there is certainly a lot to think about which resonates with you long after the book has been closed.
A not to be missed, rich story. Thoroughly enjoyable and compelling. For what it's worth...
July 11, 2018
Pues he disfrutado un montón con este libro y solo me arrepiento de no haberlo pillado cuando tenía 15 años, cuando mi afición por la lectura era más bien nula.
No haré reseña porque Xavi ha hecho una inmejorable. Así que pongo su link y mejor la leéis ahí:
https://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/20...
No haré reseña porque Xavi ha hecho una inmejorable. Así que pongo su link y mejor la leéis ahí:
https://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/20...
December 30, 2014
Just come across this great book on my bookcases. Read it years ago dont want to mention how many. Lols.
Very enjoyable. Worth reading.
Very enjoyable. Worth reading.
May 22, 2010
One of the most engaging books that I have read, 'Ivory' is, at its heart, an anthology. You see, 'Ivory' is the story of the search for the tusks of the Kilimanjaro Elephant. Sounds mundane-Until you read that it is the year 6303, that no animal larger than a mouse exists on Earth anymore, and that the client looking for the tusks is the last of the Maasai (a nomadic people from Kenya and Tanzania). The investigator, Duncan Rojas, is hired by Buboka (said Maasai) to hunt the tusks down, and in so doing reveals a surprisingly colorful history surrounding them-How they were used as a bet, how they were involved in a war, and so on. By researching the tusks, we get to glimpse into the lives of those affected by the tusks in some manner. But why does Buboka need them at all? I'm not gonna give it away.. :)
Mike Resnick is at his best in this book. In the beginning, 'Ivory' is a little stale due to Rojas' extremely taxonomic and dry personality. But as I read on, the book begins to gather steam, and the world jumped out at me. The travails of the characters involved with the tusks are extremely entertaining, as were the various personalities. All but Rojas and Buboka. They seemed to be little more than window dressing connecting the diverse stories about the tusks. But the ending of the novel made sense, and was satisfying as well! If you're looking for sci-fi of a different slant, or if you want to read a work of fiction that is a little more exotic than your average sci-fi, 'Ivory' is the book for you..!
Mike Resnick is at his best in this book. In the beginning, 'Ivory' is a little stale due to Rojas' extremely taxonomic and dry personality. But as I read on, the book begins to gather steam, and the world jumped out at me. The travails of the characters involved with the tusks are extremely entertaining, as were the various personalities. All but Rojas and Buboka. They seemed to be little more than window dressing connecting the diverse stories about the tusks. But the ending of the novel made sense, and was satisfying as well! If you're looking for sci-fi of a different slant, or if you want to read a work of fiction that is a little more exotic than your average sci-fi, 'Ivory' is the book for you..!
August 7, 2008
Resnick's back in African territory again, this time to tell the story of the next 7,000 years of human history through the point of view of a researcher trying to locate the tusks of the giant Kilimanjaro Elephant on behalf of the last Maasai. This book is classic Resnick at his most engrossing.
September 1, 2024
Antikváriumos ajándék könyvként kaptam, érdekesnek tűnt és valóban az volt az egész. Egy különös keveréke a sci-fi/fantasy és mitológia témáknak, a közepén kicsit eluntam, de azután lett nekem igazán tetsző.
Az ember meghódította a galaxist, elég furcsa jövőt mutat a szerző, lehet ezeken gondolkodni kicsit.
Az utolsó fejezetekben az élet és halál témája is előkerül, az olyan részeket szeretem.
Az ember meghódította a galaxist, elég furcsa jövőt mutat a szerző, lehet ezeken gondolkodni kicsit.
Az utolsó fejezetekben az élet és halál témája is előkerül, az olyan részeket szeretem.
December 2, 2020
6/10 en 2012.
Famoso sobre todo por su novela "Santiago, un mito del lejano futuro" (que está muy bien, 8/10), a mí me gustó mucho su saga de Space Opera militarista "Starship". Este se deja leer, va sobre la historia de unos colmillos desde el siglo XVI hasta el LXI.
Space Opera con masais y extraterrestres rarunos. Paralelismos con lo que les hicimos a las culturas africanas y lo que les haremos a la que encontremos por esos mundos de Dios.
Famoso sobre todo por su novela "Santiago, un mito del lejano futuro" (que está muy bien, 8/10), a mí me gustó mucho su saga de Space Opera militarista "Starship". Este se deja leer, va sobre la historia de unos colmillos desde el siglo XVI hasta el LXI.
Space Opera con masais y extraterrestres rarunos. Paralelismos con lo que les hicimos a las culturas africanas y lo que les haremos a la que encontremos por esos mundos de Dios.
November 29, 2019
Mike Resnick es un maestro del fix-up, de todos esos relatos encadenados que fluyen en una misma historia. En esta ocasión, persigue la pista de los colmillos del elefante del Kilimanjaro, y nos lleva por todo el universo a lo largo de lo siglos del Imperio Galáctico. Ya he insistido muchas veces en la capacidad de Resnick para dejarte el corazón a trozos. Sin duda, la mejor historia ha estado la de la conservadora del museo, un símbolo del poder de la cultura contra el capitalismo. Pero todas las historias son una joya. Una lástima que sea un libro muy desconocido y la traducción castellana sea tan pésima, se merece mucho más que eso.
August 6, 2020
Questo romanzo è divertente, avventuroso e allo stesso tempo poetico e commovente.
Tutto ha inizio con la strana richiesta da parte di un cliente misterioso a Duncan Rojas, capo ricercatore presso la Braxon Record: l'uomo, un masai di nome Buboka Mandaka, gli affida il delicato compito di ritrovare le zanne dell'Elefante del Kilimangiaro. Le due gigantesche zanne d'avorio rappresentano uno straordinario trofeo di caccia, ma le loro tracce sono scomparse da millenni nel grande impero galattico dell'umanità, che ha ormai abbandonato il pianeta Terra e colonizzato lo Spazio. La ricerca porterà il metodico Duncan a indagare luoghi e tempi molto lontani, in un intreccio di storie ciascuna geniale a modo suo.
Un Resnik in piena forma quello di Avorio, capace di tratteggiare personaggi indimenticabili in poche manciate di parole, e di mescolare la luce della savana africana ai colori iridescenti di pianeti lontani, in un romanzo-mosaico capace di sorprendere, e di farlo con grande stile.
Tutto ha inizio con la strana richiesta da parte di un cliente misterioso a Duncan Rojas, capo ricercatore presso la Braxon Record: l'uomo, un masai di nome Buboka Mandaka, gli affida il delicato compito di ritrovare le zanne dell'Elefante del Kilimangiaro. Le due gigantesche zanne d'avorio rappresentano uno straordinario trofeo di caccia, ma le loro tracce sono scomparse da millenni nel grande impero galattico dell'umanità, che ha ormai abbandonato il pianeta Terra e colonizzato lo Spazio. La ricerca porterà il metodico Duncan a indagare luoghi e tempi molto lontani, in un intreccio di storie ciascuna geniale a modo suo.
Un Resnik in piena forma quello di Avorio, capace di tratteggiare personaggi indimenticabili in poche manciate di parole, e di mescolare la luce della savana africana ai colori iridescenti di pianeti lontani, in un romanzo-mosaico capace di sorprendere, e di farlo con grande stile.
December 2, 2008
In the far future, the last Maasai hires the best researcher, the cold Rojas, to find the tusks of the Kilimanjaro Elephant. Rojas’s search takes him from the nineteenth century on Earth to the rest of the galaxy. As he searches, he uncovers past tragedies, treachery, and always, another clue to the tusks. At last, Rojas and Mandaka reach the end of their quest. It’s well written, but I never felt a pull to read it. It is not an engrossing work.
January 13, 2018
En algunas aspectos ha envejecido mal, y tiene un aire algo inocente, pero con algunos retoques, merecería una reedición.
https://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/20...
https://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/20...
September 20, 2020
Un romanzo di fantascienza e avventura. Una narrazione snella e coinvolgente. L'autore utilizzando uno stile narrativo non convenzionale, fatto di numerosi flashback e digressioni, tiene alta l'attenzione del lettore fino al finale.
June 10, 2017
Finalist 1990 Nebula Award for Best Novel. A fascinating pseudo-history/science fiction adventure / mystery. The tusks of the Kilimanjaro Elephant act as what Alfred Hitchcock would term a McGuffin - a device (think The Maltese Falcon), that serves to propel the plot. Duncan Rojas is hired to find the tusks and along the way he researches their history through 8 millennia. The book is divided into 12 parts and each part has a short snapshot of the last days of the elephant in 1898 A.D., there is also a short story about searching for the location and/or history of the tusks, and finally a story furthering the hunt or developing the history. My favorite might be The Politician (2057 A.D.), a story that uses the tusks as a device to tie in a tale of an election. Fascinating read.
In the year 6303, when earth is bare of anything larger than an insect or a mouse and most people have left for the stars, Duncan Rojas receives a most unusual visitor. His name is Bukoba Mandaka, and he is the last of the Maasai. Mandaka wants Rojas, senior researcher for Braxton's Records of Big Game, to find the tusks of the Kilimanjaro Elephant, tusks that weigh over 200 lb. each. Why? Mandaka will not say, but he will pay enormous sums for them. And Rojas cannot resist the challenge of tracing something lost for 3000 years.
In the year 6303, when earth is bare of anything larger than an insect or a mouse and most people have left for the stars, Duncan Rojas receives a most unusual visitor. His name is Bukoba Mandaka, and he is the last of the Maasai. Mandaka wants Rojas, senior researcher for Braxton's Records of Big Game, to find the tusks of the Kilimanjaro Elephant, tusks that weigh over 200 lb. each. Why? Mandaka will not say, but he will pay enormous sums for them. And Rojas cannot resist the challenge of tracing something lost for 3000 years.
August 1, 2010
Mike Resnick is one of the few American writers who really knows how to write about Africa. His “Kirinyaga” stories earned Resnick his first Hugo award in 1989, and while it might be a mistake to say that anyone truly understands a place he isn’t native to, he writes about it as if he grasps some of the subtleties of the hugely diverse and multifaceted continent. IVORY, which was first published in 1988, demonstrates this, along with a Resnick’s flair for solid speculation.
More: http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/sci-f...
More: http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/sci-f...
January 27, 2018
This has an impressive premise, the tusks of a legendary Kilimanjaro elephant being traced 6000 years in the future by the last Masai warrior, and the story ranges over several thousand years in a satisfying and quietly moving science-fiction adventure, at its best when describing the 1890s hunting of the elephant from the elephant’s point of view.
January 3, 2020
Set 7000 years in the future, Duncan Rojas is hired to recover two elephant tusks that have been missing for 3000 years. I was drawn into this world immediately and thoroughly enjoyed the journey. This is a wonderful story. For a book I picked up because of the elephant on the cover, I'm glad this is my last read of the yea
August 6, 2020
I am the translator of this volume into Italian, so I might not be without bias, but it is a wonderful novel, much more complex than your usual space-opera. It stands out among Resnick's works together with 'Birthright - The Book of Man'.
August 31, 2024
Il Birthright Universe di Mike Resnick comprende più di una trentina di lavori: tra questi troviamo "Avorio. Una leggenda del passato e del futuro" ("Ivory: A Legend of Past and Future", 1988; Urania Mondadori, 2020; trad. di Beppe Roncari), storia davvero notevole, che scorre attraverso diversi millenni e lungo la nostra Galassia, alla ricerca delle due zanne dell'Elefante del Kilimangiaro, andate disperse nel tempo e nello spazio.
L'universo di Resnick è sorprendente, come la storia che viene narrata, strutturata nella ricerca dei reperti commissionata dall'ultimo dei Masai e che viene eseguita scientificamente da un esperto, in episodi "storici", con protagonisti sia umani che alieni, nel corso dei millenni e nelle memorie dello stesso Elefante del Kilimangiaro. Il tono di Resnick è sempre leggero, ironico quanto serve, e l'azione non manca: giochi d'azzardo interspecie, conquiste di mondi, furti, tradimenti, perfino eventi aziendali. E bisogna arrivare fino in fondo per conoscere il motivo di questa ricerca.
Resnick ha avuto 37 nomination all'Hugo, vinto 5 volte. Non con questo romanzo, che fu "semplicemente" candidato al Nebula e al Clarke, ma non importa: è comunque una buona storia, che si nutre della passione dell'autore per l'Africa e in particolare per il Kenya (non casualmente tutto l'universo di Resnick è pieno di riferimenti alla cultura africana).
L'universo di Resnick è sorprendente, come la storia che viene narrata, strutturata nella ricerca dei reperti commissionata dall'ultimo dei Masai e che viene eseguita scientificamente da un esperto, in episodi "storici", con protagonisti sia umani che alieni, nel corso dei millenni e nelle memorie dello stesso Elefante del Kilimangiaro. Il tono di Resnick è sempre leggero, ironico quanto serve, e l'azione non manca: giochi d'azzardo interspecie, conquiste di mondi, furti, tradimenti, perfino eventi aziendali. E bisogna arrivare fino in fondo per conoscere il motivo di questa ricerca.
Resnick ha avuto 37 nomination all'Hugo, vinto 5 volte. Non con questo romanzo, che fu "semplicemente" candidato al Nebula e al Clarke, ma non importa: è comunque una buona storia, che si nutre della passione dell'autore per l'Africa e in particolare per il Kenya (non casualmente tutto l'universo di Resnick è pieno di riferimenti alla cultura africana).
Read
March 8, 2023I’ve been unsystematically picking up books in the author’s Birthright series/universe, so couldn’t resist this one which appears to be a recent reissue.
We experience the overall story via the viewpoint of Rojas, the researcher who’s trying to locate the ancient tusks. Like many of Resnick’s main characters, he becomes obsessed with the job, almost as much as the man who hired him. With the aid of a broad-spanning IT system, he pieces together episodes in the tusks’ history.
Each episode is a story of its own, with no overlap of characters or places. The episodes showcase how people behave towards each other: a mixture of negotiating, threatening, backstabbing and deception which one might deem cynically accurate. I laughed at an academic rivalry depicted quite early on.
The episodes build up towards an effective finale that pulls the whole history together. As with many of his books, I found the end satisfying and thought-provoking.
We experience the overall story via the viewpoint of Rojas, the researcher who’s trying to locate the ancient tusks. Like many of Resnick’s main characters, he becomes obsessed with the job, almost as much as the man who hired him. With the aid of a broad-spanning IT system, he pieces together episodes in the tusks’ history.
Each episode is a story of its own, with no overlap of characters or places. The episodes showcase how people behave towards each other: a mixture of negotiating, threatening, backstabbing and deception which one might deem cynically accurate. I laughed at an academic rivalry depicted quite early on.
The episodes build up towards an effective finale that pulls the whole history together. As with many of his books, I found the end satisfying and thought-provoking.
February 28, 2023
A terrible beauty
This is a story so lyrical, so bold, so full of sensation that you feel it as you read. There is plenty of tragedy and every bit as much bravery. There is recognition of the powerful pull of the quest for knowledge or understanding. There is testimony on the power of belief and faithfulness. The language of the telling is like music to me. That the Masai should be at the center of this tale was a perfect read for Black History month. I don’t know whether there ever was a real Mount Kilimanjaro elephant, or if Mike Resnick conjured it from his imagination. If there never was such a beast, bless Mike Resnick for giving one to us.
This is a story so lyrical, so bold, so full of sensation that you feel it as you read. There is plenty of tragedy and every bit as much bravery. There is recognition of the powerful pull of the quest for knowledge or understanding. There is testimony on the power of belief and faithfulness. The language of the telling is like music to me. That the Masai should be at the center of this tale was a perfect read for Black History month. I don’t know whether there ever was a real Mount Kilimanjaro elephant, or if Mike Resnick conjured it from his imagination. If there never was such a beast, bless Mike Resnick for giving one to us.
August 30, 2020
Tornare a leggere fantascienza dopo tanti anni non è facile eppure questo romanzo di Mike Resnick ambientato in un arco di tempo di 4000 anni che racconta la spasmodica ricerca nell'universo delle più famose zanne di un elefante del Kilimangiaro ucciso verso la fine dell'ottocento e disperse da qualche parte, è un godibile racconto avventuroso che non mostra cadute di tono nè assurdità. La sua lettura è andata avanti spedita e senza intoppi fino a un finale accettabile. Merita 3 stellette e 1/2 e la consapevolezza di avere ancora altro di meglio da leggere di SF nella mia libreria
January 21, 2021
Fantascienza in salsa africana sulle tracce di un colossale elefante in un'immensa repubblica galattica abitata (anche) da umani.
Un susseguirsi di episodi (anche) divertenti alla ricerca nei secoli e negli anni luce delle zanne dell'ultimo elefante africano, con una lunga teoria di personaggi più che meritevoli, dispiace a volte di vederli per così poco tempo
Un susseguirsi di episodi (anche) divertenti alla ricerca nei secoli e negli anni luce delle zanne dell'ultimo elefante africano, con una lunga teoria di personaggi più che meritevoli, dispiace a volte di vederli per così poco tempo
December 31, 2022
An exciting and entertaining Space Opera, Ivory is sure to please genre fans. The story follows the tusks of the largest elephant ever known as they pass from gamblers, to thieves, warlords, and bizarre aliens. Though it is set in Resnick's massive Birthright universe, it can be read as a standalone.
February 6, 2025
Did not finish. I couldn’t get into the book. I read about a quarter and was forcing myself to pick it back up, so I decided to drop it. I found the introduction to the book’s universe too rapid, with dumps of information I couldn’t keep up with and the characters and language never pulled me in enough.
December 3, 2019
Mike Resnick at his best, leading us on a quest that spans generations.
April 25, 2021
Enjoyed this book a lot. It spanned a lot of history and was compelling, thoughtful and a lesson about ourselves.
February 19, 2023
wonderful!
This is a rich and thought-provoking story which is well told. I read it cover to cover in two days - just couldn’t put it down.
This is a rich and thought-provoking story which is well told. I read it cover to cover in two days - just couldn’t put it down.
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