Ancients of Days: The Second Book of Confluence

by Paul McAuley and Paul J. McAuley

Book Overview

The second volume of a powerful epic that could be one of the most important in recent SF (Locus). On an artificial world created and seeded with ten thousand bloodlines by the long-vanished... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380792974
• ISBN13: 9780380792979
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Eos
• Length: 404 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

McAuley Sucks Big Time

Why? Because he can't write these Confluence books fast enough. Ever wonder where humanity or its descendants will be? Not 10, 100 or 1000 years from now - but 100000 years? Well wonder no more, because McAuley has created a whole new Universe, populated by wonderous machines and hybrid species. And they are hurtling thorugh space on a planet so artificial and with a geometry so unique that it takes your breath away. The scope of this book - technically and philosophically - outstanding. WHole heartedly reccomend this book. Take a river boat ride down the Ganges river someday, after you have read the book....

Epic Stuff

The Second Book of Confluence answers many of the questions from the first book while simultaneously setting up a cataclysmic finale. It is an excellent read, but only if one has read the first book. Comparisons have been made with Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. They are unfounded. Granted their are similarities in the backdrop, but the nature, fel and pacing are utterly distinct. Yama is no Severian, and Yama is not alone. I am thoroughly enjoying this series and look forward to Shrine of Stars this September.

A worthy sequel to Child of the River.

Part of the magic of "Child of the River" was the gradual unfolding of the complexity of the planet Confluence: the sentient machines, the extraordinarily complex caste system of the society, the huge sweep of time across the culture. That there is a rollicking good tale running through the first two books now, makes McAuley's creation quite an accomplishment. Although these books are written as a trilogy, the typical beginning-middle-end of that form doesn't seem to be the prevailing idea here. This story is both expanding and contracting in unexpected and thoroughly enjoyable ways. The "Angel" character is a little preachy with her history, but McAuley is building a whole cosmology full of intrigue and creative, almost footloose ideas. In other words, it succeeds in doing what good science fiction can do, it takes us out of our own cultural and technological limits so that we can look back at them in a whole new way. "Ancients of Days" has me looking forward to the third book . . . .

Excellent read. Better than the first (Child of the River).

I enjoyed this book more than his first. McAuley got around to explaining how all came into being and now a lot of it makes more sense. I recommend this series for those who are waiting for the next Jordan (Wheel of Time) book. Yama reminds me of Rand (e.g. people want to kill/serve him and people are afraid of his powers and some want to use him).

Fabulous, literal, "world-building"

Reminiscent of Silverberg's Valentine series, this superb novel takes place on a long, narrow artificial world. The world is completely innundated with sophisticated machines, ranging in size from smaller than cells to large as whales. The planet itself is a machine, and the young protagonist, Yama, is a unique being who has the ability to control the machines. His powers make him a puppet in an on-going struggle for power. The action is fast and very exciting--at one point, I was yelling out loud! Great series, imaginative and beautifully written.