Carnival: A Novel

by Elizabeth Bear

Book Overview

In Old Earth's clandestine world of ambassador-spies, Michelangelo Kusanagi-Jones and Vincent Katherinessen were once a starring team. But ever since a disastrous mission, they have been living... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553589040
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Spectra
• Length: 392 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.9" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Not For The Homophobuc

Fans of Elizabeth Bear's Jenny Casey novels (Hammered,etc) will be surprised - maybe astonished - by Carnival. Carnival takes us far away from the heavy metal action world in the Casey series to, as Monty Python would say, something completely different. Here is a world turned inside out: ruled by a female over caste; men kept as slaves (but it's a plus to be gay); and buildings that are almost alive. The universe they live in is no less surprising: the worlds of humanity (except for the world where the action takes place) are watched over by the Guardians. Think of Greenpeace gone wild: computer Big Brothers watching over you and pollution - or any act that the Guardians consider to be a threat to a sustainable environment - results in a death sentence carried out immediately. One constant remains: it's politics as usual, everywhere. Into all of this our two heros are thrown, two gay spy/diplomats with a double mission as well as their own hidden agendas. Bear explores culture clash, the borders of physics, and different ethics among wildly twisting politics. The shoot outs are there, but they come relatively late in the book and for the action minded the first half might drag. Also, Bear does get graphic with the homosexuality on a couple of occassions, so be warned, but for the open minded who love to explore different worlds and cultures (and isn't that what Sci-Fi is about) this will be a good read. Congratulations to Elizabeth Bear, not only for a well thought out story, but managing a work that forms a nice contrast to her previous writings.

seeing the world through new eyes

The best science fiction allows you to look at the world today with new eyes (I could never look at water the same way after reading Dune: years later seeing a hose pipe flowing into the street still makes me wince.) This book too, makes you look at familiar things in a new way. And what better recommendation can a book have! This is a really good find! Slow to start, dense and thickly plotted, but then the characters and worlds click into place and it becomes wonderful! The plot moves a long but it is the world building that works best for me - looking at gender roles and alternate ideas of taboos and cultures. I loved it. Happy find!