Items related to The Face of the Waters
Synopsis
The distant world known as Hydros is a vast planetary sphere covered entirely by water, its surface broken only by the occasional appearance of artificially created islands. Populated largely by a vast array of intelligent amphibious species, with a small contingent of humans added to the mix, it serves as the setting for Robert Silverberg's magisterial novel, The Face of the Waters. It is a setting worthy of the man who gave us Majipoor and other indelible creations. The story begins in 2450, at which point Earth is little more than a distant memory. The human population, descendants of prisoners stranded on Hydros centuries before, are scattered across an assortment of widely separated islands, one of which is the island of Sorve. When one of Sorve's inhabitants commits an unforgivable transgression, he and his fellow humans are forced to leave the island forever-an exile within their larger, ongoing exile from Earth. In a flotilla of ships-many of which will never reach their destination-they set off through hazardous, uncharted waters to find another home. Their journey will ultimately lead them to an unexpected place: the sacred and enigmatic landmass known as the Face of the Waters. A seagoing odyssey, an epic adventure, a physical and spiritual quest-The Face of the Waters is all of these things and more. It is a novel that asks large questions about who and what we are while sustaining a thrilling, constantly astonishing narrative. It is the rare kind of book in which sea monsters and theological speculation exist side by side, each element enriching and complementing the other. The result is a grand and provocative entertainment, the sort of mind-expanding reading experience that only science fiction-and only Robert Silverberg-could provide.
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About the Author
Robert Silverberg is one of science fiction s most beloved writers, and the author of such contemporary classics as"Dying Inside", "Downward to the Earth, "and"Lord Valentine s Castle". He is a past president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and the winner of five Nebula Awards and five Hugo Awards. In 2004 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America presented him with the Grand Master Award. Silverberg is one of twenty-nine writers to have received that distinction.
From Kirkus Reviews
After the sun goes nova and destroys the Earth, humans survive only in small groups on far-flung planets like Hydros, a world with no land masses at all; here, humans are permitted to share the floating islands built by the Gillies, one of several intelligent native species. But when ambitious capitalist Nid Delagard of Sorve Island accidentally kills some intelligent ``divers'' in the course of his operations, the Gillies somehow know--and order the humans off Sorve. Led by doctor Valben Lawler, in ships provided by Delagard, they sail off in pursuit of a distant uninhabited island. On the voyage, storms, tides, and deadly sea creatures take their toll of ships and people; then Lawler discovers that Delagard really intends to seek out the Face of the Waters, a fabulous, mysterious island avoided by the Gillies. At last, a handful of survivors reach the island, only to learn that the Face of the Waters is the focus of a planetary consciousness embracing all Hydran life--and they, isolated, orphaned humans, are being invited to join. This far-from-original idea raises other questions, not least the problem of a food chain whose components share a consciousness, that Silverberg declines even to acknowledge, let alone confront. So: a mediocre ocean-world odyssey--comparisons with Jack Vance's superior The Blue World are inevitable--from the veteran writer/editor, professionally turned but disappointingly superficial. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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- PublisherSubterranean Press
- Publication date2013
- ISBN 10 159606627X
- ISBN 13 9781596066274
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages364
- Rating
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