The Syrian Experiments. The Report by Ambien II, of the Five

The third in Doris Lessing's visionary novel cycle "Canopus in Argos: Archives". It is a mix of fable, futuristic fantasy and pseudo-documentary accounts of 20th-century history.

'The story Ambien tells is a panorama of the posibilities of civilisation and barbarism, ranging from a matriarchal version of Atlantis to the Aztec cult of human sacrifice. Doris Lessing's interests are strictly terrestrial an the figures from outer space are there to serve as tellers of an earthly tale providing a new, sometimes startling, perspective on earthly affairs and a largeless of vision beyond the horizon of the conventional novel.' - Robert Alter, New York Times

'One of our greatest contemporary writers...Doris Lessing has invented a new cosmology to look at the world in new way: she is attempting to tackle nothing less than all human life on Earth.' - Financial Times