Today I successfully finished reading “The Years of Rice and Salt” by Kim Stanley Robinson. All 772 pages of it. Off and on it took me about a year to get through it.
It is an alternate history, assuming that the entire population of Europe (with a few small exceptions, go Orkney!) was wiped out by the bubonic plague around the year 1200-1400. The story is told through the reincarnations of a small group of souls, and covers the period from the plague up to modern times.
Reading it was a real labour at first, as the first 100 pages or so were pretty dry and a bit confusing. However once I got past that the story really got going and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Robinson is an expert at characterisation and brings each of the dozens of characters and locations vividly to life.
It was interesting to see a world without Christianity, and in particular it’s effect on the North and South American people. All in all it came across quite realistically, albeit perhaps a little idealistic in places – a criticism that could also be levelled at his Mars trilogy of books.
Now I need to find something else to read. Iain M Banks “Use of Weapons” awaits me, but I think I’ll try something a bit lighter next.
Any suggestions?
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