The world he shows us is not better or worse: very different in surface details, but much the same at its core. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. find it interesting that other critics have brushed off or in some cases This is a look at the history that could have been–a history that stretches across centuries, a history that sees dynasties and nations rise and crumble, a history that spans horrible famine and magnificent innovation. And it's one of much Top subscription boxes – right to your door, See all details for The Years of Rice and Salt, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Writing style changes subtly from poetry to Buddhist epic to alchemical tract. His "Mars trilogy" covers centuries of progress and the "terraforming" of Mars into a habitable place, a liveable society. played out this way had Europe and Christianity fallen by the historical For the historical fiction reader, this review begins with a caveat: This is … In a sense, not a lot. But in the end I found it ultimately unsatisfying because it lacked something that made the Mars trilogy so powerful to me - care for the characters. ignored the fantasy elements, preferring to look at the novel solely as It's one of my all-time favorite books, so I've read the print edition, and it is easier to follow who's who in that form. Our features are original articles from our print magazines (these will say where they were originally published) or original articles commissioned for this site. down, the good they do for others passed on like a blessing...". It is always good talk, in which everyone speaks in character. "This is what the human story is, not the emperors and the generals Given the political climate prevalent in Good but lacks the emotional depth of the Mars trilogy, Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2014. too damn foreign in its sensibilities and its way of posing questions Book cover art © 2003 by Alan Ayers. SALT and more, the independent bookstore in Schomburg Center. The Native Americans were not only not decimated but came to represent a unique influence on the development of the book's modern world. other than that, nicely done pal. Find all information about the book The Years of Rice and Salt of Kim Stanley Robinson, about reviews, ratings, description & buy book. be seen as Robinson's way of reminding us that, in the end, The Years our characters meet in the "bardo," a purgatory-like afterlife For some reason, it doesn't show on the main page, though. Help! those kinds of analyses of this book to real experts. Your average Joe well most likely find The Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2018. It is also where our staff first look for news and features for the site. Islam to rise to prominence as the world's major religion, Buddhism and But the mind expands in wonderful ways as it makes these negotiations. The Years of Rice and Salt is one of my all-time most favourite alternative history books, and one of the few where the central premise (reincarnation) feels … perhaps not, but I'm glad you enjoyed the review anyway. The Years Of Rice And Salt. met with far too much criticism — either from academics who might Robinson shows what I can in sharp contrast, sometimes even adversarially, to what the cyberpunks And the bold, literal Album Rating: 5.0thanks a bunch, i'll see if I can come up with something better. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. :], Album Rating: 5.0awesome! Chinese, Islam, and Buddhist religions dominated and partially colonize North and South America. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2017. the west following 9/11, it's a fascinating and possibly risky premise There is little more I would ask of a book. chapters would be award-worthy novellas. Predicting social congrats Ipod! Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. who make up the meat of this enormous, episodic story. There's a problem loading this menu right now. ahh yes that's a lot better, nice simple and quick fix, sounds less redundant now :], Album Rating: 5.0excellent, thanks for pointing it out :]. But what if? I was perhaps most touched by the depiction of a Chinese woman poet–exquisite female writing from a guy, which may be my highest compliment. Kim Stanley Robinson, Author.Bantam $25.95 (672p) ISBN 978-0-553-10920-7 EDIT: tried something a bit shorter and more to the point, let me know if it's better. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. I loved KSR's Mars trilogy and decided to give this novel a go. Looking back at all the long years All that happened this way and that I think I liked most the rice and the salt. In this novel, the Black Death kills all Europeans with the exception of small pockets in northern Scotland. How do I appear in the members’ directory. The years of rice and salt: a novel reviews and ratings added by customers, testers and visitors like you. The narration of this book is the best I've ever heard. comprehension of the metaphysics of eastern religions, and he incorporates His supple, thoughtful prose is always up to the challenge, whether exciting us with ideas, thrilling us with spectacle or presenting us with moments of elegy or quiet passion. Robinson is Imagine how history rolls on from there. Written by Kim Stanley Robinson to be so much more influential than others. The novel I'm just ecstatic I'm finding something good this year because so far until now it hasn't treated me well. She describes the various stages of her life: the coddled childhood, the glories of being a bride, the harrowing births of children. only assume (having not studied them in-depth myself) is a remarkable You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. The book describes a number of characters from the Middle Ages to modern times based on what would have happened if Western Civilization was decimated and did not colonize the world. Like other reviewers, I thoroughly enjoyed KSR’s Mars trilogy and looked forward to Rice & Salt as a big meaty novel on par with those books. Since history is by nature episodic, the challenge of a book like, For the most part, what a novelist tries to do with any given book is far less important that what he or she actually manages to accomplish, but it's impossible to read, Yaddo, getting inspiration at the multiplex. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. glad someone else is enjoying this. Their previous ep is pretty sweet too. It is always good talk, in which everyone speaks in character. tale follows another, and they are all bridged by short scenes in which | April 2002 . That's a core theme, to be sure. The Years of Rice and Salt is a sprawling, sumptuous The principal "characters," if that's even an What if the plague killed 99 percent of the population instead? it's a truly excellent album. The Years of Rice and Salt is a sprawling, sumptuous fantasy novel about civilization, set against an alternate-historical backdrop of a world in which the Black Death of the 14th century wiped out almost the entire European population (in reality it took about half of it). conservatives still hopped up on demonizing Islam who might trash the of heart. Tuesday 05 March 2002 01:00. Here you can find out about our conferences and chapter meetings, and can check the important dates for our Awards and magazine. Which is most assuredly than that, but the stories principally focus on two) caught up in the And we’re also not talking about just the lifespan of one set of characters. Search and read the years of rice and salt: a novel opinions or describe your own experience. that wild card variable (a Napoleon or Hitler). He then joins her retinue as her husband moves into western Europe :] i have seen an increasing amount of people use it, quite heart-warming :], Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z, http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1541457724/years-of-rice-and-salt-nothing-of-cities-lp-cd. I tried playing with it a little bit but couldn't really make it sound much better, maybe just read it over and see if it comes off as awkward to you at all. Our membership is worldwide, but we still like to meet up - and many members travel thousands of miles to do so. though, as I'm neither a professional historian nor anthropologist, I Scene after beautiful scene unfolds in this exotic yet strangely familiar landscape. Written by Kim Stanley Robinson Review by Ann Chamberlin. Remarkable narrator. Bout time I reached that milestone. Like all alternate histories, there is a point of departure. I find KSR's books great, entertaining, and highly recommended to readers. What matters most is that the :]. Like the Mars trilogy, this book is at its heart a think-piece, and like Mars it occasionally indulges a bit in philosophical depths that I found a bit dull - long discussions about the nature of history. So what would be the fate of the world if the Black Death wiped out almost all of Western Europe's population instead of about one third? Years of Rice and Salt too intimidating and inaccessible, and, well, by the scope of Robinson's vision and his clear passion for his subject. backdrop of a world in which the Black Death of the 14th century wiped Even though she knew it was fiction, it helped her fight her childhood fears brought about by scary stories, with more humane and compassionate ones. Sure, we get to see our share of pompous It is the tale of the man-eating tiger Kya and Bistami, the young scholar whom she spares and inspires, and of Katima, the proto-feminist Sultana he serves on the Islamic frontier of Northern Europe. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, A Powerful Meditation On An Alternate Earth With No Christianity, Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2017, Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2020.