Desolation Road ~Ian McDonald
–originally published 1988
–Pyr Books edition, 2009
–365 pages
–nominated for Arthur C. Clarke Award
–4.25/5 stars
In the lonely vast desert of a terraformed Mars, Dr. Alimantando meets his destiny in the form of a greenperson. This brief, almost spiritual, meeting puts Dr. Alimantando in just the right place to help a malfunctioning environmental engineering module create an oasis in the desert. This oasis, sprung unplanned alongside a railroad track, is the seed that becomes the town of Desolation Road.
Desolation Road, by its very essence of existing where a town should not exist, acts like a magnet, drawing an interesting and varied cast of characters that will shape its destiny.
Desolation Road unfolds to reveal the entire story of the town’s existence. Along the way the reader meets a strange and diverse cast of characters each with their own story, their own agenda, and their own unique reactions to the events that take place during the course of the town’s history. McDonald’s novel is filled with intrigue and romance and deceit and tragedy. At times intense, at others oddly humorous, Desolation Road is a rich tapestry of small town life set in another place at another time.
Ian McDonald’s novel Desolation Road is paradox, at one time strangely familiar and yet wholly unlike anything I have ever read before. A great deal of its uniqueness being, I suspect, Ian McDonald’s personal writing style. Desolation Road begins as a series of very short chapters, each introducing a new character or set of characters into the environment. As such the first third of the novel feels almost like a succession of short stories tied together in the overarching theme of the formation of a small community. This style was interesting in that I could easily read in small doses when reading time made itself available and each section that I read felt like I had completed something. I never felt like I was leaving the book mid-story to go attend to the affairs of life. The remaining two thirds of the book focuses more intently on specific characters and the how their stories focus the whole of planetary affairs on this small, out of the way town.
Desolation Road is as much like an old western as it is a science fiction novel. The Martian desert of McDonald’s future provides the backdrop for a story that reads as much like a pioneering tale of frontier America as it does a story set on another planet. It is hard to make comparisons for fear of either misrepresenting the story or putting people off of it, but the level of technology set amidst the desert landscape on a planet in its relative infancy (as far as human habitation is concerned) did bring to mind Joss Whedon’s short lived television series, Firefly, among other things. And while there are a number of science fiction elements to the story, there are also mystical, magic realism elements played out in the lives of several of the key characters. The risk of an amalgamation of several genres is that the reader might never get past the constant reminder of all these components working in tandem. The beauty of McDonald’s storytelling style is that all these ingredients are blended together into a cohesive whole.
The characters are all very engaging, some instantly likable and others who arouse suspicion from the moment they are birthed on the page. Bizarre, almost folklore-ish tales, like that of a child birthed in a fruit jar rub up against that of characters like Adam Black and his Wonderful Traveling Chataqua and Educational ‘Stravaganza to populate a novel that seems like it just would not work when you try to describe it to someone, and yet ultimately does work quite well. Desolation Road contains time travel, abusive corporations, warring military factions, family feuds, religious zealotry, artificial intelligence and so much more.
It is a tale filled with tragedy and destruction but also with hope and life and the full range of human emotion. I really enjoyed my first foray into the works of Ian McDonald, an author who has garnished high praise from people inside and outside of the genre, as well numerous awards and award nominations. I was engaged to the point of not always knowing how I was hoping various story lines would play out because of the effects they would have on both the town and the people who inhabited it.
I spent the majority of the first day of this new year locked into the life span of Desolation Road. What a great way to start 2010!
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It should not be surprising that what originally drew me to Desolation Road was the gorgeous cover illustration by Stephan Martiniere. Pyr hit one out of the park in choosing this artist and this image for their 2009 reprint of Ian McDonald’s 1988 novel. The image perfectly reflects the mood and the setting of this story. Where Pyr dropped the ball was in the proof-reading department. Beginning on page one (page 9 in the book) a “the” is missing its “t”, a mistake repeated enough times throughout the story to be noticeable. This is the most frequent, but not only, printing/spelling error in the book. I don’t mean to nitpick, I certainly have all kinds of spelling errors in my posts, some I don’t even catch with multiple proof reads. I just expect a little more from a company and would be remiss in not pointing this out to you. Should it stop you from buying the book? Heck no, it is an interesting story in a beautifully covered volume.
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I am counting Desolation Road as a Sci Fi Experience 2010, 42 Challenge 2010, Mind Voyages selection.
this is not a book I would normally find interesting, however the cover is stunning. After reading your review, I am desperate to read more. It really isn’t a genre I ever follow, but it sounds so good!
Spell checking drives me nuts too but damn this book sounds good! The first thing I thought when I clicked over to this review was that the cover was stunning! Even more thrilled to hear that it’s a Martiniere. I’ll def be checking this one out 🙂
Chris: It didn’t detract from my enjoyment, but was still a bit annoying. One of the many thing fascinating about my experience with this book is the many other stories I was reminded of while reading it. Something about Dr. Alimantando’s story reminded me of a specific portion of The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. The story of Ruthie Blue Mountain and some of the human/mechanical man stories in here brought to mind The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia, as did the melancholy mood of parts of the story. One specific storyline brought to mind Asimov’s robotic laws and the classic fears of robots becoming sentient and taking over the world, which is an idea that has been explored in many avenues of science fiction over the years. I mentioned Firefly in my review, could just as easily describe parts of it as a warped science fiction version of Little House on the Prairie. The short story feeling of parts of this reminded me of what I enjoyed about Larry Niven’s the Draco Tavern, a collection of short stories all centered around this specific tavern which, read together, feels more like an episodic novel. I could go on and on. I’d love to know what McDonald’s influences were, in general and perhaps in the creation of this story.
Vivienne: It really is a stunning image, even more so without the title text (I will be featuring that image in my Friday Favorite post next week showcasing sci fi cover art from 2009). I’m hard pressed to say whether or not this book would be a good one for non sci-fi fans, though in large part I do believe that it would be. After the first chapter there are so many chapters just introducing characters and it is done so well that I really do believe anyone who likes to just read stories about people would enjoy it.
That cover is incredible. The size of the locomotive makes the illustration incredibly powerful – and I love the red reflected in the smoke/sky! The first book I thought of when I began the review was Spider Robinson’s Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon.
I’ve not read anything by McDonald, so I guess I am going to have to rectify that.
That cover grabs your attention I can tell you that. The storyline sounds very interesting. Sort of reminds me a little of how Martin did A Game of Thrones with chapters introducing characters. I’m adding it to my wish list
Robin: I’ve seen the cover for the next novel set in this world, to be released in April, and it is equally gorgeous.
Qugrainne: I love the size of it as well, and the guy standing in the foreground, almost like some sort of prophet. I haven’t read that Spider Robinson book, but I’ve seen the cover and I can imagine there would be some similarities there.
Hmmm this actually really appeals to me even though it’s not I think I would normally pick up. And of course you’re right about the cover–it’s fantastic.
you know I read little if any sci fi but i have to tell you… the moment I saw that cover what came to mind was the vehicle that the creature that folded space was seen in, in Dune!
Deslily: Yes, I do see the similarity there! Strange looking creature, but I love that tank they had it in.
Amy: It really isn’t something I would have thought about picking up if not for the gorgeous cover, but I’m glad that I gave it a try.
That is a beautiful cover, and the book itself sounds interesting too. Pity about the typos, they can be very annoying in a book, I never really mind them in blogs though. I have more than enough in my own 😉
And how could I forget! Happy New Year Carl, hope 2010 is a great one for you & your family. And all your readers too (is that selfish as I am a reader?)
INCREDIBLE COVER!!! I can see why you picked this book up. Enjoying the story was just a bonus. 🙂
I am not much a sci-fi fan, but thanks to your review, Carl, this book sounds rather intriguing. Maybe I should host a personal mini-challenge for myself in 2010–to read one sci-fi book! 🙂
Susan: That’s what the Sci Fi Experience is all about, giving SF a try! Let me know if you decide to read something classifed as SF, and if you want any ideas let me know.
Jeff: It really is. I know we both love Martiniere’s work, and this one is just different enough from some of his other stuff, color-wise and in subject matter, that it really stands out for me.
Fence: It just goes that way sometimes. Happy New Year to you as well…and no need to be selfish, I’ll just pass those same wishes on back to you! 🙂
I have this on my TBR shelf. Ouch! I think I just felt a push from my inner science fiction chick! Fabulous review, Carl. Without giving one thing a way, a really good review. I think I’ll do a post about this reading experience.
Does Dr Who count? Although I watched the special ending twice now, that was before I signed for this challenge! lol Gives me another reason to watch it again…..
Susan: Dr. Who definitely counts!!! Glad you enjoyed the review. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.
i read this book many years ago, but i forgot the title, and the authors name, and i spent many many many years in a fruitless search for it.. and Today i found it.
the story stuck with me through everything, the ending is surprising. i remember most of it 20 odd years later and thats unusual LOL now i have to get the paper version
Cool, I’m so glad you found it! I’ve had similar experiences with books on a few occasions and it thrilled me to no end to finally find the book.
Did you know there is a sequel coming out in April? Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Ares-Express-Ian-McDonald/dp/1616141972/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266695404&sr=8-1