Title: The Grand Conjunction
Author: Sean Williams
Publisher: Orbit
Format: Paperback
Pages: 317
Release Date: 7th May 2009
Imre Bergamasc is lost. His search for answers has led him up an alley so blind even his sense of self has become uncertain. Before he can save the galaxy from ruin, he must find the strength to carry on and reclaim his ultimate purpose. But more than two million years in our future, the fight has changed.
Former allies are now enemies, and enemies have taken on entirely new forms. Chased from the very edge of humanity's vast empire into the heart of an ancient conspiracy, he must finally come face to face with Himself, for without the truth of his past humanity's future will never be secured.
The Grand Conjunction is the grand finale of Sean Williams' Astropolis series and follows on from Saturn Returns (book 1, review), Cenotaxis (novella, review) and Earth Ascendant (book 2, review). This is a series that is set in the far future and covers a time period of around a million and a half years through all stories. How Sean Williams manages to keep the plot focused over time scales like this is impressive in its own right!
The Grand Conjunction (at least the start) is set around 700,000 years after Earth Ascendant which, in reality, is headache inducing. Luckily enough there is a short chapter at the start that basically outlines what has gone on since the start of the series. This is a good thing, at least in my opinion, as the series can feel very fractured at the best of times and this primer brings it together nicely. Once we get into the novel proper we find a very unusual thing: a fifties noir detective story. That's what it reads like, and lasting for almost a quarter of the novel it is slightly overlong and disruptive to the pace that should have been present at the beginning, although it is fully tied into the plot. Don't get me wrong, I loved reading this section, but in the context of the story it felt misplaced and unnecessary. Once we get into the story proper things continue along at a good pace, following ties to Imre's fort-self, the Luminous and the Barons.
I must admit that although The Grand Conjunction was enjoyable, the time differences ultimately made things a little too difficult to get my head into the book properly. Coming off Earth Ascendant and finding the main character thrust so far into the future with events having continued in his absence was the one thing that the story couldn't save itself from. The time spans involved are the essence of this story, and providing you can keep enjoying the novel and following details despite these you will find a rewarding series in Astropolis. Unfortunately this strength was my downfall and although I quite happily devoured the novel, some distant past details eluded me.
If you have the time I would strongly suggest reading the Astropolis series back-to-back to fully appreciate the dizzying time spans that Sean Williams has presented here. With such a grand offering I can only tell you that I'm not disappointed in the novel, but in myself for not being able to enjoy to its fullest.
Overall rating: 7/10
Buy from: Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com
2 comments:
I can appreciate your take on getting you head around the time spans - I've read and enjoyed a few Stephen Baxter novels (The Ring, Exultant and Transendent) but the vastiness of time he covers boggles my mind. I don't recall having read any other scifi stories that encompasses tens or hundreds of thousands of years much less millions.
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