Monday, April 13, 2009

Science Fiction 14 – Gwyneth Jones

Gwyneth Jones is a writer to whose books I return from time to time. It was with her book Divine Endurance that I first discovered her writings back in the 1980s, attracted no doubt by the cat on the cover of the book. It and its sequel Flowerdust is set in an alternate Malayan peninsula. The main story centres around the unusual revolutionary Derveet aka Garuda, the last member of a decadent ruling class, and her relationship with Cho, a cyborg designed to grant every wish of the person she chooses to serve.

Gwyneth Jones has an essay on these two books on her website here.

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Jones’ Aleutian Trilogy is an unusual alien invasion sequence. It has been a while since I read these, but I recall being quite impressed with the first novel White Queen when I first read it.

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Then there is her magnificent Rock ‘n Roll Reich series. Set in a near future Britain it charts the fortunes of the rock ‘n roll triumvirate of Ax Preston, Fiorinda and Sage Pender as they try to rescue their country from chaos. It is also loosely based on Le Morte D’Arthur. The first four novels in the series originally had beautiful covers with art by Anne Sudworth.

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Coming next – Kurland, Lafferty, Lanier

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