レビュー

• alternate history and more

  I like Ken Macleod's writing because it's political. I don't always agree with the politics - Ken is some sort of weird Troskyist / Libertarian hybrid that I still haven't managed to really understand - but it's always fun to see him poke at political topics (this is the same reason that China Mieville is one of my favorite authors. Well, that and he can WRITE). Anyway, the Human Front is a good little novella. It starts in an alternate history where the US made contact with the LGM in flying saucers sometime in the 1940s, and the events have unfolded very differently given that hard-line anti-communists now have nearly unkillable assault aircraft. In the same way that libertarian fiction always ends up with the Good Old American Boys shooting at the Red Coats / UN / New World Order, as best I can tell Trot fiction always ends up with either (a) a cabal in a Scottish pub planning the worker's uprising, and / or (b) the workers having their uprising. THF is not different - you get exactly what you signed up for. ...but then stuff gets weird. The ending is the part that I liked best, but sadly I can't go into detail without giving away the conclusion. I wish that the ending had stretched out a bit longer. It reminded me of Spider Robinson's early stuff in that way - we spend a whole lot of time not understanding what's going on, and then the moment of resolution - the really good part - goes by in a flash. Anyway, even with the pay off a bit shorter than I'd like, 4 stars. Read it.

• Must read if you enjoy comntemplating life...

  Great author and clever and thought provoking.

• Good Stuff

  Classic creative MacLeod.

• Clever and witty story with good bonus features

  This was my introduction to Ken MacLeod -- I've long been intrigued by his work, but daunted by some of the long multi-volume works of his. This is a great way to start. The main story is a nice blend of autobiography, alternate worlds, political sf, and mixes in several other tropes as well (aliens, parallel universes, etc.) It's clever, witty, serious but not too serious. The interviews are great bonuses too - both as a background to how this specific story came into being, for an insight into MacLeod's character as well. And capping it all, there is a very complete bibliography at the end, so now that I know MacLeod's work, and like it, I have a very thorough checklist to work my way through.

• Get it if you are a MacLeod fan

  Despite being a slim volume, it provides a lot of insight into MacLeod. The main novella is entertaining and interesting, but the alternate history vein has been mined to death elsewhere, and the political story is intriguing, but it's no Fall Revolution. (You could say it's an alternate MacLeod.) It's almost worth it just for the confirmation of my suspicion that the Engines of Light series essentially started as a bet.

購入リンク