Dec 30, 2015 ken macleods the stone canal opens with the story of the young jonathan wilde and the major happenings of he and a fairweather friend as they grow up in nearfuture scotland. The cassini division is set in a twentyfourth century socialist society in. The novel is dedicated to the memory of macleods friend iain m. The novel is dedicated to the memory of macleod s friend iain m. He was a trotskyist activist in the 1970s and early 1980s and is married and has two children. He creates viable, believable multiplex interactions among so many different sets of characters, human and. It comes out in paperback this week, and we asked ken what is is about scotland that brings him, and other writers, back to it as a. Clarke awardnominated intrusion, tells a science fiction story for the twentyfirst century this is what happens when conspiracy theorists meet big brother descent by ken macleod at abbeys bookshop 9781841499420 paperback. The sky road won the british science fiction association award, and it and cosmonaut keep were finalists for the hugo award.
Ken macleod continues the corporation wars trilogy in this actionpacked science fiction adventure told against a backdrop of interstellar drone warfare, virtual reality, and an a. Ken macleod is a son of the manse, or at least he is the son of a minister in the free presbyterian kirk. Another great book by ken macleod, although somewhat diverging from my own tastes i preferred his earlier, more overtly political works. Clarke awardnominated intrusion, tells a science fiction story for the twentyfirst century this is what happens when conspiracy theorists meet big brother. Ken macleod has delivered another interesting nearfuture adventure that touches on political and ethical issues of today in a fictional world. Nov 18, 2014 descent is politically engaged, brimming with smart ideas and shot through with a mordant wit. Ken mcleod born 1948 is a senior western translator, author, and teacher of tibetan buddhism. The tetraology a combination of politics and neartofar future science fiction, its has a highly atypical structure that showed an eye for clever, cutting dialogue and plotting.
Mar 10, 2014 descent is essentially ken macleods attempt to illuminate a collection of conspiracy theories including, but not limited to, alien abduction, government coverup, secret speciation and the. The ending cant quite manage the promise of the buildup, but. An engaging read from macleod with fantastic characterisation and some elegant prose. Work as if you lived in the early days of a better nation. Our teenage protagonist ryan finds himself entangled in conspiracy theories but just because youre paranoid doesnt mean theyre not out to get you. It is fairly unusual to come across ufoabduction themed genre fiction in the modern era. The fall revolution books came out of the late 1980s and early 1990s, with all kinds of echoes of the fall of the. Banks, and one feels that the future of scottish sf is in good hands james lovegrove, the financial times ken macleod is the modern day george orwell sfx. But his fall revolution tetraology eventually opened readers eyes to a new voice capable of evolving, or at least capably extending the field. Descent by ken macleod at abbeys bookshop 9781841499420. Schedule confirmed for brand new sciencefiction convention.
He is also a graduate of the innumerable turf wars that have interminably affected the different sects of the political left. A five star read except to the rather unfulfilling plot resolution. I see it very much as responding to particular historical contexts. Macleods singular ability to transfer pithy scots accents to print is uncanny, his turn of phrase a sign of a writer at the peak of his game. Of the two, although i liked halting state a lot, i preferred this. Morality, mortality, mentality 2000 by uncredited interview with ken macleod 2001 by andrew j. Ken macleod on scotland in science fiction orbit books. Descent by macleod, ken and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. He graduated from glasgow university with a degree in zoology and has worked as a computer programmer and written a masters thesis on biomechanics. Apr 14, 2014 descent is essentially ken macleod s attempt to illuminate a collection of conspiracy theories including, but not limited to, alien abduction, government coverup, secret speciation and the potentially impending perils of privatisation. Another huge part of this books charm stems from macleod s wry sense of humor, the laughoutloud variety, and a lot of it. Banks, and one feels that the future of scottish sf is in good hands.
He received traditional training mainly in the shangpa kagyu lineage through a long association with his principal teacher, kalu rinpoche, whom he met in 1970. Macleod pillories his pet contemporary evils smoking bans, selfserving academics and meddling greens. Use the handy links below to get started on your free music odyssey. Fall revolution series is a tetralogy of science fiction novels by ken mcleod and include the star fraction, the stone canal, the cassini division and the sky road. Ken macleods the stone canal opens with the story of the young jonathan wilde and the major happenings of he and a fairweather friend as they grow up in nearfuture scotland. Getting drunk, chasing girls, and arguing politics, they eventually split due to personal differences as posthumanisn spins everyones lives in crazy directions. Descent by ken macleod meet your next favorite book. Apr 23, 2014 it is fairly unusual to come across ufoabduction themed genre fiction in the modern era. Ken macleod has 95 books on goodreads with 75374 ratings.
The fall revolution books came out of the late 1980s and. This year i was guest selector for the science fiction strand at the edinburgh international book festival again, an opportunity i greatly appreciated and i hope made the. They cant multitask, cant express emotions in any coherent fashion, and do bad things out of jealousy, fecklessness and sheer. And the ultimate payoff is dh17, an earthlike planet hundreds of light years from human habitation. However, the opening chapter hints that theres much more than meets the eye in ken macleods descent. Ken macleod is an awardwinning scottish science fiction writer. His novels have won the bsfa award and prometheus award and some been nominated for the nebula and hugo awards. Ken macleod is not a writer who burst onto the scene. Set in a very near, very believable future, descent is part superlight scifi, part coming of age story, part political thriller and part conspiracy theory. Which is not to say that theres not plenty of politics in this, just that its largely sketched in, and not as well defined as in his other books. The cassini division was a finalist for the nebula award. Macleod pillories his pet contemporary evils smoking bans, selfserving academics and meddling greens with relish, but the fix is an intrusion of.
Sep 29, 2014 ken macleod is the author of 14 novels, from 1995s the star fraction to his latest, descent, which portrays a nearfuture scotland transformed by technical and social change, seen through the. Macleod is a glasgow university graduate with a degree in zoology. Descent is essentially ken macleod s attempt to illuminate a collection of conspiracy theories including, but not limited to, alien abduction, government coverup, secret speciation and the. The coming of age journey he narrates is engaging and complete. More generally, you seem to have arrived at the same point as i have. Politically engaged, speculative fiction at its finest. Ken macleod is an awardwinning scottish author of fantasy and science fiction books. Royalty free music and creative commons music from kevin macleod. The night sessions by ken macleod, 9781841496481, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. My novel intrusion came out of the first, and my novel descent was mostly written during the second.
Nov 18, 2014 an engaging read from macleod with fantastic characterisation and some elegant prose. For other people named ken macleod, see ken macleod disambiguation. Depending on the kind of book you like, you might be hoping for an atmospheric initial paragraph, or a lush description evoking the flavour of the story inside. Descent is essentially ken macleods attempt to illuminate a collection of conspiracy theories including, but not limited to, alien abduction, government coverup, secret speciation and the potentially impending perils of privatisation. It was a big deal in the 1980s, but not so much now. On that note, im going to say that i liked this book. Nov 19, 2014 ken macleods descent is an alien abduction story for the twentyfirst century set in scotlands nearfuture, a novel about what happens when conspiracy theorists take on big brother. May 03, 2015 descent by ken macleod orbit, pb, 432pp.
If these are the early days of a better nation, there must be hope, and a hope of peace is as good as any, and far better than a hollow hoarding greed or the dry lies of an aweless god. Royalty free music is what everyone wants, because royalties suck. Banks, and one feels that the future of scottish sf is in good hands james lovegrove, the financial times ken macleod is the modern day george orwell sfx how far would you go for the truth. Ken macleod is the modern day george orwell sfx descent is politically engaged, brimming with smart ideas and shot through with a mordant wit. Descent, a characterless, purposeless, plotless mess, virtually monochrome, monotonous, racist, misogyistic, and more concerned with the awesomeness of cigarettes than anything within the novel itself. Ken macleods descent is an alien abduction story for the twentyfirst century set in scotlands nearfuture, a novel about what happens when conspiracy theorists take on big brother. His first two novels, the star fraction and the stone canal, each won the prometheus award. Kenneth macrae macleod born 2 august 1954 is a scottish science fiction writer.
I particularly recommend intrusion published in 2012, which can be had from amazon uk, since its received no us publication and it may be kens best book. Ken macleod is the multiple awardwinning author of many science fiction novels, including the fall revolution quartet, the engines of light trilogy cosmonaut keep, dark light, and engine city, and several standalone novels including newtons wake, learning the world, and the restoration game. The book has the feel of a near future prequel to the fall revolution series and, as such, will appeal to fans of the series. Descent is politically engaged, brimming with smart ideas and shot through with a mordant wit. Read a sample from descent by ken macleod how far would you go for the truth. He graduated from glasgow university with a degree in zoology and has worked as a computer. His novels have won the prometheus award and the bsfa award, and been nominated for the hugo and nebula awards. Descent was perfect for long flights, and i wish i had bought another to read during the next 10 hours of the one ahead of me. Ken macleod is the author of 14 novels, from 1995s the star fraction to his latest, descent, which portrays a nearfuture scotland transformed by technical and social change, seen through the. Issues included relate to the surveillance environment made possible by technology, the role of journalism, and the complexities of personal relationships. Dissidence the corporation wars is a kind of actionpacked dirty dozen or suicide squad scenario. Descent is essentially ken macleods attempt to illuminate a collection of conspiracy theories including, but not limited to, alien abduction, government coverup, secret speciation and the. Macleod was born in stornoway, scotland on 2 august 1954.