Stations of the Tide
Oct. 3rd, 2008 11:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jazzfishMichael Swanwick, Stations of the Tide
The only other Swanwick I've read was _The Iron Dragon's Daughter_, which is not so much a fantasy novel as a deconstruction of all manner of fantasy tropes. It was enjoyable and deep, even when the sections felt disjointed, as though there were transitions missing.
_Stations_ is a lot like that, too. As in _IDD_ there's a thematic reason for it: here, it's because of the implicit parallel with the Stations of the Cross. (It might also just be how Swanwick writes novels. I'll get back to you after I finish _Jack Faust_.)
This feels very Wolfean. Specifically it feels a lot like _The Fifth Head of Cerberus_, only it makes a little more sense.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
uilos observed that _Stations_ has an awful lot of theme but not much plot. That's pretty accurate.
The plot, such as it is: the tide is coming in on the planet, flooding the fertile lowlands, and everyone is fleeing for the hills. (Creatures on the planet survive this by being amphibians, evolving into something that can handle the tide.) Meanwhile, a nameless bureaucrat is in search of a megalomaniac who's been using restricted technology without a license. (Digression: "The bureaucrat fell from the sky" is one of the great opening lines in all of literature.) The theme. . . technology, and humanity, and responsibility to those we see as "lesser" (and are they, actually, lesser / less worthy?).
I'm not sure I liked _Stations_ but I have a lot of respect for it. I definitely want to read it again. (Come to think of it, I feel that way about Wolfe's _New Sun_ and _Fifth Head_, too.)
The only other Swanwick I've read was _The Iron Dragon's Daughter_, which is not so much a fantasy novel as a deconstruction of all manner of fantasy tropes. It was enjoyable and deep, even when the sections felt disjointed, as though there were transitions missing.
_Stations_ is a lot like that, too. As in _IDD_ there's a thematic reason for it: here, it's because of the implicit parallel with the Stations of the Cross. (It might also just be how Swanwick writes novels. I'll get back to you after I finish _Jack Faust_.)
This feels very Wolfean. Specifically it feels a lot like _The Fifth Head of Cerberus_, only it makes a little more sense.
uilos observed that _Stations_ has an awful lot of theme but not much plot. That's pretty accurate.The plot, such as it is: the tide is coming in on the planet, flooding the fertile lowlands, and everyone is fleeing for the hills. (Creatures on the planet survive this by being amphibians, evolving into something that can handle the tide.) Meanwhile, a nameless bureaucrat is in search of a megalomaniac who's been using restricted technology without a license. (Digression: "The bureaucrat fell from the sky" is one of the great opening lines in all of literature.) The theme. . . technology, and humanity, and responsibility to those we see as "lesser" (and are they, actually, lesser / less worthy?).
I'm not sure I liked _Stations_ but I have a lot of respect for it. I definitely want to read it again. (Come to think of it, I feel that way about Wolfe's _New Sun_ and _Fifth Head_, too.)