Paul Chafe

Man-Kzin Wars 11.5—"Destiny's Forge" by Paul Chafe

The war from the Kzin side; and a Kzin civil war added for complication. Forgive me for not knowing Paul Chafe but I admit that I am now extremely impressed. Larry Niven should be proud of this contribution to the saga.

One small note on what amounts to a 650 page saga, there are no "chapters" as such. The book is divided up in segments of indeterminate length that are more "scenes" than chapters. And each scene is introduced by a quote, either from a fictitious future philosopher or strategist or an historical Terran such notable. It worked for me.

Without yet reading books 3-11 I can only guess that this is the first time we've seen the Kzin's side of the story…and it's quite convincing. It's certainly taken for granted that there's a lot of fighting amongst the big cats, but seeing a couple of "monkeys" gain respect for teaching the "good Kzin" how to fight differently, and manage to survive the process themselves, puts Paul Chafe high on my look-for list. He describes a civilization that's intelligent AND bellicose at the same time. Only a culture based on "honor" could possibly accomplish this feat…and a small culture at that. All the humans have going for them is fecundity.

Speaking of which, now I know why it was recommended that Speaker-to-animals not perform "rishathra" with the local hominids in Ringworld…it's just not conceivable that any kind of human could survive sex with a Kzin.… (altro)

4/5ths of the novel deals with the politics and technological breakthroughs of building a colony ship that would last 10,000 years - long enough to reach a distant star. The remainder is about life aboard a closed environment that has a small contingent of technicians and a much society of farmers drawn from a fundamentalist religious sect called the Believers. This is really two stories, one dovetailed into the next.

I've got some serious mixed feelings about this novel. On the one hand, Paul wrote a compelling story, but on the other I found myself skimming at times. I realize that Paul has created a future world, requiring a vast amount of detail, but at times the story got lost in the clutter. In one scene it took 6 pages to get a character from one point to another several hundred feet higher.

I found this book unnerving and frightening as it so fully reflected much of what goes on in the world of politics and religion throughout history. The characters were very real, such that I found myself demanding that some of them grow spines and stand up to the evil so abundant in the pages. But I also understand that not everyone can be a Rambo, practiced in the art of killing without thought and without emotion. The characters showed emotional and physical weakness and the frailties of the human condition. It also displayed personal strength and how great minds can be so easily misguided, embracing the very evil they so vehemently denounce, all in the name of God.

I was disturbed when one of the few characters that showed common sense, logic and intelligence was murdered in the act of rescuing another survivor from the evil clutches of Bishop Nemmer and his army of heartless murdering inquisitors. For that I have to hand it to Paul for being able to stir such deep emotions in me.

This is a cruel novel, steeped in mindless faith, ignorance and power. Ugly as it is, I think Paul is one of the few writers who can look so deeply into the hearts of men and find what should be so clearly seen, but often is hidden beneath the cloak of piety and good works. And yet, the novel rejoices in the technological abilities of man.

I'm not one to pick a novel apart over typos, but there were far too many. You'd think a novel published by Baen would be almost error free.

In a way I was saddened that the novel ended where it did. I felt it was incomplete, but then I could see where this could lead to a series. Still, once I got a couple chapters in I felt compelled to complete the reading even though it was far too detailed for my taste.

The key word, if one must be sought to describe this novel, is 'disturbing'.… (altro)