The years of rice and salt is a departure for kim stanley robinson. In 2008, he was named a hero of the environment by time magazine, and he works with the sierra nevada research institute. Since history is by nature episodic, the challenge of a book like the years of rice and salt is to orchestrate a steady stream of new characters from different eras while keeping a core of familiar players on stage throughout. Every chapter is masterfully written, the background historical. First, he takes advantage of the succession crisis surrounding henry ii of castile to cleave leon and absorb it. This is a timeline for the events in the novel the years of rice and salt. And books like blue mars, pacific edge, 2312, arguably the closing of the years of rice and salt, seem pretty straightforwardly utopian. It is the fourteenth century and one of the most apocalyptic events in human history is set to occurthe coming of the black death. Robinsons solution is to borrow an article of faith common to the surviving cultures. In his grandest work yet, the acclaimed storyteller constructs a world vastly different from the one we know.
Thats 35 books, 6 of which id previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me. If you like the years of rice and salt you might like similar books 2312, green mars, blue mars, forty signs of rain, shaman. There are at least three calendars being used in thes story. Its a pretty schematic analysis of a few novels as critiques of 50s capitalist suburbia, which is fine enough, but as i remember, robinson totally ignores the religiouspsychedlic. It is episodic, both because of the long time frame encompassed but. What if the plague killed 99 percent of the population instead. Place the rice in a sieve, and jostle it around in the sieve. The savvy king charles ii of navarre who otl interfered more in the 100 years war exploits the breakneck pace of the reconquista as a chance to expand. West africa was the third locus of power before the rise of europe in the late 1400s.
While working through this reading list i got married, went on my. The muslim, indian and chinese civilizations are the ones that will drive world history, through hardships and wars, discoveries and revolutions. The years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson abebooks. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. In other words, it is not at all like the last few books written by kim stanley robinson himself. Be sure to flip and mix the rice around in the sieve so you are getting all the rice.
Years of rice and salt radio plays years of rice and salt along with similar artists like. Goodreads members who liked the years of rice and salt also lik. In the mars books, robinson simply had various protagonists be. Though if this blog post was too long for you to read and you actually did just skip down to the tl,dr, then good luck getting through this doorstopper. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the years of rice and salt. This is a universe where the industrial revolution is triggered by the worlds greatest scientific minds in india. The years of rice and salt is an alternate history novel by american science fiction author kim. His nearfuture, hard science fiction writing has won disciples who believe that he has prophesied how it will be. With the incomparable vision and breathtaking detail that brought his nowclassic marstrilogy to vivid life, bestselling author kim stanley robinson boldly imagines an alternate history of the last seven hundred years. I happen, and i continue to happen in this seemingly random way. In the 14th century anno domini, the black plague decimates europe. Since history is by nature episodic, the challenge of a book like the years of rice and salt is to orchestrate a steady stream of new characters from different eras while keeping a core of. Trying to illustrate the final state of affairs in the years of rice and salt, kim stanley robinsons ah novel in which one of those annoying magically mutated black plagues wipes out europe, leaving islam, the hindus, and the chinese to fight over the future of humanity. The years of rice and salt is an alternative history novel published in 2002.
It was the center of large empires that controlled the trade of things like kola nuts an important stimulant in islamic countries, salt as the title alludes to, and most importantly gold. Buy a cheap copy of the years of rice and salt book by kim stanley robinson. The years of rice and salt audiobook listen instantly. With the same visionary scope that brought his nowclassic mars trilogy to life, awardwinning author kim stanley robinson constructs an alternative history of the last 600 yearsa history where the black death kills nearly everyone in europe and where china, india and the nations of islam. If you liked the years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson, here are some books like this. Robinsons the years of rice and salt is one of the few works ive seen that tries to go. The years of rice and salt book central rappahannock.
The first edition of the novel was published in june 3rd 2002, and was written by kim stanley robinson. This is a universe where the first ship to reach the new world travels across the pacific ocean from china and colonization spreads from west to east. Released in march 2002, the book was published in north america by bantam books and in the united kingdom by harpercollins. This is a universe where the industrial revolution is triggered by the worlds greatest scientific mindsin india. The years of rice and salt does not resemble the selfindulgent display of personal subconscious idiosyncrasies some also call literature these days. The years of rice and salt is a thick, dense alternate history spanning continents and centuries. I know that this is one of the few rare books in my collection that im coming back to.
If your tap water is not palatable, reboil another pot of water. Awardwinning author kim stanley robinson delivers a thoughtful and powerful examination of cultures and the people who shape them. The years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson goodreads. The novels of kim stanley robinson strange at ecbatan.
But ill pine for the four unwritten books of master li and number ten ox. The novel is divided into ten books, each focusing on one or sometimes more incarnation of the main characters. The novel explores how world history might have been different if the black death plague had killed 99% of europes population, instead of a third as it did in our modern reality. I havent read the years of rice and salt, but a long time ago i read robinsons book the novels of philip k dick, based on his dissertation ucsd, 1982. Pdf the years of rice and salt book by kim stanley. In 2008 he was named one of time magazines heroes of the environment.
The years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson a novelist imagines 700 years of history in which the plague has wiped out the west and china and islam rule the globe. With the same unique vision that brought his now classic mars trilogy to vivid life, bestselling author kim stanley robinson boldly imagines an alternate history of the last seven hundred years. The years of rice and salt kim stanley robinson, author. But what if the plague had killed 99 percent of the pop. The years of rice and salt is an alternate history novel by american science fiction author kim stanley robinson, published in 2002. Books similar to the years of rice and salt goodreads. The seven centuries covered in the years of rice and salt include. The years of rice and salt, by kim stanley robinson. The years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson. The years of rice and salt necessarily has a extensive cast of characters from the several major eras explored in the novel. I find ksrs books great, entertaining, and highly recommended to readers. The years of rice and salt is one of my favorite books, as well as one of the most underrated books of all time. Years of rice and salt by quantumbranching on deviantart. The novel has characters that explore subjects like philosophy, theology, history, and.
Kim stanley robinson, years of rice and salt i cant deny it, mired in my own chaoses, subject to the bad plotting of my own life and unrelenting happenstance. Kim stanley robinson is a winner of the hugo, nebula, and locus awards. Free download or read online the years of rice and salt pdf epub book. The years of rice and salt posits a world where christianity is for all intents wiped out by the plague, leaving europe nearly this is another of those books i tried to read two or three times previously and never could do it despite knowing i would like it once i got involved in it. This novel is a reflection of how it might have been. You could argue that a study like ken pomeranz the great. The years of rice and salt audiobook by kim stanley.
The years of rice and salt an alternate history novel in. It is the 14th century, and one of the most apocalyptic events in human history is set to occur the coming of the black death. The alchemist book also comes across like the author surfed wikipedia for significant. The main characters of this fiction, science fiction story are. The years of rice and salt book by kim stanley robinson.
Its vast cast of characters includes, as the blurb puts it, soldiers and kings, explorers and philosophers, slaves and scholars. See more ideas about books, salt book and books to read. The years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson the. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 763 pages and is available in mass market paperback format. In the mars books, robinson simply had various protagonists be pioneers of lifeextension as well as of planetary colonisation. They have excellent storytelling and character development, and normally, excellent pacing. History teaches us that a third of europes population was destroyed. In it robinson posits a western europe that lost 90% of its population in the fourteenth century plague. What if the plague killed epub 99 percent of the population instead. Based on the timeline compiled by mark rosa in 2004 original timeline here, offline since 2009. Divided into ten parts, the story spans hundreds of years, from the army of the. The years of rice and salt is another example of the alternative history subgenre of sffantasy the central idea of playing out a scenario in the real worlds past, where a change in one or more specific events causes a divergence with the true path of history.
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