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Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Turtledove, H. | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
In a complex fantasy world on the very edge of human history, Engibil, the easy-going god of the city of Gibil, is threatened by the gods of other cities who do not allow their human subjects to be as creative and autonomous.
Author Notes
Harry Turtledove was born in Los Angeles, California on June 14, 1949. He received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history from UCLA in 1977. From the late 1970's to the early 1980's, he worked as a technical writer for the Los Angeles County Office of Education. He left in 1991 to become full-time writer.
His first two novels, Wereblood and Werenight, were published in 1979 under the pseudonym Eric G. Iverson because his editor did not think people would believe that Turtledove was his real name. He used this name until 1985 when he published Herbig-Haro and And So to Bed under his real name. He has received numerous awards including the Homer Award for Short Story for Designated Hitter in 1990, the John Esthen Cook Award for Southern Fiction for Guns of the Southand in 1993, and the Hugo Award for Novella for Down in the Bottomlands in 1994.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Kirkus Review
Another alternate-world yarn from an author who specializes in historical might-have-beens (How Few Remain, 1997, etc.). This time we're in Mesopotamia at the dawn of the Bronze Age--but in Turtledove's version, gods, ghosts, and demons are irksomely, and sometimes alarmingly, real! Young merchant's son Sharur of the city Gibil hopes to marry the lovely and willing Ningal, earning the bride-price out of profits from his family's trading caravan to Alashkurru, where Gibil's matchless bronze weapons are much in demand. Gibil's deity, Engibil, allows a human ""lugal"" to rule in his name, but elsewhere people are merely the puppets of their gods. And now, Sharur discovers, the gods of Alashkurru will no longer permit trade with Gibil. The Alashkurru gods fear human independence, of course; but they've also poured much of their power into a common clay cup that now resides in Engibil's treasury--and they want it back. If Sharur can obtain the cup, his power to bargain with the gods themselves will be immense. And if the gods of Alashkurru have put their power into an everyday object, Sharur wonders, maybe other gods have done the same, and thereby also rendered themselves vulnerable. Historically intriguing, splendidly textured, and full of stimulating ideas, though with two persistent flaws: remarkably stupid gods with no plausible motivations; and Turtledove's habitually vapid characters. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Turtledove turns from the grand scale of his alternate-history novels (e.g., How Few Remain [BKL Jl 97]) to a mythological theme. The living gods of each city and land in a world resembling ancient Mesopotamia intervene in human affairs or even rule directly. Except in Gibil, that is, where the lazy god Engibil has allowed the people to make their own decisions, which has led to the invention of writing, metal casting, and skepticism. For his crime, the other gods are about to descend in their wrath on Gibil. The young merchant Sharur, the city's ruler Kimash, and a foreign thief named Habbazu form an unlikely alliance to steal a talisman that holds the power of the most hostile gods and thus to free Gibil in particular and people in general from the whims of the gods. This new version of the old sf concept of the triumph of reason over faith Turtledove renders excellently, thanks to his customary historical scholarship, narrative gifts, balanced judgment, and dry wit. --Roland Green
Library Journal Review
When the gods declare war against the city of Gibil, Sharur the merchant's son takes upon himself the task of discovering the reason for their anger. Bolstered by his belief in the ability of mortals to act without the direct intervention of divine powers, Sharur travels beyond the confines of the twin rivers that demarcate his homeland, disseminating his strange ideas of free will and independent thought. The advent of the Bronze Age and its impact on human civilization forms the backdrop of Turtledove's (How Few Remain, LJ 8/97) latest excursion into the realms of alternate history. The author's cadenced prose imparts an epic feel to this tale of humanity's attempt to forge its own destiny. A good selection for most libraries. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.