KWBC: Adiamante by L. E. Modesitt, Jr

[I'm Murrin]

This month we've (hopefully) been reading Adiamante by LE Modesitt, Jr. What did you think?

To be honest, my copy hasn't arrived yet. I was going to get the ebook but it's only available on Kindle.

[Linna Heartbooger]

Adiamante!

Well, uh, err, actually....
...ummm, my Inter-Library Loan copy hasn't arrived yet.

..because I sort of picked up another L.E. Modessitt book and then never requested it.
Fail. *looks around sheepishly*

Sorry yours hasn't arrived; I'm certain mine is quicker & less trouble, plus I don't have to spend money out of pocket.... =/



Anyway... now to usussimiel for some words of encouragement? *looks around for u*

[ussusimiel]

Linna! Linna! Linna!

Of course I encourage you to read the book, it's very good! It has good good guys, good bad guys, interesting ideas, it touches on ethics and morality (as Modesitt's books tend to do), it has at least one nice crossover point with his series the Corean Chronicles (if you've read them and can spot it), it's a nice short read (barely 300 pages) and has good pacing so it could easily be read in a couple of sittings.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to post my thoughts about it yet as it might detract from your reading experience.

Anyway, be assured that one person has read the book and will be more than willing to talk about it come the time

u.

[I'm Murrin]

I'm pleasantly surprised by this book. As well as a political thriller, it's a philosophical piece about what measures are necessary for a society to survive without destroying itself or its environment.

[ussusimiel]

Modesitt tends to ruminate on ethical/moral issues alright. His heroes generally act decisively based on a clear moral position, but there inevitable seems to be a price that has to be paid for that clarity and ability to act.

u.

[I'm Murrin]

To never threaten or preemptively attack shows admirable restraint, but it's lessened when you consider that the characters are genetically hardwired not to break the Construct, and that doing so would automatically shut off their defense system.

The society is interesting, this back-to-the-earth, no luxuries unless you work for them yourself, no power thing... but what they don't acknowledge is that there's still a distinct class divide and the demis still hold all the power; and they still ship people who can't conform off to penal colonies. It's not a utopia at all.

[ussusimiel]

Yes, it's an interesting dynamic. As you say there is an in-built class divide between the draffs and the demis and it is totally undemocratic. A bright draff can become a demi, but a dull one never can. Definitely far from utopia, and yet, this may be the point; that there can never be a utopia (the English philosopher, John Gray, has an interesting take on utopias) and that some will always be in a position of power over others. However, it's then that ethics and morals become vital.

The quasi-democracy of the cybs seems to offer more to those at the bottom, but the price is their humanity (and an almost inevitably inferior position to the AIs). The demis pay very strictly for their power and so cannot ever really become corrupted by it (that it's genetically programmed makes it seem a bit less noble, but this is a theme that Modesitt plays with often in his fiction. And it may be to do with a belief that all actions that take life (no matter how moral or ethical) extract a price from the person's soul/spirit.).

u.

[I'm Murrin]

I've finished the book now. Interesting story, though it all played out in a rather inevitable way - it was never going to end differently.