bibliogramma (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bibliogramma) wrote2019-02-07 02:43 am
bibliogramma) wrote2019-02-07 02:43 am
Kelly Robson: Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach
Kelly Robson’s novella Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach takes place partly in a post-apocalyptic future where humans live in habitats, some on the Earth’s surface, some beneath, and where those who survived climate disruption and plague, among other things, live through the benefit of advanced technologies - including the ability to travel into the past - but in often borderline existences. Some humans have been mutated by the plague; others are dependent on specialised prostheses to function; some appear to be what we would still thing of as fully human.
Minh, a private contractor and specialist in multiple fields, most having to do with water systems and ecologies, has won o competition for a unique and exciting project - to travel into the past to do a complete survey of the Tigris-Euphrates river valley. Her three person team - herself, Kiki, and Hamid, accompanied by Fabian, a ‘tactical historian’ supplied by the time travel organisation, will rely on the most advanced tech - satellites, probes, all manner of mobile monitoring devices, to collect the first wave of data.
Intercut with the narrative of the team’s preparations and journey back in time, and the beginning of their work, is a second narrative, the story of Shulgi, the king of the Mesopotamian state of Ur, who faces a political crisis when new stars appear in the sky, and strange flying creatures are seen across the land. At first the high priestess Susa, the only power that rivals his in the kingdom, names these an evil omen and calls for Shulgi’s death to appease the gods, but after a time she withdraws into the temple and begins to issue strange orders. Shulgi, meanwhile, prepares to face whatever the omens bring, for it is the role of a king to protect his people.
What happens when the inevitable interaction occurs is unexpected, and showcases both the best and the worst of human nature, past and future. A profoundly thought provoking work.
Minh, a private contractor and specialist in multiple fields, most having to do with water systems and ecologies, has won o competition for a unique and exciting project - to travel into the past to do a complete survey of the Tigris-Euphrates river valley. Her three person team - herself, Kiki, and Hamid, accompanied by Fabian, a ‘tactical historian’ supplied by the time travel organisation, will rely on the most advanced tech - satellites, probes, all manner of mobile monitoring devices, to collect the first wave of data.
Intercut with the narrative of the team’s preparations and journey back in time, and the beginning of their work, is a second narrative, the story of Shulgi, the king of the Mesopotamian state of Ur, who faces a political crisis when new stars appear in the sky, and strange flying creatures are seen across the land. At first the high priestess Susa, the only power that rivals his in the kingdom, names these an evil omen and calls for Shulgi’s death to appease the gods, but after a time she withdraws into the temple and begins to issue strange orders. Shulgi, meanwhile, prepares to face whatever the omens bring, for it is the role of a king to protect his people.
What happens when the inevitable interaction occurs is unexpected, and showcases both the best and the worst of human nature, past and future. A profoundly thought provoking work.