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Kethani | 
 enlarge | Author: Eric Brown
Publisher: Black Library
Category: Book
List Price: £10.99
Buy New: £2.98
You Save: £8.01 (73%)
New (40) Used (12) from £2.72
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 28371
Media: Paperback
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9 x 5.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 184416473X
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9781844164738
ASIN: 184416473X
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: brand new, quick dispatch
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| Customer Reviews:
 No.. not quite a wow June 14, 2008
Mrs Mac (Scotland)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased Kethani after reading a review in a Sci-fi magazine particularly as a comparison with John Wyndham - one of my all time favourite authors - was being made. Did it live up to the hype - well, yes and no. The Yorkshire setting and the way the novel is written from the point of view of a small number of village inhabitants is certainly reminiscent of Wyndham's method. Brown writes well and the book was an interesting and fairly pacy read. At times there is a feeling we could be in Arthur C Clarke territory tooo.
However something is missing. I kept waiting for a big plot twist, shock ending or some other 'unexpected' sub-plot. An intriguing premise is set-up part way through following an investigation into a murder which gave me an 'ah-ha this is significant' moment but it wasn't. What could have been an interesting sub or side plot wasn't followed through. If it hadn't been for the ending one might have thought another book or books were to follow but it seems not. It was almost as if Brown couldn't find a satisfying ending and it just goes out with too much of a whimper for me. Worth a read? - yes. Wyndham and Clarke? - not even close.
 Wow - again! June 7, 2008
Mark P. (British Isles)
I'm going to have to think hard how to come up with something different to Ammonite132's comment; I just bought this book on a whim whilst in town. Started reading it at 5:30pm, finished at 8:15pm - I was absolutely enthralled, totally blown away, and am now enthusing about the story more than any other that I can remember.
It's a science fiction story, but unlike most other stories in the genre it only uses the SF element as a core part of the idea, and then weaves the story around the lives and experiences of the characters over the years that follow.
It's touching and thought-provoking, and - as with all the good things in life - focusses on sitting around a fire in the local pub, chatting to close friends!
I'll be proselytising about this one to my wife, my parents, my colleagues; anyone who will listen. I'll probably have to buy myself another copy to lend out...
I'd be interested to see if Eric Brown can come up with other stories of the subsequent exploits in the wider universe alluded to within this novel, but even if he doesn't, I'll be certain to check out all of his other stuff.
Wow! June 7, 2008
Ammonite132 (London, UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I received this book at 7.45 this morning and was totally engrossed for the next 5 hours. Now I have finished, I want to read it again! This is a beautiful story of humanity being 'helped' by seemingly benign aliens to achieve immortality and venture out into the stars. It reminded me of the Uplift series by David Brin in that respect, but the Yorkshire setting surprisingly softened the tone.
What can I say? I was totally blown away by Eric Brown's book and I would recommend it to anyone who is despairing of the human race and the mess we are dreating of our home. A utopian get-out clause maybe, but a hopeful dream of human potential is one worth holding on to.
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