Status
Call number
Publication
Description
In a clearing of the great forest of the planet Bosk Veld, a strange, ape-like species of alien, the Asadi, act out their almost-incomprehensible rituals, rainbow eyes flashing, spinning like pinwheels. Egon Chaney, in his anthropological study, 'Death and Designation Among the Asadi' has shown how their life-style has apparently degenerated from a level of complex technological sophistication and devolved to a primal simplicity. Long after his disappearance in the forest, his daughter, Elegy Cather, comes to Bosk Veld to carry on his studies of the Asadi where he left off. With her is an intelligent ape, Kretzoi, physically adapted to resemble the aliens. Together with Thomas Benedict, Chaney's old partner, Elegy begins to unravel the enigma of the Asadi. As Kretzoi insinuates himself into their rituals, so we are drawn into what is perhaps the most convincing portrayal of the alien yet.… (more)
User reviews
Six years after the anthropologist disappears, and his diaries are published to acclaim, his daughter arrives, with a genetically modified ape to infiltrate the alien culture and find out more. At this point the book descends into horror; at least, we would find the things the aliens do horrific if they were human, and we question how their culture and environment led them to this particular life cycle.
I have to admit, despite hints about links to human past history, I didn't really see the connection, and will need to read again to pick up on that.
Despite the horrific subject matter, this is a well-written and very atmospheric story about one of the strangest alien races I've ever read about in science-fiction. Humanoid
The first part of the story is told via the journal of an anthropologist who has mingled with the aliens and participated in their strange rituals. After he 'goes native' and disappears, his daughter travels from Earth to find him and to also attempt to decipher the mystery of the Asadi.
This was almost a four-star read for me. What reduced the rating is mostly the pace. While the writing style is very, very good, the story dragged a bit in places. It took me a while to get into the book. Once I reached the halfway mark, it really started to pick up and moved quickly toward the conclusion.
The other issue I had was with the reactions of the characters. Especially Elegy, the daughter of the missing anthropologist. There are moments of extreme horror where, instead of reacting with emotion, she clinically and casually explains her view of what it means to the other characters in the scene. Her lack of emotional response rang a bit false at times.
These are minor complaints though. Overall, despite some of the more horrific elements, I really liked this book. Bishop has quite the twisted imagination - and I appreciate that! :)