Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Ballantine (1967), Edition: 1st, 252 pages
Description
A Nebula and Hugo Award Finalist: The first novel by the New York Times-bestselling author of the Xanth series. Chthon was Piers Anthony's first published novel in 1967, written over the course of seven years. He started it when he was in the US Army, so it has a long prison sequence that is reminiscent of that experience, being dark and grim. It features Aton Five, a space man who commits the crime of falling in love with the dangerous, alluring Minionette and is therefore condemned to death in the subterranean prison of Chthon. It uses flashbacks to show how he came to know the Minionette, and flash-forwards to show how he dealt with her after his escape from prison. The author regards this as perhaps the most intricately structured novel the science fantasy genre has seen.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Radaghast
Chthon is not a difficult book to review. What I struggled with was the rating. Ultimately, I'm not sure even now how exactly I felt about the novel.
Chthon is primarily a prison tale. It is the story of Aton Five, the son of a wealthy farmer, who is sent to an underground prison with no guards and
Anthony's writing style in the novel is engaging, and must have been quite difficult to pull off. The story jumps between Aton's time inside the prison, his time after his escape, and his time before he was incarcerated. Anthony does this without cheap gimmicks, yet also without revealing any plot points too soon. I was amazed by this balancing act. The story was clear and the time jumps only increased the tension. For me, his time inside the prison is the most interesting. Anthony fleshed out a complete world in the underground labrynth. It's no coincidence this was the bulk of the story, as Anthony seemed to realize it was where the novel's strength lay. Anthony created consistent characterization, and subtle as well. It is quite a long time before you realize the main character is insane. There is nothing in terms of writing, I can criticize, save a handful of awkward moments the novel could have dropped (giant caterpillars for example).
If you are waiting for a "but", here it is: My problem with the novel is that it is incredibly dark. It is probably the darkest novel I've read. It is not gory or graphic. Anthony never explains in detail when horrible things happen. Leaving it to the reader's imagination is probably worse, in all honesty, as the novel's main character engages in rape, murder and incest in his obsession to find the siren. These are not themes I normally read, especially since this is absolutely not a novel about redemption. In the end, I'm not quite sure what Anthony was trying to say, except perhaps when we are looking for evil in the world, it may be wise to look in the mirror.
As I said though, there is nothing Anthony puts in simply as shock value. It all flows naturally from the story, and if you can handle an unapologetically dark novel, Chthon will not disappoint. I can't say it is a novel I especially enjoyed, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth reading.
Chthon is primarily a prison tale. It is the story of Aton Five, the son of a wealthy farmer, who is sent to an underground prison with no guards and
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no escape. His crime is an unquenchable obsession with a dangerous siren he first encounters as a boy. In the world Anthony has weaved, some of the biproducts of genetic engineering are human subspecies, one of which is similar to the sirens of mythology. But there are vast differences revealed throughout the novel, so that this similarity is tangential. Anthony's writing style in the novel is engaging, and must have been quite difficult to pull off. The story jumps between Aton's time inside the prison, his time after his escape, and his time before he was incarcerated. Anthony does this without cheap gimmicks, yet also without revealing any plot points too soon. I was amazed by this balancing act. The story was clear and the time jumps only increased the tension. For me, his time inside the prison is the most interesting. Anthony fleshed out a complete world in the underground labrynth. It's no coincidence this was the bulk of the story, as Anthony seemed to realize it was where the novel's strength lay. Anthony created consistent characterization, and subtle as well. It is quite a long time before you realize the main character is insane. There is nothing in terms of writing, I can criticize, save a handful of awkward moments the novel could have dropped (giant caterpillars for example).
If you are waiting for a "but", here it is: My problem with the novel is that it is incredibly dark. It is probably the darkest novel I've read. It is not gory or graphic. Anthony never explains in detail when horrible things happen. Leaving it to the reader's imagination is probably worse, in all honesty, as the novel's main character engages in rape, murder and incest in his obsession to find the siren. These are not themes I normally read, especially since this is absolutely not a novel about redemption. In the end, I'm not quite sure what Anthony was trying to say, except perhaps when we are looking for evil in the world, it may be wise to look in the mirror.
As I said though, there is nothing Anthony puts in simply as shock value. It all flows naturally from the story, and if you can handle an unapologetically dark novel, Chthon will not disappoint. I can't say it is a novel I especially enjoyed, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth reading.
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LibraryThing member never_sam
I didn't actually even finish this book. I questioned for a long time whether I would or wouldn't finish it and I got through about 3/4 of it and then abandoned it.
My first questions about whether or not I would actually finish it arose because of the blatant disregard with which rape is treated.
My second questions about whether or not I would finish it, and the reason I eventually abandoned it, was just how badly the second half was written. I couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on and I read Faulkner for fun. Anthony became more obsessed with talking about how woman should be treated and explicating the female psyche that his prose suffered.
The parts of the story that revolve around the prison break and being in the prison (besides the totally okay rape??) are really great. But then it devolves for the writer's own agenda.
My first questions about whether or not I would actually finish it arose because of the blatant disregard with which rape is treated.
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The main character, Anton, rapes a woman as a way of "teaching her a lesson" and this woman goes on to be totally in love with him. This falls into this theme that women receive love as abuse and hurt. Maybe at the end there was some sort of "redemption" for this perspective, but I couldn't take reading this abuse and vitriol launched at women; this condoning of abusive relationships, arguing that women [i]want[/i] abuse, that this is the way that women feel and want love. This is an entirely ridiculous proposition and really just evidence of the hate women have to endure, especially in early science fiction.My second questions about whether or not I would finish it, and the reason I eventually abandoned it, was just how badly the second half was written. I couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on and I read Faulkner for fun. Anthony became more obsessed with talking about how woman should be treated and explicating the female psyche that his prose suffered.
The parts of the story that revolve around the prison break and being in the prison (besides the totally okay rape??) are really great. But then it devolves for the writer's own agenda.
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Subjects
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novel — 1968)
Nebula Award (Nominee — Novel — 1967)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1967