Kirinyaga

By the twentieth second century in the African nation of Kenya, polluted cities sprawl up the flanks of sacred Mount Kirinyaga. Great animal herds are but distant memories. European crops now grow on the sweeping savannas. But Koriba, a distinguished, educated man of Kikuyu ancestry, knows that life was different for his people centuries ago--and he is determined to build a utopian colony, not on earth, but on the terraformed planetoid he proudly names Kirinyaga.

As the mundumugu--witch doctor--Koriba leads the colonists. Reinstating the ancient customs and stringent laws of the Kikuyu people, he alone decides their fate. He must face many challenges to the struggling colony's survival: from a brilliant young girl whose radiant intellect could threaten their traditional ways to the interference of "Maintenance" which holds the power to revoke the colony's charter. All the while, only Koriba--unbeknownst to his people--maintains the computer link to the rest of humanity.

Ironically, the Kirinyaga experiment threatens to collapse--not from violence or greed--but from humankind's insatiable desire for knowledge. The Kikuyu people can no more stand still in time than their planet can stop revolving around its sun.

Deeply moving, swiftly paced, and profound in its implications, Kirinyaga is Mike Resnick's most triumphant work to date. His Fable of Utopia is the book every science fiction reader will want to own and savor for years to come.

From the Hardcover edition.

Hailed for his grandeur of imagination and superb worldbuilding, winner of and nominee for more than fifty awards for his outstanding work, Mike Resnick has rightfully won a place as one of science fiction's master storytellers. Now, in Kirinyaga, Resnick presents the haunting and utterly compelling tale of one man's utopia.

By the twentieth second century in the African nation of Kenya, polluted cities sprawl up the flanks of sacred Mount Kirinyaga. Great animal herds are but distant memories. European crops now grow on the sweeping savannas. But Koriba, a distinguished, educated man of Kikuyu ancestry, knows that life was different for his people centuries ago--and he is determined to build a utopian colony, not on earth, but on the terraformed planetoid he proudly names Kirinyaga.

As the mundumugu--witch doctor--Koriba leads the colonists. Reinstating the ancient customs and stringent laws of the Kikuyu people, he alone decides their fate. He must face many challenges to the struggling colony's survival: from a brilliant young girl whose radiant intellect could threaten their traditional ways to the interference of "Maintenance" which holds the power to revoke the colony's charter. All the while, only Koriba--unbeknownst to his people--maintains the computer link to the rest of humanity.

Ironically, the Kirinyaga experiment threatens to collapse--not from violence or greed--but from humankind's insatiable desire for knowledge. The Kikuyu people can no more stand still in time than their planet can stop revolving around its sun.

Deeply moving, swiftly paced, and profound in its implications, Kirinyaga is Mike Resnick's most triumphant work todate. His Fable of Utopia is the book every science fiction reader will want to own and savor for years to come.


From the Hardcover edition.

VOYA

Koriba, an old "mundumugu" (witch doctor) of Kikuyu ancestry, is dismayed that his homeland of Kenya, as it is now known, has been transformed into a modern country with all the trappings of European civilization. Koriba leads a group of followers to a terraformed planetoid he names Kirinyaga, where he proceeds to create a utopian colony based on the pastoral lives of his ancestors. This is a society of laws, traditions, and rules, and survival depends on all of them being equally obeyed. Anything else threatens the social order. What Koriba forgets is that it is the nature of societies to grow and evolve--they may reach the utopian state for only a moment and then change into something else. Irony and ambiguity are evident in almost every chapter (each of which was originally published as an award-winning short story). The word of the mundumugu must be upheld for the greater good, but if it brings sorrow and unhappiness, is this right? Individuals who think and question, the best and the brightest of the group, are turned into outcasts, sent back to Kenya, or driven to suicide. Koriba actually becomes a tyrant; everyone must follow his vision of the perfect world. He also has an unfair advantage in a computer that allows him access to "Maintenance," which makes adjustments to the climate, so when Koriba threatens a drought, he can shut off the rain. Finally, the young boy who has been training as Koriba's replacement repudiates Koriba's teaching and reveals the fallacies in his thinking. Koriba eventually leaves Kirinyaga because his people have seen the good side of technology--medicine, transportation, improved planting methods--and refuse to listen to him any longer. The opportunites for discussing this book of great power and importance are almost endless. It should find a place with the great utopian novels like Bellamy's Looking Backward or the dystopias of Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World. Resnick has visited the contintent many times, and brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding to his writing. Read, recommend, and buy for the adult department as well! VOYA Codes: 5Q 5P S (Hard to imagine it being any better written, Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday, Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

Mike Resnick's outstanding work has won numerous awards--including three Hugos and one Nebula--and has been nominated for dozens more. Resnick has traveled extensively in Africa, the setting for Kirinyaga. He divides his time between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Orlando, Florida.


From the Hardcover edition.