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Overview
The great Calculor of Libris was forced to watch as Overmayor Zarvora had four of its components lined up against a wall and shot for negligence. Thereafter, its calculations were free from errors, and that was just as well-for only this strangest of calculating machines and its two thousand enslaved components could save the world from a new ice age.
And all the while a faint mirrorsun hangs in the night sky, warning of the cold to come.
In Sean McMullen's glittering, dynamic, and exotic world two millennia from now, there is no more electricity, wind engines are leading-edge technology, librarians fight duels to settle disputes, steam power is banned by every major religion, and a mysterious siren "Call" lures people to their death. Nevertheless, the brilliant and ruthless Zarvora intends to start a war in space against inconceivably ancient nuclear battle stations.
Unbeknownst to Zarvora, however, the greatest threat to humanity is neither a machine nor a force but her demented and implacable enemy Lemorel, who has resurrected an obscene and evil concept from the distant past: Total War.
Souls in the Great Machine is the first volume of Sean McMullen's brilliant future history of the world of Greatwinter
Synopsis
The great Calculor of Libris was forced to watch as Overmayor Zarvora had four of its components lined up against a wall and shot for negligence. Thereafter, its calculations were free from errors, and that was just as well-for only this strangest of calculating machines and its two thousand enslaved components could save the world from a new ice age.
And all the while a faint mirrorsun hangs in the night sky, warning of the cold to come.
In Sean McMullen's glittering, dynamic, and exotic world two millennia from now, there is no more electricity, wind engines are leading-edge technology, librarians fight duels to settle disputes, steam power is banned by every major religion, and a mysterious siren "Call" lures people to their death. Nevertheless, the brilliant and ruthless Zarvora intends to start a war in space against inconceivably ancient nuclear battle stations.
Unbeknownst to Zarvora, however, the greatest threat to humanity is neither a machine nor a force but her demented and implacable enemy Lemorel, who has resurrected an obscene and evil concept from the distant past: Total War.
Souls in the Great Machine is the first volume of Sean McMullen's brilliant future history of the world of Greatwinter
Publishers Weekly
Fast-paced and amusing, McMullen's latest novel (after The Centurion's Empire) is an action-packed adventure in the tradition of world-building SF. Set 20 centuries in the future, in a postnuclear winter society, the tale centers on the Calculor, a fantastic calculating machine powered by nameless human components who remain imprisoned within its workings. As the Highliber of Libris--aka head librarian--Zavora is the de facto ruler of the Calculor, and thus of all Confederation society, packing more political clout than the mayor himself. Through the Calculor's number crunching, Zavora has discovered that the world will be plunged into another "Greatwinter," or ice age, unless she can gain control of a satellite in Earth's orbit, which seems nearly impossible given her society's limited technology. Aiding Zavora in her mission are the Abbess Theresla, who has an innate ability to resist "the Call," a psychic phenomena that forces all humans to follow its deadly beckoning; Lemorel, a spirited young street fighter and librarian within the Libris; and Johnny Glasken, a rogue and former prisoner of the Calculor. McMullen's dramatic pacing and believable characters ensure that readers will enjoy Zavora's quest through a well-wrought, richly imagined multidimensional world. (June) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewAustralian author Sean McMullen's first novel to reach the U.S., The Centurion's Empire, was a lively debut featuring one of the most adventurous and luxuriant time-traveling historical novel romps in recent memory. In his follow-up book, Souls in the Great Machine, McMullen returns to tell the innovative, complex, and fascinating tale of a land ruled by its own library.
Two thousand years into the future, the world is technologically backward, and people travel mostly on trains that rely on the "pedal-power" of passengers. This future Australia is comprised of many mayoral lands, the largest of which is Rochester, also home to the "Libris," a great library that dominates all aspects of the culture. People study cataloguing and mathematics in the hopes of becoming a "dragon" in the Libris. Most of the lands other than Rochester suffer from the "Call," a sporadic, sweeping telepathic command that draws all untethered humans and mammals to the southeast. Houses are built without southeast doors and with high walls in that direction, and people must wear call-timers that will fire anchors to hold them from wandering off zombie-like, never to be seen again.
Zarvora Cybeline, the Highliber of Libris, is a charismatic and deadly woman who has won many duels in three years of rule, all so that her innovative project can come to fruition. The Calculor is this new world's first computer, built out of abacus-using prisoners who operate independently in the deep hidden cubicles, and who are sometimes gagged and beaten if they perform improper calculations. Taxfrauds,embezzlers, and other enemies of the state are drafted into the great machine, where they are given new names such as MULTIPLIER 8, ADDER 17, and FUNCTION 9. The Calculor is also capable of decoding secret messages sent between noblemen's spies and winning at the game "Champions," but Zarvora's real purpose for the Calculor is initially kept a secret. Only she realizes that machines programmed centuries earlier are still working efficiently on the moon, and will soon finish a gigantic mirror originally intended to curtail global warming. She believes that the Greatwinter that nearly destroyed the world is about to be unleashed again when the mirror is completed, reflecting sunlight away from the Earth as a new ice age descends.
McMullen's strengths as a storyteller lie in his ability to take the reader smoothly from fantastical elements and offbeat social ideology to prophetic science fiction in an inviting manner. The landscape here is sometimes primal and always strange, but we get hints of familiarity in tiny details left scattered among the oddities. The Calculor is a brilliant and convincing contrivance that underscores this new culture perfectly, even while the unknown siren's "call" keeps an added mysterious ingredient in the narrative. McMullen's characters are engaging and credible, with a lyrical depth that makes even the nameless "function" characters a significant part of the greater whole of this weird and enticing world: We never doubt that the great machine has a soul of its own. Souls in the Great Machine is a fine addition to a body of work that is already filled with entertaining, daring, and wholly intriguing novels.
—Tom Piccirilli
From the Publisher
"A stunning idea—the Calculator's as real as if McMullen had built it in his backyard—with an utterly convincing setting, breathtaking developments, and a captivating narrative." —Kirkus Reviews (pointer review)"Decidedly original, sometimes whimsical, and captivating, this is a genuine tour de force." —Booklist
"Fast-paced and amusing, McMullen's latest novel is an action-packed adventure in the tradition of world-building SF." —Publishers Weekly
"I don't know how many years of practice Sean McMullen has had, but he writes like his own expert....A great machine in concept, and a great book in the reading. Highly recommended." —San Diego Union-Tribune
"This book gives us one of the most distinctive and unforgettable Down Under futures ever created." —The Bulletin
Publishers Weekly
Fast-paced and amusing, McMullen's latest novel (after The Centurion's Empire) is an action-packed adventure in the tradition of world-building SF. Set 20 centuries in the future, in a postnuclear winter society, the tale centers on the Calculor, a fantastic calculating machine powered by nameless human components who remain imprisoned within its workings. As the Highliber of Libris--aka head librarian--Zavora is the de facto ruler of the Calculor, and thus of all Confederation society, packing more political clout than the mayor himself. Through the Calculor's number crunching, Zavora has discovered that the world will be plunged into another "Greatwinter," or ice age, unless she can gain control of a satellite in Earth's orbit, which seems nearly impossible given her society's limited technology. Aiding Zavora in her mission are the Abbess Theresla, who has an innate ability to resist "the Call," a psychic phenomena that forces all humans to follow its deadly beckoning; Lemorel, a spirited young street fighter and librarian within the Libris; and Johnny Glasken, a rogue and former prisoner of the Calculor. McMullen's dramatic pacing and believable characters ensure that readers will enjoy Zavora's quest through a well-wrought, richly imagined multidimensional world. (June) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.Jonathan Strahan
...[A] complex, well-crafted novel filled with action and adventure. It entertains, but it is also a sugarcoated pill that contains a rather dark and bitter center not easily digested.— Locus