The Stone Canal

Science Fiction Weekly

MacLeod offers a frightening, plausible picture of a balkanized Great Britain and a nuclear war in Europe.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

British author MacLeod's second novel to be published in the U.S. (after The Cassini Division) opens on New Mars, a distant planet discovered on the other side of a wormhole, where humans resettled after Earth was decimated by World War III. While New Mars is populated by Earthlings, the planet's real labor is done by the "fast folk," nanotech-based artificial intelligence machines that evolve much more quickly than humans. This stratified world was built unwittingly by Jon Wilde and Dave Reid, who met as socialist-minded university students in Glasgow and became two corners of a romantic triangle that later influenced history in myriad ways. MacLeod weaves the story of the two men's complex relationship along two tracks, past and present. In the past, Wilde and Reid both fell for the same woman; Wilde eventually married her and raised a family. In the meantime, Reid built a powerful high-tech company that could grow no further without some changes in the political climate--changes that Wilde is hired to help create. The fallout from this alliance and from Reid's own hidden agenda ultimately lead to the world war and to a reliance on machine intelligence, as well as to the creation of a world where death is impossible as long as you have a waiting clone and a recent brain backup. Thanks to that resurrection technology, Wilde and Reid face each other as enemies again on New Mars. MacLeod's writing is smooth and sure, full of striking images and breathtaking extrapolations of current technology. It's a pleasure and a challenge to read a book where human potential and human foibles are dealt with as thoroughly as is scientific advancement. Fans of William Gibson and of Iain Banks, in particular, will enjoy this visionary novel. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

VOYA

Friends and rivals since they met as students in 1970s Glasgow, Jonathan Wilde and David Reid are chronicled here over several centuries on several worlds. Their rivalry persists through the decades until Reid kills Wilde. Wilde awakens many years later in a robot body, enslaved to Reid and working on the creation of a wormhole that will take them to a new world. Four hundred years later, Wilde clones a new body for himself so he can continue the fight against Reid, who is now the gangster in charge of New Mars. In addition, he works to free Dee, Reid's robotic succubus and the clone of Wilde's wife. Wilde is determined to cut Reid's power, and, with the help of other "dead" friends and robotic companions, he succeeds. Readers will find this book confusing as it jumps from one time frame to another with no coherent transition. The narrative shifts from firstperson presentno matter what centuryto thirdperson present or past. In addition, thanks to cloning, Wilde is presented in several different personas at the same time. Another drawback is the heavy emphasis on British politics, a topic that might not engage American readers. If you have McLeod's The Cassini Division (Tor, 1999/VOYA February 2000), then you should have this prequel. If you do not, skip this one. It is not worth the struggle to follow the story line or characters. VOYA CODES: 2Q 4P S A/YA (Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2000, Tor, Ages 16 to Adult, 320p, $24.95. Reviewer: Vicky Burkholder

Library Journal

Filled with memories of his past, the clone Jonathan Wilde arrives on New Mars, where he rediscovers old loves and older enemies. Set in a distant future filled with intelligent machines, cloned humans, and little regard for life or death, this high-impact sf adventure by the author of The Cassini Division delivers a strong dose of violence and graphic sex. First published in Britain, MacLeod's tale of one man's grim journey toward knowledge should appeal to fans of high-tech action and hard-core science. For large sf collections. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Salon

Science fiction's freshest new writer… MacLeod is a fiercely intelligent, prodigiously well-read author who manages to fill his books with big issues without weighing them down.