The White Abacus

Rating:
Summary: Pleasant Read But Too Whimsical By Half
Review: A whimsical science fiction from Australia; a pleasant read, which nonetheless does not attain philosophical profundity and high drama it apparently strives for. The fact that the story is a reworking of HAMLET needs not be a drawback, and in fact the author does manage to bring some amusing twists to the familiar elements of the Shakespearean tragedy, turning it into a comedy of manners disguised as a space opera. Unfortunately, after around Chapter 3, the plot gets into a hyperdrive, spouting conspiracies and Cosmic Issues everywhere like fungi, the characters either get hilariously psychotic (most of human personages) or turgid and boring (the ÒaiÓ characters, most of them acting like a bunch of sullen C3POs), and the whimsy grows steadily grating. Believe me, by the time you encounter a spacecraft piloted by a giant chicken (I am not kidding!) who insists on being called Captain Arthur C. Chicken, some of you would want to throw towels into the ring. Lower your expectations, expect an eloquently told yarn with little emotional stake and an average STAR TREK-episode level of brain labor, and you will have fun.

Rating:
Summary: Not for Me
Review: Soap Opera in space complete with the usual kings, queens and universal bores. UGH

Rating:
Summary: THE WHITE ABACUS
Review: William Shakespeare's HAMLET is said to have been based on an older play, possibly by Tomas Kyd; the older play may have been taken directly from Danish legend or from some other intermediary source. Great stories thrive in new times and places.

THE WHITE ABACUS gives a thoroughly enjoyable answer to the question of what Shakespeare might have done with HAMLET's plot and characters, given the chance to transport them to a time when minds are connected through the Gestell and hex-gates allow instantaneous access to any point in the galaxy. For our characters, we find in this far-future setting a wide range of body-types to choose from, including the casque-headed, artistically sensitive ai; the macho-anachronistic hu who believe that their soul resides in their vermiform appendices; and the Genetics who take on a surprising array of organic forms. Mind-boggling future technologies, some inherited from science fiction forbears and others newly invented, play their critical part throughout the book.

The book preserves HAMLET's immortal elements of power-lust, murder, betrayal, madness, and revenge, while adding some fascinating plot twists of its own. The tale is told with language as startlingly delightful as Shakespeare's: narrative that paints incredibly detailed sensory images and is at the same time brilliantly comical; and dialogue that is at times hilarious, at other times thought provoking. To fully appreciate certain humorous references, the reader must have some knowledge of classical science fiction, as well as classics in general.

This book is probably best approached as a total immersion Experience, where the reader floats along with the words on one level, enjoying the scenery and the ever-present soundtrack; and at another level thinks critically about what she's reading and laughs aloud when, for example, she notices that Aaron Copland's APPALACHIAN SPRING is playing through a receiver in the ai Ratio's head as se stands in the middle of Death Valley, looking out over the salt flats.

My only regret is that I'll never again have the opportunity to read THE WHITE ABACUS for the first time.