Dryland's End (Southern Tier Editions)

Rating:
Summary: don't waste your time
Review: Although the premise is good, the execution is poor. Overwritten,poorly edited, no good, consistent character development and an overall arrogant tone make this a waste of time. Herbert, Lewis and Delany do it better, cleaner and more interesting. This is the first Picano book I've read and I'll avoid the others.

Rating:
Summary: Exquisite Science Fiction
Review: I love Science Fiction, and this book is superb! The setting is High Space Opera, like many S.F. novels, but the story and the plot is very original, and some common SF topoi are intertwined in a very bizarre way. We are at the end of a millenary Galactic Empire,the Matriarchy, ruled by matronal domineering women. Ay'r,the protagonist, his somewhat dubious companion Pa'l and a representative of the Matriarchy, are sent to the flooding world Pelagia on a mysterious mission, mysterious particularly for Ay'r, who's been given very little information. The exploration of the doomed world of Pelagia, its rapidly developing tribes, the strange mythology of the inhabtants, all of this is magnificently rendered. Meanwile, a cyber-rebellion threathens the Matriarchy and all humanity. The solution to this crisis is somewhat linked to what happens on Pelagia...
Dryland's End Galaxy it's also a book about the eternal confrontation of the sexes, on sex mores and differences, that shall find a solution that would have pleased Storm Constantine.
It's a book on many endings, that end with a beginning: one of the best science fiction novels I've read. Isaac Asimov meets Storm Constantine and Ursula K. Le Guin, so to speak. Very original!

Rating:
Summary: Great read, lot's of detail, intellectual space drama
Review: I read the book when it was first published. I couldn't put it down. The characters are charismatic, the setting interesting, the advanced science was enthralling yet believable. If I had a holodeck, I would visit all the settings and characters in Drylands End. If only life on earth could be as exciting! Having read many things by Picano, science fiction was a side of him that I hadn't seen. I wanted the book to go on and on.After finishing the book I was lost. Someone needs to do a screenplay of this story. If you enjoy a good read that is captivating and draws you right into the story, don't let it's length stop you, this one is a MUST!

Rating:
Summary: sorry
Review: I'll admit up front I don't really get science fiction so maybe that's why this novel felt so weighty and endless. I keep hoping one day I'll find a great sci-fi book and, suddenly, a whole new world of fiction will open up to me. And, this book was highly recommended so I tried but, same old story. I never once felt involved and only occassionally engaged. Admittedly, the author is adept at this sort of fiction but, for me, this was one of those books you pick up and two pages later your mind is wandering because, for one, you can't even pronounce the character names and there's just too much going on - too many worlds to be explained and I tried and tried to just fall into the story but no such luck. The plot finally kicks in but that's after about four hundred pages. Until then, it's a lot of ideas (some profound, some not), endless streaming dialogue and endless streaming speculation of future worlds, the future of gender, feminism, robotics, etc., etc. Again, I'm not a sci fi buff so it's probably just not for me.


Rating:
Summary: Despite sloppy editing, it is worth the trip
Review: Set 5000 years in the future, Dryland's End is a queer-friendly sci-fi book that takes some getting used to but in the end is a fascinating experience. Picano not only makes up worlds and societies, he also invents some languages to go along with them. This makes for some confusing passages, not at all helped by the extremely sloppy editing that has been perpetrated here. Characters who are not in a particular scene all of a sudden are identified as having made a statement, simple words are misspelled, etc. and sometimes you may feel like throwing the book across the room. But wait. Eventually the thousands of characters and many different subplots come together and it turns out that it wasn't that byzantine a plot in the first place. If you enjoy taking a look at what our descendants might be up against in the future, take a look here. You might be dissappointed but you won't be terribly bored. If you have not read a Picano book before, I suggest starting with Ambidextrous, but fans will have a good time here.

Rating:
Summary: Dryland's End is Truly About Beginnings...
Review: This is not your average sci-fi novel. It ranks among the best, including 2001. Picano creates an imminently believable future where the "three species" live in relative, but strained harmony under the slowly unraveling Martriarchy.

Much like Star Wars, the book chronicles the disintegration of the Matriarchy but has numerous and intriguing subplots: a philosophical cyber rebellion; the burgeoning autonomy of a "wild west" planet that's filled with the equivalent of mega oil fields and Los Angeles-like denizens in search of sinful fun; and realpolitik power struggles within the Matriarchy itself. Also intertwined is the search for a cure to a virus that threatens to end human reproduction The cure is found on the slowly flooding distant planet of Dryland -- hence the title. The world created by Picano is phenomenally believable and even prescient. He introduces the reader to new languages, new forms of space travel, new cultures, new species -- bu! t he bases everything on plausible science. His knowledge of geology, space, military tactics and history are almost encyclopedic. Dryland's End is perhaps the most intelligent page-turning Sci Fi novel I have ever read. I honestly couldn't put it down. Picano is the master of plot! Other Picano books include "Like People in History" "Ambidextrous" and "The Lure." Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Dryland's End is Truly About Beginnings...
Review: _Dryland's End_ is a romping sci-fi novel that manages to combine valid scientific and social theories(gender politics, human evolution, nurture vs. nature) without losing sight of the message or the story. Kudos to Picano for creating characters foreign to our 20th century mores and perspective, yet utterly familiar in their essential human needs, ambitions, and desires - for power and position, family and genetic legacy, food, shelter, and security at any cost. Picano does not so much plant some new concepts as he does yank our post-modern society out by the roots, shake it to remove the dirt, disect, discard the dead and dying stalks, and transplant the whole. The concepts may all have been voiced before by other writes, commentators, etc. but never in one place - my reaction in the end was not so much surprise as satisfaction, even bemusement. All in all this is a strong, solid read, lush with details and a sly humorous tone. The ending is so abruptly balanced, yet haunting, that the novel begs a sequel, or at least an extended epilogue! It reminded me of other socially-and/or technologically-mindful authors such as Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale), Anne Rice (Cry to Heaven), and Frank Herbert (the Messiah trilogy). Definitely a worthwhile read for sci-fi fans, history buffs, politicians, feminists, and anyone who already claims to have an open mind. Read the book and prove it!