AUTHOR: Robert Charles WilsonNOTES:
My wife and I walk down to the Moose Jaw Public library a few times a week for exercise and to browse the shelves. I was just returning Spin, which I loved, so I thought I would browse the Sci-Fi shelves. I had thought about getting Axis next but I usually find that the sequel does not measure up and I was afraid of ruining my pleasant Spin memories. Grabbed a stack of other Wilson novels, looked over the covers and read the back blurbs and Chronoliths won me over. The thing that helped me decide was the excellent cover art that features a Chronolith jutting out of the surf while two
tourist looking people look on dwarfed by its excess. The way the picture is rendered reminded me of the religious pamphlets that sometimes show up in the mail that always look a bit dated.
The book itself was really interesting. Basically huge monuments start showing up across the globe that memorialize the world conquests of a leader twenty years into the future. Wilson utilizes this unique situation to explore a number of avenues of life including cult worship, government, the science of time travel and so on. I loved the feel of the book. It was set in modern times but it felt a little bit the like the turmoil of the sixties(from what I have seen in film). My only criticism would be of the ending. The mystery that drives a lot of the novel is never really revealed in a satisfying way so the reader is tugged along chapter by chapter expecting a reward and is left empty handed.u
After reading two books by Wilson I think I can comfortably say that he holds the top spot in my "favorite modern sci-fi writer" category. His writing is smart and interesting and he is a master at creating oddly believable landscapes and using these landscapes to explore important and interesting issues.
