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Finches Of Mars (2012)

by Brian W. Aldiss(Favorite Author)

2.71 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0007478925 (ISBN13: 9780007478927)

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

publisher

The Friday Project

review 1: The finches referred to in the title, are the Galapagos finches which helped Darwin to understand that birds had evolved to suit specific circumstances and were equipped to survive in particular locations. Aldiss, whose major work was the Helliconia trilogy, says that this will be his last book. It seems to me that he is now not concerned about possibly offending anyone and so he says again what SF has been saying for generations - Earth is doomed to die from overpopulation. He presents a staggeringly unlikely habitat on Mars - six towers, each funded by universities, when it is more likely that solar and background radiation would incline colonists to dig into the rock for shielding. The towers are totally dependent on imported foodstuffs from Earth, and no live animals ... moreare allowed, when it seems clear that any colony would be establishing gardens, chickens and fish tanks in order to be self-sustaining. Food is an expensive payload. I don't see a mention of where universities are getting this money, and consider that industrial, business-driven space exploration is far more likely. Aldiss says that religions are forbidden on Mars, blaming Earth's terrorism, overpopulation and intolerance on illiterate people following primitive writings. Sadly for the colonists, their babies are all born dead or die swiftly. The conclusion is that people have not evolved to live on Mars, in hypoxia, cold, low sunlight and low gravity. Aldiss is telling us that it may be that the Earth is the only world where we can live as a race, having evolved here. His characters did not suggest sending Andean mountain dwellers or Tibetans to Mars; this would be a good start as these people have each evolved their own means of survival in hypoxia and cold.This book is a useful discussion starter. Sadly in my view it does not make for a riveting read. As it is a short book, those who start it will probably finish it, but by the end we have barely seen more than one side of the main characters and have not gained much sympathy for them. The constantly jumping viewpoints, through persons, times and locations, can be coped with but serve to create a disconnect between the reader and the characters. There is no real protagonist and all but a couple of the Martian dwellers come across as ineffectual. Devotees of Aldiss will no doubt want a read of this not at all cheerful book. Some of the themes are also present in the Helliconia world where a planet with an eccentric orbit, which is alternately baked and frozen over the centuries, has evolved people who are adapted as a race to cope with the challenges presented. The first two books are an excellent read; the third is the least good.Having recently read The Martian by Andy Weir, I would recommend that hard SF adventure aficionados read that enjoyable book instead of Finches of Mars.
review 2: This is probably not quite a classic Aldiss novel but it's not far off, and definitely better than loads of his old books. The good bits are classic Aldiss - the eerie setting, dark little threads running underneath the main story, surreal fantasy things popping in out of nowhere and disappearing again, amusing exchanges between the characters, nonchalant flashing and small-scale domestic drama woven through the middle of it all. The bigger picture bits don't work so well - in this case the daft bits about the state of disarray on Earth, generalizations about various races and speculation about evolution - but that's mostly just there as a backdrop rather than the main focus of attention. less

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