Subject: Book Review: The Stone Canal by Ken MacLeod

From: [email-masked]
Date: 31 Jul 2000 11:37:36 -0400

The Stone Canal by Ken MacLeod
	Review Copyright 2000 Eoghann Irving

This is the second Ken MacLeod book I've read.  It's part of a sequence of
books, all of which share the same universe and explore certain political
ideas.

"The Stone Canal" also has particularly close links with the follow up
book "The Cassini Division," which I read first just to be difficult, in
that the events in this book are referred to in "The Cassini Division."

The central characters in this book are Jon Wilde -- yes, the plural was
deliberate.  The story jumps back and forward from the 20th century where
he was a political agitator and "anarchist with nuclear capability" to the
far future where he is brought back to life.

His return to the living is the responsibiliity of the construction robot
Jay-Dub who wants him to take Dave Reid (an old associate of Wilde's and
now the most important man in Ship City) to court.  Add to this the fact
that Dave Reid's robot concubine Dee Model is attempting to assert her own
freedom and she just happens to have the body of Wilde's now deceased
wife.

As you can no doubt tell there is a lot going on in this book.  Its packed
with interesting ideas.  MacLeod does a stunning job of world building
throughout this book, taking it from 1975 through into the 21st century
via wars and revolutions and then on to the far future in New Mars.

Be warned that political ideas are central to this book. In particular
there is a sort of battle between libertarian ideals and socialist ideals.
The two might seem light years apart but MacLeod makes a strong case for
them actually being intertwined.

On several occasions I found myself exclaiming "but thats just not RIGHT"
as I read what a character had to say about something.  I see this as a
tribute to the realism of MacLeod's characters that I actually wanted to
argue politics with them.

The book is imaginative and well written.  MacLeod plays with the
narrative form a little but not in such a way as to distract you from the
story itself.  His main characters have real personality to them.  They
aren't simply mouthpieces for their politics.

I do wonder how easy it would be for people outside of the UK to read this
book though. There are several references which would probably slip past
them. Certain dates or unusual ways of referring to things.  Since I live
in Scotland it was rather an unusual feeling for me to read descriptions
of places that I regularly pass.

I only really have one small problem, which is that I gave "The Cassini
Division" a 10 and this book is actually a little better.

Score 10/10

%A Ken MacLeod
%T The Stone Canal
%I Legend (Random House UK)
%C London
%D 1996
%G ISBN: 0099559013
%P 322 pp.

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