Subject: Review of CELESTIAL MATTERS by Richard Garfinkle

From: Alayne McGregor <[email-masked]>
Date: 21 Mar 1997 22:32:06 GMT

CELESTIAL MATTERS
                          by Richard Garfinkle
                      reviewed by Alayne McGregor

     You could argue that every science fiction story is a "what if:" what
if a way could be found around this scientific limitation; what if we
encountered an alien race with these powers? But rarely has any author
made as bold a what-if as Garfinkle has done in this book -- and to as
good effect.

     Garfinkle's what-if is bold and simple: what if the science of the
ancient Greeks was completely true? What if the planets and the Sun
orbited around the earth in crystal spheres, each planet's motion further
modified by epicycles, as Ptolemy predicted? What if matter really did
form from other matter by spontaneous generation as predicted by
Aristotle?  What if matter really was composed of atoms of air, fire,
earth, and water?

     And, combined with that, what if Aristotle's followers had triumphed
over Plato's in determining the flow of Athenian and thus Greek
philosophy? What if Socrates had never been executed? What if Athens and
Sparta had reached a rapprochement, through the conqueror Alexander the
Great, and formed a Delian League and stayed together after defeating
Persia? What if Rome and Carthage and the northern European states had
never had the chance to develop their own empires because of the continued
health of the Hellenic empire?  What if that empire found its only real
opposition in China, the Middle Kingdom, and its (to them) inexplicable
modes of war, philosophy, and government?

     As _Celestial Matters_ opens, it is 978 years since the Delian League
was formed.  In that time, the scientists of the Athenian Akademe have
learned to build ships from moon rock that can travel through the crystal
spheres. Now they are about to attempt the greatest journey yet -- to
Helios, to break off a chunk of the sun and bring it back to Earth.

     But, in the everlasting war with the Middlers and with the
overarching influence of Sparta, any such journey, any scientific advance,
must be subservient to military needs. The sun ball will not be a
scientific curiosity; it must be used to defeat the Middlers before they
assassinate all of the Hellenic leaders.

     Aias, the acamedician who first proposed breaking off part of the
sun, has been appointed scientific commander of the voyage. Together with
his Spartan co-commander, Aeson, who controls the military part of the
mission, he will guide the ship Chandra's Tear to the sun and back.

     But even as Aias returns to the ship from a short vacation, he is
attacked by Middler battle kites while crossing the Mediterranean. The
Archons of Athens and Sparta decree he must have a bodyguard, and a
Spartan warrior named Yellow Hare, from the continent of Atlantea, is
appointed.  From the moment Aias rejoins his ship, Yellow Hare must be
constantly on guard to save Aias' life, as the Middlers risk everything to
stop their journey.

     This book can be read on many levels: as a paean to Greek culture and
ideas -- Garfinkle does not merely reflect Greek science, but its religion
and philosophy as well -- as an exciting adventure with heroes and
villains and many mortals in between, and as reflection of our own times.
Regardless, it is a wonderfully engrossing read, a book that stands out
for its originality and trueness to its sources. Strongly recommended.

%T      Celestial Matters
%A      Richard Garfinkle
%C      New York
%D      1996
%I      TOR
%O      hardback, $23.95 US, CDN$34.95
%G      ISBN 0-312-85934-1
%P      348pp

Alayne McGregor                         [email-masked]
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