From rec.arts.sf.reviews Fri Apr 18 16:53:46 1997 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!solace!eru.mt.luth.se!newsfeed2.luth.se!news.luth.se!erix.ericsson.se!erinews.ericsson.se!cnn.exu.ericsson.se!uunet!in3.uu.net!206.229.87.25!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!sprint!howland.erols.net!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!news-feed.inet.tele.dk!enews.sgi.com!news.corp.sgi.com!news.sgi.com!uhog.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!news!wex From: agapow@latcs1.cs.latrobe.edu.au (p-m agapow) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: "A Machynlleth Triad" by Jan Morris and Twm Morys Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 15 Apr 1997 13:56:54 GMT Organization: Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Biologists Lines: 54 Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: tinbergen.media.mit.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:1253 "A Machynlleth Triad" by Jan Morris and Twm Morys A Postview, copyright 1997 p-m agapow Three snapshots of a Welsh crossroads town: the early 15th century and an abortive attempt at freeing Wales from English authority; the present where Welsh and English culture uneasily coexist; the 21st century where Machynlleth is the capital of a vibrant Welsh Republic. "A Machynlleth Triad" is certainly different. Although there has recently been an upsurge in using England and Scotland as settings for SF/F, Wales and, pseudo-blarney and Celtic mysticism asides, Ireland have been almost totally neglected. Further, the triad of stories is recounted in both English and Welsh versions. Which I guess means that the use of the letters 'y', 'g' and 'w' is about average across the length of the book. The past and present sections of the triad are written in a quite evocative style with an eye for details: the weekly market that 700 years later is still running, the marker stone lost in the heart of a housing estate, the rebel Owain storming around Machynlleth with his entourage as he attempts to build a Welsh state, the houses of power and influence in the 15th century that are tourist attractions by the 20th. It is odd that these two mesh so well when one is a historical fantasy and the other essentially reportage. The future snapshot fares less well. It is understandable that the authors steered clear of depicting overt technological change. That's a hard and unpredictable bet to make and their interest is mainly in social change. The credibility of this social change is however swamped by their amour for Welsh identity. The Welsh army, the Welsh medical system, the Welsh literary scene are renown throughout the world. The minimalist Welsh government and judicial systems (both charming ideas, charmingly depicted) work excellently. Each element by itself is believable, but in combination raises scepticism. Maybe the authors are not trying to forecast so much as provoke the changes. Perhaps, given the neglect mentioned above, Wales needs a book like this. Outrageously priced for what you get -- remember the same story appears twice -- the book is appearing widely on remainder tables. Although the future section is disappointing, I recommend the book for its other two sections as a good depiction of a strange world. [***/interesting] and "parod sineiaidd" on the Sid and Nancy scale. %A Jan Morris and Twm Morys %B A Machynlleth Triad %I Viking %C London %D 1994 %G ISBN 0-670-85479-4 %P 182pp %O hardback, Aus$19.95 paul-michael agapow (agapow@latcs1.oz.au), La Trobe Uni, Infocalypse "There is no adventure, there is no romance, there is only trouble and desire." [archived at http://www.cs.latrobe.edu.au/~agapow/Postviews/]