Book Review: Souls In The Great Machine

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Souls In The Great Machine     Amazon US TPB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada TPB Amazon Canada HC
Sean McMullen
Class/Genre:   Science Fiction
Series: Greatwinter # 3
Tor, May 2000, $15.95, 448 pp.

In 3931, technology is long gone, falling victim to the Great winter. The psychic Call dominates the Australian landscape. No one knows what it is or how to defeat it, but when the Call “sings” its siren song, any being not tied down or not living in the free city of Rochester is swept in its path. Once the Call has you, you mindlessly walk south into the sea to vanish forever.

On the moon, machines are working on a long abandoned project to construct a colossal mirror that will reflect heat away from the Earth. That might have been needed during the alarming global warming threat, but in today’s cooler climate will cause a pandemic disaster like has happened in the past.

The Highliber Zarvora Cybeline is the last hope for humanity to stop the threats from above and below. She and her band of mathematical geniuses develop the Calculator as a means of controlling society and hopefully saving mankind from becoming as extinct as the dinosaur. However, the ruthless but brilliant Zarvora fails to calculate the threat from within mankind.

With all the concepts and subplots that SOULS IN THE GREAT MACHINES contains, the story line should flop due to bloat. Instead the epic futuristic tale is a fast-paced, action-packed, and often satirical drama that captivates the reader. Zarvora is atypical of the heroes of SF because she seems human as she ruthlessly pursues her agenda while the Calculator appears so real that fans will believe in it. The audience will seek THE CENTURION’S EMPIRE and demand the publication of Sean McMullen’s other works not published in North America.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner