Metropolitan (Walter Jon Williams)
Oct. 31st, 2013 12:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackMetropolian is fantasy in an urban setting.
Not "urban fantasy" in a way that has anything in common with other urban fantasy -- even fantasy very different from modern romance/vampire urban fantasy, such as Jonathon Strange and Mister Norrel.
The whole planet is covered by city. Towerblocks, streets and everything else are built in geometries to enhance plasm (liquid magic) focusing. Plasm is expensive -- anyone can be a mage, but only if you're rich. The protagonist works for the heavily-bureaucratic plasm regulation authority, but has no legitimate access to plasm.
It's very much _fantasy_ even though it has the trappings of science fiction: several things are staple fantasy tropes, but ring false in a science fiction setting (even a very soft one).
Passes the Bechdel test comfortably, if not spectacularly.
Worldbuilding was great. Definitely left me wanting more, which is good.
However, some of the things I was left wanting bugged me.
The protagonist presumably knows at least the outline of what happened to Constantine's previous revolt, but it's half way through before we find out even vaguely what happened. In a way that's realistic -- if the media is mediocre, it's hard to get an idea of a coup other than "he was involved". But it felt like the protagonist knew more than the reader, which left us guessing for no reason.
In fact, even by the end, we have no idea whether Constantine's revolt is likely to be an improvement over the stultifying and corrupt status quo. Again, that's partly realistic and partly frustrating. Deliberate political point? Loose end? Both? It's interesting, which is probably enough to make it worthwhile.
I read Metropolitan after hearing WJW talk at Eastercon. He liked the shield to an "impassable desert" on fantasy maps. And I agree that's fine stylistically. But it's dissatisfying if you've not heard what the author was trying to do. The trouble is, deserts just happen. We all know that. But the shield seems artificial -- or at least, created in the earliest bits of recorded history. We know how space works and it's not like that. There are lots of myths of people ascended into gods who put the shield up. Surely we have SOME idea how much of that is myth and how much has basis in fact?
It's not a problem when you know that's how it works. It works fine in something like Tolkien, where you don't expect to know how the myths meet physical reality. But WJW is right that the technological trappings make me EXPECT it to hang together, and it seems odd it doesn't.
Not "urban fantasy" in a way that has anything in common with other urban fantasy -- even fantasy very different from modern romance/vampire urban fantasy, such as Jonathon Strange and Mister Norrel.
The whole planet is covered by city. Towerblocks, streets and everything else are built in geometries to enhance plasm (liquid magic) focusing. Plasm is expensive -- anyone can be a mage, but only if you're rich. The protagonist works for the heavily-bureaucratic plasm regulation authority, but has no legitimate access to plasm.
It's very much _fantasy_ even though it has the trappings of science fiction: several things are staple fantasy tropes, but ring false in a science fiction setting (even a very soft one).
Passes the Bechdel test comfortably, if not spectacularly.
Worldbuilding was great. Definitely left me wanting more, which is good.
However, some of the things I was left wanting bugged me.
The protagonist presumably knows at least the outline of what happened to Constantine's previous revolt, but it's half way through before we find out even vaguely what happened. In a way that's realistic -- if the media is mediocre, it's hard to get an idea of a coup other than "he was involved". But it felt like the protagonist knew more than the reader, which left us guessing for no reason.
In fact, even by the end, we have no idea whether Constantine's revolt is likely to be an improvement over the stultifying and corrupt status quo. Again, that's partly realistic and partly frustrating. Deliberate political point? Loose end? Both? It's interesting, which is probably enough to make it worthwhile.
I read Metropolitan after hearing WJW talk at Eastercon. He liked the shield to an "impassable desert" on fantasy maps. And I agree that's fine stylistically. But it's dissatisfying if you've not heard what the author was trying to do. The trouble is, deserts just happen. We all know that. But the shield seems artificial -- or at least, created in the earliest bits of recorded history. We know how space works and it's not like that. There are lots of myths of people ascended into gods who put the shield up. Surely we have SOME idea how much of that is myth and how much has basis in fact?
It's not a problem when you know that's how it works. It works fine in something like Tolkien, where you don't expect to know how the myths meet physical reality. But WJW is right that the technological trappings make me EXPECT it to hang together, and it seems odd it doesn't.