Ivory

Different and really awfully good

Sci-fi's ghettoization is a well-known and discussed problem. Often that ghettoization is because of the characterization - or lack thereof. Concentrating on plot and splendid worlds is great for fans - but makes the work inaccessible to others. _Ivory: A Legend of Past and Future_ does not have this flaw. Do not take me wrongly - this novel sweeps across time and space, flashing from the past to the far-flung future light-years away. Both the grandeur and the skill with which these worlds and societies are painted. Neither, however, is what drives the book. Instead, the characters - both the ones in the encompassing story arc and those in each of the fascinating vignettes that tie it together - draw you in. They are tightly written, and I found myself engrossed in them, the overarching mystery, and each little story as well. You may notice that I do not tell much of the plot. Like many stories, any brief summary will sound flat and stale - perhaps even improbable. But it is not the plot that draws us in here - it is the engrossing characters interacting in this dazzling world. Summarizing the plot would be like saying that a Frank Lloyd Wright building has four walls and a roof - technically true, but totally missing the point. This novel is the literary equivalent of an architectural marvel rising from a ghetto. It is something that all people should experience - even if you have to travel across the tracks to get there. And once you have, maybe you'll find it's not so bad over here after all.

In 6303, Braxton's Records of Big Game senior researcher Duncan Rojas knows why he relishes his work on a wasteland where the biggest surviving animal besides the few humans like himself is a small rodent. His vocation enables Duncan to dream of a better earth where large mammals lived instead of being extinct or like most Homo sapiens deserted the planet for other worlds leaving behind a dying orb. Thus when the apparent last Maasai, a race most thought long gone, Bukoba Mandaka, offers him a large some of money to locate the legendary vanished tusks of the long extinct Kilimanjaro Elephant, he would have agreed even without the cash. Over three millennia ago the last known tusks weighing easily over 200 pounds vanished. Although he tries to learn his client's motive as this will be an expensive project, Mandaka declines to give any further explanation. Still the challenge awakens Rojas from an ennui that had left him almost as dead inside as the planet. As Rojas follows clues through time and worlds with deadly adversaries competing for the prize, he begins to truly appreciate what was lost when man abused his stewardship of the planet as he learns how magnificent Africa once was through the people he meets and ultimately the majestic Kilimanjaro Elephant. IVORY is science fiction at its best as the tale works on multiple levels with the most prevalent being a cautionary thriller warning people that what we do today has impact on all the tomorrows. The story line is fast-paced and loaded with non stop action as Rojas travels back and forth through time and across the galaxy in his quest while rivals less scrupulous want him eliminated. However, even with a terrific hero and excellent eccentric support characters that make the pit stops eras and places seem genuine; the Kilimanjaro Elephant owns Mike Resnick's thriller as the magnificent animal even in a limited appearance serves as the symbolic warning of man's reign ending with a disposable planet dying. Harriet Klausner

Half-way into the book, "Ivory" was turning out to be a very enjoyable detective-type story. It starts with a gambling game on a far planet between various human and alien criminals. As the outcome, a pair of huge elephant tusks changes hands. The rest of the book (told in the format of multiple stort stories) revolves around the history of the tusks across 6,000 years, from 1892 AD on. The story is framed as a research quest by a scientist who must find out the current location of the tusks for some unknown reason. As I said, reading the exploits of various criminals and fanatics was entertaining. Too bad about 2/3rds through, the story loses momentum. I can tell you when. On page 230, when for the first time, we take a step back in time instead of forward, the fun of the chase wanes. By then, you know why the tusks are important. Plus, reading historical accounts of men is much less interesting than the made-up ones. So, it was a decent read. Resnick's writing is descriptive and delightful. It would have been better if the stories/findings were arranged in a more chronological order to build up the excitement & drama and the chapter "Hunters" omited altogether. Still, the stories are excellent and even on their own make the book worth reading.

This books deals with heart wrenching aspects of honor as seen by two men from entirely different societies. It tries to illuminate for the reader such differences as are seen between the way American Anglo-Saxons view the world (a total disregard for the past), and the way others view it (holding the past in great sanctity). On the way, you'll be in for a treat of a story and some great writing.The whole tie-in about Mountain that Walks is pretty good, to.