Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future

Decent series -

I liked this book. It's not a book I'll likely read again, but I immensely enjoyed reading it and am glad I did. Sebastian Nightingale Cain (the 'Songbird'), bounty hunter, chases across the galaxy to find the king of criminals himself, Santiago, with a price on his head larger than anyone else. But Cain doesn't only want the money; he wants to create a name for himself. By killing Santiago, he would be remembered. He meets up with some strange characters along his way: Virtue McKenzie, the 'Virgin Queen', a reporter who desperately wants an interview... with Santiago; The Jolly Swagman, art collector, who is looking for several pieces of art currently possessed... by Santiago; The Angel, the most famous bounty hunter, cold, deadly, and never failing, who wants money... from killing Santiago; Moonripple, a nice girl who likes to work as a waitress, and thinks the greatest hero in the universe... is Santiago. Clue after clue, name after name, lead after lead, Cain will follow the bread-crumbs that could lead him to Santiago. But as he nears his goal, he doesn't know if he will ever kill Santiago... but he's not sure of the reason why.... A satisfying read, that will have you brimming with excitement and even laughing at times, this is a 'must read' for anyone who likes science fiction. I prefer fantasy, myself, so even those who love fantasy may like this book.

"Space Western" is not a category one ordinarily thinks of when listing out the subgenres of either science fiction or Westerns, and indeed there are not many books which populate this niche. But Resnick's "Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future" is already justification for the existence of this label. In a well-paced story of bounty hunters, journalists and criminals in search of an infamous bandit chief. On the way Resnick provides a richly colored world, both by virtue of his (considerable) descriptive talent and the device of the poems of Black Orpheus, a wandering bard who (though he never appears as a character himself) has written short verses about all the people he has encountered on the open frontiers of the Outer Rim. Western lovers will find this book exciting and full of many of the most colorful personality archetypes of traditional stories; its unusual setting should pose no obstacle to all but the most purist of fans. Science fiction readers will find this to be a lighter, fast-paced story in the style of the best of the (non-cyberpunk) mid-80's writers. For those already familiar with Resnick's work, this will not be anything new or earth-shattering; he has used similar backdrops in many other books, and readers of "The Dark Lady" or any of the "Eros" books will find much of the texture familiar. But this book still stands out as one of his best achievements, with uniformly solid characterization and story.Heartily recommended.

I love a lot of Resnick's work on his 'Frontier' world. I found Santiago predictable as it is a slight variation on an old theme. I did find, however, myself totaly absorbed into it. I have read the book 4 or 5 times. The pacing is amazing. You never reach the point of wishing he would 'get on' with the story. And it is very sparse within its framework. I, myself, love minimalism in the tale. If it did not have to be in the story to get you where you were going....it probably is not there. If you love Sci-Fi the nget this book.

Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future reads like an epic Western except the setting is space instead of the Old West. Perhaps one of the best books I've ever read, filled with mythic characters that do bear some resemblance to legendary gunslingers of the West. We see the different characters weave their way through a series of pitfalls and challenges to, in the end, face the "villain" of the story, the semi-mythical outlaw Santiago. But things are not what they seem in this very fascinating and clever novel.