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2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Spectacular epic sci-fi treat from a great author! Aug 02, 2008
It's the twenty-second century, and the powers of governments have been superseded by huge corporations who essentially control the worlds they used to serve. Chief among them is the Sorensen Conglomerate, controlled by Hayden Sorensen on the colony on Mars, to which humans had immigrated to avoid a crowded and dying Terran (Earth), and on which growing numbers of new immigrants sell themselves into many years of indentured labor to the Conglomerate in order to be allowed to work and earn a possible chance for a new life there as well. The workers toil below the surface of Mars, in caverns and tunnels (while the Martian citizens live in towers above ground), meeting the needs of the city's WaFT machines, industrial marvels that create everything the Martians need, from breathable atmosphere and a protection dome over the city, to food and power. The WaFT machines, and virtually all of the activities on the planet, as well as similar colonies on Luna (the Earth moon) and Venus, are monitored and policed by Moloc, an artificial intelligence super-computer on which Hayden has learned to rely on, not just for such duties, but for feedback and advice to the point where he has begun to consider human interaction an unnecessary part of his life.
Hayden's increasing inhumanity has been painfully clear to Noah Sorensen, his son who is completing his studies and expected to take a second-in-command role in the Conglomerate. From an early age, after the death of his mother, Noah's interaction with his father has been businesslike and strained, and he looked to his father's assistant, Joseph, as more of a father figure. But, with graduation coming, Noah will be assigned a position of responsibility, while he personally believes his father's business decisions although he has grown increasingly critical of the treatment of the workers, who are worked beyond endurance and kept almost entirely below the surface of the city. While watching the arrival of a new group of workers, Noah spots and becomes infatuated with Ethan, a teacher from Terran, and learns more of the workers' plight and increasing unrest from him. News of an impending revolt by the workers leads Noah to confront his father about the situation, but Hayden's cold, indifferent response cause Noah to consider if his father has become little more than a machine himself, determined to do things his way and gain more control over the planets, regardless of any expense ... including human life.
In this first ambitious epic sci-fi novel, Andrew Barriger has shown the same skill at fully developing and featuring each character, as he did in his previous series of novels about a small town gay attorney. He credits Fritz Lang's landmark film "Metropolis" as his inspiration for this modern take on industrialization taken too far, and it is a riveting commentary on the danger of corporations impacting on government decisions, a very timely topic with the ongoing debate about corporate greed in the war against Iraq. Don't let the length (495 pages) scare you away, as it is very much a page turner and will capture your attention from the beginning. Hopefully, the author will make good his promise for a sequel. I give it an out-of-this-world five shooting stars out of five!
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Every U.S. citizen should read this book Apr 14, 2008
I have waited anxiously for this title to be available, and the wait was certainly worth it. It is a wonderfully creative, epic dark novel of future Earth. About halfway through I couldn't help but think of the parallels that could be drawn between some of the story's consequences and the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Without giving too much of the plot away, I believe that I can say that actions taken in a system are never isolated, there are always consequences that blow back on the instigator of the action.
The characters of Noah, his family and friends were all exquisitely crafted and seemed very much like real people, some of whom I would want to know and others that I would dread even meeting. I wasn't aware that this was the first in a planned series, as the previous reviewer has stated, but I would love to know what happens next with Noah, Alex, and the Phobos inhabitants, so I will look forward to any sequel(s) that appear.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Wonderful beginning to a new series Feb 01, 2008
Garden of the Sons, Andrew Barriger's outstanding first science fiction novel, is set in Morganstadt City on Mars. Founded by the late Hans Sorensen, the protected, domed city is home to all the population on Mars. Hans' son, Hayden, known to all as The Mastermind of Mars, rules the city and is the unofficial leader of humanity, thanks to the Sorensen Conglomerate controlling production of almost all necessary goods. The people of Mars are divided into citizens, who live their lives in the open air under the protective dome, and the workers, who spend their lives toiling underground keeping the huge machines, known as WaFTs, functioning in order to produce goods and maintain the atmosphere under Mars' dome.
Noah Sorensen, the protagonist, comes to the slow realization that his father, Hayden, is not the overly busy leader he once thought, and may actually be loosing touch with reality as he becomes more and more in sync with the company's artificial intelligence, Moloc. Hayden's trusted aide, Joseph, who has been more of a father to Noah than Hayden himself, notices the subtle, negative changes in Hayden and recognizes the dire consequences for the future of the entire Solar System if Hayden and Moloc gain complete control. The question is whether he can act in time to avert catastrophe.
Meanwhile, a Terran teacher, Ethan, secretly enlists Noah's aid in an attempt to improve living conditions for the workers. Unknown to Noah, his mysterious trips below ground to the workers area are being observed by a member of the Security Directorate. The spy is someone Noah would never suspect, and someone who has his own reasons for watching Noah... Meanwhile, Noah is working on a top secret project on one of Mars' moons that is so mysterious even the Security Directorate is unaware of his daily trips there.
Barriger handles his characters with tender loving care, coaxing out the best, and worst, in them. Each character is well developed, and we get to know them through the author's clever way of showing us what they're up to, rather than by telling us what they're doing. Garden of the Sons is an exciting, fast paced read and a great start to what promises to be a fascinating new science fiction series. I give Andrew Barriger's Garden of the Sons a highly recommended five stars and I can't wait for the second book in the series as Noah and company take off for the stars!
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