Chung Kuo Seven: Days of Bitter Strength, by David Wingrove
Chung Kuo Seven: Days of Bitter Strength–David Wingrove
Despite the promise of GIANT KILLER ANDROIDS on the back cover blurb, I found the first half of this novel to be quite a gripping read, along the lines of the first and second volume. After all, the cycle of revolution is over, and we are introduced to an entirely new world: it’s ten years after the Send in the Clones invasion, and the last suriving T’ang has decreed a new society for the kingdom of Europe. And things truly seem to have improved, and to have significantly changed (despite the awkward handling of the deaths of ninety million or so people due to starvation, etc…)–terrorists adopt orphans, the T’ang spends his days meditating, there are no taxes, etc…
What’s more, the children of the original cast of characters assume a more prominent role, and their goals, while conveniently reflecting the paired-duality themes of Wingrove’s symbol structure, are not in simple opposition to those of their parents. Where legacy was simply hinted at in earlier novels, here we see these new characters actually feeling the effects and, much as in his depiction of political rivalries, Wingrove excels at tracking the importance of failed understandings and negotiations within a family in individual actions. All in all, it’s great stuff.
But not through to the end of the book. Yes, there are political intrigues and ambitions. There’s a plot between the T’ang and his latest Empress that takes up the bulk of the novel, but just when events are coming to a head, Wingrove resorts to his worst habit and takes a short cut to artifically increase tensions in the novel. The biggest problem is the release of yet another unforseen and deadly plague from a laboratory. Yes, it’s presented as an accident, but this has happened an awful lot–even if Wingrove later explains it away as deliberate action by the sentient Machine that runs everything in Chung Kuo, it’s still happened once too often for credibility. The second problem is how swiftly the T’ang marries yet another teenage girl, and gives her complete control over the Empire because he’s too busy being a love slave. Again. I know the intention is to mirror his earlier doomed marriage, but again, enough’s enough. And then, at the end of the novel, there’s the return of the GIANT KILLER ANDROIDS (Mark II), and their leader. Naturally, the four prototype GIANT ANDROIDS (Mark I) are loose, and will exercise their physical and moral superiority to fight the Mark II androids on behalf of humanity, led by the orphan-keeping terrorist.
Sigh.
Have I mentioned that the T’ang’s legitimate heir had a sex change, a child, and has fled to her husband in America, with the T’ang, his first son, his first wife in tow?
One more book to go…