China Mountain Zhang, Maureen F. McHugh (2)
I was surprisingly disappointed with this novel. I found
it in the library and was taken with the many awards noted on the back cover,
including Hugo and Nebula nominations. While it is set in a near future, which
has China having taken over the majority of the US and has a parallel storyline
concerning a commune on Mars, there was very little Science Fiction to note.
The novel focused far more on social issues. The main character is a gay
technician who happens to be half ‘ABC’, American Born Chinese and half
Hispanic. The early 20th century issues he faces with his lineage
and his sexual orientation encompass the entire book. While important issues,
they seem ill placed in this book. There were a couple of unique concepts –
kite flying as a sport (where the fliers ride the kites while ‘jacked in’ to
the internet); and engineers that design buildings by free forming ideas in a
computer. But overall I slogged through this book – which is never a good sign.
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