Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #292461 in Books
• Published on: 1993-04-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Synopsis
A classic science fiction adventure from the backlist of Megan Lindholm, who also writes as Robin Hobb. Generations ago humanity abandoned Earth. Now they have returned. Far from home, the Human race tries to atone for killing Terra thousands of years ago. Rescued by the enigmatic Arthroplana in their mysterious Beastships, they have been inserted into the fragile ecologies of the alien twin worlds of Castor and Pollux, where they must make no impact, where every drop of water must be returned. Humanity has adjusted -- or tried to. Despite the constant watch of the Arthroplana and the HUman Conservancy, John Gen-93-Beta has agreed to captain the Beastship Evangeline on an unthinkable journey to a dead planet...Earth. And so begins an engrossing voyage of discovery for five travellers: John, his First Mate Connie, stowaaway Raef, Tug the Arthroplana and the Beastship Evangeline herself. On a planet none quite expected, each learns the power of being human.

Customer Reviews

A disturbing, yet hopeful view of the future of mankind.
Megan Lindholm paints a disturbing view of the future of earth and its inhabitants at the hands of friendly aliens.

A couple of hundred years from now mankind has poisoned the planet to the point where it can no longer sustain life as we know it. Along come the Arthroplana in their Beastships to save us and take us to live on the twin planets, Castor and Pollux, and teach us to live "harmoniously".

Fast forward several thousand years and Humans have been genetically engineered to be smaller and are no longer capable of reproducing without artificial assistance. From "birth" Humans are taught not to make any impact on their surrounding environment to maintain the harmonious balance of the planet. A child picking a blade of grass is crime enough to have them classified as "Unadjusted" and they are then sent to a space station where they must spend the rest of their days. They are then subjected to a lengthy "Re-adjustment" before they are deemed safe to mix with others of their own peer group. Their lifespans have also been increased to 200+ years and puberty is staved off until a person reaches the age of 60-70 years old.

Not everyone is happy with this life and a group known as "Earth Alliance" blackmails the Human captain of a Beastship to make the trip back to Earth to prove that it is now habitable so Humans can return to re-inhabit their homeworld. The Beastships are sentient creatures controlled by their Arthoplana Masters who use "pain and praise" techniques to keep the Beastships in line. Tug, the Arthoplana Master of the Beastship Evangeline has a secret - he has a stowaway called Raef aboard from the original evacuation of Earth, kept alive in Waitsleep in one of Evangeline's many wombs. On the long trip back to Earth, Evangeline makes a connection with Raef and realises that she is not as dumb as she has been led to believe by her "Master". She then mutinies, cutting off contact with Tug, and assists her Human crew in their reclamation of their homeworld.

This is an exciting read for Science Fiction fans. It touches on the theme of environmental disaster, which is so pertinent in these times, and goes on to say that, in the great scheme of things, maybe we are not that important when looked at from the outside. It also said to me that if we don't clean up our act and learn from our mistakes that, unless there are some friendly aliens out there, our days on this planet could be numbered.

Megan Lindholm paints wonderful images with her words and you can almost picture these odd little Humans (called "Dumbos" by Raef, in reference to their large ears and noses, which grow during Waitsleep) and the strangely beautiful Evangeline.

My only criticism of the book was that I was left wanting more. I would be happy to read a sequel to "Alien Earth" if there was one. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys futuristic fantasy with its basis in the here and now. Those looking for "Robbie the Robot" or "Star Trek" need not apply.

A strange little book, this
I picked this book up as part of my exploration of Megan Lindholm in the time before the prublication of the next from Robin Hobb. Even though I've read almost everything of Lindholm's as well as Hobb's, this wasn't at all what I was expecting.

Written from the perspective of a colonist on a planet populated by humans escaping a plundered Earth, the main characters espouse a system of mental and physical eugenics. Brought to Earth by the machinations of the alien pilot of their space ship, they find that things are not exactly as they'd been thought to believe.

This book has the gritty, industrial-era feel of 70s and 80s science fiction, where even the positive message is lost in a quagmire of the depression of the characters' ongoing existence. It was an interesting read as an insight into Lindholm's storytelling, but I really can't recommend it in and of itself.

Sci-fi pretence or bona fide classic? You decide...
Beginning this book you may get the slight sense that you're about to be overwhelmed; the initial multiple character perspectives are somewhat confusing, especially if you're accustomed to any of this author's other works, which most often concentrate on a sole, head-strong central character. But very soon into this title you'll be utterly immersed in the involving dystopian future brought to you by a writer of great skill and keen human insight.

During the first hundred pages or so my impression was that Lindholm had made a lot of concessions to the writing style I'd grown to love in such stories as Cloven Hooves, the Saga of the Reindeer People and the Ki and Vandien series, particularly relating to character. Also at times the plot and the genre seemed to grate slightly- Lindholm's idea for `Alien Earth' is original and engrossing, but to begin with at least the fit felt imperfect to me, as if the idea may have been forced into the science-fiction mould a little too unevenly in places. I certainly believed it to be a unique, detailed and authentic science-fiction title, but the general sense that pervaded the story as I began was that the author's heart lay elsewhere.

But then, as is always the case (how I can still doubt Lindholm after so many enjoyable, classic stories is a mystery to me...) the story becomes something a great deal more, transcending genre and plot with some wonderful character exploration and development. It may take her a little longer with `Alien Earth', but by the end I was just as thoroughly satisfied as I'd hoped to be and definitely left wishing for more.

The story begins by following all of the requisite genre conventions (almost to a fault)- the vastness and coldness of space mirrors the distances between the characters; characters who are obsessively self-aware and physically deteriorating under the enslavement of an enigmatic alien race steering human evolution towards their own shadowy goals. For a substantial portion of the story the warmth between the characters, the sympathetic handling of their day-today interactions- all that is familiar with Lindholm is scaled-down considerably in favour of an apathy and self-loathing adopted by the three main human characters, characters who epitomise humanity's pitiful plight. In this story humanity is subjugated, there is no collective identity and so no individual sense of self. Its remaining members are either docile or embittered, but eventually, through the extraordinary events experienced by Raef, John and Connie these characters are able to embrace their lost racial kinship by reclaiming their human heritage. The prose remains page-turningly gripping throughout and as the book progresses, particularly as Earth becomes something more than a mythic concept for these characters, that's when the book really improves and the characters become infinitely more likeable.

As a fan of this author I was not disappointed, but rewarded by a welcome deviation from Lindholm's norm. So I urge you to read this story if you're a fan of hers and not be deterred by a beginning that has a slightly less comfortable introduction than her other stories. `Alien Earth' is experimental and it's intriguing and there are some hauntingly familiar themes, many of which have strong shades of her future writing as Robin Hobb, particularly in relation to her 'Liveship Traders' Trilogy and the relationships between the liveships and their crews. Even if it isn't exactly your cup of tea `Alien Earth' is a must-read.