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September 2006
The 100th Generation by Justine Saracen
Tiffany Jonas is the founder and publisher of Aio Publishing Company, LLC, a small press devoted entirely to a literary breed of speculative fiction. She is a longtime follower of both literary and science fiction who freely admits she is extraordinarily picky when it comes to what earns a spot in her home library.
In theatre, the first chasm any audience must cross is that concept known as suspension of disbelief; without it, no matter how fine the acting or the set or the script, all is for naught. It's the same in any entertainment medium, and it's easy to do with a book or film like Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, when nearly everything is different from the world its audience lives in: the geography, the age, the species, the rules of magic. The audience enters with their eyes wide open, knowing that in the hands of Tolkien, they're in a different world, and they're perfectly willing, even delighted, to go along with that. It's quite a bit more difficult in a novel ostensibly set in today's world, with all the natural laws and rules we're so familiar with in force. Still, to enjoy Justine Saracen's The 100th Generation, which is set in modern-day Egypt, the reader must leave credibility at the door early in the story, particularly around chapter eight. Once that leap is taken, the rest of the book can be taken on its own merits. Saracen's characters struggle with the same issue; throughout the story nearly every major player comments on the extreme unlikelihood of unfolding events, and Generation makes the most interesting turns when Saracen marries this incredulity with religion. Most of these events, it seems, don't mesh well with the characters' upbringing, whether that be Muslim or Judeo-Christian. Things start to go south for archaeologist Valerie Foret when a colleague threatens to horn in on an amazing discovery in the Egyptian desert: an untouched tomb in pristine condition, unearthed by Valerie and her Egyptian labor crew just hours earlier. If that isn't stressful enough, Valerie and her good friend Derek are compelled to steal the tomb's mummy, a serious criminal offense, when they succumb to the pleading of the soul of said mummy appearing to them in quasi-holographic form. Before it's said and done, they've roped two of Derek's acquaintances into the scheme, and then they're all on the run. Perhaps more disturbing than the immediate danger, though, is the ill-fitting nature of the mummy's religious worldview, which refuses to slot neatly into the varying religious backgrounds of the four adventurers. The strongest point of Generation, in fact, is its religious understory, with open discussions of Christianity, Islam, and Egypt's ancient polytheism by various characters along the way — and toward the end of the book, it appears religion will play an even greater role in Generation's sequel. Here's an interesting quote by a character describing a dream that turns out to be central to the plot: "It seemed like I was in heaven, but I couldn't tell which side God was on. . . . There was, well, too much God. I mean, everything was claiming to be God, and I had to save one side from the other." In the same vein, there are a number of nice images and turns of phrase sprinkled here and there in the text. On the first page there's this small gem, emotion perfectly conveyed: "There he sat upon his throne, white-lipped and shaken, while his court assembled." On the next: "At each of the red-painted columns, braziers of burning oil cast trembling semicircles of light upon the stone." And midway through the book, describing a peripheral character: "She moved about efficiently in sandals and a blue galabaya, her hair hanging loose down her back. A modern Mary Magdalen [sic], grinding coffee beans." I'd love to have seen more of this adroit use of language. Humor is woven throughout the story, too. At one breakfast, during which the central cast of characters is joined by a Ka, a mystical representation of an ancient Egyptian priest, food is offered and the Ka stares intently at it before sitting back in apparent satisfaction. One of the characters tries the dish afterward: "Derek . . . put a forkful of the uneaten egg in his mouth. He grimaced, swallowing reluctantly. 'It tastes like . . . nothing. He ate the flavor!'" On the other hand, a curiosity in a story dealing with such deep themes as religion and death, the story tends to sacrifice its characters for a plot that keeps them running from one site to another. They're oddly two-dimensional, though Valerie tries to break out of her mold occasionally, as does Derek. This flatness plays out in Valerie's love life: she's oddly sexual, meaning that she tends to see lovers and potential lovers as almost purely physical. For a female character especially, the lack of wondering about the personality of a lover — even the beauty of a lover's form apart from the act or potential act of physical intimacy — was startling. Derek's affected language, meanwhile, can grate on the nerves, and bad guy Volker Vanderschmitt might be more at home in a Batman comic strip. Yussif, the most peripheral of the four major players, ends up the most well-rounded character — sometimes touchingly so. In the end (or should I say one of a longish series of endings?), Generation's conclusion is surprising — in some aspects, delightfully so. I can't say more without a spoiler; however, suffice to say, I do think one of the main characters makes a pretty foolish decision, though most humans with warm blood in their veins would undoubtedly choose the same. Overall, Generation weaves typical thriller fare with strands of promise and spots of surprise. By the end, it's a page-turner. For the reader seeking diversion, entertainment, or even a spark or two of adrenaline in the midst of a mundane day of meetings and errands, this book will likely hit the spot. For the reader seeking deeper themes, there are several intriguing take-off points buried in what is, after all, an adventure story. For me, I particularly look forward to the author's further exploration of religious issues in the sequel. |
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