Susurrus on Mars
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
This novella-length collection of Erehwynan Idylls offers readers an indulgent and weird agglomeration of randy boys and revelations, as the embodiment of a small breeze--actually the gene-spliced child of the gods Zephyros and Ares--flirts and seduces fleshlings on a terraformed future Mars. Hal Duncan's acclaimed style is both alethic and erudite and offers a fresh telling of philosophical musings and classic Greek mythology for 21st century readers.
""This densely lyrical novella combines science fiction, Greek mythology, botany, philosophy, and erotica into a resonant whole..." - Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This densely lyrical novella combines science fiction, Greek mythology, botany, philosophy, and erotica into a resonant whole but understanding that whole takes dedicated effort. In Erehwyna, a "town-state" on a future Mars that was long ago terraformed and settled, hedonistic adolescent Jaq Cartier notices fellow teen Puk Massinger soon after Puk and his adult sister, Ana, relocate there from Earth. Jaq and Puk spend several weeks exploring each other's bodies and minds, while Ana and Jaq's mentor, Renart, discuss pataphysics, their shared field of study that extends "as far beyond metaphysics as the latter extends beyond physics." Weaving around scenes with these "fleshlings" is Susurrus, the sentient breeze offspring of Ares and Zephyros, as well as the mythological stories behind and botanical qualities of a wide variety of plants. Through these scenes and digressions, Duncan (Scruffians!) creates an exquisite mosaic, but the shape of that mosaic isn't clear until the end of the novella, and the tale's opacity will prevent some readers from making it that far.
