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The Bones of Time
The Bones of Time
Author: Kathleen Ann Goonan
The preserved bones of the great Hawaiian king, Kamehameha, have survived in their hiding into the twenty-first century and they are the key to many secrets. For the young mathematician, Cen, they are the key to travel in time and between alternate universes. For the native Hawaiians Resistance movement, the are a symbol of independence but also...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780812557466
ISBN-10: 0812557468
Publication Date: 3/1/1997
Pages: 401
Rating:
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 8

4.1 stars, based on 8 ratings
Publisher: Tor Books
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 1
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Trey avatar reviewed The Bones of Time on + 260 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I've read her Nano quartet and felt disappointed by all save the last one. This one was different. The premise in the early 21st century, Hawaii becomes the center of international space exploration, by InterSpace, or IS. IS is researching long term space travel and inhabitation, and building a interstellar generation ship. The problem is that they are breaking international laws on genetic manipulation and nanotech, as well as their own corrupt practices. At the same time, the Homeland Movement in Hawaii has fought them to a stand still over several issues.

The novel is split between two stories and viewpoint characters. One is Lynn Oshima, daughter of the first CEO of InterSpace, long estranged from her father. The other is Century "Cen" Kalakua, a troubled kid who grows up to be one of the leading lights of mathematics of the 21st century. The stories are separated by 27 years (at least at the beginning) and twist together to combine at the end.

I found Cen's story the most compelling - I guess I'm a romantic at heart - in his quest for higher maths in order to pursue his true love and save her. I'd have liked to see how it ended for him.

Lynn's story is a good one as well. She loses her baby to a miscarriage, and in the process sees a boy - Akuma - and is plunged into an adventure taking her to Asia and back to Hawaii. And she learns the Homeland Movement has a plan that is staggering in its audacity and imagination.

I liked this book. I liked it a lot. It plays with Penrose's ideas on quantum consicousness (I don't think I agree with them, but Goonan does a good job handling them). It has characters I care about and give a damn and hope things go well with.
reviewed The Bones of Time on + 1568 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
From the same author who wrote QUEEN CITY JAZZ, a New York Times Notable Book f 1994---She's done it again. Goonan writes totally believably of advanced techniques in nanotechnology--so advanced they approach the supernatural. And the reader cares passionately about the characters. What more could you ask of a book?

From back cover: The preserved bones of the great Hawaiian king, Kamehameha, have survived in hiding into the 21st century and are the key to many secrets. For the young mathematician, Cen, they are the key to travel in time and between alternate universes. For the native Hawaiians Resistance movement, they are a symbol of independence but also the source of genetic material from which the great king may be cloned and rise again. Cen's mathematics and Akamu, the boy who might be king, become hidden tresures in the most amazing plot in contemporary SF.
Read All 2 Book Reviews of "The Bones of Time"


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