The Sunrise Lands

August 6, 2007
Set 12 years after A Meeting at Corvallis
(2006), Stirling's latest novel of a chaotic near-future U.S., crippled when the mysterious Change rendered most technology nonfunctional, combines vigorous military adventure with cleverly packaged political idealism. When assassins pursue a traveler into Oregon's Willamette Valley, the resulting skirmish propels the heirs of three influential local leaders on a risky continent-crossing mission to Nantucket. Stirling's narrative deftly balances sharply contrasting ideologies—the Mackenzies' proto-Celtic clan system in Oregon against Gen. Lawrence Thurston's strict and principled military democracy in Idaho, the zealotry of the Church Universal and Triumphant versus the pagan Powers venerated by the Mackenzies—though the most difficult cosmological questions are never addressed. Meanwhile, there are hints of otherworldly intervention and time travel on Nantucket, echoing the parallel continuity established in Island in the Sea of Time
and its sequels. Despite these fuzzy underpinnings, the thought-provoking and engaging storytelling should please Stirling's many fans.

Todd McLaren comes to this narration with the cadre of characters he developed in narrating earlier books of the series. He's comfortable with the Scots accent of the Mackenzies and the regional accents of various other characters. For the feudal lords, he even adds a layer of condescension relating to their self-appointment to their positions of power. The first generation of children born after the Change--the day advanced technology became nonfunctioning--sets out on a trek across the mainland to Nantucket, led by Rudi Mackenzie. McLaren presents the narrative at a steady, even pace. He picks up the pace slightly in the many debates and philosophical discussions, and goes full force when the adventures and battles are at the fore. J.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine