The years of rice and salt is an alternate history novel by american science fiction author kim. He is the author of more than twenty books, including the bestselling mars trilogy and the critically acclaimed forty signs of rain, fifty degrees below, sixty days and counting, the years of rice and salt, and galileos dream. The novel explores how world history might have been different if the black death plague had killed 99% of europes population, instead of a third as it did in our modern reality. Complete summary of kim stanley robinsons the years of rice and salt. The years of rice and salt is a counterfactual or alternate history novel by sf writer kim stanley robinson, which depicts world history in an alternate timeline where the black plague epidemic that ravaged europe in the 14th century was even more destructive, and caused the actual extinction of western civilization. The years of rice and salt is a counterfactual or alternate history novel by sf. The years of rice and salt, then, is a subtle fiction within a fiction, a novel about the history of another world written as if by someone from that same world. Review the years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson. Buy a used the years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson book by comparing retail prices in uk. The years of rice and salt all the tropes wiki fandom. The years of rice and salt is a thick, dense alternate history spanning continents and centuries. The years of rice and salt is an alternate history novel by american science fiction author kim stanley robinson, published in 2002. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 763 pages and is available in mass market paperback format. Nov 27, 2006 a couple of people responding in the production of history thread have suggested kim stanley robinsons the years of rice and salt for the week on time travel and alternate history.
Mar 22, 2014 the years of rice and salt is an alternative history novel published in 2002. Each part of this invented new history has a whole set of characters. The years of rice and salts greatest strength, as is robinsons as a writer, is in simultaneously portraying both the sweep of history and the way it affects individuals caught up in it. It is a dense, informed, impassioned and huge novel by an author who is a comprehensive and insatiable thinker.
The years of rice and salt audiobook by kim stanley. May 14, 2009 the years of rice and salt is an alternate history in which all of europe was wiped out by the black death. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the years of rice and salt. Ksr repeatedly has characters mention rice and salt. The years of rice and salt s greatest strength, as is robinsons as a writer, is in simultaneously portraying both the sweep of history and the way it affects individuals caught up in it. At first this is hard to believe because he doesnt refer to women as dolphins in it, but then on page 545 he refers to one as a big wet beautiful animal, so you know its the real deal. Pdf the years of rice and salt book by kim stanley robinson. Kim stanley robinsons alternate history novel the years of rice and salt caused a sensation in the sf world when it came out in 2004. The characters in this book are not necessarily historical figures, but rather literary creations of the author channelled by robinson. Based on the timeline compiled by mark rosa in 2004 original timeline here, offline since 2009. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Adding a mystical balance and a human note to this counterfactual history is a small cast of recurring characters who live through each episode of the. The years of rice and salt necessarily has a extensive cast of characters from the. Instead, he presents the gradual changes throughout history and the world to finally create his version of the modern day which is both familiar and eerily exotic.
If you want to read it, you can pick up a copy here. In the 14th century anno domini, the black plague decimates europe. Kim stanley robinson is a winner of the hugo, nebula, and locus awards. This is a timeline for the events in the novel the years of rice and salt based on the timeline compiled by mark rosa in 2004 original timeline here, offline since 2009. May 14, 2009 the most interesting thing the years of rice and salt does is give us an earth without europeans, with practically no white people and with no white point of view characters. It would be easy for as broad a subject as a history of the world for more than six hundred years, told in. The novel is told in ten parts, spanning about eight centuries. The years of rice and salt is a novel consisting of 10 distinct stories linked by the reincarnations of six recurring characters, three of whom consistently reappear as protagonists. The first edition of the novel was published in june 3rd 2002, and was written by kim stanley robinson.
Kim stanley robinsons the years of rice and salt is a storehouse of thought. The years of rice and salt is an alternative history novel published in 2002. It is the fourteenth century and one of the most apoc. The years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson the. The muslim, indian and chinese civilizations are the ones that will drive world history, through hardships and wars, discoveries and revolutions. As evidenced by his stunning mars trilogy, robinson writes utopian realism, not utopian fantasy, and the years of rice and salt proves consistent with its implementation of progressive characters with progressive ideas, but with flaws, backfires, and struggles.
The years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson a novelist imagines 700 years of history in which the plague has wiped out the west and china and islam rule the globe. Why is there a renaissance and an industrial revolution very similar to the ones in. At times it seems much too short, stuffed as it is with ideas about everything. The years of rice and salt necessarily has a extensive cast of characters from the several major eras explored in the novel. In the earlier parts of the book, it sometimes seemed to the characters that china would take over the world. The years of rice and salt is another example of the alternative history subgenre of sffantasy the central idea of playing out a scenario in the real worlds past, where a change in one or more specific events causes a divergence with the true path of history. The years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson. By the time of the great war, i was already involuntarily imagining the characters in european clothing prussian military uniforms and such. Each part stars two major characters, whose names always begin with k and b, along with some important minor characters, whose initials are similarly echoed across the chapters. Mar 10, 2015 none of those things go away entirely. The years of rice and salt, by kim stanley robinson.
The years of rice and salt is a an alternate history novel by writer kim stanley. While characters in each story are unique, they share some characteristics with their previous incarnations and are linked, for convenience. The years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson goodreads. Years of rice and salt is an instrumental post rock band based in london, united kingdom. Since history is by nature episodic, the challenge of a book like the years of rice and salt is to orchestrate a steady stream of new characters from different eras while keeping a core of. I am wondering just exactly rice and salt refer to. The novel explores how world history might have been different if the black death plague had killed 99% of europes population, instead of a third because fewer catsmore rats.
Used the years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson book for cheap prices. The seven centuries covered in the years of rice and salt include genocide and exploitation and universal war, just as they include the growth of feminism, the discovery of. The years of rice and salt is an alternate history in which all of europe was wiped out by the black death. Mar 06, 2002 the years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson a novelist imagines 700 years of history in which the plague has wiped out the west and china and islam rule the globe. The years of rice and salt is a an alternate history novel by writer kim stanley robinson, which depicts world history in an alternate timeline where the black plague epidemic that ravaged europe in the 14th century was even more destructive, and caused the actual extinction of western civilization. Various religions and cultures use rice and salt for symbols. Instead, this novel is a major achievement that transcends sciencefiction, and should stand at the very top of the alternate history genre for years to come, and as robinsons crowning achievement. It was regarded for many years as the only lesbian novel. Its vast cast of characters includes, as the blurb puts it, soldiers. The years of rice and salt is at its best in the superbly detailed accounts of these characters lives, and in the steadily growing sense of who they are and how they can overcome the constraints of mortality and human blindness. Buy the years of rice and salt by robinson, kim stanley from amazons fiction books store. With the same unique vision that brought his now classic mars trilogy to vivid life, bestselling author kim stanley robinson boldly imagines an alternate history of the last seven hundred years.
A couple of people responding in the production of history thread have suggested kim stanley robinsons the years of rice and salt for the week on time travel and alternate history. The suggestion is a great one, and i love the book. It is episodic, both because of the long time frame encompassed but. The years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson librarything. The years of rice and salt is a novel by kim stanley robinson.
There are at least three calendars being used in thes story. Its vast cast of characters includes, as the blurb puts it, soldiers and kings, explorers and philosophers, slaves and scholars. Pick one thats 25 characters or less and includes a. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. The main characters of this fiction, science fiction story are. If it were just for its historical scope, the years of rice and salt would have been an interesting anecdote in the alternate history genre. Free download or read online the years of rice and salt pdf epub book. At times it seems much too short, stuffed as it is with ideas about. It explores the shape the world would have taken if 99% of the european population had been wiped out by the 14th century black plague. The years of rice and salt does not resemble the selfindulgent display of personal subconscious idiosyncrasies some also call literature these days. The years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson 2003.
The years of rice and salt by kim stanley robinson an. Because of the happy or at least, nontragic ending which defied the lesbian pulp formula, and because of the unconventional characters who defied stereotypes about female homosexuals, the price of salt was popular among lesbians in the 1950s and continued to be with later generations. This is a timeline for the events in the novel the years of rice and salt. The most interesting thing the years of rice and salt does is give us an earth without europeans, with practically no white people and with no white point of view characters. I think the years of rice and salt is an example of an unusual accomplishment, only widely recognized much later as great literature. The story is told from the perspective of a small group of characters, who get. The years of rice and salt book by kim stanley robinson. It follows 700 years of human toil and development unto a time where world civilization is one step ahead of our own. One of the strengths of the years of rice and salt is the fact that robinson doesnt constrain himself to a single time, place or even characters although his characters are linked. It would be easy for as broad a subject as a history of the world for more than six hundred years, told in episodes, to feel diffuse and disorganized. The seven centuries covered in the years of rice and salt include genocide and exploitation and universal war, just as they include the.
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