Salt (novel)
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| Author | Adam Roberts |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Gollancz |
| Released | 20 June 2000 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 248 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-575-06897-3 (paperback edition) |
Salt is a novel by British science fiction author Adam Roberts.
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
Colonists from Earth set out for a distant planet, but during the voyage, a factional skirmish turns into an irrevocable grudge, to play out during the course of their colonisation. Rough-shod settlements are soon constructed about the sterile salt environment, yet old tensions quickly develop into war between two of these settlements, the rigid military dictatorship of Senaar and the Als anarchy.
The novel explores the motivations of their warfare, and the viewpoints of the two narrators illuminate a dreadful, entwined inevitability. In all aspects of theme, setting, character development and prose style, Salt is a very stark, austere composition.
[edit] Characters in "Salt"
Salt is narrated from the dual perspective of central characters Barlei and Petja, who function as representatives of Senaar and Als, respectively. Barlei is a senior military official—effectively a dictator—beholden to the well-defined heirachy of the colony of Senaar. Petja, a wayfaring Alsist to begin with, hardens into a charismatic terrorist, resolved to resist a Senaar campaign that uses ever flimsier pretexts to continue destruction of the Als collective.
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Shortlisted for the 2001 Arthur C. Clarke Award.
