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The Years of Rice and Salt
Kim Stanley Robinson Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Years of Rice and Salt
"This book goes on the premise that the Bubonic Plague has wiped out 99% of the population of Europe after the first wave, leaving the eastern cultures to fill the gap left behind. Islam fills Europe, China discovers the new world by crossing the Pacific Ocean, and colonizes west to east. Taking place over several centuries, we follow the development of the world through the experiences of a family of constantly reincarnated people. A work of philosophy as much as work of speculative fiction."
Ruaidhri, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Years of Rice and Salt
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 50%




Tone of book - sensitive (sigh....)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - alternate history
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Religious overtones? Yes
Cultural problems, alien culture Yes
Intense exploration of society's culture? Yes

Setting
Terrain - Jungle - Desert - Water - Mountains - Forests
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - very explicit references to deaths and torture
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references only
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Priestess of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson
Roma Eterna by Robert Silverberg
Apacheria: An Epic of Alternate History by Jake Page
Colonization: Down To Earth by Harry Turtledove


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