''Gardens of the Sun'' is a 2009

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by

Paul J. McAuley Paul J. McAuley (born 23 April 1955) is a British botanist and science fiction author. A biologist by training, McAuley writes mostly hard science fiction. His novels dealing with themes such as biotechnology, alternative history/alternative re ...

. It was initially published by

Gollancz Gollancz may refer to: * Gollancz (surname), a Polish-Jewish surname * Victor Gollancz Ltd, a former British publishing house, now used as an imprint by the Orion Publishing Group See also * Gołańcz Gołańcz (german: Gollantsch) is a town ...

on November 19, 2009 as a sequel to the 2008 novel '' The Quiet War''.

Summary

Although ''The Quiet War'' and ''Gardens of the Sun'' can be read as standalone novels, taken together they form the two halves of the story of the "Quiet War" of the title. The primary conflict is between the radical

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

of the inner system, led by the new

superpower A superpower is a state with a dominant position characterized by its extensive ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political and cultural s ...

governments (such as Greater

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

) and the

posthumanism Posthumanism or post-humanism (meaning "after humanism" or "beyond humanism") is an idea in continental philosophy and critical theory responding to the presence of anthropocentrism in 21st century thought. It encompasses a wide variety of bran ...

of the Outers. Having narrowly avoided the destruction of Earth's ecosystems, the feudal Greater Brazil attempted to return most of the planet to a "natural" state, to the extent that most of Earth's population inhabits a few

megacities A megacity is a very large city, typically with a population of more than 10 million people. Precise definitions vary: the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in its 2018 "World Urbanization Prospects" report counted urban ...

. The Outers, by contrast, survive by terraforming the moons of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

and the other

outer planets The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

and practicing

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

, which caused ideological tension with Greater Brazil, ultimately flaring into a full-scale conflict called the "Quiet War". By the time of ''Gardens of the Sun'', the war is over. The surviving Outers have been forced to

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars (mythology), Mars), grandfather ...

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

and

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...

as the superpowers of Earth raid the moons of Jupiter and

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

for Outer knowledge. However, Greater Brazil's policies are starting to come apart under the strain of their inflexible opposition to change and democracy. The novel follows the major characters from ''The Quiet War'' in the aftermath, including the clone assassin Dave #8, ecologist Macy Minnot, Greater Brazilian diplomat Loc Ifrahim, and genetic engineer Sri Hong-Owen as they adjust to the new order of the solar system. Parts of the novel are modified versions of elements from the earlier short stories "The Gardens of Saturn", "The Assassination of Faustino Malarte", "The Passenger" and "Dead Man Walking".

Reception

In his review for the SF Site, Rich Horton recommended ''The Quiet War'' and ''Gardens of the Sun'' as "among the best hard SF novels of recent years," giving particular praise to McAuley's construction of the setting and politics. Adam Roberts found the ending of the novel to be its weakest aspect and excessively "neat" as well as noting that the books should be combined as an omnibus but concluded that the diptych "is a very major work of contemporary science fiction, amongst the great genre achievements of the noughties, a long novel that will still be being read and remembered fifty years from now."

References

External links

*{{Isfdb title, id=1068392 Dystopian novels 2009 British novels 2009 science fiction novels British science fiction novels Space opera novels Works by Paul J. McAuley Victor Gollancz Ltd books