''A Million Open Doors'' (1992) is a

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 uni ...

novel by American writer

John Barnes John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. He currently works as an author, commentator and pundit for ESPN and SuperSport. Initially a quick, skilful left winger, he moved to ce ...

, the first book of his ''Thousand Cultures'' series. The story is told from the perspective of a maturing adult from a parochial culture who encounters many obstacles in a different and even more parochial culture which causes him to become a fully engaged citizen in the Interstellar

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

. ''A Million Open Doors'' is a study of the effects of

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...

. The novel was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1992 and the

Arthur C. Clarke Award The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award i ...

in 1994.

Plot summary

The story begins sometime in the 29th century on the

planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

Wilson (orbiting

Arcturus , - bgcolor="#FFFAFA" , Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of the ...

) with a young man named Giraut and his romantic,

swashbuckling A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, ...

friends, who are all members of the Nou

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

culture and residents in the Quartier de Jovents, a sort of playground for teens and twenty-somethings who have not yet moved on to the more "grown-up" lifestyle of their parents. Technologically safeguarded, these young adults have swordfights in the streets with "neuroducer"

épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contain ...

s and frequent the

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...

s of the Quartier, living in an imaginative recreation of

Occitan literature Occitan literature (referred to in older texts as Provençal literature) is a body of texts written in Occitan, mostly in the south of France. It was the first literature in a Romance language and inspired the rise of vernacular literature thro ...

and the ''

trobador A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

'' tradition. However, Giraut is forced to grow up much more quickly than most of his friends, because one day his friend Aimeric, who was, before coming to Wilson and becoming a ''jovent'', an economist in the Caledon culture of the nearest inhabited planet, Nansen (orbiting Mufrid), is called upon by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

to return to his home planet on a mission to regulate the effects of the springer on Caledonian

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

. The springer is a method of instantaneous transportation which is quickly reuniting humanity across known space. Giraut decides to leave when he catches his girlfriend getting into the Interstellar "arts scene" (the art is called "sadoporn") which is an acting out against the exclusive values and code of honor valued by Giraut and his friends. Thus, Aimeric and Giraut advise the

rational Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reasons. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an abi ...

council of the Caledonians to adjust their

to that of the rest of the

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. ...

so that the springer will have as few adverse effects as possible. When the Caledonians decide that Aimeric and Giraut, as well as the Interstellar

, are trying to usurp their power, they begin to try to seize back control of everything, and an

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

ensues. Giraut discovers among the strife who he really is and begins to see how fake his life back home was, and recognize faults in his home culture.

Characters

* Giraut - a talented Nou Occitan

swordsman Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to an ...

and song writer forced to grow up suddenly as he encounters complicated

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

struggles between opposing

ideological An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied prim ...

groups as an assistant on Aimeric's mission to planet Nansen. * Garsenda - Giraut's ex-girlfriend back in Nou Occitan. * Aimeric - originally from Caledony, a fellow

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairi ...

and friend to Giraut, trained in economic principles and business and ambassador for the Council of Humanity to Caledony people on Nansen. * Bieris - Aimeric's girlfriend, who accompanies him to Nansen. * Bruce - Aimeric's childhood friend from Nansen, who greets and initially hosts them upon their arrival on the harsh

. * Margaret - a Caledony woman who becomes increasingly important to Giraut.

Planets referenced

* Earth (central planet for humanity, in the Inner Sphere) * Nansen (home of Caledony and St. Michael, in the Outer Sphere and recently contacted) * Wilson (home of Nou Occitan, close to the Outer Sphere and contacted years ago)

Literary significance & criticism

This novel is a commentary on

via a fictional account of the effects of the Earth's expanding political, economic and social influence over human inhabited

s. Barnes suggests that those most harmed by

are the ones least willing to change in response.

References

;Notes

External links