''Lovelock'' is a 1994

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 American writers

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...

and Kathryn H. Kidd. The novel's eponymous narrator, a sentient monkey, takes his name from

James Lovelock James Ephraim Lovelock (26 July 1919 – 26 July 2022) was an English independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating sys ...

, the scientist-inventor who formulated the

Gaia hypothesis The Gaia hypothesis (), also known as the Gaia theory, Gaia paradigm, or the Gaia principle, proposes that living organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic and self-regulating, complex system that help ...

, which figures heavily in the book.

Plot introduction

''Lovelock'' is set in a near-future in which humanity is preparing to send out its first interstellar colonization ship, called the ''Ark''. In the speculative future described by the novel, a new field of science, Gaiaology, has come into existence, based on the Gaia Hypothesis. Lovelock, a genetically- and cybernetically-enhanced

capuchin monkey The capuchin monkeys () are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are readily identified as the " organ grinder" monkey, and have been used in many movies and television shows. The range of capuchin monkeys includes some tropical fores ...

relates the story in the first person. Lovelock serves as the "Witness" for Carol Jeanne Cocciolone, meaning that his job is to record every waking moment of the life of a prominent member of society. As the chief Gaiaologist of the ''Ark'', Carol Jeanne is responsible for managing the extensive

terraforming Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make ...

their new planet will require, integrating the terrestrial species needed for the colonists' survival with the planet's existing ecology. Like every Witness, Lovelock has been

indoctrinated Indoctrination is the process of inculcating a person with ideas, attitudes, cognitive strategies or professional methodologies (see doctrine). Humans are a social animal species inescapably shaped by cultural context, and thus some degree ...

to love and obey his owner unconditionally.

Plot summary

When the book begins, the Cocciolone family is packing for their new life aboard the ''Mayflower''. The family consists of Carol Jeanne, her husband Red, their daughters Lydia and Emmy, and Red's parents Mamie and Stef. They take a shuttle to the Ark, during which Lovelock is ashamed of his primitive, terrified response to

free-fall In Newtonian physics, free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it. In the context of general relativity, where gravitation is reduced to a space-time curvature, a body in free fall has no force acting on it ...

. Aboard the ''Mayflower'', the Cocciolone family begins to integrate themselves into the society of the Ark. When Lovelock meets a scientist who attempts to communicate with him via sign language, Carol Jeanne explains that she hadn't taught her Witness sign language because she didn't want him "chattering to erall the time."Card, Orson Scott. ''Lovelock'' (1994): 104 This event marks Lovelock's first feelings of furious rebellion. Lovelock begins to long for a mate, and children of his own. After learning about a supply of

cryogenically frozen Cryo-preservation or cryo-conservation is a process where organisms, organelles, cells, tissues, extracellular matrix, organs, or any other biological constructs susceptible to damage caused by unregulated chemical kinetics are preserved by coo ...

capuchin monkeys, he steals a young female monkey and hides her in the low-gravity poles that support the Ark. Unfortunately, she grows up stunted and sickly. Lovelock, realizing that should his actions be discovered he would be put to death, begins to write his story in a hidden file on the Ark's computer.

Sequels

Card has announced that the novel is intended to be the first book in the ''Mayflower'' trilogy; the second book, ''Rasputin'', is in progress,Orson Scott Card's bibliography
at Hatrack.com; retrieved July 27, 2015 and the third book's title has not been announced.

Reception

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' called the novel a "moral fable", praising Card and Kidd for their "passionate depiction of Lovelock's plight" and their "insightful portrayal of the various human characters", but emphasized that — aside from Lovelock's enhanced intelligence — the novel's science fictional elements are "drown(ed) out". Lovelock Orson Scott Card, Author, Kathryn H. Kidd, With
at ''

''; published July 4, 1994; archived online no later than November 13, 2012; retrieved July 27, 2015 ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' described the novel as "(s)o-so at best", and "bloated and flabby", criticizing it for lacking "even a

token Token may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Token, a game piece or counter, used in some games * The Tokens, a vocal music group * Tolkien Black, a recurring character on the animated television series ''South Park,'' formerly known as ...

ending".LOVELOCK, Vol. I of the Mayflower Trilogy, by Orson Scott Card, Kathryn H. Kidd
at ''

''; published July 1, 1994; archived online May 20, 2010; retrieved July 27, 2015

References

External links