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Kéthani
When a mysterious alien race known as the Kéthani make contact with the people of Earth they bring with them the dubious gift of eternal life. These enigmatic aliens will change the course of the human race forever but also touch people's lives on a personal level, not least in a small town in the English countryside. But do the Kéthani have a hidden agenda and will the hu...more
Mass Market Paperback, 432 pages
Published
March 31st 2009
by Solaris
(first published January 1st 2008)
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“Vivid, emotional, philosophical, this is a work to feed the mind, heart and soul”
That’s what Stephen Baxter used to describe KETHANI, the latest book by Eric Brown, and I couldn’t have agreed more. If so, I would add “provoking” to the list of adjectives. Perhaps the idea of “immortality” have been used before, perhaps, it isn’t even original within the context of Science Fiction, given that the sole concept of Science Fiction allows for changing any context and exploring or proposing immortali...more
That’s what Stephen Baxter used to describe KETHANI, the latest book by Eric Brown, and I couldn’t have agreed more. If so, I would add “provoking” to the list of adjectives. Perhaps the idea of “immortality” have been used before, perhaps, it isn’t even original within the context of Science Fiction, given that the sole concept of Science Fiction allows for changing any context and exploring or proposing immortali...more
Surprisingly readable for a looong book where nothing much happens.
Aliens have come to Earth and this time, instead of wrecking havoc on Los Angeles or New York, they come bearing a gift. Immortality. For reasons that are never really explained, the Kethani have granted humankind immortality in the form of a implant on the forehead. When a person dies, the implant provides the means by which the person will be reborn, younger, stronger and bestowed with a kind of zen-like peace.
...more
Aliens have come to Earth and this time, instead of wrecking havoc on Los Angeles or New York, they come bearing a gift. Immortality. For reasons that are never really explained, the Kethani have granted humankind immortality in the form of a implant on the forehead. When a person dies, the implant provides the means by which the person will be reborn, younger, stronger and bestowed with a kind of zen-like peace.
...more
The cover blurb says this book is "a future classic" and I have to say "Meh" to that. This book is interesting and I enjoyed it, but unlike many other books I've read, I have zero interest in ever reading Kethani again. I think that perhaps my opinion is flawed by a liking for the more action-oriented stories rather than this slower-moving tale where very little overtly happens. It's a psychological study more than anything else, a study in first person by a group of people...more
This is a thoughtful meditation on mortality and its implications for morality, set in a fine first-contact sf novel. Set in the moor country of northern England, it describes the effects of a worldwide gift from unseen aliens of reincarnation technology, and the concomitant gifts of general wellness in the reconstrued bodies and minds and the opportunity to travel the galaxy with the benefactors. That said, the novel never leaves the single county in England, following a group of people throug...more
A low-key post-disaster novel where the disaster really isn't one, a bit like a murder mystery where there is no murder ... but even there there can be a mystery, and here there is a sufficiency of character and incident, even too many narrative viewpoints I felt. The continuing mystery of the Kethani themselves - what do they want, why are they doing this, what do they look like - is unsolved and there is even a hint at a secondary plot regarding Kethani 'spies' among us who only seem to be hum...more
I have thrown this book across the room half a dozen times in frustration.
The characters are nothing more than stereotypical cardboard cut-outs with whom I can find no way to sympathize (despite enormous personal tragedies, at times). The prose is uninspiring and falls flat far more often than not. Franky, there are times that I'm flabbergasted with how terrible the writing is. The plot is only rarely engaging. Eric Brown manages to take the most optimisitc, sickeningly sweet v...more
The characters are nothing more than stereotypical cardboard cut-outs with whom I can find no way to sympathize (despite enormous personal tragedies, at times). The prose is uninspiring and falls flat far more often than not. Franky, there are times that I'm flabbergasted with how terrible the writing is. The plot is only rarely engaging. Eric Brown manages to take the most optimisitc, sickeningly sweet v...more
I found the concept quite interesting. It was the story of a group of friends and how they are affected by the choice of immortality. This book I thought was very good, and at times I could not put it down. Unfortunetly, it never amounted to much. There was no grand finale or explanation behind the reasons humaity was given the choice of immortality. I was also disappointed that the only religious points of view were crazy extreme Catholics. There was one priest and a "not so good"...more
First you have to understand that I almost never stop reading a book in the middle, no matter how much they suck. I've only done it a handful of times in my entire life. I just feel like it will be easier to put behind me if I finish the story.
In the case of Kethani, however, I'm very close to doing that. This book is billed as Science Fiction, with aliens coming to Earth and all, but really it should have been called a morality book, and not a particularly well written one at that. ...more
In the case of Kethani, however, I'm very close to doing that. This book is billed as Science Fiction, with aliens coming to Earth and all, but really it should have been called a morality book, and not a particularly well written one at that. ...more
Excellent first-contact story set in rural village England. The aliens are never directly involved, but do have the historic impact you'd expect.
And this is the joy of this novel: the multiple tensions Eric Brown plucks and then lets hum through out the novel. Mortality and Immortality, isolationist and galaxy traveller, friendly aliens or world conquerors, life over death over life. I don't want to say more and spoil the pleasure of discovering Brown's story on your own, but suffic...more
And this is the joy of this novel: the multiple tensions Eric Brown plucks and then lets hum through out the novel. Mortality and Immortality, isolationist and galaxy traveller, friendly aliens or world conquerors, life over death over life. I don't want to say more and spoil the pleasure of discovering Brown's story on your own, but suffic...more
"At first I thought the speed with which the Kéthani's implants became universal was a little bit unlikely. After all, given the overly mysterious nature of the aliens, and the fact that every major religion in the world opposed them, wouldn't people be a bit more reluctant? If you believe in a spiritual afterlife, don't you also believe it's supposed to be better than physical life? But the book changed my mind: I think if physical immortality became a real possibility, doubts would fade p...more
I'm not much of a SF reader. I've always maintained I didn't do SF, until I started reading my husband's Kris Longknife books and loved them. Since then I've been trying to expand my reading and try more SF. After reading Mark's reviews of Eric Brown's books over at Walker of Worlds, I really wanted to try his books and having read Cara's review of Kéthani over at Speculative Book Review, that seemed a good place to start. And if Kéthani is anything to go by, I think I need to read more of Brown...more
imagine you've just had the great idea to make an alien-invasion film with your mates; you've got no money for script, lighting, special effects, location, wages ... in fact all you've got is 25 years to waste shooting anecdotal footage in your local pub drinking pints of liver-rot and one blurry hand-held shot of an inverted icicle close to the camera overlooking a snow-covered landscape.
that's this book.
432 pages of NOTHING HAPPENS, in a classical narrative sense - it's...more
that's this book.
432 pages of NOTHING HAPPENS, in a classical narrative sense - it's...more
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This is an interesting and thought-provoking book. The story is that aliens establish a presence on earth and offer humanity the free gift of eternal life, not as Christians understand it in heaven with God, but in this universe. The story is sent in rural England (Yorkshire) and shows how individuals and couples respond to this.
The work is highly philosophical, though this is embedded in the stories of people as they wrestle with death and immortality and the human desire for transc...more
The work is highly philosophical, though this is embedded in the stories of people as they wrestle with death and immortality and the human desire for transc...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Eric Brown's Kethani describes what happens when an alien race arrives on Earth bearing the gift of immortality. The story is told as a series of interviews or reconstructions of events as related by the various characters, the overall structure connected by the narrator and significant character, Khalid.
The premise has promise, but the resulting novel is disjoint, repetitive, and lackluster. I was unable to finish it.
Recommended for teen +, adult topics (mostly adultery ...more
The premise has promise, but the resulting novel is disjoint, repetitive, and lackluster. I was unable to finish it.
Recommended for teen +, adult topics (mostly adultery ...more
I found this book to be a really interesting concept, but I was more interested in finding out the reasons behind the aliens choices than the stories of the characters. This may be the fact that this book is a string of short stories only cohesed by the interludes. It also, for no particular reason, bothered me that despite the fact that the book takes place over 15 or 20 years, every story that was told in the book took place in the winter. That really annoyed me for some reason, as if the auth...more
I was excited for this book and it was a letdown. It was about what happened to normal people's lives when the world was finally contacted by aliens and given the opportunity to choose to live forever. The stories were bland and many of them dealt with the same old theme of divorce and people who chose not to live forever. Virtually nothing about the aliens themselves and absolutely void of any stories about actual contact between humans and aliens.
I enjoyed Kethani but it is really a book of short stories not a novel. The author created short pieces to link all the stories together. Also the book does not really deal with the aliens themselves. Rather it deals more with the psychological aspects of an alien race coming to earth bearing gifts and how humanity responds to them. While I did enjoy many of the stories and ideas presented I was hoping for space opera not space drama.
While this particular idea (humanity forced to evolve by an extraterrestrial species) has been explored before, I thought Eric Brown took an interesting new path by telling his tale via a series of interviews.
Other than that, all I could think was that this was a kinder and friendlier version of "Childhood's End."
Other than that, all I could think was that this was a kinder and friendlier version of "Childhood's End."
Aliens come to earth and make contact. They come in peace and have a way of helping people live forever... when they die they are sent away and return immortal. There is discord among the people on earth as to whether to accept the aliens or not. Kind of like the discord people have over everything today
When I first started reading this book, I thought it had a great premise. I don't know if it's because I read a lot of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, but I was expecting a little more excitement...like, "Suprise! You've now become a slave to ugly and scary alien monsters!" Oh well! LOL
Brilliant novel.
I liked it because although it was syfy it made you think about
the future and what would you do if you were given immortality.
It did not depend heavily on the "science" part but on how the situation
affects the protagonists.
I liked it because although it was syfy it made you think about
the future and what would you do if you were given immortality.
It did not depend heavily on the "science" part but on how the situation
affects the protagonists.
A very fascinating, well-written story with lots of unanswered questions. Or maybe answers which I didn't like(?). It is not your typical sci-fi story.
First contact S/F ok read but a bit disapointing.
What a great read.
Interesting. Worth the read. Aliens.
As a novel collecting the Kethani short stories, now linked together by interludes, this is one of the most touching and thought-provoking collections I've read. Although it is sci-fi, it's loosely so as we focus on a group of friends - this is what gives the collection heart and soul.
Highly, highly recommended stuff - one of my reads of the year.
Highly, highly recommended stuff - one of my reads of the year.
A good idea but I was unaware it's more a collection of short stories from the same universe, with a half-hearted attempt to join them with a hastily scribbled joining story. A few interesting stories but most are rather bland and ordinary. Very disappointing ending, that leaves you with the same questions you had in the first chapter.
Benign aliens come to earth with new technology as seen through the eyes of a group of friends who meet each week in the pub.
Read the full review here: http://speculativebookreview.blogspot.co...
Read the full review here: http://speculativebookreview.blogspot.co...
An interesting take on First Contact, told via a series of vignettes, extending from contact to significantly later, and portrays one possibility for societal change in light of advanced technology and species knowledge.
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Eric Brown's first short story was published in _Interzone_ in 1987, and he sold his first novel, _Meridian Days_, in 1992. He has won the British Science Fiction Award twice for his short stories and has published forty books: SF novels, collections, books for teenagers and younger children, and he writes a monthly SF review column for the _Guardian_.
He is married to the writer and m...more
More about Eric Brown...
He is married to the writer and m...more
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