Ancients of Days

Confluence #2

by Paul J. McAuley

Time, like a river must one day run dry. On an artificial world created and seeded with ten thousand bloodlines by the long-vanished Preservers, young Yama's ancestry is unique, for he appears to be the last remaining scion of the Builders, closest of all races to the worshipped architects of Confluence. And on a day near the end of the world, Yama must finally acknowledge the power he neither anticipated nor desires.To the common folk - the unshaped and aboriginal - he is the fulfillment of age-old prophecies. To the functionaries of the Department of Indigenous Affairs, he is a weapon to be molded and used in the bloody civil war raging at the planet's midpoint. But there are still others who have taken notice of Yama as he pursues the hidden secrets of his past. Intelligent powers older than the Builders - as old, perhaps, as the Preservers themselves - are pursuing Yama in turn. And they will stop at nothing to control his present - and, as a result, the future of everything that lives.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Dying Earth, Science Fiction Fantasy, Space Opera

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

name Paul McAuley previously wrote under

Reviews

[Strix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first in the trilogy, but still good. It deepens what had previously been wide and develops Yama and Tamora a great deal.

I'm not a huge fan of this overarching plot that's seeping into the trilogy? It feels like it would have been better off as a chain of interesting adventures surrounding Yama, but instead it's tying things together with villains and it's just not as compelling as it was, hence the lowered star rating.

Unfortunately ends on a cliffhanger, so be aware of that if you read this.

[Ellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this better than the first installment. It establishes itself as science fiction, not fantasy. McAuley is a very thoughtful writer.

[Brent Hayward · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been a pretty great read so far, several hundred pages in. The writing is quite beautiful at times. My only qualm is that the strangeness of the world and the answers our protag seeks in his quest aren't really cranking up since the first installment, giving the whole thing a sort of even keel. Nonetheless, an entertaining epic, aimed above the usual level of genre trilogies (which is what I was after in the first place).

[Jonas Salonen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second part of the Confluence trilogy. This was actually very much like the first book. At first I was saddened as the first book ended with great tension and interesting twists and then this second one starts again very slowly.

It seems this book is constructed like the first one, it starts slowly and picks up the pace in the end. That is also bit of a problem for me as there is much going on for the most part of the book that doesn¨t seem to have any real meaning for the story.

Anyway, again, at the end I was really hyped for the third part as the ending of this second one is great again.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10 en 2009.

Continuación tras el abrupto final de Hijo del río , está bien. Continúa la genealogía del protagonista del libro anterior.

Es una trilogía y no llegué a pillar el tercero, así que me quedé con las ganas de saber el final.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometime, if I think of it, I'll look for my story notes. These would have been Prescott (Yavacat) books. They had all 3 in hc if memory serves.

[Tony Manning · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very slow and mostly uninteresting. It wasn't really until the story of Angel was told that it got somewhat interesting, but that was not until you were nearly 70% of way through the book. Ending could've been better, but I guess it leaves you wanting more. I doubt I'll read the final book anytime soon. I expected this book to be an improvement over the first, but it was much the same with actually less happening for most of the book. McAuley has some skill in his word usage, but really needs to develop his plots better. I found this book an absolute chore to get through, most of it was dull.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

We start to get more details about what Confluence is. The end of this book is where I thought we'd be after the first few chapters, an exciting romp around the world but the overall plot moves at a bit of a glacial speed in comparison and has been rather obvious so far. Still looking forward to the last volume.

[Rtnp29 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second book of the trilogy continues where Child of the River left off, reveals some mysteries and brings about some exciting adventures into the wild. Not as good as the first book, but better than the third nevertheless. I must confess to skipping a lot of descriptive pages. All in all, an excellent idea that was somehow diluted to become a trilogy (a good trilogy, nevertheless).

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some interesting world building stuff in this trilogy. However I can't shake off the feeling that the hero, Yama, is a bit of a prat. I just wish he'd get on with it, rather than delving into metaphysical angst about Truth and Destiny. *sigh*.

Anyway, on with book#3, and let's see if Yama can get his act in gear. ☺

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this so much - the world is fascinating, but the main character is so tedious that he just sucks all the colour and interest out of everyone and everything.

There's also some odd exposition throughout the book (recapping events from previous chapters) and the whole 'ancient clone invader space girl' subplot feels like such a last-minute idea :(

[SFReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.sfreader.com/read_review.a...

[Emmanuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Added more to the world and made the plot more ernest.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read review of "Child of the River."

[Owen Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoying rereading the confluence trilogy in 2024

McAuley created a bunch of tropes that others have found useful : )