The Mount in The Alternative Worlds

Jun 07, 2012 Daniel Roy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sf

When I began reading this story of an alien race that has not just conquered us, but turned us into their personal mounts, I expected a heavy-handed metaphor about slavery and social dynamics. What I got instead was part allegory, but also a fully-realized SF world, complete with intricate mechanisms by which an alien invader managed to tame us as a species.

The most surprising and pleasant part of The Mount is how thorough the author is with her explanation of how humans could become mounts to a When I began reading this story of an alien race that has not just conquered us, but turned us into their personal mounts, I expected a heavy-handed metaphor about slavery and social dynamics. What I got instead was part allegory, but also a fully-realized SF world, complete with intricate mechanisms by which an alien invader managed to tame us as a species.

The most surprising and pleasant part of The Mount is how thorough the author is with her explanation of how humans could become mounts to an alien invader. This is not simply a matter of humans being treated as properties by an alien race; instead, we get to appreciate the kindness of the Hoots for Humanity, and how they revere humans' strength and dignity. Furthermore, many humans themselves are perfectly at ease with this status as mounts: the protagonist keeps yearning for the dignity and pride of being a good mount, and we get a sense that this domination is so complete and ancient that the slaves themselves accept their status. There's some clever post-colonial commentary in there, that's for sure. It also works as one of the most startling and original alien invasion stories I've read in recent memory.

Where the book falls apart is in Ms. Emshwiller's choice for her protagonist. Charley is a bland character, and a bit dumb to boot. A lot of things happen around him and he fails to capture and convey the complexity and importance of these events. For the most part, he's self-obsessed, constantly yearns to return to his prior status as a prized mount, and pretty dense when it comes to appreciating the conflicts around him.

I can understand why the author chose Charley as a protagonist. For sure, telling the story of Humanity's fate as mounts to superior alien beings should be made all the richer if we can appreciate it from the perspective of a dominated character. Unfortunately, no one else outside of the Hoots themselves wish for humans to remain in bondage. They can't appreciate Charley's situation, and neither can he understand why they yearn for freedom. What's frustrating is that whenever it feels like a character is about to explain things to Charley, that character becomes vague, clams up, or otherwise moves onto something else. It feels as if the writer tried to isolate her protagonist from revelation, for the sake of keeping his disillusion going.

And so, we're stuck with Charley whining his way through the tribulations of his father's people as they try to break the hold of the Hoots. Charley eventually begins to change, but the change is pretty abrupt and a bit too convenient. For the remainder of the story up to that point, we're stuck with Charley's indifference, and it seeps into the tale to the point where we barely care for Humanity's struggle.

Overall, I loved the setting, and the way Emshwiller articulated her world. The Hoots were a truly original and intriguing alien species. The ways in which the Hoots stay in control of Humanity are interesting and nuanced, and their attitude is startling and thought-provoking. But alas, the dramatic arc of the story is bogged down by a protagonist who deflates any attempt to care. ...more

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Feb 09, 2011 Suz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-club, young-adult, dystopian, non-men-sff-authors, science-fiction, kindle, award-winner

When I finished this book, I picked up another to read, and just couldn't do it. The "message" in this book is really strong and it takes a bit to digest. Even better, I don't think there is a single message. This short book was written brilliantly, so you can see whatever you want in the relationships.

This story takes place in some future or alternate timeline. Through whatever means, there are aliens living on earth. Emshwiller did a fantastic job describing, not so much what they look like (s When I finished this book, I picked up another to read, and just couldn't do it. The "message" in this book is really strong and it takes a bit to digest. Even better, I don't think there is a single message. This short book was written brilliantly, so you can see whatever you want in the relationships.

This story takes place in some future or alternate timeline. Through whatever means, there are aliens living on earth. Emshwiller did a fantastic job describing, not so much what they look like (she did use some descriptors, but except for some fuzzy descriptions, you are left entirely to your own devices to imagine what you would like) as their relationships with and actions towards humans, who have (through, again, whatever means that is not described) become their "mounts" or servants.

I loved that Emshwiller did not bother with details about how they came to Earth, how long ago they did it or how it is they have actually tamed and selectively bred the human species. Clearly, it must have been generations, because the characters in the story were unaware of a lot of these details, and many people have been bred into distinct lines (Seattles, Tennessees). I've read a lot of books slamming her for leaving out these details, but I think it's not the focus, or even remotely important to the book.

This specific story is mostly about a young adolescent named Charley, who has been selected because of his superb breeding and conformation to be the mount for the next ruler. They both start off young to be trained to be the best mount and rider they can be. Charley is rescued by his father, Heron, and is taken to a village in the mountains where Heron is leading be beginnings of a revolution of people, which Charley objects to, but cannot fight. Eventually Charley and the future ruler of all get back to "civilization", changed and in a changed world and begin something new.

This novel lands itself squarely in the "speculative fiction" arena, and it's not so much fantasy or sci-fi, and anyone looking for fantasy/scifi will be very disappointed. The writing is as tight and fantastic as any I have read in a VERY long time. The story isn't plot driven and there is plenty of plot to keep anyone from getting bored. It's about characters and relationships, and this author has packed more relationships into a short book than most could put into an entire series, and the psychology in this book is amazing.

The themes of this book are strong, and consistent: slave/master relationships, slavery and individualism, adolescence and "finding" ones-self, and the struggle between parent and child. Reading the book, I kept thinking of the brainwashing/raising that Charley went through, and how it reminds me of the justifications and Stockholm Syndrome-like behavior of victims who always justify their abusers. Charlie is a pre-teen/early teenager in the book, and he does go through conflicting emotions, thought processes, and behaviors, which might seem inconsistent, but I read it as a conflicted and confusing boy trying to rationalize what was going on and find his place with what little he had to work with.

My biggest quibble with a book is the immensely unrealistic ending, but it's not terrible, it was just a little unbelievable, even though it did leave some questions and unresolved issues.

I really wish Goodreads had a half star system, because I think this book is stronger than four stars, but not quite five stars. Because I really did find it amazing and interesting, I figured I would push it to five stars. ...more

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Aug 31, 2009 Wealhtheow rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, ya

Humans-as-companion animals. Charley, a "Mount," is uncomfortably complicit in his own slavery. Interesting idea--the resolution and much of the plot left me wanting, but I did like that Emshwiller refused to talk about freedom and power in easy or traditional ways. ...more

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Jul 08, 2010 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: teenage-reads, speculative-fiction

This is a very strange little book. I tried to explain it to a friend today and got bogged down. "It's set in a future in which small aliens have landed on Earth and decide to use humans as their steeds." She said it sounded like a somewhat kinkier version of V. So I tried to explain that the interesting difference here was that the events of the book take place quite some time after the landing, so that humans have become accustomed to their roles. That helped a little, although she was still s ...more

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Jul 23, 2009 Carolyn rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: read-ya_13-and-up, science-fiction, science-fiction_post-apoc-dystopian

Looks like most of this plot/idea was lifted straight from the short story The Silk and the Song by Charles L. Fontenay (1959). Here is the complete story in PDF (it's out of copyright): http://generation.feedbooks.com/book/...
...more

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