From the Bookshelf of Speculative Fiction in Translation…

Lord of All Things

Andreas Eschbach,

Samuel Willcocks (Translator)

Start date: December 1, 2023

Finish date: December 31, 2023

Discussion: Monthly Reads: Discussion

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Monthly Reads: Discussion

* December 2024 - War with the Newts (Spoilers Tagged)
By Oleksandr · 33 posts · 14 views

last updated Jan 05, 2025 01:26AM

* November 2024 - Continuum (Tag Spoilers)
By Oleksandr · 73 posts · 13 views

last updated Dec 21, 2024 01:02AM

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What Members Thought

Dec 14, 2023 Oleksandr Zholud rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a novel that mixes an SF, fantasy, thriller, horror with a bit of action and romance from German SF writer Andreas Eschbach. Previously, I’ve read only The Carpet Makers by him, which is also good but quite different – as if they are written by different people. I read it as a part of the monthly reading for December 2023 at Speculative Fiction in Translation group.

The story starts with a boy and a girl (aged around ten) on a swing. The boy is named Hiroshi and he tells the girl named Ch This is a novel that mixes an SF, fantasy, thriller, horror with a bit of action and romance from German SF writer Andreas Eschbach. Previously, I’ve read only The Carpet Makers by him, which is also good but quite different – as if they are written by different people. I read it as a part of the monthly reading for December 2023 at Speculative Fiction in Translation group.

The story starts with a boy and a girl (aged around ten) on a swing. The boy is named Hiroshi and he tells the girl named Charlotte: “I know what you’d have to do so that everyone could be rich,” – this is the very first sentence of the novel. Then they discuss that it isn’t a simple method of giving everyone money, but something else: “Why nobody had the idea of how to do it before me,” Hiroshi yelled. “It’s so incredibly simple.” So the story begins.

Readers soon discover that Hiroshi Kato is the son of a Japanese mother and an American father, now living with the former because of some bad blood with the father’s family. She works as a main in the French embassy and lives next to it. Charlotte Malroux is the daughter of a French diplomat and as a precaution, she isn’t allowed to leave the embassy. Hiroshi notes her once and is entranced, sitting all his free time near the window trying to spot her. Once Charlotte broke her doll and threw it away, but Hiroshi repaired and returned it, thus meeting her for the first time face to face. As it turns out, the boy is a talented mechanic, while the girl has a more unusual talent: if she touches a thing that belonged to someone, she can tell about that person, including their dreams, fears and hopes. The setting reminded me a bit of a Hugo-winning novel All the Birds in the Sky, with mixing SF and fantasy in protagonists’ talents, but the development of both stories is quite different.

Parents of both children are wary about their friendship, for they differ enormously in status due to their respective wealth. This makes Hiroshi think hard about a way to make everyone rich: “Rich people need poor people to do the work for them!” – so to make everyone rich, labor should be freely available in unlimited quantities.

The rest of the story is about their growing up, Hiroshi working in robotics and Charlotte pursuing a career in anthropology, where her unique gift gave her hints about pre-history civilizations. They also have rich personal lives. There are quite a lot of unexpected twists, even if two Chekhov’s guns are almost highlighted at the start.

A solid SF novel.
...more

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Jan 13, 2024 Gabi rated it it was ok · review of another edition

What happened to the author of the fantastic and unique hair carpet makers?
I went in with a lot of expectation and came out completely disappointed.
It started well with two children from different wealth classes being friends and talking about their dreams and quite interesting talents. But then it changed towards college/university days with so many flat characters, stereotypes and outright sexist writing that it had me cringing to no end. It felt as if all the potential set up in the first pa ...more

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Jan 18, 2014 Manuel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Eschbach continúa distanciándose de las space-operas rebosantes de sentido de la maravilla con las que aún se relaciona su nombre para urdir un tecno-thriller de varias décadas de envergadura que analiza hasta sus últimas consecuencias la incógnita que sirve de punto de partida para la trama: ¿Qué ocurriría si se eliminara la barrera que separa a ricos y pobres? Pragmático y pausado en su estructura y estilo, el alemán acelera hasta destrozar la barrera del sonido con un estampido atronador en e ...more

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Feb 19, 2014 Karen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014-chunky-book-challenge

I think I have to reiterate: To me five stars are for the time honored classics, Tolstoy, Austen, Dickens, Tolkien and Asimov. So for me to give 4 stars to a book, means that I loved it, couldn't put it down, and the world the author built stay with me after finishing it. This was Eschbach's Lord of All Things.

Hiroshi wanted to make Earth a place that had abundance for everyone, there would be no need for property or money, and he thought of way to accomplish it. ...more

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Feb 07, 2024 Leticia rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2024-bingo, 700_799pages, translated

An interesting story told with too many POVs that didn't advance the plot and didn't interest me at all. This made my progress slow even if I was interested in the main characters' journey.

I wish there would be an abridged version of this book only with the main characters most important scenes, and about the half number of pages, then perhaps the tension would be more present.

Even though, I think the abridged book could be a good screenplay for a film. ...more

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