2004; 392 pages. Book 5 (out of 10) in “The
Company” series. New Author? : No.
Genres: Time-Travel; Dystopian Fiction;
Science Fiction. Overall Rating : 6½*/10.
Mendoza could sure use a visit from a knight in shining armor about now. Dr. Zeus has sent her into the mother of all exiles, and it's getting to be a drag. Place-wise, it’s not so bad: a quiet spot on the coast of California. But timewise, it’s a different story – she’s been sent back to 150,000 BCE, give or take a couple millennia. She’s been stuck here for the past 3,000 years, which may seem a bit far-fetched. But Mendoza is not your normal human, she's been reworked and is now an immortal cyborg.
Well saints be praised, her
Prince Charming has just arrived! In a
time-machine he stole from Dr. Zeus, no less.
How’s that for karma? His
name is Alec, and although he’s not particularly handsome, Mendoza is instantly
attracted to him. After all, he looks
exactly like two other lovers Mendoza had in the past. Or will have in the future. Before they died. Or will die.
Whatever.
As for the charm, it turns out it was something programmed into his personality. Which is possible because Alec is also a cyborg. And although he’s got some prior business to
take care of first – he’s determined to destroy Dr. Zeus once and for all –
Alec promises to return after that’s done and take Mendoza back to the present
time, which is his case is the 24th century AD.
Hmm. Dr. Zeus is the leading expert when it comes to time-travel. He knows everything that has happened, and
everything that is going to happen, at least up to July 9, 2355 (see below).
I wonder why he’s not aware of Alec’s thievery and meeting with Mendoza.
What’s To Like...
The Life of the
World to Come is the fifth book in Kage Baker’s Company series, a completed 10-book series (ignoring novellas and short stories using the same
setting) which I’m reading in chronological order. Here, the scenes shift among three
storylines: a.) Alec Checkerfield’s
life story; b.) the secret activities of
three Londoners named Rutherford, Chatterji, and Ellsworth-Howard; and c.) Mendoza’s whereabouts and
whenabouts. Alec’s storyline is by far the
predominant one.
Almost all of the story takes
place in the future, which is a switch from the earlier books in the
series. We are moving closer to the
Armageddon-like year of 2355 AD, when, thanks to past/future time traveling
excursions, we've learned that everything in the time-traveling world seems to come to a standstill. I much appreciated Kage Baker including a backstory in the first few pages; it’s been four years since I read the previous book.
I loved Kage Baker’s
worldbuilding in the 24th century.
There’s a new cussword (“shracking”),
new slang (bishareedo, puckamenna),
and new gizmos (jotbooks, bukes, agcars,
agboats, etc.). The “ag”
in those last two stands for “anti-gravity”,
not “agriculture”; it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure that out.
There’s not a lot of
time-travel, although we do get to zip back to 150,000 BC to for the Alec/Mendoza meeting,
as well as take a quick trip to Mars to help thwart Dr. Zeus. I picked up a new Latin phrase - “nimium ne crede colori, puere” (wiki it), and found out what “Fiddler’s Green” is. It was fun to see how Christmas is celebrated in 2350 AD, watch young Alec do his schooling online (shades
to 2020!), rejoice that Toblerone chocolate is still around (albeit, as contraband), and learn not to mess
with the religious zealots called the Ephesians.
The ending is good, but
incomplete. The “why-and-how”
of the triple-incarnation paradox of Nicholas/Edward/Alec is at last revealed, but there are a slew
of other plot threads left unresolved.
We still don’t know how Rutherford, Chatterji, and Ellsworth-Howard fit
in, ditto for Alec’s enigmatic and resourceful playfriend “Captain
Morgan”. And while the story ends at a
logical spot, it nevertheless teeters dangerously close to being a cliffhanger.
Kewlest New Word ...
Oubliette (n.): a secret dungeon with access only
through a trapdoor in its ceiling.
Ratings…
Amazon:
4.5/5
based on 43 ratings.
Goodreads: 3.94/5 based on 1,544
ratings and 103 reviews
Excerpts...
“Spirits of Cause and Effect, I summon
thee! I bend thee to my will! Spirits of Action and Reaction, I conjure
thee, grant my desires! Schrodinger’s
Cat, heed my commands! Oh, Spirit of
Time, oh, thou Chronos, oh thou, er, Timex, Bulova, um, Westclox, Swatch,
Rolex, Piaget! Uh… In the name of
Greenwich, in whose image all Time is made!” (pg. 215)
“I believe I mentioned that Dr. Zeus,
possessing the secret of time travel, knows everything that’s ever happened in
recorded history, as well as everything that ever will happen. Beer?”
“Yes, please.” (…)
“Everything that ever will happen, I say - up
to the year 2355. You understand
this is a matter of intense speculation for everyone concerned with the
Company. But the fact is, beyond July 9,
2355, there’s just – silence.” (…) “Not one word from our future selves on the
other side of that moment in time. I
have heard that the last message, badly distorted, says simply ‘We still
don’t know -“ (pg.
305)
“Meminerunt omnia
amantes.” (“Lovers remember everything.”)
(pg. 31 )
There’s some cussing and a
fair amount of rolling-in-the-hay in The Life of
the World to Come, but I hesitate call this an R-rated book. My big issue
with it is that we see very little of Mendoza, apart when Alec comes calling,
and for some reason we get to experience that twice. My
second-favorite character in the series, Joseph, is entirely MIA, and even the Ultimate Evil, Labienus, makes only
a token appearance.
I get the feeling that this
book is really just a giant backstory Kage Baker wrote to get all her ducks in a
row before plunging the series into an exciting conclusion that will be 3-5 books in length. I
appreciated the clarifications, but yearned for a bit more action.
But be of good cheer: if you can make it through 300 pages of Alec’s biography, you'll be treated to 100
pages of an exciting, fascinating, twist-filled ending. We are perilously close to the D-Day of July
9, 2355, and I for one want to find out how it all turns out.
6½ Stars. In looking forward, Book Eight, The Sons of Heaven, was originally marketed in 2007 as the closing volume in the series, but then in 2009 and 2010, Books 9 and 10 were added. I have no idea why. I've bought Book Six, The Children of the Company, but have yet to find any of the final four books at my local used-book stores. The present pandemic limits my browsing opportunities, and none of my local libraries carry volumes 7-10. The next book may be as far as I get.
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