"Ivory: A Legend of Past and Future" by Mike Resnick

So we read our book for the Book A Month Challenge. This month's theme was Time. We chose to read a book called Ivory: A Legend of Past and Future bye Mike Resnick. Here are our reviews:

Jones:

I really liked the book.


Oh, you want more? Here's the lowdown from Amazon:

In the year 6303, when earth is bare of anything larger than an insect or a mouse and most people have left for the stars, Duncan Rojas receives a most unusual visitor. His name is Bukoba Mandaka, and he is the last of the Maasai. Mandaka wants Rojas, senior researcher for Braxton's Records of Big Game, to find the tusks of the Kilimanjaro Elephant, tusks that weigh over 200 lb. each.

Lately I have found that if a book doesn't grab me the 1st 3 chapters or so, I have to put it down. I'm an old man, and my time is precious. Ivory, however, kept my attention the whole time. The story is a futuristic armchair detective story, with Rojas searching for the tusks via his computer. The tale isn't boring however, because every clue in the tusks story is told in a very well written manner. The book uses the tusks as a device to tie together a number of different stories across space and time, which are sometimes sobering, sometimes hilarious. The book slowed down a bit at the end, and after his journey, the main character doesn't change much, which considering his personality is a bit of a disappointment. But overall, I quite enjoyed it. Yay.


Havilah:

I really liked this book too. I went into it thinking it was going to be a book about a man who travels through time to do his detecting. But I was very surprised. Instead of actually traveling through time, his computer searches records. Every time it finds more about the tusks, we (as readers) are transported through time to witness the story firsthand. I don't know if I've ever read a book quite like this one. It is a bunch of short stories that span over 5000 years and are all interconnected. It is true that in the end, after going through an unforgettable experience, the character does not change much. I think by doing this, the author points out one of man's major flaws: inability to change. The book explores issues of culture, history and identity while at the same time imagining the future's culture and even the future's history (read the book.. that sentence will make more sense). I have put this on my imaginary list of favorite books (which basically means that I really liked it).

If you are looking for something fun to read that is a little different from your usual book, pick this one up!

Stay tuned for our announcement of our choice of Feburary's BAM Challenge book. (just as soon as we find out what the theme is). If you want to join us on this adventure click here.