Saturday, May 20, 2000
Title: The Face Of The Waters
Author: Robert Silverberg
Publisher: Grafton
The Face OF The Waters is set in the year 2450, the human race has gone into space, and along the way the Earth has been destroyed. Hydros is a water planet - with vibrant and violent life. The humans who have found their way here are doomed to remain here as there is no land, and with no land no space port. The humans live in small communities, tolerated on the islands built by the dominant alien race. But when one person on Sorve crosses the aliens' limits, the whole community is forced to leave. 78 people on 6 ships looking for refuge in a hostile ocean, where the face of the waters is a mythical area of land - which could represent heaven or hell - if it even exists.
The story is told from the view point of Lawler the island's doctor - clinging to the medical knowledge retained through the 150 years humans have been on Hydros. As such he knows everyone on this island and is respected by them all, making his role crucial to the story. Which contrasts with the businessman - who owns the boats they travel on and drives this venture; though is responsible for their plight. And the priest - self-exiled to wrestle with his religious doubt- envious of the respect shown to the doctor. Between these and several of the other characters Silverberg manages to examine the meaning of power and how it interacts.
In some ways the manner in which The Face Of The Waters is set on a boat it becomes a timeless tale. But fantasy and SF are mixed in, in the way Silverberg continually assaults the ships with an array of fantastical sea beasts and always keeps us reminded that this is not Earth. Which in itself is one of the themes of the book - identity and alienation. As doctor Lawler has a separate view of the functions of the body which mark him out. As a member of a first generation family he is haunted by the handed down tales of Earth and feels alien on Hydros. The way the creatures of the sea react to the humans acts as a continual reminder that they are not a part of this world.
Silverberg is one of the old school of SF writers pre-dating many of today's authors. But he remains vibrant in the way he writes and in the strength of his ideas. Having gone through a phase where I read much of Silverberg's work, I have a definite respect for both his short story and novel work. With that, The Face Of The Waters does not disappoint.
RVWR: PTR
May 2000
