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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Newberg Public Library | SCI-FI EGAN | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Silver Falls Library | SF EGAN | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
"Welcome to Tvibura and Tviburi. These two planets - one inhabited, one not - exist in extreme proximity to one another. As the narrative begins, Tvibura, the inhabited planet, faces a grave and imminent threat: the food supply is dwindling, and the conditions necessary for sustaining life are growing more and more erratic. Faced with the prospect of eventual catastrophe, the remarkable women of Tvibura launch a pair of ambitious, long-term initiatives. The first involves an attempt to reanimate the planets increasingly dormant ecosphere. The second concerns the building of a literal bridge between worlds that will connect Tvibura to its (hopefully) habitable sibling. "--Publisher's description.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Egan's gripping and surprisingly accessible short novel centers on the weird but consistent and intriguing science that has become his hallmark. The planet Tvíbura is locked in an orbit with its uninhabited sister planet, Tvíburi. Tvíbura relies on gravity-driven geysers to help yggdrasils, plants that provide fertile soil and vital chemicals for the air, send their roots up through the ice and to the surface, sometimes with the aid of the sentient female inhabitants (who carry their parasitic male siblings around inside them). New geysers and roots are becoming fewer, however, and many of the inhabitants of Tvíbura are concerned that their planet cannot continue to sustain life. Over the course of multiple generations, groups attempt to trigger new geysers and create a bridge that will allow them to visit and colonize Tvíburi. Egan's novel is broken into two smaller works with one even smaller epilogue, exploring the planet's challenges largely through two heroines, Freya and Rosalind, whose willingness to sacrifice and ability to think about their world's future serve them well. Though short, this science-driven tale has an epic feel; it's a perfect starting point for readers who have found Egan's other work impenetrable. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Dazzling new novella from an author (Dichronauts, 2017, etc.) who specializes in inventing seriously weird worlds and making them real. Or sometimes not quite.Last time out, Egan offered us a mathematically plausible, inhabitedplace?whose hyperbolic geometry was, regrettably, difficult verging on impossible to visualize. Here, he summons up a pair of planetoids that orbit each other in a single day. One, Tvbura, is inhabited but slowly dying; Tvburi may be habitable. Deep beneath Tvbura's shroud of ice, gigantic treelike Yggdrasils grow from the planetary ocean below to their roots near the surface, bringing geysers that gush life-giving nutrients, but as time goes on, fewer and fewer roots penetrate to the surface. To ensure their long-term survival, the inhabitantsall are female and carry three sentient but nonintelligent brothers in their wombsled by the indomitable Freya, come up with ambitious plans that will occupy the efforts of many people over many generations but do not guarantee success. This, readers will be unsurprised to discover, is one peculiar environment, where a year lasts only 15 days, the sun is more of a hindrance than a help, and people drink ethanewhich, on Earth, boils at minus 128 degrees Fahrenheit, so think Saturn's moon Titan (without the orange smog) rather than Mars. The story unfolds in three sections and spans many generations, so the characters disappear just as we begin to get to know them, and the background details puzzle as often as they illuminate. Still, it's a stunning concept wrapped in a short yet powerful narrative.Intriguing and absorbing and all too brief: a tale that demands a more expansive treatment. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Tvíbura and Tvíburi: twin planets locked in close orbit. Tvíbura is inhabited, Tvíburi isn't. When an environmental crisis threatens to render life unsustainable on Tvíbura, the people there undertake a generations-long project to build a bridge to reach their twin planet and save themselves. Phoresis is an elegant, spare, evocative jewel of a novella told in three parts. We see the genesis of the project, its fruition, and the eventual outcome. The title (which means transmission) is both a literal description of the main action of the story and almost poetic in its sound. It's an appropriate encapsulation of this book. Egan (Incandescence, 2008) offers a master class in world building he starts with a strong, science-based idea and envisions a unique people with a vibrant culture that inhabit a complex world. It all works together to create an immensely satisfying experience. He recognizes this is a story worth telling but doesn't try to force it to be a full novel. He tells us everything necessary with nothing extraneous; there's tremendous depth in his brevity. In a genre dominated by series and lengthy tomes, Phoresis is a refreshing reminder that compelling stories come in all lengths.--Keogh, John Copyright 2018 Booklist