Santiago (novel)

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Santiago (1993, Orig .: Santiago: a Myth of the Far Future , 1986) is a science fiction - novel of US writer Mike Resnick . The book is structured in the style of a Wild West novel , with lonely heroes, shootings and faithless comrades.

action

The location is the so-called Inner Frontier, a region near the core of the galaxy , which was formed by the interstellar democracy of mankind. The main character, Santiago, is arguably the most wanted man in the human universe . The protagonist is the bounty hunter Sebastian Nightingale Cain, who has received some credible clues about possible whereabouts of Santiago.

Throughout the story, Cain encounters a host of other bounty hunters who are also hunting Santiago, as well as journalist Virtue Mackenzie, who wants to interview Santiago. Your reasons for this are the growing reputation as a reporter and ultimately the option to earn a lot of money. Another pursuer is master thief Jolly Swagman, who is after some of the relics of extraterrestrial races that are in Santiago's possession.

The novel is divided into six parts, each named after one of the larger than life characters who inhabit the Inner Frontier. The sections are each introduced by a quatrain written by the also fictional wandering bard Black Orpheus.

In 2003 the sequel The Return of Santiago was released , which has not yet appeared in German. The structure of this book is based on the structure of the first novel.

reception

Orson Scott Card rated Santiago very positively and wrote: “Resnick was gutsy enough to set out to create myth, and as far as I'm concerned, he succeeds on a grand scale.” (Roughly: “Resnick was courageous enough to create one To create myth, and in my eyes he does it in a big way. ”) Card later described the book as one of the best science fiction books in 1986 and praised the“ exact description of the areas of tension between individuality and responsibility, as well as legend and reality ".

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "The Light Fantastic", If , September 1986, pp. 20-21
  2. ↑ "Books to Look For" , The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction , May 1987

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