Celestial Matters by Richard Garfinkle

Celestial Matters Reviews

• 
  Dan Schwent

  Commander Aias of the Celestial Ship Chandra's Tear is charged with heading up operation Sunthief, using a ship to steal a piece of the sun and drop it on the capital city of the Middle Kingdom, the enemy of the Delian League.
  
  This is one of those books that's hard to classify. Can something be classified as hard sf if the science in question is that of the ancient Greeks and equally ancient Chinese? That's right. Celestial matters is part hard sf, part alternate history. The Delia League is a Greek Empire founded on the spurious science of the ancient Greeks, which works in this universe. Spontaneous Generation farms are used to create animals. Space is full of air. The humors govern the health of the body. The Delian League is at war with the Middle Kingdom, which is an equally large empire built upon Taoist science.
  
  As you can tell, the world behind Celestial Matters is a very interesting one once you wrap your head around the science. That being said, while the story is good, the writing drags. It took me about seventy pages to be fully invested in the book. It's not a light read and the science takes a bit of getting used to.
  
  Still, I recommend this to alternate history fans who are into the ridiculous and magical science of 2000 years ago.
  
  I'm floating this because it reminds me of the book I'm currently reading,
  Quintessence
• 
  Alessandra

  I can't review this objectively, because my husband wrote it. I think it's brilliant, naturally, but better check some other people's reviews.
• 
  Laura L. Van Dam

  Atrapante y original, me gustó mucho.
  Como ucronía, es una de las más ingeniosas que haya leído. No sólo el Imperio Griego ha sobrevivido a la muerte de Alexandros, que sucede mucho después de sus 33 años, sino que se ha extendido por casi todo el mundo, incluyendo Asia y las Américas ("Atlantea") y su único enemigo es el Imperio Medio de los chinos. Y tiene una cierta cuota de steampunk ya que hay numerosos adelantos tecnológicos basados en la física aristotélica y platónica (las esferas celestes, cuerpos pesados y sutiles, los objetos están formados por combinaciones de los 4 elementos, etc) mientras que los chinos son maestros en manipular energías Xi y vuelan en cometas de guerra gigantes.
  Igual un par de cositas me hicieron ruido: el uso de medidas métricas como los kilómetros (¿por qué no usar medidas consistentes, por ejemplo estadios?), la mención del vacío interestelar (Natura abhorret vaccuum! Cualquier aristotélico lo sabe.) y que Ramanojon hable en hindi (idioma de aparición muy posterior, debería hablar algún dialecto sánscrito sin influencias del persa). Sí, ya sé que soy muy rompebolas. Lo tengo asumidísimo.
  De todas formas el libro me pareció entretenido y pasé un buen rato leyéndolo, a pesar de todos estos elementos tan bizarros, así que lo recomiendo.
  
• 
  Olethros

  -Ciencia-Ficción fantástica o Fantasía científica.-
  
  Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
  
  Lo que nos cuenta. Ajax de Tiro es un científico de la Liga Délica graduado en la Academia de Atenas especialista en pirología y uranología que ha llegado a ser el comandante de la Lágrima de Chandra, nave usada para la investigación y concretamente para los desarrollos del importante proyecto Ladrón Solar, que ha pasado de lo teórico a lo realmente posible. Durante unas inesperadas vacaciones, visita Menfis, Jerusalén, Gaza, Roma, Siracusa, Cartago y Tiro. Cuando se dirige por mar hacia Atenas, es atacado por un dragón de seda al servicio del Reino Medio, en guerra con la Liga Délica desde hace mucho tiempo, repleto de armamento taoísta. Los arcontes sospechan que el ataque no tenía como objetivo el barco sino al propio Ayax, por lo que destinan como su guardaespaldas a la capitana Liebre Amarilla, guerrera espartana de origen xeroqui en la costa este de Atlantea.
  
  ¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
  
  
  http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
• 
  Marco

  As every great best science fiction book, "Celestial Matters" is not just science fiction for the sake of itself. Scientific fiction - or, quite literally in this case, fictional science - is a means to point out some otherwise poorly considered themes of our ordinary world, a strategy to devise mental experiments which, thanks to their anomalous appearence, draw the readers' attention on specific topics.
  The main focus of "Celestial Matters", thus, is not "What if Aristotelian Physics was true?" (which is, of course, quite an amazing starting point nonetheless), but "Is it true that there's only one correct viewpoint to explain facts?" or, even more ambitiously: "Can two mutually exclusive worldviews be both valid at the same time?".
  Garfinkle's detailed analysis of (fictional) Aristotelian and Taoist science, technology and cosmology, and concurrently of Athenian, Spartan and Han (aka "Middler") ethos, would spark the shadow of doubt even in the mind of the most inflexible flagbearers of objectivity and pens��e unique. The importance of history is another key theme which Garfinkle hides between the lines: the protagonist lives in a world where the study of history is deeply neglected by hard-science-dominated academia, and it's only by his contrariant interest for the discipline and his personal connection with the muse Kleo that he manages to salvage and otherwise doomed space mission.
  A brilliant and amusing book which would serve perfectly as a light but worthy literary companion for college physics courses.
• 
  Carmelo Medina

  Novela de 3. Ucronía que mantiene el ritmo pero que no es tampoco para volverse loco y eso que a priori pinta bien. Eso sí, la documentación y la manera de crear unas reglas basadas en la mitología clásica para su ciencia y ceñirse a ellas es de 10.
• 
  David Montgomery

  A fascinating, and very well-executed, novel of "alternate science." It's set in a world in which what Aristotle posited about the nature of the world — four elements, rotating geocentric celestial spheres, four humour-based medicine, etc. — are actually true. (Mostly. More on this.) Furthermore it's a novel of alternate history, for which the point of divergence appears to be that the Peloponnesian War never occurred. Rather, Athens and Sparta united in the Delian League and eclipsed Macedonia culturally and militarily. Alexander, as a League general instead of a deified emperor, lived until old age. His tutor Aristotle used his science to create new weapons of war that led to an even larger, and much more durable, Hellenic empire.
  
  In the time of the novel's setting — the world is essentially divided in a
  forever war between the Greek Delian League and the Chinese Middle Kingdom, with the battle lines in Tibet and central North America. (The time period is never quite specified; it's said Alexander's empire has lasted a thousand years, which would put it about 700 AD, but the feel of the setting, with motorized ships and space travel, is more 20th Century.) The needs of the great war have led to accelerated science but atrophied culture, with philosophy and history both low-prestige disciplines.
  
  I've talked mostly about the setting rather than the plot, but honestly, the setting is the reason to read the book. It's a clever conceit that's executed well, with a first-person narration that drops you into the deep end of an unfamiliar world but doles out details on its rules in a steady fashion as the book goes on. This includes not just science but culture, as the characters of the book hold to ancient Greek traditions: the Olympic pantheon, funeral games, inspiration from the muses, a Spartan sense of honor, and a huge classical influence on the ideals of heroism.
  
  My biggest qualm with the book is the way its final act developed, which stepped into the realm of world-saving, world-shaking heroism. The too-neat conclusion was justified by a little divine intervention, though I suppose one could argue that is itself authentic to the material's inspiration. Regardless, it felt a little narratively implausible; I'd have felt it to be more earned if the novel's conclusion had been the end of a trilogy that started on a very grounded level and only gradually raised the stakes.
  
  I was also left with questions about the world. Though by the end I understood the Aristotelian physics undergirding the universe rather well, in a confusing twist the Taoist model of the universe ALSO turns out to be true. The novel never really explains how two contradictory models of reality can be true at the same time — the narrator and protagonist figures it out but doesn't actually tell us what he's figured out. Given that the author thought out the implications of both physics models with great care that suggests he didn't quite square that circle either.
  
  But altogether it was an enjoyable read, at least for someone like me who is vaguely familiar with Aristotle. (A lover of speculative fiction with no background might still enjoy the story; I can't say how that experience would be different — or the experience of someone who's actually an expert in Aristotelian or Taoist physics.) The writing style seemed accessible, though I'm not particularly picky on that matter; particularly well done seemed to be the narrator's habit of periodically expressing regret for not noticing something important, foreshadowing future developments without giving it away.
• 
  Andrés Zelada

  En un mundo donde la física aristotélica funciona de verdad (las cosas están compuestas de cuatro elementos, en el cuerpo hay distintos humores cuyo desequilibrio causa enfermedades, la Tierra es el centro del universo, hay un Primer Motor inmóvil...) y donde una poderosísima Liga de Delos lucha por todo el mundo contra un no menos poderoso Reino Medio, el comandante Ayax de Atenas tiene la misión que acabará con la guerra. Debe capitanear una nave hecha con un fragmento de la Luna y llevarla hasta el Sol, de donde arrancará un pedazo de fuego eterno que lanzará sobre la capital china. Por supuesto, los chinos no están dispuestos a permitírselo tan fácilmente...
  
  Una obra con semejante premisa no tiene derecho a ser aburrida, y Materia celeste no es aburrida. Espías, batallas en el cielo, intentos de asesinato, mezcla de distintas filosofías y un mundo complejo y completo, que se presenta sin sobreexplicaciones. Los personajes no son demasiado memorables, por desgracia, y es cierto que a veces flaquea un poco en el ritmo, pero sus virtudes lo compensan de sobra. Es un derroche de imaginación muy bien ejecutado.
• 
  Guilherme Solari

  Uma ficção científica que segue astronomia de Ptolomeu, física e biologia de Aristóteles e também o taoísmo
  
  Celestial Matters é um caso interessante de ficção científica, pois mostra que não apenas os preceitos da ciência moderna podem ser utilizados para se enquadrar no gênero. A história se passa em um mundo no qual o império de Alexandre o Grande jamais caiu e muito em breve se viu numa guerra constante com a China que durou milhares de anos.
  
  A narrativa seque um capitão helênico chamado Aias que é incumbido de viajar até o Sol e roubar um pedaço da chama divina para destruir a capital dos seus adversários, o Reino do Meio. O interessante é que o espaço que a nave Chandra’s Tear –que foi esculpida de um pedaço da Lua- encontra não é aquele que estamos acostumados, mas regidos pela astronomia de Ptolomeu. Ou seja, nada de vácuo e sim diversas esferas celestes girando em estruturas de cristal indestrutível. As naves são movimentadas por canhões que criam túneis de ar mais rarefeito e a tripulação é alimentada por fazendas de geração espontânea de animais; seguindo as teorias aristotélicas.
  E esse mundo ricamente construído dobra de tamanho quando o leitor descobre que ele também é regido pela ciência e alquimia taoista, com linhas de fluxo de chi, transmutações de materiais e curas pela acupuntura.
  
  Os melhores momentos são justamente quando há um embate entre essas duas formas díspares de ver o mundo. A ciência grega é baseada em formas e estruturas, enquanto a chinesa pensa em interações e transformações e a única forma de um lado compreender o outro é esquecer todos os seus preceitos e tentar aprender com a ingenuidade e abertura de uma criança.
  
  Dessa forma, Richard Garfinkle cria uma bela alegoria sobre as dificuldades de se compreender outras culturas e é refrescante ler um romance de ficção científica que trate não de conquista ou de apenas um indivíduo conhecendo novas formas de pensar, mas da interação de duas visões de mundo na qual a outra não faz nenhum sentido. Celestial Matters metaforiza bastante a Guerra Fria devido à semelhança entre o fogo solar e a bomba atômica.
  
  Os personagens são intrigantes, como a guarda-costa espartana, o navegador indiano budista, o pirocientista persa que desenvolveu o método de capturar um pedaço do Sol e o próprio capitão Aias, que narra a história. Só achei o final um pouco fraco e certinho demais para uma história que lida com tantos pontos de vista ambíguos.
  
  Este livro é um pouco raro e tive que comprar usado depois de atazanar parentes e amigos no exterior para vasculhar livrarias em busca de um exemplar. Celestial Matters é um belo exemplo de algo que eu acho que a ficção científica faz de melhor: criar um universo único e diferente para no final poder falar sobre o nosso.
  
• 
  manuti

  Si
  el libro del mes anterior que comenté ya hace mucho tiempo, dije que me había salvado el verano, este fue el que estuvo a punto de arruinarlo.
  
  Un libro muy malo y aburrido, con una trama simplona. Tiene como idea de partida una distopía en la que la ciencia griega es totalmente acertada (esferas celestes, movimiento uniforme, los principios tipo arjé o arké). Vamos un desastre que compré de saldo y que más me valdría no haber visto en la estantería de la librería. Le doy una puntuación de cero estrellas porque no puedo ponérsela negativa o algo peor.

  
  

  Sin embargo, voy a añadir un enlace a
  una reseña más entusiasmada.

  
  
  
  ver reseña en mi blog
  
• 
  Gloin

  Confieso que lo he terminado por saber si se cerraba la historia de alguna forma y, sobre todo, por orgullo torero. La sinopsis me había hecho recordar el primer cuento de La historia de tu vida, de Ted Chiang, por lo que me las prometía felices. Y algo de ello se encuentra... entre centenares de epifanías de dioses varios (me han recordado algunos comentarios exasperados sobre la "diosa" de las 50 sombras de Grey) y decenas libaciones y ceremoniales, por no hablar de las divagaciones y los infodumps. Mención aparte merecen algunas incoherencias en la historia que omito por no poder utilizar spoilers. Todo para llegar a un final que peca de optimista hasta parecer infantil.
• 
  Cate

  Describes a world in which Aristotelian Physics are real, the Delian League of Alexander the Great never collapsed, and they now do battle against the Middle Kingdom (China) by attempting to steal a piece of the sun.
• 
  David Pappas

  Give the author a marginal amount of credit for attempting to be creative. That one positive said, all else is bad about this book. I presume the author must have believed his audience would have zero familiarity with ancient Greece and zero knowledge of logic as it pertains to science. Early on at that point where the author ascribes modern American weights and measures to the Greek empire dependent on ancient beliefs, it was more a matter of attempting to reign in the gag reflex rather than trying to fathom any pleasure from this horrible tome. Probably skipped about 100 pages in total and without ever reading the ending, I really don't feel like I missed anything. The juvenile writing style was a major detraction along with the thorough inanity of the story line itself. A simplistic writing style poorly suited to obtuse content. For example, in describing the no longer operational guns of the ship they "jutted defiantly upward" what kind of phrasing is that? Gag...! When naming the heroes of Greece why are they all from a period over a thousand years ago? Hmmm... what does that tell us about the story? And the chief protagonist, the captain? One would naturally think that one of the two most powerful nations on earth would make some attempt at selecting a person in such an important position who actually had some knowledge of what they were about and someone who would exhibit some sort of emotional balance? However the summary phrase that leapt to my mind was -- a solid portrayal of a blind one legged strutting peacock arbitrarily driven by the whim of nonexistent gods. Gag again. Not sure it can get much worse than this. True rating: 0.
• 
  David

  2.5
  I enjoyed reading this book, and I'd recommend it, despite my low rating.
  My first issue: it needed another proofing pass. I've seen much worse, but still, too many typos for me to ignore.
  Second: I think I would have appreciated it more if I had a better understanding of Aristotelian physics, but it's been at least 15 years since I read Aristotle, so I'm more than a little rusty.
  Third:
  
  **SPOILER ALERT**
  
  The explanation of Taoist physics is pretty thin to begin with, which would be fine, since the protagonist is Greek. But the conclusion of the story involves a reconciliation of Aristotelian and Taoist sciences. And for all the evident thought the author has given to illustrating a world governed by Aristotelian physics, he makes virtually no effort to explain how these schools of thought are brought together. Felt like a lot of hand waving at the end, leaving the ending feeling rather thin for me. The Promethean analogue seemed fitting, but I would have liked to actually know how things worked.
  
  **END SPOILER ALERT**
  
  
• 
  A

  It is a shame I couldn't finish this book, because the premise was brilliant: Imagine Alexander the Great didn't die young and his empire lasted for centuries. More importantly, all the ptolemaic physics are true! (earth IS the center of the universe, there are 4 humours in the body, etc). This would be great, except that the story is super sluggish and hard to read. I reached page 100 and then I simply couldn't go on.
  
  
• 
  Xabi1990

  Me lo pasé como un enano leyendo esta ucronia donde el imperio griego sobrevive a Alejandro (que vive hasta los 70) y se enfrenta en un futuro con el imperio (Medio) Chino.
  
  La ciencia griega se basa en eso 4 elementos que estudiábamos en el instituto. La china en energías, taoísmo y demás.
  
  Dioses, naves interplanetarias, los 4 elementos, pajas mentales del autor y acción e intrigas. Una gozada.
• 
  José Alejandro Cantallops Vázquez

  Un libro muy bueno, especialmente su worldbuilding, que es increíblemente complejo y desarrollado, mostrándonos un posible mundo en el que Alejandro hubiera conquistado el mundo. Como único defectos está que su trama no resalta demasiado y sus personajes pueden resultarnos demasiado alienígenas, pero son el resultado del mundo en que viven.
• 
  Jukaschar

  For a debut novel Celestial Matters is quite good. I would even go so far as to say that the general idea behind the book is brilliant.
  Sadly, the literary style and the research that was done are lacking. Very unfortunate indeed.
• 
  Fabián Miranda

  En lo positivo: la ambientación está muy bien trabajada y es de lo más original.
  
  En lo negativo: el ritmo a veces va a trompicones, cosa que hace que a veces te desenganches de la historia.
• 
  JT Neville

  Not as intriguing as the preface indicated, never really caught fire though it had a lot of interesting ideas.
• 
  A. A. Breitling

  An interesting read concerning an unusual Earth whose people serve the gods of old.
• 
  Jack

  Fantastic book which invents an entire new genre
• 
  Sara

  So. Freaking. Cool.
  
  What if Ptolmaic astronomy and Aristotlian physics were real? What if Aristotle practiced applied science, rather than philosophy? WHAT IF HE JOINED UP WITH ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND USED THEIR COMBINED SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES AND MILITARY STRATEGY TO CONQUER THE WORLD?
  
  Nine hundred years later, the Delian League is still going strong. It is at constant war with the Middle Kingdom. Aias, an Athenian scholar, devises a scheme to steal matter from the sun and create a weapon to end the war once and for all. This does not go as planned.
  
  I loved all of it. The Buddhists, who are persecuted by everyone because they are pacifists and therefore make terrible soldiers (and you need as many soldiers as possible for this never-ending war). The advanced technology, based on the four elements. The medicine, based on the four humors. Aias' somewhat flowery, academic personality. The mind-bending mechanics of a geocentric solar system. The constant inspirations and contributions from the gods. The diversity of the people within the Delian league. Aias' awesome bodyguard, who is a female Spartan warrior of Cherokee descent. All anyone sees when they look at her is a rigorously competent Spartan. End of story.
  
  Speaking of! Aias, an Athenian academic, manages to come to a place of mutual understanding and respect with:
  
  A Spartan warrior
  A Middle Kingdom Taoist
  A Buddhist pacifist
  
  He keeps an open mind, and is willing to discuss philosophies and worldviews calmly and thoughtfully. This is objectively awesome.
  
  Also, I found that my knowledge of how the world works kept getting in the way. Ptolmaic astronomy makes for a truly alien solar system. It drove home how very conservative even the wildest fantasy world is; even the weird ones hew to the natural laws as we know them, plus a little magic on top.
  
  Ahhhhh! I wish there were more books.
• 
  Mary Catelli

  This is an odd one. One could call it hard science fiction and space opera except for the little fact it's another universe. A very different universe. A Ptolemaic solar planetary system. Aristotelian physics.
  
  And Greek history is not quite what you remember from the days of classical Greece onward. Socrates died of honorable old age. Aristotle and Alexander set out to conquer the world with the fruits of Aristotle's discoveries. An attack on the Middle Kingdom led to its uniting under a new Son of Heaven and fighting back. And war has not ceased centuries later.
  
  Meanwhile, they've discovered how to travel to space. The sphere of fire does not exist after all. And our narrator, Aias, is off to lead a mission that will go and steal some of the sun's fire for their war. Finding a lull of thirty days, he heads to Gaia to relax.
  
  A Middle Kingdom war kite attacks the merchant ship he's on, in the middle of sea. The Navy arrives with a bodyguard specifically assigned to him -- Yellow Hare. She hails from the North Atlantea region. (Greece has conquered a bit more in the centuries.) And she is to never leave him because his project is of the highest importance.
  
  The rest of the tale includes Orphic mysteries, deconsecrating statues of gods before they fall from the ship, the most corrupt slave in all the empire, forcing a Middler doctor to treat Greek patients, Aias knowing a man is innocent of charges but unable to reveal why he knows it, several searches for spies, and much more.