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The King's Last Song | 
 enlarge | Author: Geoff Ryman
Publisher: Small Beer Press
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy New: $8.23
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Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 492825
Media: Paperback
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 1931520569
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9781931520560
ASIN: 1931520569
Publication Date: September 1, 2008
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Product Description
"[Ryman] has not so much created as revealed a world in which the promise of redemption takes seed even in horror."?The Boston Globe “Sweeping and beautiful. . . . The complex story tears the veil from a hidden world.”?The Sunday Times “Inordinately readable . . . extraordinary in its detail, color and brutality.”?The Independent “Another masterpiece by one of the greatest fiction writers of our time.”?Kim Stanley Robinson "Ryman's knack for depicting characters; his ability to tell multiple, interrelated stories; and his knowledge of Cambodian history create a rich narrative that looks at Cambodia's "killing fields" both recent and ancient and Buddhist belief with its desire for transcendence. Recommended for all literary fiction collections."
?Library Journal Archeologist Luc Andrade discovers an ancient Cambodian manuscript inscribed on gold leaves but is kidnapped?and the manuscript stolen?by a faction still loyal to the ideals of the brutal Pol Pot regime. Andrade’s friends, an ex-Khmer Rouge agent and a young motoboy, embark on a trek across Cambodia to rescue him. Meanwhile, Andrade, bargaining for his life, translates the lost manuscript for his captors. The result is a glimpse into the tremendous and heart-wrenching story of King Jayavarman VII: his childhood, rise to power, marriage, interest in Buddhism, and the initiation of Cambodia’s golden age. As Andrade and Jayavarman’s stories interweave, the question becomes whether the tale of ancient wisdom can bring hope to a nation still suffering from the violent legacy of the last century. Geoff Ryman is the author of the novels Air (winner of Arthur C Clarke and James Tiptree awards) and The Unconquered Country (a World Fantasy Award winner). Canadian by birth, he has lived in Cambodia and Brazil and now teaches creative writing at the University of Manchester in England.
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| Customer Reviews:
`I know who I am' September 7, 2008
J. Cameron-Smith (ACT, Australia)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
In this novel, Geoff Ryman moves between the 12th century life and times of Cambodia's King Jayavarman VII (c 1120 - c1215) and the 20th/21st century lives of Luc, Map and William. When archaeologists discover an ancient book written on gold leaves at Angkor Wat, everyone wants to be involved.
`The gold leaves have slept for a thousand years.'
The precious artefact is stolen and its guardian, Professor Luc Andrade is kidnapped with it. The search for Luc and the precious book brings together a number of people, including the young motoboy William, and the ex-Khmer Rouge cadre Map both of whom are also victims of Cambodia's recent history. The book itself contains the wisdom of King Jayavarman VII, the Buddhist ruler who, through uniting a war-torn Cambodia in the 12th century, was able to create a kingdom that was a relative haven of prosperity and learning.
This is one of the best novels I have read this year. The mystery surrounding the book, the contrasts and similarities of Cambodia across the centuries and the urgency of the mission to find Luc are brought together very well. The sense of history, the desolation of war and the dislocation of lives is also handled well, and many of the characters are finely drawn.
For me, the love and respect of Professor Luc Andrade and King Jayavarman VII for Cambodia is the central theme that unites the two major threads of the novel. Each of them, by looking to a brighter future, can see a hope for Cambodia that cannot have been apparent to most living through the turmoil in either century. This novel will stay with me a long time, and has awakened a desire to learn more about Cambodia both past and present.
'They walked into night and a different history.'
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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