You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Pures Worldbuilding in 17 Geschichten. Schritt für Schritt zeigen die Einblicke in verschiedene Leben die Kultur der Haarteppichknüpfer und so vieles mehr. In jeder Geschichte folgen wir einer Person oder einem Ereignis, von dem wir schon in einer vorherigen gehört haben und so bildet sich dann eine ganze Welt und ein großes Ganzes. Dieses Buch ist wirklich etwas ganz besonderes, das sich höchstens noch mit Dan Simmons' Hyperion vergleichen lässt, aber selbst das trifft es nicht ganz.
Obwohl die Geschichten teilweise sehr kurz sind hat mich jede wieder für ihre handelnden Figuren und deren Teil der Welt begeistern können und Eschbach schafft es unglaublich gut, dass sich jeder Handlungsstrang und jedes Problem wichtig anfühlt und auch etwas zum Plot beiträgt, auch wenn man lange nicht weiß, was dieser ist. Faszinierende Ideen - großartig umgesetzt.
Obwohl die Geschichten teilweise sehr kurz sind hat mich jede wieder für ihre handelnden Figuren und deren Teil der Welt begeistern können und Eschbach schafft es unglaublich gut, dass sich jeder Handlungsstrang und jedes Problem wichtig anfühlt und auch etwas zum Plot beiträgt, auch wenn man lange nicht weiß, was dieser ist. Faszinierende Ideen - großartig umgesetzt.
Pyörryttävän mielikuvituksellista scifiä Le Guinin hengessä.
Pitkin matkaa ja erityisesti lopussa häiritsi se, että vaikka keksisi minkälaisia maailmoja ja yhteiskuntarakenteita niin liian usein ja liian helposti scifi/fantasiakirjailijat jämähtävät oman aikansa sukupuolirakenteisiin. Tämä vähän latisti tämänkin tarinan tunnelmaa ja toimivuutta.
Pitkin matkaa ja erityisesti lopussa häiritsi se, että vaikka keksisi minkälaisia maailmoja ja yhteiskuntarakenteita niin liian usein ja liian helposti scifi/fantasiakirjailijat jämähtävät oman aikansa sukupuolirakenteisiin. Tämä vähän latisti tämänkin tarinan tunnelmaa ja toimivuutta.
A desiccated and dusty planet where carpet weavers spend their entire lives hunched over a loom, weaving a carpet made of hair drawn from their wives. It takes a lifetime to produce a single carpet which is sold to line the Emperor’s palace. The proceeds are passed to the son who will spend his life weaving his own carpet and so on through the generations.
In a single first chapter this entire system is outlined and explained with a beautifully strict economy of words. It’s tightly woven (sorry) and was originally conceived as a standalone short story.
From here Eschbach pulls back the lens and each chapter introduces another character and furthers our understanding of this galaxy spanning system of fealty to the godlike Emperor.
I don’t want to say much more. Each narrator is introduced and discarded and it’s a credit to Eschbach that he is able to keep introducing new, fleshed out and realized characters without getting bogged down. The book is like a series of grim but wonderfully rendered and interconnected short stories.
I’m still not sure how I feel about the conclusion but getting there was so enjoyably readable.
In a single first chapter this entire system is outlined and explained with a beautifully strict economy of words. It’s tightly woven (sorry) and was originally conceived as a standalone short story.
From here Eschbach pulls back the lens and each chapter introduces another character and furthers our understanding of this galaxy spanning system of fealty to the godlike Emperor.
I don’t want to say much more. Each narrator is introduced and discarded and it’s a credit to Eschbach that he is able to keep introducing new, fleshed out and realized characters without getting bogged down. The book is like a series of grim but wonderfully rendered and interconnected short stories.
I’m still not sure how I feel about the conclusion but getting there was so enjoyably readable.
I gave this 4 stars because even though the writing itself is deserving of only 2 or 3, the plot, the WHY, I did not see it coming. So imaginative.
The whole book is a series of short stories who have as a central subject the art of making carpets. On 10 000 plants men make carpets out of the hair of their wives and daughters. It is such a difficult, elaborate work that it takes their whole life to complete.
They think they make them for the Emperor's palace (The God-Emperor, a bit like in the 40k universe) but after the rebellion succeeds and the Emperor is killed the rebel forces figure out that there are no carpets in the palace. So where do they go? Who buys them? What happens to them?
As they investigate they discover that the carpets go to a heavily militarized space station sitting right next to a black whole...
The whole book is a series of short stories who have as a central subject the art of making carpets. On 10 000 plants men make carpets out of the hair of their wives and daughters. It is such a difficult, elaborate work that it takes their whole life to complete.
They think they make them for the Emperor's palace (The God-Emperor, a bit like in the 40k universe) but after the rebellion succeeds and the Emperor is killed the rebel forces figure out that there are no carpets in the palace. So where do they go? Who buys them? What happens to them?
As they investigate they discover that the carpets go to a heavily militarized space station sitting right next to a black whole...
One of the most creative, horrifying, and devastating books I have ever read. It deserves more readers.
It is not very often the case that I read SF novels in German. I've read Eschbach's [b:Das Jesus Video|982960|Das Jesus Video|Andreas Eschbach|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1179990439s/982960.jpg|1584715] before, which is a kind of time-travel story, and very well-known here - even adapted as a movie.
Last year, I've read lots of short stories. That might be the reason why I was hooked from the the start by this novel:
Carpet Makers is structured as connected short stories. It might even be called an anthology of stories in a common setting building up a plot. The plot is centered around the eponymous carpets. Material for the carpets is human hair - the hair of the weaver's daughters and wifes. They need a whole life to weave one single carpet as an act of devotion to a God-Emperor who ruled his galaxy-wide empire for some 80,000 years.
The stories plant spotlights with different point of views around that business: The weavers, the merchants, the space transporters etc.
The stories are connected not only concerning their common setting but also by sharing characters - some characters show up in two or three stories.
This might be a problem for many who are more used to one single protagonist driving a linear story.
In summary, I loved the short-story form, the involved characters, the topics and the ending.
There is an interesting background anecdote concerning the novel's history.
Last year, I've read lots of short stories. That might be the reason why I was hooked from the the start by this novel:
Carpet Makers is structured as connected short stories. It might even be called an anthology of stories in a common setting building up a plot. The plot is centered around the eponymous carpets. Material for the carpets is human hair - the hair of the weaver's daughters and wifes. They need a whole life to weave one single carpet as an act of devotion to a God-Emperor who ruled his galaxy-wide empire for some 80,000 years.
The stories plant spotlights with different point of views around that business: The weavers, the merchants, the space transporters etc.
The stories are connected not only concerning their common setting but also by sharing characters - some characters show up in two or three stories.
This might be a problem for many who are more used to one single protagonist driving a linear story.
In summary, I loved the short-story form, the involved characters, the topics and the ending.
There is an interesting background anecdote concerning the novel's history.
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The interlinked short stories from different people’s perspectives (including the carpet maker, the tax collector and the hair carpet trader) gives you a really immersive experience of the world. Each of these stories portrays a human experience in a unique and captivating way, which makes the novel super engaging.
Written in literary language, yet concise and empathetic, this was a book I couldn’t put down. It’s the rare case where a novel has both strong prose and a gripping plot.
5 stars: A sci-fi storytelling accomplishment ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Carpet Makers (TCM) has both good quality: a good concept and a very good execution. The concept is epic and deep, the writing execution is resembling the carpet weaving in the story itself.
This book reminded me of [b:Foundation|29579|Foundation (Foundation, #1)|Isaac Asimov|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417900846s/29579.jpg|1783981], with different POV of each chapter and simple dialogues (no techies jargons).
Spoiler
What I see, the concept is the great conflict between the very very long-held idea in people's mind and way of life infused by the empire versus the new freedom idea. In real-life maybe we already familiar with the concept, reminds us of how new ideas struggle with older customs in many parts of human histories. TCM gives us a glimpse how much a multi-galaxy human empire could manipulate the way of life for 80 thousands years.This book reminded me of [b:Foundation|29579|Foundation (Foundation, #1)|Isaac Asimov|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417900846s/29579.jpg|1783981], with different POV of each chapter and simple dialogues (no techies jargons).