Golden Anvil

Silverhair by Stephen Baxter

I'm a big fan of Stephen Baxter. I've got a lot of his books. He does however tend to have a couple very common themes in his books, and if you aren't fond of that general theme, then he could put you off. That theme usually involves the destruction of the human race (except for one member), and/or the evolution of the human species. He usually tells a pretty interesting story, but it's frequently very centered around the concept of evolution.

This particular book is told entirely from the perspective of a mammoth, apparently one of the last few remaining alive. Mammoths are intelligent and have a rich history stretching back millions of years. The story is about one mammoth who is forced to interact with humans, that dreaded species which has taken over all of the world.

It's a book with a very different perspective, and that alone makes it an interesting read. Baxter specializes in presenting cultures which are very alien (as in foreign to the human species as we know it), and this book is no exception. If you can accept the fact that mammoths might be sentient, then their culture is one that seems very plausible. Baxter usually writes semi-hard, but fantastic (in the sense of being very out there) sci-fi, but this book definitely stretches the boundaries of his usual setting. Still, his topics and presentation are very familiar, which is good if you generally like his books, or bad if you don't.

This is not my favorite of his books, but also not my least favorite. Others of his books can ramble at times, but this book is very tight and keeps a good pace throughout. I'm definitely interested to see where the other two books in the series go, and the next book, Longtusk is the next book on my list.

4 / 5 stars