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Beyond the Burn Line (SF) - Paul McAuley ****

I have only previously read two of Paul McAuley's science fiction novels, Fairyland and Austral, both impressive, interesting and different. The same is also true of Beyond the Burn Line, making me realise I need to dig into his back catalogue for the future.

Beyond the Burn Line is a book of two halves. The first takes us into a far future Earth, where the dominant species, simply referred to as 'people' but clearly not human, live a relatively low tech, but rich life. We discover that they used to be slaves of intelligent bears, who were the main intelligent species on Earth for thousands of years before their relatively recent demise. Humans (referred to as ogres) have been extinct far longer, which, until things are explained further, made the tag line of the book 'What will become of us?' confusing.

This first half of the book is a distinctly slow-paced adventure, involving the troubles of the secretary of a notable scholar who has just died: as a result of his punishment, the former secretary discovers a fascinating relic that sends him on a quest, trying to prove the existence of visitors from the skies. Whether or not intentionally, what McAuley has produced here is the SF equivalent of the hobbits in Tolkien's fantasies - McAuley's 'people' are small, hairy, a touch pompous, with a tendency to teeter on the borderline between being loveable and being twee. Their not-quite-human nature makes it a little harder to truly sympathise with the main character, but the reader is kept onside by the storyline.

The second half is an abrupt transition from the first. The 'people' still feature, but we now find out exactly what they are and how they came to exist. This section is not told from their viewpoint, but it would give away too much to say why and how this is the case. Most of this half worked significantly better for me in terms of characterisation, while the pace picks up significantly. Much of the mystery of the earlier part of the book is now explained.

So far, so good, but there remain some problems. Practically every character in the second half seems to have an ulterior motive, and the main character's actions are repeatedly derailed to an extent that becomes a touch tedious. It is also confusing in places as many characters are introduced briefly, and it becomes difficult to remember who is who amongst the various adversaries and apparent helpers in the repeatedly shifting perspective of the apparent truth. Add in a distinctly frustrating ending, and the reader can emerge a little unsettled.

Despite this, though, the ideas are original and far-thinking. There are (slightly heavy-handed) messages about colonisation and the treatment of indigenous people - though perhaps there is not enough exploration of what being indigenous really means under the circumstances of the novel's storyline. I'm very glad I read this book - and, as mentioned, I will search out more McAuley - but I still wish the second half wasn't both confusing and endowed with a rushed feeling as it reaches the ending.

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Review by Brian Clegg - See all of Brian's online articles or subscribe to a weekly digest for free here
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