Lovelock (novel)
A sentient monkey rebels against his role as a Witness.
Lovelock is a 1994 science fiction novel by American writers Orson Scott Card and Kathryn H. Kidd. Its narrator is a sentient monkey named after James Lovelock, the scientist who formulated the Gaia hypothesis. The novel explores themes of servitude and rebellion through the eyes of a genetically enhanced Witness.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Orson Scott Card & Kathryn H. Kidd
- Cover artist
- Donato Giancola
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Series
- The Mayflower Trilogy
- Genre
- Science fiction
- Publisher
- Tor Books
- Released
- 1994
Facts from the source article.
Plot introduction
Set in a near-future where humanity prepares its first interstellar colonization ship, the Ark, the novel introduces Gaiaology, a field based on the Gaia Hypothesis. The narrator, Lovelock, is a genetically and cybernetically enhanced capuchin monkey who serves as a Witness for Carol Jeanne Cocciolone, the Ark's chief Gaiaologist. His role is to record her every waking moment, and he has been indoctrinated to love and obey her unconditionally.
Plot summary
The Cocciolone family, including Carol Jeanne, her husband Red, their daughters Lydia and Emmy, and Red's parents Mamie and Stef, pack for life aboard the Mayflower. During the shuttle ride, Lovelock feels shame at his terrified response to free-fall. Aboard the Ark, a scientist attempts to communicate with Lovelock via sign language, but Carol Jeanne admits she never taught him, sparking his first feelings of rebellion. Longing for a mate, Lovelock steals a cryogenically frozen female monkey and hides her in the Ark's low-gravity poles, but she grows up stunted and sickly. Fearing execution if discovered, he begins writing his story in a hidden computer file.
Reception
Publishers Weekly called the novel a moral fable, praising the passionate depiction of Lovelock's plight and the insightful portrayal of human characters, but noted that aside from Lovelock's enhanced intelligence, the science fictional elements are drowned out. Kirkus Reviews described it as so-so at best, bloated and flabby, and lacking even a token ending. Other reviews appeared in Locus, Yarf!, and a Polish magazine.
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