BiblioBlog

March 20, 2003
Galveston by Sean Stewart

Galveston by Sean Stewart: this was simply one of the most magical, most amazing books that I have read in years.

It’s the story of Galveston, Texas, set after an event that the locals call The Flood. In Mardis Gras of 2004, magic flooded the world, plunging part of Galveston into a never-ending party where things like cars, cigarettes, medicine, and air conditioning still exist. The “real” Galveston, however, becomes one where technology and modern products become rare and won’t work well.

The book centers around Sloane Gardner, the daughter of Jane Gardner, the “mayor” of Galveston who has banished all with magical talent to the everlasting Mardi Gras. Jane has struggled for years to keep Gavleston afloat and wants Sloane to continue in her footsteps. The other main figure is that of Josh Cane, an apothecary who grew up with Sloane. I hate to give any more than this away since I found the book so wildly different from almost anything I had read and never knew where Stewart was going to take his characters next.

This book won the World Fantasy Award with good reason and I would strongly recommend this book to anyone, especially the lovers of sci-fi and fantasy. I felt that the ending was a bit weak - it felt like the story just kind of petered out. However, that alone could not subtract from the wonder that is Galveston.

On a personal aside, few of the books that I ever read are set in Texas, much less Houston or Galveston, a city that I am familiar with. I loved the fact that when the went to a building or walked down a street, I knew just where they were.



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Comments

The comments about the book are correct to a point. What is missing in most descriptions of the book is the fact that it is also a social commentary that underlies the entire story.

Stewart describes Galveston as it is today: the BOIs, born on the island, controlling government and trying to controll commerce. The never ending fight against any intrusion of outside ideas.

Posted by: Oktavia on October 31, 2003 09:29 PM




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