The Broken Land

3.5 I admired this more than I liked it.

Ian McDonald???s The Broken Land (Hearts, Hands and Voices in the UK) is a book I admired more than I loved. It???s an allegorical look at the horrors of civil war caused by religious zeal and division. The story is set in a fictional country that feels like it could be in a future Africa where biotechnology has led to the development of mechanical infrastructure that is part organic and part artificial intelligence. The citizens are divided by their religious affiliation ??? some are Proclaimers and some are Confessors. All are subject to the Emperor who lives across the river.

Our protagonist is a young woman named Mathembe who, because of her particular convictions, decides not to speak. Mathembe is a confessor, so she is skilled in the manipulation of genetic material to create new life. When members of her family die, their heads are attached to a huge tree where they are event... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/the-broken-land/