A low-key start to an outstanding career. (Cradle of the Sun - Brian Stableford)

Name: Brett Bligh

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Product:	Cradle of the Sun - Brian Stableford
Date:	27/07/01 (124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting study of the nature of cowardice and the strength it can bring, imaginative and quite original future landscape, short and quickly paced.

Disadvantages: Inclusion of outdated science fiction motifs, villain’s motivations do not seem convincing, optimists may not like the lack of a happy ending which is typical for Stableford.

Brian Stableford is a very prolific writer who has, in his long career, published 75 books (including 50 novels) along with a veritable plethora of short stories and other individual pieces. ‘Cradle of the Sun’ was Stableford’s first published novel, being originally published by Sidgwick and Jackson in 1969; having recently read the author’s epic alternative history ‘The Empire of Fear’ I was so impressed that I decided to start reading those many other novels that the author had written — and what better place to start than at the beginning?

The most obvious thing that one notices upon picking up Cradle of the Sun is its length, which is short by modern standards. Of course, this is not a peculiarity of this book or author in particular, as most books of this time, especially in the science fiction genre, were considerably shorter than the equivalent book written now would be, since publishers wished to save on printing costs and create a uniformity of editions on shelves. It does, however, have a direct bearing on the scope of the novel, which is reduced as a result of the length.

Perhaps the other factor worth noting about this novel at this stage is also related to its context as a product of the 1960s, and specifically as a product of 1960s British science fiction. At this time, in reaction to the very cut-and-dried heroic action/adventure tone of much American sf and led by the British sf magazine ‘New Worlds’, British sf was in the grip of a movement called the New Wave, which sought to foreground experimental sf literature.

I would not go so far as to say that Cradle of the Sun is a major work of the New Wave movement, but the fact remains that the influence is very definitely there. New Wave sf novels often include quite deep character discussion of a type which most other literature (and certainly all other sf) would either imply (in the case of a well-written book) or not in
clude at all (in the case of a poorly written one). In this novel, the fact that Kavan Lochlain, the central character, is a coward and the sheer strength this gives him is discussed explicitly within the text itself, and even within the dialogue; it is perhaps no coincidence that, whilst reading this book, I was reminded of other 1960s British sf novels which ARE New Wave exemplars, such as Michael Moorcock’s ‘Behold the Man’ and J.G. Ballard’s ‘The Drowned World’, not because the plots of any of these novels are similar to each other — which they are not — but because the tone and the style of central characterisation are remarkably similar.

The actual story is set in a far-future Earth in which the planet is inhabited by two sentient groups: mankind, which is now split into several different species which have evolved from the original, and the rats. The two have been traditionally antagonistic towards the other, but it has recently become apparent that the civilisations of both races are gradually dying out for no apparent reason and not only does no-one know why this is happening, precious few individuals even seem to care. Sentient life on the planet Earth seems to have lost all will to live, expand and create great civilisations.

The start of the book sees the Librarian, a man given charge of a huge repository of human knowledge (not just books) visited by a rat who claims, as a representative of his race, that the degeneration of society is due to an external malevolent influence on both sentient groups, and he requests access to the Library to study further. Although the rat’s evidence is somewhat scant, the Librarian grants him his request, and soon a plan is hatched to form a team, comprising three humans and three rats, to travel to the continent of Tierra Diablo and specifically to the crater of the extinct volcano known as the Cradle of the New Sun. The leader of the expedition is
to be Lochlain, perhaps the world’s last existing coward, whilst the other human members are Thor, a tigerman rather more physically aggressive and conventionally heroic than Lochlain, and Angela, an amphibian woman whose main function is to increase the skill-range of the expedition. The three rats are Anselmas, a philosopher who ardently believes in the existence, importance and threat of what they are travelling to face and who is fond of expounding his beliefs on every subject to anyone who will listen, and Ivain and the female Kristen.

The party sets off on the long journey to Tierra Diablo, remaining in contact with the Librarian through a portable communications device. Once on the road, the encounter many obstacles of both a natural and intelligently hostile nature, and their situation becomes worse when they lose contact with the Librarian; he and all the inhabitants of the rats’ Pyramid City have been killed by an army unknown. As the group nears Tierra Diablo, its numbers are severally depleted but the same questions remain: what will Lochlain find in the Cradle of the Sun, and will the ancient bomb he has brought with him be enough to stop it?

Cradle of the Sun may be Stableford’s first novel, but already certain ‘Stablefordian’ traits are well and truly embedded in his work. Firstly, there are the generally un-heroic characters, especially the central character Kavan Lochlain. Stableford’s ‘heroes’ are never heroic, they never ‘get the girl’ even when it is obvious they could probably do so with a little effort, and they are usually distasteful of combat or confrontation. In this case, these characteristics are given overt representation in Lochlain’s form with his central characteristic of cowardice, but here these traits are actually seen as advantageous; as the Librarian explains early on, “Your fear drives you, Kavan. The rest of us lost what drive we had many
years ago. You will undertake this mission BECAUSE it scares you. And because you are frightened, you have a far better chance of success than any other man I know.” [p.34 in first edition].

Secondly, there is the generally unhappy fashion in which events proceed, culminating in a bittersweet ending in which a certain justice has been done to the cause of our plucky protagonists, but at a terrible cost to themselves and without a complete or unqualified victory in any case. Of course, British sf is known to be much more pessimistic than its American cousin, but Stableford’s work in particular usually ends in qualified doom and despondency to a level which cannot be explained on nationalistic terms — this is just the way the author writes!

As a novel, Cradle of the Sun has many advantages. For starters, although I felt its characterisation was very much of its time, it is quite a novelty to the modern sf reader and it was interesting to read what is essentially a character study of extreme fear, especially since the paradox promoted rather vigorously by the novel is that such extreme fear can actually promote acts which might seem to be the product of reckless courage; mention is actually made during the course of the novel to ‘fighting like a cornered rat’, but this does not simply refer to the intelligent version of the species who feature in this novel — it is an inherent feature of the temperament of Kavan Lochlain, as well.

Other plus points include the imagination displayed in the landscape through which the party travels, with its exotic scenery and inhabitants, as well as the gradual increase in tension as the party’s contact with the Library is lost and their own numbers are gradually depleted. Stableford would later go on to write an account of a very gruelling trek through an alternate Africa by a similarly small party in The Empire of Fear, and whilst this is a very different journey on
e gets a similar sense of the passage of time and distance that one gets in that later work, a sense which is often lacking in the ‘quests’ written by other authors who are either too eager to bring the journey to a close because they have a massive endgame planned, or who split the journey up into episodic problem-solution events which have no overall feeling of a continuous journey, but rather feel like a set of very small journeys one after another which is considerably less arduous.

There is also the fact that the novel is written in an easy-going style and is a genuine page-turner — the fact that the plot is rather unusual gives a genuine sense of curiosity about how the ending is going to be handled, and the casual style plus the fact that a quick ending is promised due to the low number of pages means that the average reader is likely to be tempted to read this book in only a few sittings, as indeed I did.

It cannot be ignored, however, that although Cradle of the Sun is interesting in its own way and passes the time amicably as discussed, it is nevertheless a rather minor work, both in terms of 1960s sf and in terms of the author’s own CV. Perhaps the major disappointment of the book is the ending which, as I noted above, will have provoked such curiosity in the reader earlier on in the novel. As the villain is finally revealed, he discusses what he has done and the reasons behind it with such clarity that it is very difficult to believe his claims of undying rage: people who suffer from irrational rages and hatreds usually find that stark analysis of these conditions either renders them harmless or at least offers the start of a path towards a solution (this, after all, is what counsellors are for). This character, however, has both the analysis and the hatred, and the execution of this in one character is far from convincing.

The other major fault of the novel lies in the slightly embarrassing names for th
e many creatures of the world in which the novel is set. Tigermen, Wingmen, etc., might have been acceptable in the 1960s, but they are certainly not acceptable now and display the kind of pulp crudity for which sf has long been mocked by mainstream critics. Of course, in a modern sf novel an author might have found it possible to use the same imagery, but certainly more exotic and convincing names would have been found for the races which inhabit this novel.

Essentially, Cradle of the Sun is an enjoyable but not brilliant novel: when asked about the book in a recent interview, Brian Stableford said that he would “rather forget” his first book. Personally, I think this a bit harsh as I think that the book DOES have redeeming features and is certainly a nice little romp if nothing else; when Stableford wrote this novel he would have been about 20, and I do not believe that many 20 year olds, my current self included, could have written a novel which would still retain the interest more than 30 years after its initial publication.

One thing is certain, however: Stableford would go on to better things. Cradle of the Sun may not be the best place to start if intending to familiarise yourself with this author.


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Getting hold of this novel: Cradle of the Sun was originally published by Sidgwick & Jackson in 1969, and was later reprinted by, among others, Ace (pictured along with this review). The various editions of the book are listed on the official fan-run Brian Stableford website at http://freespace.virgin.net/diri.gini/brian.htm. Having decided which edition you want (I would prefer the S&J edition if only because it is hardback), the best place to look would probably be http://www.abebooks.com.

ILYER.27072001

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