The place is Kirinyaga, a terraformed asteroid where a group of East African settlers has come to establish a Kikuyu utopia, where all things European are rejected and ancient customs rule daily life. They are led by Koriba, the village mundumugu, an witch doctor, the voice of Ngui, and principal narrator of Kirinyaga. He is the self proclamied defender of the faith, one who must keep his people on the straight and narrow path of traditions; as he sees fit. It is said the road to dammnation is paved with good intentions, but as we watch the rise and inevitable fall of utopia, Koriba proves to be an excellent travel guide.
Kirinyaga, a fable of Utopia is a collection of interconnected stories written over the past ten years, more of less sequentially. The first story to appear was in 1987, originally intended for a shared world anthology called Utopia, edited by Orsen Scott Card. While it has yet to appear, Resnick continued finding inspiration for more tales in the 'Kirinyaga Cycle', primarily while on safari in Kenya, Many of these stories were nominated for the prestigeous Hugo Award (he won twice) and he received many of science fictions other top honors. These stories also remade his career; Mike Resnick was know for his novels. In the book's afterward, Resnick says he intended Kirinyaga as a novel, written a chapter at a time in various lengths over the years. As a novel it doesn't quite work, it lacks cohesiveness. These stories stand on their own. Presented as a collection, much like Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, they are moving an powerful, showing us the history of a land in the midst of change despite the most dogged attempts at preservation. From the frequently anthologized title story 'Kirinyaga' where Koribu defys maintenance (the off world station that controls Kirinyaga's weather and acts as a safety net but is unknown to all but a few Kikuyu) and lays down triblal law and his final authority over such matters to the softer more heroic portrait of him in 'Bwana', to the eventual of Koriba in favor or progress by a second generation of Kirinyagans in ' When the Old Gods die', we see a stagnent society crumbling ever so slowly under the pressure of humanity's quest for knowledge.
Kirinyaga is science fiction at its finest. Imaginative and thought provoking, it is Mike Resnick's best book. I highly recommend every science fiction fan add Kirinyaga to their bookshelves.
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An interview with Mike Resnick about "Kirinyaga"
Also by Mike Resnick
Last modified Wednesday, 15-Jun-2005 05:59:40 EDT
A Hunger in the Soul