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Title: Kirinyaga

Subtitle: A Fable of Utopia

Author: Mike Resnick

Narrator: Janis Ian

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-05-16

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Hailed for his grandeur of imagination and superb worldbuilding, winner of and nominee for more than 50 awards for his outstanding work, Mike Resnick has rightfully won a place as one of science fiction's master storytellers. Now, in Kirinyaga, Resnick presents the haunting and utterly compelling tale of one man's utopia. By the 22nd century in the African nation of Kenya, polluted cities sprawl up the flanks of sacred Mount Kirinyaga. Great animal herds are but distant memories. European crops now grow on the sweeping savannas. But Koriba, a distinguished, educated man of Kikuyu ancestry, knows that life was different for his people centuries ago - and he is determined to build a utopian colony, not on Earth, but on the terraformed planetoid he proudly names Kirinyaga. As the mundumugu - witch doctor - Koriba leads the colonists. Reinstating the ancient customs and stringent laws of the Kikuyu people, he alone decides their fate. He must face many challenges to the struggling colony's survival: from a brilliant young girl whose radiant intellect could threaten their traditional ways, to the interference of "Maintenance", which holds the power to revoke the colony's charter. All the while, only Koriba - unbeknownst to his people - maintains the computer link to the rest of humanity. Ironically, the Kirinyaga experiment threatens to collapse - not from violence or greed - but from humankind's insatiable desire for knowledge. The Kikuyu people can no more stand still in time than their planet can stop revolving around its sun. Deeply moving, swiftly paced, and profound in its implications, Kirinyaga is Mike Resnick's most triumphant work to date. His Fable of Utopia is the book every listener will want to own and savor for years to come.

Members Reviews:

Brilliant Mix of World Building and Philosophy

The novel was a brilliant mix of world building and philosophy, the latter from the point of view of the main character, Koriba, who is a leader of a colonized world that is devoted to Kikuyu, an ancient philosophy of people from what is now Kenya. Many complications arise, and much of the novel is about how he deals with these problems as he tries to shield his people from contamination from the modern world. One thing that makes it work is that Koriba doesn't really look down on other societies so much as what is his central theme, which is that what works for others does not work for the Kikuyu. But he often finds it difficult to convince others of this. The novel was published chapter by chapter as award-winning short stories, and collectively has won more awards than probably any other work of science fiction. Strongly recommended.

Worth the read for $8

I really really love this book. It has a permanent spot on my Sci-Fi collection even though it's really more of a sociological drama set in an alternate/future reality. This was required reading in college (but it's a fairly easy read) and I've worn through the paperback.