Gardens of the Sun

15 hrs. 17 min.

Language Russian

Author Paul J. McAuley

Narrator Sergey Orobchuk

The quiet war is over. The city-states of Jupiter and Saturn have fallen before the Alliance of Three Powers: the Great Brazil, the European Union, and the Tihookeanic Community. The Age of Enlightenment, the rational utopia, and research into new images of humanity has given way to an era of darkness. The Far Ones are driven into prison camps, forced to help with the systematic looting of their vast archives of scientific and technical knowledge. Meanwhile, Earthlings loot the captured cities, farms, and ships—and prepare the “final solution” to the problem of the Far Ones. But the Earthlings’ victory is only self-deception. The Earth is torn apart by political contradictions.

While traveling in search of strange gardens scattered across the Solar System by the greatest genius of the Far Ones, the genetic scientist Avernus, the one hired by a clan, gets entangled in complex intrigues. The diplomat Lok Ifrakhim discovers that turning victory into profit isn’t as easy as it seems. And in Great Brazil, the Far Ones’ democratic traditions spread among the population that wants to overthrow the tyranny of powerful clans that have divided the country.

Although the war ended attempts at Far Ones’ expansion, along with their experiments to create superhumans, the future has not become less foggy and threatening. One thing is clear: no one can escape the consequences of the war—above all, the victors.

Memorial John Campbell Award — Nominee, 2009 // Best SF novel

1. The Quiet War (narrated by Sergey Orobchuk) 2. Gardens of the Sun