The first chapter drew me in immediately. On this planet, carpet makers are revered. They make carpets out of the hairs of their wives and daughters, and traditionally they can only complete one hair carpet in their lifetime to sell to the God-Emperor (who rules the universe) for palace decoration. The profit for one hair carpet is given to their male heir to pay for his family's needs, hence each hair carpet is made to pay back the debt to their fathers. Furthermore, a carpet maker can only have one son - all future sons must be killed - a hair carpet can only pay for one family.

So far, so good. The twist? Well, some people - carpet makers, carpet makers' sons, non-carpet makers - realize that there are an awful lot of carpet makers and hair carpets being made. How much room does the God-Emperor have in his palace? Why does he need all these hair carpets? Does the Emperor truly exist? Is all that we do for the glory of the Emperor? These questions are viewed as blasphemous, and even the doubters hesitate to voice them from fear of being stoned as well as experiencing bad luck when they do doubt.

Even more twisted? People from other parts of the universe arrive and announce that the Emperor has been overthrown by rebels. This rebellion has taken place several decades beforehand. But wait...they have been sending hair carpets during that time. Even stranger, the rebels have not seen the smallest trace of hair carpets at the Emperor's palace. Where have these carpets been going? Why are we making hair carpets? What do we do if there is no need for hair carpets?

These questions go around and around as the pages keep on turning. The answers never seem to be any closer, but the questions continue to build up as the observations get stranger and stranger. And finally the answers come - and we are left in awe and horror at the truth behind the hair carpets. ( )

Dozens of backwater planets of a fallen empire are dedicated entirely to producing handmade carpets of human hair. Who is collecting them and why?

The story jumps wildly from location to location. Just as you get interested in one set of characters, the next chapter takes you to a different planet and plot thread. The resolution of the mystery is pathetic.

It's unfortunate that this is the only novel of Eschbach's which has been translated into English. Quest (set in the same universe) and Das Jesus-Video are both significantly better.

Hair Carpets - the Sum of a Single Life - and the whole of an Emperor's Rage

Occasionally, a book comes around with a distinct creativity that is so fresh, the book lingers with you long after the last page has been read. The Carpet Makers, by German science fiction author Andreas Eschbach, is one such book.

On an outer planet of the great human galactic Empire, the most prestigious of professions is that of the Hair Carpet Maker. "Knot after knot, day in, day out, for an entire lifetime, always the same hand movements, always looping the same knots in the fine hair,..." so describes the life of a carpet maker as he weaves the finest of carpets in the whole of the empire from the hair of his wives (so chosen for the quality of their locks) and daughters. One hair carpet is the labor of a lifetime as the weaver and his family lives on the earnings of his quality of his father's carpet; the weaver strives to leave the finest carpet possible so as to earn a substantial sale price for his son's carpet making endeavor.

But all is not right in the empire, and word slowly starts to arrive as rumor that the immortal Emperor for whose palace the carpets are meant to adorn has been overthrown and brutally slain by rebel forces. Alas, rumor is not enough to end a way of life and the planet continues to fulfill its purpose: to produce fine hair carpets for the emperor. Even a captured observer from the new government can't persuade the locals of the truth; and after a generation, the arrival of ships from the new republic looking for the lost observer finally sheds light on the fate of the Emperor.

This is a larger story than just one backwater planet of a sweeping empire; it is the entire story of the empire told through by way of the very existence of the Carpet Makers and the long, secret history of an Emperor's savage revenge on a rival.

This is one of those books that focuses on a small fraction of a greater whole to tell the whole story. The reality of Galactic Empire slowly unravels across two generations of Carpet Makers. I surely hope that more of Eschbach's work is translated into English for my reading pleasure. ( )

Intense and twisted, but so, so good. It actually creeps me out having it on my shelf, but I refuse to get rid of it. I bought it because I'm a weaver, and I love Science Fiction. It takes an incredible book for me to be so creeped out by it and still keep it. ( )

An interesting and highly original idea, but I felt the execution didn't quite work. The individual chapters are so disjoint that it takes a while to get into, much like George R R Martin's books - but unlike with Martin, there is no payoff for any investment in the characters. If memory serves, this was a first novel.

Well worth reading, but don't look to connect with any characters. ( )