Fool's War
by Sarah Zettel
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Description
In this New York Times Notable Book of the Year, a strange new life form threatens all of humanity, and only a fool would stand in its way Katmer Al Shei has done well with the starship Pasadena, cutting corners where necessary to keep her crew paid and her journeys profitable. But there are two things she will never skimp on: her crew-and her fool. For a long space journey, a certified Fool's Guild clown is essential, to amuse, excite, and otherwise distract the crew from the drudgeries of show more interstellar flight. Her newest fool, Evelyn Dobbs, is a talented jester. But does she have enough wit to save mankind? In the computers of the Pasadena, something is emerging. The highly sophisticated software that makes interstellar travel practical is playing host to a new form of artificial intelligence, one with its own mind, its own needs, and its own desperate fears. Combatting this terrifying new threat becomes the fool's secret fight. Evelyn Dobbs's personal war might just cost Katmer Al Shei everything, and everyone, she holds dear. But if they fail, humanity itself is lost for good. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
sandstone78 Both Fool's War and Dreamships (as well as Dreamships' companion novel, Dreaming Metal) consider the position of AI in society, but in different ways. Fool's War takes takes place in a world where sentient AI is a dangerous reality, and considers the theme of whether these AI can ever integrate with human society, while Dreamships takes place in a world where AI isn't quite there yet, and considers the question of whether AI are due "basic human rights" in a civilization where significant portions of humankind still don't have those same rights.
Fool's War moves at a brisker pace than Dreamships, which takes a little while to pick up, but in my opinion the world of Dreamships hangs together a little better. Both have well-drawn, likable characters and are well worth the read.
TheDivineOomba Fools Experiments is not nearly as good as Fool's War, but I think the artificial intelligence was done in a much better fashion.
Member Reviews
A satisfying and self-contained science-fiction. Al Shei is the capable captain and engineer of the Pasadena, a message packet ship which roams Settled Space. She is both female and devout Muslim, but not in the least disempowered by either. At some time in the past Muslims have caused environmental havoc on Earth (the "Fast Burn" and the "Slow Burn") and have subsequently suffered persecution. The Pasadena is owned by a family business with a complicated structure, and the family connections good and bad drive a chunk of the plot. We learn about the crew, each with their own demons and dissatisfactions. 'Watch' Schyler governs operations on the Pasadena. 'Houston' or communications officer Lipinski guards the Pasadena's precious data show more cargoes. Al Shei's cousin Resit is an onboard lawyer, there to deal with local regulations and getting the crew out of legal scrapes. And Jemina Yerusha is the pilot, a 'Freer' who believes humanity should embrace technology and leave planetary life behind. Joining them is Evelyn Dobbs of the Fool's Guild -- a group which serves as psychologists and morale-builders on board ships.
One of the themes of the book is the classic Firefly-like 'Get a crew, get a job, keep flying' view of the business of operating a small trader. Another is the spontaneous emergence of Artificial Intelligences and the (mostly bad) reactions of humans to that. For the first there are many interesting observations about shipboard and station life. There are 'starbirds' (those who live on ships all the time), 'gerbils' (who run around the walls of a 'can' or space station) and 'groundhuggers' who spend their lives planet-bound. The second theme drives much of the plot and it propels the Pasadena into a nightmare run. Zettel does a great job of increasing the tension with each chapter, with quite a few twists. Al Shei, Yerusha and Dobbs are strong female protagonists, but all the characters are well-realised.
The conclusion was good but a bit rushed. I had a couple of problems with it but overall an excellent and interesting book. At times I would have liked a mini glossary or appendix about some of the factions and historical events referenced in the book such as the Slow Burn, but it was fine. The rich background seemed to set it up for a sequel but, maybe for the better this is a standalone book. show less
One of the themes of the book is the classic Firefly-like 'Get a crew, get a job, keep flying' view of the business of operating a small trader. Another is the spontaneous emergence of Artificial Intelligences and the (mostly bad) reactions of humans to that. For the first there are many interesting observations about shipboard and station life. There are 'starbirds' (those who live on ships all the time), 'gerbils' (who run around the walls of a 'can' or space station) and 'groundhuggers' who spend their lives planet-bound. The second theme drives much of the plot and it propels the Pasadena into a nightmare run. Zettel does a great job of increasing the tension with each chapter, with quite a few twists. Al Shei, Yerusha and Dobbs are strong female protagonists, but all the characters are well-realised.
The conclusion was good but a bit rushed. I had a couple of problems with it but overall an excellent and interesting book. At times I would have liked a mini glossary or appendix about some of the factions and historical events referenced in the book such as the Slow Burn, but it was fine. The rich background seemed to set it up for a sequel but, maybe for the better this is a standalone book. show less
Probably the best book I've read this year. A really amazing and well told SF story, with fascinating characters and a grand scope. Very impressive.
What starts out as a fairly interesting story takes an almighty twist about a third of the way in, and everything you thought you knew about one of the characters changes dramatically. Their response to ordinary societal pressures, and how the rest of a mixed crew in turn respond to them, will determine the fate of the whole of human occupied space.
Katmer Al Shei is a Muslim (yes x hundred years into the future old religious castes persist) women, captain and chief engineer of a postal frigate. Utilising FTL "jumps" she is paid to ferry lightconstant information to Humanities outposts in the show more galaxy - at a cheaper rate than using the Interplanetary Banking networks own dedicated Relay network. A few more smooth runs and she'll be able to buy out her brother-in-law partner, and build the ship of her and her husband's dreams. Her next run she finds has had an official Fool contracted to it - specifically trained space personnel who can defuse tension within crews and aid the smooth running of month-long voyages. This of course guarantees that the next voyage won't be smooth, and low it isn't. However it is not through the reasons you might expect. It turns out that Katmer's partner has accidently left a computer virus onboard. This manages not to disrupt things too badly, until they reach their first destination where their clean looking data suddenly attacks the space station's controlling AI.
In addition to an enthralling story, Sarah Zettel also manages to impart some subtle social commentary on the way we deal with Others. This is a vital part of any good SF story which is always about the world we live in now, not just what can be imagined fro the future. This is also a lot more interesting than one may first assume from the Muslim women, angle. Given that this book was written in '97 before today’s tensions (and internet) took off it is a lucky feat of precognition - or shows that the world will always suffer these problems if we don't change our behavior towards others.
It's not perfect - this ebook version has a couple of dropped words - and some of the ideas aren't quite fleshed out. It is never clear what the difference is between a sentient and non-sentient AI, or how some characters overcome their prior prejudices quite so easily. But it is very very good.
Read it!
......................................
And very good it remains on re-read too. And still pertinent!
I've dropped it to 4.5* because a couple more points sprang to mind as minor niggles now that I was aware of the totallity of the plot. But it's still great. show less
What starts out as a fairly interesting story takes an almighty twist about a third of the way in, and everything you thought you knew about one of the characters changes dramatically. Their response to ordinary societal pressures, and how the rest of a mixed crew in turn respond to them, will determine the fate of the whole of human occupied space.
Katmer Al Shei is a Muslim (yes x hundred years into the future old religious castes persist) women, captain and chief engineer of a postal frigate. Utilising FTL "jumps" she is paid to ferry lightconstant information to Humanities outposts in the show more galaxy - at a cheaper rate than using the Interplanetary Banking networks own dedicated Relay network. A few more smooth runs and she'll be able to buy out her brother-in-law partner, and build the ship of her and her husband's dreams. Her next run she finds has had an official Fool contracted to it - specifically trained space personnel who can defuse tension within crews and aid the smooth running of month-long voyages. This of course guarantees that the next voyage won't be smooth, and low it isn't. However it is not through the reasons you might expect. It turns out that Katmer's partner has accidently left a computer virus onboard. This manages not to disrupt things too badly, until they reach their first destination where their clean looking data suddenly attacks the space station's controlling AI.
In addition to an enthralling story, Sarah Zettel also manages to impart some subtle social commentary on the way we deal with Others. This is a vital part of any good SF story which is always about the world we live in now, not just what can be imagined fro the future. This is also a lot more interesting than one may first assume from the Muslim women, angle. Given that this book was written in '97 before today’s tensions (and internet) took off it is a lucky feat of precognition - or shows that the world will always suffer these problems if we don't change our behavior towards others.
It's not perfect - this ebook version has a couple of dropped words - and some of the ideas aren't quite fleshed out. It is never clear what the difference is between a sentient and non-sentient AI, or how some characters overcome their prior prejudices quite so easily. But it is very very good.
Read it!
......................................
And very good it remains on re-read too. And still pertinent!
I've dropped it to 4.5* because a couple more points sprang to mind as minor niggles now that I was aware of the totallity of the plot. But it's still great. show less
I originally gave this book four stars because I liked it so much. When I found myself shelving it under “Favorites,” I realized that I didn’t just like it, I loved it.
And there’s so much to love about this book. The plotting is excellent, the pacing moves right along, the writing is smooth and flows well, the characters are strong and sympathetic, there’s more than one good female character, and one of the main characters is a Muslim woman who’s chief engineer of her own spaceship. How often have you seen that?
Fool’s War is set several hundred years in the future when space travel is common place and there are many human colonies. These colonies are connected by a faster than light network which shares mainly financial show more information as FTL communications are costly and inefficient. To fill the gap, there are data companies such as the spaceship Pasadena, which Al-Shei shares ownership of with her brother-in-law. He’ll pilot the ship with his own crew for eight months and carries on some smuggling on the side while Al-Shei stays on Earth with her husband and children. Then, she’ll take the ship for eight months and run a legitimate business. Obviously, this situation is going to lead to trouble.
When the trouble arrives, it is of a kind feared and familiar to the people of this universe: a rogue Artificial Intelligence. Periodically in the networks and computer systems of this universe, and AI will gain sentience. It will then go rogue and destroy everything in its path.
Even before the situation comes to its head, other conflicts are brewing among the crew, mainly centered around ideological differences regarding AIs. The communications officer, Lipinski, grew up on a world devastated by a rogue AI attack. He’s paranoid of all AIs and people who support them. The new pilot, Yerusha, is a Freer, a culture that believes that AIs contain reincarnated human souls. They try to encourage AIs to develop sentience, because they think it will lead to immortality for the human race. She and Lipinski are at odds almost immediately.
In the middle of the entire situation is a character who would seem unlikely: Evelyn Dobbs, the ship’s Fool. The ship Fool nominally provides entertainment on the long space journeys, but they also act as something like a counselor and try to prevent disputes arising among crew members and to keep the crew in a good mood. In addition, the Fool’s Guild has a secret agenda of their own and may not be all what they seem…
The book is slow going for the first couple of chapters, but the pace picks up pretty soon. By the end, I was riveted to the page. My only problem is that I wish there was more! This is a stand alone, the only book set in this universe. The plot wraps up fine, there’s no loose ends, but I want more of this world and these characters! They’re too good for just one book!
All and all, I recommend anyone even vaguely interested in science fiction to pick this up, particularly if you’re looking for a multicultural group of characters and some well written female protagonists. show less
And there’s so much to love about this book. The plotting is excellent, the pacing moves right along, the writing is smooth and flows well, the characters are strong and sympathetic, there’s more than one good female character, and one of the main characters is a Muslim woman who’s chief engineer of her own spaceship. How often have you seen that?
Fool’s War is set several hundred years in the future when space travel is common place and there are many human colonies. These colonies are connected by a faster than light network which shares mainly financial show more information as FTL communications are costly and inefficient. To fill the gap, there are data companies such as the spaceship Pasadena, which Al-Shei shares ownership of with her brother-in-law. He’ll pilot the ship with his own crew for eight months and carries on some smuggling on the side while Al-Shei stays on Earth with her husband and children. Then, she’ll take the ship for eight months and run a legitimate business. Obviously, this situation is going to lead to trouble.
When the trouble arrives, it is of a kind feared and familiar to the people of this universe: a rogue Artificial Intelligence. Periodically in the networks and computer systems of this universe, and AI will gain sentience. It will then go rogue and destroy everything in its path.
Even before the situation comes to its head, other conflicts are brewing among the crew, mainly centered around ideological differences regarding AIs. The communications officer, Lipinski, grew up on a world devastated by a rogue AI attack. He’s paranoid of all AIs and people who support them. The new pilot, Yerusha, is a Freer, a culture that believes that AIs contain reincarnated human souls. They try to encourage AIs to develop sentience, because they think it will lead to immortality for the human race. She and Lipinski are at odds almost immediately.
In the middle of the entire situation is a character who would seem unlikely: Evelyn Dobbs, the ship’s Fool. The ship Fool nominally provides entertainment on the long space journeys, but they also act as something like a counselor and try to prevent disputes arising among crew members and to keep the crew in a good mood. In addition, the Fool’s Guild has a secret agenda of their own and may not be all what they seem…
The book is slow going for the first couple of chapters, but the pace picks up pretty soon. By the end, I was riveted to the page. My only problem is that I wish there was more! This is a stand alone, the only book set in this universe. The plot wraps up fine, there’s no loose ends, but I want more of this world and these characters! They’re too good for just one book!
All and all, I recommend anyone even vaguely interested in science fiction to pick this up, particularly if you’re looking for a multicultural group of characters and some well written female protagonists. show less
Admittedly, the premise is a little off-putting, I mean, fools capering about in space? Entertaining crews on long trips? But my bemusement didn't last long because the fool herself, Evelyn Dobbs, is instantly engaging (and convincing) and the the setting/premise beguiling: a spaceship run by a devout muslim woman. There is also an eerie prescience in the book, some islamic terrorist group unleashed an ecological disaster (called 'the slow burn' from which the earth, five hundred years down the road, is still recovering. Al Shei, the engineer, ship-captain is striving to make enough money on her mail packet runs (some communications cannot go any other way) to commission a spaceship in which she and her entire family can be together, in show more the meantime, she shares a ship (time-share style) with her brother-in-law who is a smuggler. This time he leaves a virus on board and all hell breaks loose. Suffice it to say, AI's come into being in certain stressful cyber-situations, the Fool's Guild is not quite what it appears to be, the brother-in-law got into mischief way over his head and yeah, the earth's very existence ends up in jeopardy. The characters are strong and the book does not flinch from some hard things, not a perfect happy ending, but a sensible one. Of course, I waded patiently through a lot of AI-inside-network imaginings and activities, but Zettel did pretty well with that too. **** show less
Zettel, Sarah. Fool’s War. Aspect, 1997.
Sarah Zettel’s Fool’s War is a space opera with several original features. First, we have a human-colonized galaxy in which the main political divides have to do with computer technology and artificial intelligence. In some places, AIs connect everybody all the time. In other places, smuggling computer parts can send you up the river for a long time. It takes artificial intelligence to run an interstellar spacecraft, but they are strictly controlled. Our heroine is the captain of a trading ship. She is a practicing Muslim who speaks Arabic and wears traditional dress. Finally, there are the Fools. Any ship that hopes to attract business needs to have a Fool in the crew. Fool’s offer show more slapstick entertainment, and like Medieval court jesters, they can speak truth to power in ways no one else can. They also act as mental health officers in ways that reminded me of Deanna Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation. But Fools are much more than they seem, and the plot of the story gradually reveals their true nature. The interplay between Captain Al Shei and Fool Evelyn Dobbs provides surprising depth. The world of the novel is complex and the wheels within wheels structure does it justice. 4 stars. show less
Sarah Zettel’s Fool’s War is a space opera with several original features. First, we have a human-colonized galaxy in which the main political divides have to do with computer technology and artificial intelligence. In some places, AIs connect everybody all the time. In other places, smuggling computer parts can send you up the river for a long time. It takes artificial intelligence to run an interstellar spacecraft, but they are strictly controlled. Our heroine is the captain of a trading ship. She is a practicing Muslim who speaks Arabic and wears traditional dress. Finally, there are the Fools. Any ship that hopes to attract business needs to have a Fool in the crew. Fool’s offer show more slapstick entertainment, and like Medieval court jesters, they can speak truth to power in ways no one else can. They also act as mental health officers in ways that reminded me of Deanna Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation. But Fools are much more than they seem, and the plot of the story gradually reveals their true nature. The interplay between Captain Al Shei and Fool Evelyn Dobbs provides surprising depth. The world of the novel is complex and the wheels within wheels structure does it justice. 4 stars. show less
First off, I really enjoyed this book. It was well written, smart, nicely complex, but not overly so, has a nice world, great characters, and a well thought out plot. Unfortunately, I had one problem with it, and that is exactly how human the AI's were. These are suppose to be super power, incredibly smart, very scary entities, and they come off as whiney and small in the universe.
A few things feel dated, but the book was written in 1997, such as the 'stacks' that are used as hard drives, but on the other hand, there are a number of technologies described such as the pen, that are similar to smart phones and mini-computers.
I also liked that the star ship captain was female and a practicing Muslim. The book is written pre-world trade show more tower bombings, but I think the 'slow war' that is described in this book could very well have happened. Its remarkable how timely this book reads. show less
A few things feel dated, but the book was written in 1997, such as the 'stacks' that are used as hard drives, but on the other hand, there are a number of technologies described such as the pen, that are similar to smart phones and mini-computers.
I also liked that the star ship captain was female and a practicing Muslim. The book is written pre-world trade show more tower bombings, but I think the 'slow war' that is described in this book could very well have happened. Its remarkable how timely this book reads. show less
Interesting mixture of moslem women in space, artificial intelligence and funny pen-interfaces. The story was quite good, with a few unexpected twists and turns, and the society was well fleshed out. Fool's war's world has a history and many different groups with different viewpoints and perspectives. The characters are realistic and even the sympathetic ones behave unsympathetically sometimes. All have their flaws, and, quite interestingly, the cast consists of quite a few women that are invariably competent, despite of their flaws. That's unusual enough in SF to comment on, and I don't think I've ever come across a book with not only competent women in power, but moslem women to boot. One particular moslem woman is away from home show more half of the time, during which her husband takes care of her children. I could only applaude the little speech Katmer Al Shei gave when she was about to engage in a dangerous operation, and her cousin tried to stop her by reminding her of her children. I could have wished for a little less tension among the crew and a little less xenophobia at times, but I am satisfied with everyone's decisions in the end. It's just that I always enjoy a book more if there is a team that sticks together and forms a close-knit group. Despite initial differences, this group was heading that way, but then things started to explode. In the end they pull through, and I'll admit that more trust would perhaps have been unrealistic at an earlier time.
Overall a good book. My rating is not higher then it is, because despite everything I said above, I had a bit of trouble connecting to the characters sometimes. I think perhaps it was a bit too technical at times (I'm a physicist, so I don't mind technical, but some of it pulled me out of the story). And the ebook at least could have used a bit more editing. There were quite a few punctuation errors and sentences that seemed to have come out wrong at the other end of a re-write. show less
Overall a good book. My rating is not higher then it is, because despite everything I said above, I had a bit of trouble connecting to the characters sometimes. I think perhaps it was a bit too technical at times (I'm a physicist, so I don't mind technical, but some of it pulled me out of the story). And the ebook at least could have used a bit more editing. There were quite a few punctuation errors and sentences that seemed to have come out wrong at the other end of a re-write. show less
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Author Information
65+ Works 6,193 Members
Sarah Zettel lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Bowker Author Biography)
Some Editions
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Fool's War
- Original publication date
- 1997
- People/Characters
- Evelyn Dobbs; Katmer Al Shei; Jemina Yerusha; Cohen
- Dedication
- To my parents Gail Elizabeth Zettel and Leonard Francis Zettel, Jr. with love and thanks.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank Timothy B. Smith for his excellent technical advice, the Untitled Writers Group for their in... (show all)valuable insights, and Dawn Marie Sampson Beresford for keeping the stories on the right track. - First words
- Curran watched the man whose life he required settle onto one of the faux leather couches scattered around the station's reception module.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"We need to discuss salary, Guild Master," she said. "And the ship you are going to build me."
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- Reviews
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- Rating
- (3.98)
- Languages
- English
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- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
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