"
Kingdom of Cages" (2001) is a
science fiction novel by
SF and
fantasy author Sarah Zettel. Zettel won the
Locus Award for Best New Novel for "
Reclamation" and also wrote the
New York Times Notable Book of the Year "
Fool's War".
"
Kingdom of Cages" is set in the far future.
Humanity has colonized and spread out over countless planets. Recently, dozens of the
colony planets are suffering
environmental collapse and strange new
diseases, threatening to wipe out the human race. One planet,
Pandora, is untouched by this crisis.
Pandora is the most Earth-like of all the planets and is kept in pristine shape by its inhabitants,
ecologists and
geneticists, who live in dome cities to study and preserve the natural riches of their
planet.
As the story begins, representatives from the dying
colony planets deliver an
ultimatum:
Pandora's brilliant
scientists must find a cure for the impending crisis, or their untouched
paradise will be destroyed. The main characters of the novel, the young girls
Teal and
Chena Trust, are chosen to participate in the "
Eden Project" which will presumably save
humanity. They quickly find out that
Pandora's
scientists may need more from them than they are willing to give.
"
Kingdom of Cages" is an interesting
novel which works on many levels: an
environmental story, a
science fiction novel and a
coming of age tale. However, I found some plot elements unlikely or far-fetched, and some things are extremely over-simplified. This, combined with the young age of the two protagonists, make this novel sometimes resemble
Young Adult or
adolescent fiction. It's also disappointing that the
resolution seems rushed and
unsatisfactory after almost 600 pages. Despite all of this, "
Kingdom of Cages" is not a bad read for young
SF readers, fans of
Sarah Zettel and maybe those who are particularly interested in
ecology.
Note: the title of the novel comes from "Wild Birds", a poem my Jan Harmon: "Thank heaven for wild birds/ They're all dressed up in feathers, with colors outrageous./ They soar from this earthly bound kingdom of cages/ On delicate wings, so small and courageous...". The cover art, a piece by renowned fantasy artist Michael Whelan, is beautiful but doesn't seem to have much to do with the story.