Meru
- Downloads：5688
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-01-04 04:19:36
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：S.B. Divya
- ISBN：B09YH1L9CW
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
One woman and her pilot are about to change the future of the species in an epic space opera about aspiration， compassion， and redemption by Hugo and Nebula Award finalist S。 B。 Divya。
For five centuries， human life has been restricted to Earth， while posthuman descendants called alloys freely explore the galaxy。 But when the Earthlike planet of Meru is discovered， two unlikely companions venture forth to test the habitability of this unoccupied new world and the future of human-alloy relations。
For Jayanthi， the adopted human child of alloy parents， it’s an opportunity to rectify the ancient reputation of her species as avaricious and destructive， and to give humanity a new place in the universe。 For Vaha， Jayanthi’s alloy pilot， it’s a daunting yet irresistible adventure to find success as an individual。
As the journey challenges their resolve in unexpected ways， the two form a bond that only deepens with their time alone on Meru。 But how can Jayanthi succeed at freeing humanity from its past when she and Vaha have been set up to fail？
Against all odds， hope is human， too。
For five centuries， human life has been restricted to Earth， while posthuman descendants called alloys freely explore the galaxy。 But when the Earthlike planet of Meru is discovered， two unlikely companions venture forth to test the habitability of this unoccupied new world and the future of human-alloy relations。
For Jayanthi， the adopted human child of alloy parents， it’s an opportunity to rectify the ancient reputation of her species as avaricious and destructive， and to give humanity a new place in the universe。 For Vaha， Jayanthi’s alloy pilot， it’s a daunting yet irresistible adventure to find success as an individual。
As the journey challenges their resolve in unexpected ways， the two form a bond that only deepens with their time alone on Meru。 But how can Jayanthi succeed at freeing humanity from its past when she and Vaha have been set up to fail？
Against all odds， hope is human， too。
Reviews
Wren Song
，
Received an ARC from WorldCon。 Basically: This is a book for readers who want a richly formed， evocative world that asks big questions through an intimately close lens into deep characters。This is a thoughtful novel about the agency of species， as told through the agency of individuals。 In a setting where the primary spacefaring civilization is actually a descendant of humans， and humans that we would recognize stay primarily on earth due to cultural stigma of human greed， Divya maintains a stea Received an ARC from WorldCon。 Basically: This is a book for readers who want a richly formed， evocative world that asks big questions through an intimately close lens into deep characters。This is a thoughtful novel about the agency of species， as told through the agency of individuals。 In a setting where the primary spacefaring civilization is actually a descendant of humans， and humans that we would recognize stay primarily on earth due to cultural stigma of human greed， Divya maintains a steadfast bead on close， individual lenses。 Divya's characters are distinct and each one feels essential in the story regardless of the size oft heir presence on the page。 This book takes place during a centuries-long political battle about the agency of all humans after they caused disaster through resource mismanagement。 It asks if， and how， a species can be considered redeemed。 But it is also about a girl who just wants to be allowed to want more than good enough， and about an alloy that just wants to be good enough， and how they bond over their mutual struggle to be themselves。 Every plot device， character arc， and worldbuilding tidbit felt well-considered and placed without interrupting the pacing of the story。 Conflicts are compelling and I felt deeply invested on the wellbeing of the protagonists the entire time。 。。。more
Christopher Rose
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Graceful and generously written， MERU is an ideal book for sparking meditations on the nature of friendship， and of the place of humanity in a post-human future。 It thoughtfully explores the emotional cartography of its sympathetic and complex protagonists， Jayanthi and Vaha。 This book is a relief and a revelation， written closer to the heart of its characters （and its author） than most genre works。 Highest recommendations for a book to make readers more optimistic of the direction of science fi Graceful and generously written， MERU is an ideal book for sparking meditations on the nature of friendship， and of the place of humanity in a post-human future。 It thoughtfully explores the emotional cartography of its sympathetic and complex protagonists， Jayanthi and Vaha。 This book is a relief and a revelation， written closer to the heart of its characters （and its author） than most genre works。 Highest recommendations for a book to make readers more optimistic of the direction of science fiction， and of our human future。 。。。more
Eric Hart
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One of the most expected books for next year， and sure to be on Year's Best lists for 2023。 I really loved S。B。 Divya'a debut Machinehood， and at Worldcon in Chicago was fortunate to be given a signed ARC of her second novel， Meru， by the author herself。 Meru is huge in scope and ambition， and yet intimate and personal， and delivers on all aspects。 It tackles one of the basic questions of Science Fiction， what makes us human， as the remnants of the human race face the consequences of our actions One of the most expected books for next year， and sure to be on Year's Best lists for 2023。 I really loved S。B。 Divya'a debut Machinehood， and at Worldcon in Chicago was fortunate to be given a signed ARC of her second novel， Meru， by the author herself。 Meru is huge in scope and ambition， and yet intimate and personal， and delivers on all aspects。 It tackles one of the basic questions of Science Fiction， what makes us human， as the remnants of the human race face the consequences of our actions after centuries destroying the environment on Earth and beyond。 But at the same time our successors - the Alloy - a genetically-engineered race of super beings - have lost touch with the basic emotions and drives that make us human。 The quest for freedom on one side， and finding again feelings of friendship and family drive this unusual， beautiful space opera。 。。。more
Chris Armstrong
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A richly layered， evocative， and compelling world…I received an ARC （Advance Reader Copy） from WorldCon。Meru begins by laying out some explicit first principles called “The Axioms of Life” and “The Principles of Conscious Beings，” which serve to extend the ethical circle that encompasses what is considered to be alive/conscious and must be protected as much as possible。 These ideas are fueled by the panpsychist view: “All matter possesses some level of consciousness。”Whereas humans of the past v A richly layered， evocative， and compelling world…I received an ARC （Advance Reader Copy） from WorldCon。Meru begins by laying out some explicit first principles called “The Axioms of Life” and “The Principles of Conscious Beings，” which serve to extend the ethical circle that encompasses what is considered to be alive/conscious and must be protected as much as possible。 These ideas are fueled by the panpsychist view: “All matter possesses some level of consciousness。”Whereas humans of the past visited ecological devastation on Earth and Mars—through terraforming—by viewing them as merely planets， collections of resources， to be exploited， the more nuanced and inclusive “Alloy” view recognizes various gradations of “beings，” “evolved beings，” “life-forms，” “constructed minds，” etc。 There is also a view that planets “are nonliving conscious bodies。” Our “posthuman descendants called Alloys，” are genetically engineered， with significantly longer lifespans， including the ability to be renewed through rebirthing。 Alloys can take on a wide variety of physical forms that may include wings， tails， chromatophores for communication， and more。 There are also Constructs， which can be small or extremely large， depending on their function: some may be space vessels—with the ability to carry one， or a great many passengers—or entire factories， but they are still， fundamentally， conscious beings。 Alloys took it upon themselves to repair and restore the environment of Earth and restrict and control humans to limit their negative impact on the environment， including disallowing settlement of other planets。 They view humanity as afflicted with AAD （Aspiration and Avarice Disorder）。 Alloys adhere to the aphorism: “Ambition and materialism lead to greed and exploitation。” Some humans push back by forming an association called， the Society of Humans with Ambitions。 The story centers around a young woman， Jayanthi， who petitions to be allowed to live on another planet， Meru， to prove that humans can now live in harmony with their environment。On the level of storytelling， Meru has it all。 Alliances， bonds， and bigotries are constantly being formed， broken， and reshaped as characters attain more knowledge and experience， leading to quite a bit of growth and evolution in each main character’s arc。 In the second and third acts， it’s plot-twists galore， keeping those pages a-turnin’， as opposing forces employ ever cleverer—so they think— ‘strategeries’ to try to outsmart their adversaries。 You will likely confront some new ideas and worldviews that will cause you to think， rethink， and think some more。 And there is certainly no shortage of emotional tugs to your heartstrings as well。 S。B。 Divya has created a richly layered， evocative， and compelling world to dive into， and you will surely be the better for it。 Enjoy！ 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Meru
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Meru&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Meru&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0