The Mount
Charley is an athlete. He wants to be painted crossing the finish line, in his racing silks, with a medal around his neck. But Charley isn't a runner. He is a human mount, the property of one of the alien invaders called Hoots. Charley hasn't seen his mother in years, and his father is hiding...
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Charley is an athlete. He wants to be painted crossing the finish line, in his racing silks, with a medal around his neck. But Charley isn't a runner. He is a human mount, the property of one of the alien invaders called Hoots. Charley hasn't seen his mother in years, and his father is hiding out in the mountains with the other Free Humans. The Hoots own the world, but the humans want it back. Charley knows how to be a good mount-now he's going to have to learn how to be a human being. This remarkable novel, winner of the 2002 Philip K. Dick Award, should be read by every fan of speculative fiction, teenagers and adults alike.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780142403020 (0142403024)
Publish date: March 17th 2005
Publisher: Firebird
Pages no: 240
Edition language: English
I'm knocking off one half star because there's something about the beginning, where it's really hard to get into. I guessed it might be that both another reviewer out there, and I, had trouble telling who the narrator was. (It's mostly from one point of view, but you get two more in there, too.)...
My reviews are about my personal reaction to books, and although I recognise that this is a well written book, it just never rose above "liked it" for me. Which is what three stars means, so after dithering for a bit, three stars it gets. The dithering is that I think I've probably given four to th...
When I finished this book, I picked up another to read, and just couldn't do it. The "message" in this book is really strong and it takes a bit to digest. Even better, I don't think there is a single message. This short book was written brilliantly, so you can see whatever you want in the relati...
Humans-as-companion animals. Charley, a "Mount," is uncomfortably complicit in his own slavery. Interesting idea--the resolution and much of the plot left me wanting, but I did like that Emshwiller refused to talk about freedom and power in easy or traditional ways.
Looks like some of this plot/idea was lifted straight from the short story The Silk and the Song by Charles L. Fontenay (1959). Here is the complete story in PDF (it's out of copyright): http://generation.feedbooks.com/book/2290.pdf
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