The Carpet Makers

I have to say that the structure of interlocking short stories is one that I've seen done with middling success at the best of times, but Eschbach somehow pulls it off. The Carpet Makers is aided by a really excellent translation by Doryl Jensen; only a few times did I experience moments of curious phrasing that would make me think it was a translation to begin with. It's accessible work, at times reminding me of the smoothness of someone like Silverberg.

The Carpet Makers depicts a very grim galaxy in which the passing vindictiveness of one person can determine the life of billions of individuals. A galaxy that exemplifies how tradition, culture, and debt can be used to incapacitate and subjugate people without direct action from the oppressor. Eschbach takes inspiration from the rise of European Fascism in the 20th century for his depiction of the galactic empire that dictates the terms of the carpet maker's world. There's a casual misanthropy that pervades the stories in The Capet Makers, culminating to an extreme degree towards the ending.

Most of the stories are really excellent, but a few fail to push the interconnected plot further in favor of meandering in world building. I also preferred the stories towards the beginning that contained a limited scope, focusing on the carpet makers themselves and the culture that surrounds them.

A bleak work, but one that would be effective for anyone I think, even a non-genre reader.