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summary: =Notes for The Empire of Bones= A 2002 Novel by Liz Williams Plot Jaya is a former revolutionary who has heard voices, from an alien . . .

Notes for The Empire of Bones

A 2002 Novel by Liz Williams

Plot

Jaya is a former revolutionary who has heard voices, from an alien space craft, most of her life. Now, contacted by Sirru and Ir Yth, she runs across a (rather vaguely described) contemporary/near-future India in order to help facilitate Earth’s entry into a vast galactic society.

Themes

• Colonization
• Earth invasion in the age of globalization
  • An obsession with “development”
  • Conquerors are bureaucrats
• Disease / Cure

Thoughts

Probably not worth the time to read again. Rewriting the alien invasion plot as a narrative of development (see Stigletz Globalization and Its Discontents) is an interesting idea, but the bulk of the narrative is a rather derivative techno-thriller and most of the development stuff arrives at the end as the plot is winding down. In theory, this could be a calculated narrative move, but seems to be faulty writing, esp. in light of other plot failings (static, cliched characters).