Learning the World
2005 novel by Ken MacLeod
title: "Learning the World" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2005-british-novels", "2005-science-fiction-novels", "novels-by-ken-macleod", "fiction-about-generation-ships", "orbit-books-books"] description: "2005 novel by Ken MacLeod" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_the_World" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 2005 novel by Ken MacLeod ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox book | "]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Learning the World: |
| A Scientific Romance | |
| image | LearningTheWorld.jpg |
| caption | Cover of first edition (hardcover) |
| author | Ken MacLeod |
| cover_artist | Lee Gibbons |
| country | United Kingdom |
| language | English |
| genre | Science fiction |
| publisher | Orbit |
| release_date | 2005 |
| media_type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| pages | 303 |
| isbn | 1-84149-343-0 |
| (paperback) | |
| oclc | 59878405 |
| :: |
| name = Learning the World: A Scientific Romance | title_orig = | translator = | image = LearningTheWorld.jpg | caption = Cover of first edition (hardcover) | author = Ken MacLeod | cover_artist = Lee Gibbons | country = United Kingdom | language = English | series = | genre = Science fiction | publisher = Orbit | release_date = 2005 | media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback) | pages = 303 | isbn = 1-84149-343-0 |isbn_note= (hardcover), (paperback) | oclc= 59878405 | preceded_by = | followed_by =
Learning the World is a science fiction novel by British writer Ken MacLeod, published in 2005. It won the 2006 Prometheus Award, was nominated for the Hugo, Locus, Clarke, and Campbell Awards{{cite web | url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2006 | title = 2006 Award Winners & Nominees | work = Worlds Without End | accessdate=2009-07-20 | url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2005 | title = 2005 Award Winners & Nominees | work = Worlds Without End | accessdate=2009-07-20
Premise
A human generation ship named But the Sky, My Lady! The Sky! approaches the Destiny Star to make first contact. The discovery of an industrial age-level alien species (the first encountered by humans) upsets the established protocols of the ship and causes social unrest.
Reception
Carl Hays in his review for Booklist said that "MacLeod continues to dazzle readers with vividly rendered landscapes of technological splendor and fascinating yet plausible visions of humanity's future." Kirkus Reviews writes "MacLeod flips back and forth between stories of the humans and aliens, avoiding the usual pro-human slant and presenting both sides as equally complex. And as humans advance on their planet, the aliens are beginning to wonder why their slave race, the "trudges," is starting to act uppity." Ted Rose in his review for* Entertainment Weekly* described this novel as "a compelling first-contact scenario, but MacLeod's confusing characters lead to a lackluster close encounter."
References to other works
In the novel MacLeod uses "alien space bats", a science fiction MacGuffin, as characters in the novel as an in-joke. The text of the novel is interlarded with recontextualised quotations from the works of well-known science fiction writers.
Notes
References
- "Ken MacLeod Interview".
- Hays, Carl. (October 15, 2005). "Learning the World". Booklist.
- (September 1, 2005). "LEARNING THE WORLD: Or, A Scientific Romance". Kirkus Reviews.
- {{cite magazine. Rose. Ted. (December 9, 2005)
- Harrison, Niall. (2005-12-15). "Two Views: Learning the World by Ken Macleod". Strange Horizons.
- (September 2006). "Ken MacLeod: Politics & SF". Locus Online.
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