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Behemoth: Seppuku (book 2) by Peter Watts
01/04/2006 . Source: Shaun Green 
pub: TOR. 303 page hardback. Price: $24.95 (US), $34.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0-765-31172-0. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.tor.com and www.rifters.com
'Seppuku' is the second volume of 'Behemoth', the conclusion to Peter Watts' 'The Rifters Trilogy' and with its predecessor 'B-Max' are two halves of the same novel, reportedly split into two for industrial reasons. Apparently, many booksellers in the USA are reticent to give decent shelf space to large volumes by relatively unknown writers and this is TOR's solution to that problem. It really is a shame. Hopefully, if and when 'Behemoth' sees UK publication it will be restored to its original form.
'Seppuku' follows anti-heroes Lenie Clarke and Ken Lubin as they return to North American land, looking for the source of the modified Behemoth virus that lent its name to the first book, B-Max. The station that was one of their few sources of communication with the outside world is found to have been devastated by fire some time before. Before long, they meet Taka Ouellette, a guilt-ridden physician who does what she can to help the infected that populate the land outside the walled enclaves of the privileged.
Lenie and Lubin soon learn of the missile strikes that are continually being launched from outside the North American continent. The remnants of the defence network can only partially hold off these strikes. Containment procedures are taken in the areas where these missiles land, the entire zone is firebombed and incinerated. Lenie manages to obtain a sample of the mysterious Seppuku virus that is contained within these missiles and discovers that there's more to it than had been thought. At the same time, they learn that Achilles Desjardin - the war hero and psychopath who is offering them his help - may have more vested interests in Behemoth and Seppuku than he is willing to admit.
In 'Seppuku', we see a lot more of the world that the Behemoth microbe has created than in 'B-Max'. The future that Watts has crafted is deep and well-fleshed, with the history of 'Starfish' and 'Maelstrom' contributing here towards a tangible whole. The digital monsters that prowl what was once the Internet are a delightful touch, adding a face of sub-sentient malice to the enemies that besiege the surviving North American enclaves. We see very little of the privileged who live inside the protected enclaves, safe from the ravages of Behemoth and Seppuku, but we spend a lot of time with the poor and infected who live outside those walls. These people are powerless victims or circumstance. Whether they are infected with Behemoth or firebombed in Seppuku control operations, there's little that they can do. Their situation emphasises the potency of the evil that is revealed later in the novel.
There's also a great appendix in which the author discusses which of his Sfnal conceits are already real, which are entirely made up and which have become more feasible since he finished the novel. It's fascinating stuff and made all the more readable because Watts has a caustic and highly cynical wit.
'Behemoth: B-Max' and 'Behemoth: Seppuku' are enthralling reads and although the decision to publish the two volumes separately is a regrettable one, they both come highly recommended. This is contemporary SF at its best.
Shaun Green
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