A whirl of mystic ages and thrilling science
Although a geek girl at heart, I’ve never really read a great deal of Science Fiction. Some Bradbury, a dash of Heinlein, a little Gibson, fair bit of LeGuin, but not enough. Of what I read of Bradbury, I loved Dandelion Wine the best – a glass of nostalgic strawberry lemonade – sweet as childhood memory, with a metallic tang of old-school horror. Heinlein seemed to really, really like porn (and his mom, apparently?), and I can respect that, but I can’t say I enjoyed his work. Gibson caught my emo-imagination, but while he could spin a setting and a time that felt as real as silicon grit in your palms, his characters were holograms. Ian McDonald, who I’d never heard of until this year’s NorWesCon, balances strong characters with a future that feels only a breath away in his Hugo-nominated, Arthur C. Clark Award-nominated, British Science Fiction Association Award-winning book The Dervish House.
Like LeGuin, McDonald introduces you to people that he’s genuinely fond of: the farm girl looking to make good in the high-end world of marketing, the little boy cut off from the world by illness, whose elderly Radical Economist neighbor helps reach out to the world by modifying the boy’s pet robot, the decidedly secular antiques dealer who collects sacred art, the slick stockbroker who rides the highs of the market with a tube of concentration-enhancing nano powder in his pocket, and even the probably sociopathic Necdet, who has been subject to terrible visions since a terrorist attack during his morning commute.
This book is written by a white guy, by the way. A European. This is likely a failing on my part, but I can’t remember the last time I read a book where no one was American, or where at least 80% of the characters weren’t Caucasian (it was probably Achebe’s Things Fall Apart). And hey, it’s set in a world where the people of color aren’t interstellar Aliens! (I’m looking at you, various Stargates!)
Dervish House has glorious art, relic hunting, insider trading, kidnapping, a history of political unrest and a sheen of futuristic and unlikely optimism wrapping it all together. There’s riveting action and engaging science: McDonald untangles complex ideas in ways that make you feel 20 IQ points smarter than you were when you started the book. Whether it’s magic, nano-science or only superb craft, this book is worthy of your time.
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This sounds great! Thanks for the rec. ::adds to list::
I really think you’ll like it – the two women are very cool, especially the art dealer.
Hot damn — this review makes me happy that we share a Kindle.
I think you’d really dig it. I’m told the movie rights have been sold, but it would make a fantastic 5 day miniseries.