Three reasons for sci-fi fans to rejoice

REVIEWS BY GAVIN J. GRANT

Exciting new releases make this a wonderful month for science fiction and fantasy readers. The first piece of good news is the publication of Vernor Vinge's new novel Rainbows End. A mathematician and computer scientist, Vinge came up with the concept of the technological singularity—the idea that beyond a certain point the world will be so different from today that it is impossible for us to imagine. The singularity has a firm hold on many science fiction writers' imaginations, but Vinge slips past it by setting Rainbows End before his theorized singularity date (ca. 2045) in 2025 when the world is still somewhat recognizable. Robert Gu, a highly lauded poet and retired academic, has Alzheimer's disease and is clinging to life. He is treated for the disease and regains much of his functionality, but not his poetic abilities. Pre-Alzheimer's, Gu was such a major pain in the neck that after his recovery, most of his family and his former colleagues keep him at arm's length. (Given that Vinge was an academic for many years, he offers a convincing portrait of the pettiness of academic strife.) Gu's son and daughter-in-law, who are both involved in homeland security, don't trust him. His teenage granddaughter wants to ignore her parents' warnings and get to know her revitalized grandfather. Vinge's novel is full to the bursting point with ideas, future technology, international intrigue, a possible artificial intelligence, earthquake-proof buildings and many other imaginative extrapolations. This isn't the future, but it is a deeply thought-out and well-examined future that will fascinate and entertain fans of speculative fiction.


A new dragon takes flight

The next piece of good news is the rapid-fire publication schedule of Naomi Novik's engrossing Napoleonic-era fantasy series, Temeraire. The first novel in the series, His Majesty's Dragon, came out in April, the second, Throne of Jade, is being released this month, and the third, Black Powder War, comes out in June. From his earliest years, Capt. William Laurence, third son of Lord Allendale, has been a navy man. After heavy fighting in the Atlantic, his ship captures a small French ship that is carrying a Chinese dragon's egg in its hold. When the egg hatches, the dragon, Temeraire, ignores everyone and picks a horrified Laurence to be his rider for life. In Throne of Jade the Chinese emperor sends his brother to investigate the British government's treatment of Temeraire. The Chinese are shocked to discover Laurence and Temeraire have been in the forefront of Britain's defense against Napoleon. They insist Temeraire be taken back to China and Temeraire agrees, but only if Laurence accompanies him. On the seven-month sea journey they face sea serpents, murderous attempts on Laurence's life and ploys by the Chinese embassy to persuade Temeraire that his life will be unutterably richer in China. Novik's style varies from richly descriptive passages to a terse command of the language of warfare. She has managed to combine the naval epics of Patrick O'Brian (to whose fans the series is strongly recommended) with the favorite fantasy subject of dragons, creating something new and quite wonderful. The Temeraire trilogy could well be this year's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.


Rewriting the universe

The third cause for excitement is the U.S. publication of Hal Duncan's debut, Vellum: The Book of All Hours, which has burned up science fiction bestseller charts (and Internet discussion boards) since it appeared last summer in the U.K. A deeply read and fertile writer, Duncan pours creation myths, Latin and Greek plays and poems, ballads, legends, rumors and the glue of his own fantastic imagination into this incredible, intense and opulent work. As a logophile, he never strains to use just one word when a good paragraph will do instead. The result is a rich stew best taken in large gulps to keep the multiple storylines straight. Basically, The Book of All Hours is a near-mythical book in which the whole of the universe is written. When it is discovered—and as it is rewritten and the world begins to change—nothing, literally, will ever be the same again. Summation beyond that is possible, but probably not particularly practical or helpful. Readers who enjoy the likes of Jeff VanderMeer, Theodore Sturgeon and Neil Gaiman will appreciate the burning energy and imaginative prose of Vellum and find themselves already anticipating Duncan's next novel.


Gavin J. Grant runs Small Beer Press in Northampton, Massachusetts.

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