Books in June 2020

Somewhat ahead of my book target at the moment!

War of the Maps (Paul McAuley)

This is a fascinating SF story, with lovely world building. Set on a Dyson Sphere deep in the future, the remnants of humanity live on 'maps' set in a huge ocean. The creators of the sphere have left, and their successors as well, and the technology is far beyond the abilities of the present inhabitants who are maintaining life at a level seen in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries with some recovered technological artefacts. There are godlings and shatterlings of the intelligences which built and controlled the maps in hidden places, more rumour than fact. The maps we see in the story used to trade with each other, but no longer because of a war. Some humans exhibit gifts; effectively psionic powers.

The protagonist is a former law enforcement officer from the Free State, a country which is a form of working communist/socialist state which rebelled several hundred years ago. He retired after his wife, an engineer, died and - illegally - returns to action to track down and bring back to justice the criminal who he had tracked down in his biggest case, Remfry He. Remfry has a gift; he has a silver tongue talent which allows him to control people, is extremely intelligent and sociopathic. He has been released by a faction in the government who want to appease the neighbouring state of Patua. Other people oppose that, and the lucidor, our protagonist, is contacted and set on the trail of his nemesis.

The reason that Remfry He has been released is because it is believed that he can help against the invasion, based on his previous activities. Progressively, a new form of life from another place is invading the map, converting and assimilating life including that of humanity. You can see McAuley's background as a biologist coming out in this. Remfry has been released to help the war effort against that activity. Needless to say, he is playing his own game.

The protagonist is pretty much always call 'the lucidor' in the story. We do know his name, but he is an embodiment of the role that he committed his life too. He is stubborn to a fault, and set on bring Remfry He back to justice or dying in the attempt. It's an interesting stylist approach, to continually refer to him by his role, as it defines how we see him throughout, except when we see little flashbacks to his love and loss of his wife. Knowing what has happened in McAuley's recent past with the death of his own wife, it made me wonder if sometimes he sees himself as 'the author', in a similar manner, and we are seeing a window into his loss?

The story is a slow paced travelogue of the lucidor's journey and encounters across the maps as he doggedly tries to complete his self-appointed mission. I really enjoyed it; it's in a more classic science-fiction style than some of his previous works and a fulfilling read.

Firewalkers (Adrian Tchaikovsky)

Post-apocalyptic fiction set in a world where the environment has collapsed and global warming has accelerated making swathes of the world uninhabitable. The story is set around one of the three anchor points for space elevators constructed by the super-rich to access the spacecraft that they are building as they abandon the Earth to colonise the solar system. The catch? The elevators need to be managed and supported with infrastructure which needs people to manage it. A township surrounds the elevator; it is reliant on water and electricity brought from elsewhere to sustain life. And then the power starts to fail and a team of 'firewalkers' - techs and troubleshooters - are sent out to find out what has gone wrong. It's an enjoyable yarn, but the ending feels a bit rushed and cursory. Like much of Tchaikovsky's fiction, I could easily imagine this as a scenario in a roleplaying game. Enjoyable.

The Bosch: A Novella (Neal Asher)

Set in the future after the Polity is gone (although there are traces of its technology and legacies around), this is set on a world dominated by biotechnology. The protagonist is part of that world, and sets off to avenge a brutal assault and rape upon her invoking all the powers that she can draw upon. This is classic Asher storytelling; sex, violence, technology and a plot that twists around as the hunt for the offenders continues. I enjoyed it, but the set up may not be to all tastes.

Black Sun (Owen Matthews)

Cold War crime fiction proves to be quite entertaining. Set in Russia around the time of the Tsar Bomb test, we follow the story of Major Alexander Vasin, a KGB officer dispatched from Moscow to the secret city of Arzamas-16 to find out how a brilliant young physicist died. Is it suicide, because he has been influenced by degenerate western literature, or is there something more sinister. Vasin is likeable, partly because he's flawed and partly because he actually wants to find the truth rather than cover it up or resolve it in the most politically advantageous manner. He doggedly follows the lines of clues, much to the frustration of the scientific and KGB establishments who just don't want complications that may attract interest from the Kremlin.

There's a fair bit of info dump on nuclear technology, but it never feels inappropriate to the story. I enjoyed this, the way that it gave a snapshot into Soviet Russia, and reminded me a little of the complications of Gorky Park. Enjoyable.