re:mote voices: literature

Title: Kirinya
Author: Ian McDonald
Publisher: Millennium

Kirinya is a sequel to Ian McDonald's Chaga. The Chaga is an alien life form/material that has crashed to earth. What it is is never quite clear (though for me that maybe because I haven't read Chaga), but the fact that it is sweeping across Africa as a slow wave assimilating everything in its path is fairly clear. At the same time there is an alien object in the sky which seems to be related to the Chaga. Kirinya follows on from the aftermath of Chaga - the southern hemisphere for the most part has been assimilated by the nano-virus and a new form of life has come out the other side. The people are healthier and some are becoming post-human, they have access to all sorts of nano-tech. But at the same time they are regarded with fear and horror by the northern hemisphere. Which leads to a hot-cold war where the infected nations are held in strict quarantine, killing where need be. At the same time more is being found out about the alien object in space, which is under the authority of the north, though is increasingly being hijacked by the Americans. As the strength of the new nations increases it is clear that their politics will have to be acknowledged and that the object may well be the key.

Gaby was a journalist who was heavily involved in reporting the onset of the Chaga. During that time she became pregnant, but couldn't leave Africa because her baby was deemed to be infected. Her daughter is now in her teens, exhibiting some of the post-human abilities that the Chaga affords it's offspring. The two women clash and in the process follow two different paths within the emergent political schism of the southern hemisphere. With which McDonald gives two related characters to tie the whole together, while at the same time driving the characterisations on their differences and personal conflicts.

To date I have read a number of McDonald's short fiction works, which I have pretty much enjoyed, one of these even being related to this storyline. With that this is the first of his novels I have read, the reason for picking this one up in particular being that related story and the fact I came across Kirinya rather than Chaga. One of the joys of Kirinya is the scope and the sheer mass of ideas that McDonald manages to work into the whole - combining politics, a transformed way of life, post-human abilities, nano-technologies and a wonderfully detailed and contrasted space environment all at the same time. This amount of work going on give the piece a manic edge to a degree which gives a sense of revelling in the ideas and giving an extra drive to the momentum of the work.

RVWR: PTR
November 2001

Title: Cosmonaut Keep
Author: Ken MacLeod
Publisher: Orbit

Cosmonaut Keep is the first in a new trilogy by Scottish author Ken MacLeod, following on from the success of his first four novels which built up from one cycle. Like his last couple of books Cosmonaut Keep works from two narratives - one set in near future the other far future. The two related in a way that becomes increasingly clear as the book continues, though given that the characters in each narrative are Greg Cairns and Matt Cairns one should have their suspicions.

Russian forces have carried out past the lands of the Soviet Union - Europe fell easily. America is in disarray, leaving the new communist powers as the major force on the planet. Of course there are elements in both America and the occupied territories who are struggling against this power. Matt Cairns is a hacker in Edinburgh, who does some work for American agents. Which puts him in the line of fire when the infrastructure of the organisation is starting to collapse. At the same time it is announced by the authorities that first contact with an alien race has been made. Matt finds himself on the run from his own government holding secret alien technology which leads him up to a mutinied space station.

The Cosmonauts made it into space, but when they got there they found that they weren't alone in the second sphere. There are aliens which are so colossal and powerful by our standards that they are referred to as gods. For thousands of years they have lifted people and brought them to this part of the universe. The different races live together to some degree, but all dependent on the gods and the drive that the kraken provide to their space ships. The cosmonauts are not the first humans to make it here, but they are the first humans to make it here on their own power...

MacLeod once again plays with a potential near future working within his political view points and how they could be extended to a greater scale. Looking at his futures which start 40-50 years from now is always an interesting thing to do, especially when he sets those against the background of a city I've worked in for the last couple of years. From that potentially recognisable background which the reader can relate to he then flips it out to a different scale, alien races coexisting. But at the same time he links the two, and carries the ideas of the near future with the descendents of these travellers. The key to the ongoing story line being the "great work" of the first families, those that came through on the Bright Star under their own power and are determined to take that power further rather than bow to those that have been here longer.

RVWR: PTR
November 2001

Title: Radio Free Albemuth
Author: Philip K. Dick
Publisher: Voyager

Kennedy has been assassinated, America is involved in the Vietnam war, things are not going entirely well. President Freemont maintains that there is a negative element in America, which is weakening their endeavours. This element comes from the organisation Aramcheck, who are subversive and are the enemy of the American people. But against a background of hippies and communists and generally changing politics, the extremists haven't even heard of Aramcheck. Regardless the president sets up the Friends of the American People, an organisation that watches everyone, reporting perceived indiscretions and subversions. Which sets Radio Free Albemuth up as a book with a background against a tyrannical and highly paranoid America. Though the way this works isn't as pronounced as I initially expected.

The story is from the point of view of a science fiction writer called Philip K. Dick who is under observation by the FAP because of the strange ideas in his books. But at the same time it isn't about him, the story is about his friend Nicholas. Nicholas is experiencing strange things, which increasingly seem to take the form of information beamed into his head in the middle of the night, remembered to varying degrees in the waking hours. He confides in his friend Phil in the hope that he can explain what is happening, but as Phil says, everything he writes about is fiction. As the situation in America continues to get worse and paranoia reaches new levels it becomes clear that Nicholas is a tool for the resistance. Though much of the book is spent on speculation as to what that really means and where the voices in his head are really coming from than actually forming a resistance or acting.

The first part of the book is the best, it works up the background detail well. With that it is interesting for Dick to have cast himself as the narrator. Particularly when he goes off on a tangent about how he was portrayed as a druggy by the media and how it just wasn't true. But at the same time we see how his house is broken into, how he is visited by the FAP who are trying to trap him or get him to incriminate his friends. In some ways this builds a nice level of paranoia, at times reminiscent of A Scanner Darkly.

The second part switches to the perspective of Nicholas and how he becomes increasingly in tune with the organisation sending messages to him. With this there is a lot of speculation as to what it is - is it the notional Aramcheck, or is it a biblical action that signals the last days with the rebirth of the true believers, or instead an alien intelligence trying to get back in touch with its lost children and help them fight against evil. This speculation gets a little out of hand for me, the character getting bogged down in the details of his fantasies and the whole strangeness of what is happening to him. Which I suppose to be fair, if you were convinced you were receiving messages in your sleep and at times there was someone taking control of your body then you would try and work out what is going on. Either that or everyone would think you were mad, and there are several people that do tell him that. There is some nice material in this section, and it does move the whole along, but too slowly. One of the nicest touches in this section is seeing the author from his characters' view point!

RVWR: PTR
November 2001