I
was drawn to this novel, the second of the trilogy, intrigued by the title. Who
or indeed what is ultimately to judge the sanity or otherwise of those who can see through and beyond the apparent reality
of the material world we inhabit and believe ourselves to understand, at least on a functional level? There is nothing new in a story in which the central characters are branded as ‘mad’ by the
powers that be. Human history itself is filled with people silenced, ridiculed
or incarcerated just for thinking. It takes a brave writer then, to tackle the
subject and move it forward.
And forward we go! – and backwards, sideways in and out of
timespace at warp factor 9, as it were. (Yes, this novel owes not a little to the crew of the Starship Enterprise. As a woman of the 20th Century, albeit no sci-fi buff, even I could not fail to note the affectionate
references here). Fasten your seat belts and be prepared to travel! This, for me was nub of the book. What appears ‘normal’
and ordinary is nothing of the kind. A person sitting at their work station just getting on with it appears to be there. But they’re not. Well they are,
but they’re also elsewhere, grappling with evolution. To say more would
be to give the game away…But the truth holds that all of us inhabit a mental world far removed from the apparent.
I was fascinated by the psychological aspects, but not always convinced.
The arguments about faith, belief and credulity smack of an internal dialogue
unfamiliar to those, like me never indoctrinated into a religious cult. Having
said that, I’ll also admit that may put me in a minority in terms of human experience.
The scientific ideas are extraordinary, more so because they are
not fantasy. This aspect of the book is meticulously researched. The novel sets out to play with cutting edge science, to take ideas and use them to create a possible future,
(or even a present – or is that already the past?? See what I mean?) For readers of the scientific press or anybody who aspires to keep up with a post
Steven Hawking multiverse, it is fun to see how the dry physics of creation have been playfully incorporated here. Those of us lacking in understanding of these concepts, and lets face it, that is most of us, some parts
of the book are quite dense. For myself, I took it at face value. If Rowney Marshal says it could be so, then I for one will go along with that.
So, as a plodding pedestrian in the world of science fiction writing,
I struggled times, but I couldn’t abandon the project and I’ll tell you why:
The dazzling cast of characters, often multi layers of the same character, spoke loudly from the page. The remarkable imagery and boggling notions are grounded by the likeability of Gwener, Makepeace, Ida et
al.. Just when I got to thinking ‘I’m lost!’ the novel, through
its characterisation, found me again. I’m glad about that because it’s
given me an expanded worldview. I find myself returning time and again to these
characters and ideas. There is a vivid quality and a humour about the novel,
which rescues the reader at regular well paced intervals, so much so that the sub narrative becomes as compelling as the big
picture. I’ll never look at crustaceans in quite the same way again –
I could even fall in love!
Thanks RM. Your novel put in mind of a fruitcake – rich, nutty, temptingly moreish and
with a tendency stick around!
Bridget
Garrard
