You may have heard that a certain raindrop has gone on a trip, so I thought I’d sneak in and write a little blogpost while no-one was looking. Let me do something once and I come back for more! So without further ado, here are my thoughts on an intriguing sci-fi novel I’ve been reading.
David Walton’s Supersymmetry is a sequel that’s not a sequel. I’ve not read the previous book, Superposition, but I followed this book perfectly fine as it stands alone easily. It possibly helps that the story takes place 15 years after the first book, so every reader will need some catching up on what’s been going on. I get the impression they make a good pair though, which is apt given the amount of duality involved in this story.
The story takes place in a not too distant future. Or perhaps an alternate reality… It’s extremely familiar anyway. Most of the exotic tech is the kind of thing you’ll find being talked about these days even if not being made. So that’s the fiction covered, but the science? Well it probably helps to at least be vaguely aware of physics before settling into this as you will be encountering probability waves and M-theory. Luckily you don’t need to really know these subjects as the author appreciates most readers will be laypeople, but if you hated science at school and the mere mention of equations terrifies you – look away!
If that hasn’t scared you off I suspect you’ll enjoy this story. We have tense global politics (with a nice take on the various sides involved), we have gadgetty goodness with quadcopters and eye jacks, we have interesting family dynamics, wormholes, frothing universes, and a few deaths. Okay quite a few deaths actually.
The writing is top notch. Given some of the aspects of this story the author manages to keep it accessible but interesting. I really liked that Walton manages to keep the intelligence there without making a dry and intimidating science book. It’s a nice symmetry, if you’ll forgive the pun.
It’s hard to comment on the narrative without delving into spoilers, both for this book and the previous one, but the book reads well; flowing all over time and space as elegantly as some of the things you’re reading about. There are so many places the author could’ve gone wrong, but he handles them deftly and smooths the ride out just nicely. An ensemble of characters all bring something to the table, and although you’re not exactly drawn into their lives there are a few points it’s hard not to feel a little emotional connection.
Overall it’s a good book and I’d recommend grabbing a copy when it is released next month. Unless some probability wave causes it to not be released, which would be a shame.
Supersymmetry by David Walton