Hope for tomorrow
Given the present state of the world, it’s not difficult to imagine a whole host of dystopian, postapocalyptic scenarios, even if none involves zombie hordes. What’s more difficult is to imagine the path toward a better tomorrow, where the execution of big initiatives leads to the improvement of humankind’s lot. That’s the challenge addressed by Project Hieroglyph, founded by Neal Stephenson in conjunction with Arizona State University’s Center for Science and the Imagination.
The “Hieroglyph” anthology gathers stories from 20 contributors who have consulted with scientists, engineers and futurists to develop plausible “moon shot ideas.” The resulting proposals include a steel tower that reaches into the stratosphere, an Internet formed by drones, a hotel in Antarctica and the ability to hack the human mind to cure psychopathy. Each selection is appended by links to online resources that further explore the topic at hand.
Cory Doctorow and Gregory Benford both pay homage to Robert Heinlein, science fiction’s original by-your-bootstraps author, with “The Man Who Sold the Moon” and “The Man Who Sold the Stars,” respectively. In “Quantum Telepathy,” Rudy Rucker achieves a Loony Toons sense of anarchy with a mix of biology and cybernetics. Vendana Singh’s “Entanglements” skips around the globe as people in need connect via wearable devices, and Brenda Cooper imagines a way in which people might be paid to solve ecological problems in “Elephant Angels.”
Fiction depends on conflict, and if some entries in “Hieroglyph” seem somewhat bland in their earnestness, there are plenty of others that provide suspense and ingenuity to spare. What “Hieroglyph” stresses, however, is that we’re all in this together, that the formidable challenges that lie ahead aren’t necessarily to be solved by lone geniuses or corporations touting their own innovation, but by millions of individual citizens doing what they can to make Earth — and even the solar system — a better place.
John Scalzi, Hugo Award-winning author of such outer-space adventures as “Redshirts” and “The Last Colony,” moves into Michael Crichton territory with his new near-future thriller. Set after a viral plague has left 1 percent of Earth's population “locked in” — conscious but completely paralyzed — with Haden’s syndrome, the novel focuses on rookie FBI agent Chris Shane during a hair-raising first week on the job.
A Haden patient, one who uses a mechanical “threep” to move through the physical world, Shane partners with veteran agent Leslie Vann to investigate a bizarre death at the Watergate Hotel. An unidentified man kills himself in front of an Integrator, someone who lends his body to a clientele of well-paying Hadens. When the suspect is released without being charged, Shane and Vann begin to suspect that a conspiracy is afoot.
Scalzi does a stellar job of building a world brushed by a potential apocalypse but still functioning in unexpected new ways. He keeps the exposition light but illuminating, tweaks the characterizations enough to keep them away from cliche and runs the suspense high without letting the narrative get overheated.
Where “Locked In” falters a bit is in the mechanics of its mystery plot. It’s clear from the outset to whom the trail of villainy will lead, and while the antagonist’s comeuppance is satisfying, it would benefit from a stronger sense of surprise. Nevertheless, “Lock In” is an intriguing change of pace from one science fiction’s most reliable entertainers.
What gives life meaning when the end of the world is only weeks away? That’s the grim question addressed in the final volume of the trilogy begun in “The Last Policeman” and continued in “Countdown City.”
With only 14 days remaining before an asteroid strikes the planet, the human populace copes with impending extinction in myriad ways, from checking off items on their personal bucket lists to stockpiling bottled water and going quietly crazy. Accompanied by his dog, former New Hampshire police Detective Hank Palace travels from Massachusetts to Ohio, determined to make peace with his missing sister, even as she becomes more deeply embroiled in a heavily armed radical group that purports to know a way around the upcoming catastrophe.
In this remarkable series, Winters creates a melancholy hybrid of crime and science fiction, managing to subvert the expectations of both genres. Yes, there is a mystery to solve. Yes, some kind of titanic change is imminent. But little else in “World of Trouble” works out as one might expect.
That unpredictability is part of what keeps readers engaged by the trilogy’s increasingly bleak narrative path. Finally, though, it is the humanity of its central character that makes “World of Trouble” work so well. Stubborn, earnest, self-deprecating and decent, Hank Palace is a brilliantly realized character you want to follow to the very end — and beyond.