Review - Hydrogen Sonata - Iain M Banks

Title: The Hydrogen Sonata
Author: Iain M. Banks

I picked this book up when I was in Dragonfly Books, in Decorah, Iowa, because it's an independent bookstore owned by a classmate of mine, and I can't think of three better reasons to buy a book.

You did count to three, right?  1) Independent Bookstore.  2) Classmate.  3) I was in a book store.

OK, now that we have the justification for the purchase settled, I suppose I should review this thing.

Hah!  That would be something!  How in the world to summarize the plot of this story, so I can tell you a bit about it?  Hmmmm....

In the far, far future, the many civilizations in the universe have discovered that there is something outside our normal four dimensions.  That "something" is called the Sublime.  When a race reaches a point where there doesn't seem to be any more it can do in Reality (three dimensions plus time) the race can decide to go, en mass, into the Sublime.  Individual biological beings can't seem to do it themselves, so whole races need to go, at once.  (Spaceships, which are AIs of significant substance, can sometimes do it -- and some have.)

Well, early on in The Hydrogen Sonata, we find that a race is very close to their Subliming day, but something strange happens, and this strange thing might threaten that Very Significant Event.  Several characters get involved in the intrigue, and as they do, we are presented with an amazing future where science has allowed for enhancements to people which I would never have imagined.

The story starts out confusing, as author Iain M Banks plops us down into many threads, as if we were already familiar with his concepts, but then slowly ties the threads together, while teaching us his world. The resulting exposition is fascinating, as subsequent chapters make you reevaluate what you thought you knew from the preceding ones.  

The story is complex, and at times both amusing and thrilling.  In the end, though, I am not sure the story is what I'll be left remembering.  Because -- and don't let this scare you -- ultimately I think it's the philosophy of the book which left the deepest impression on me.   I can't really describe it without spoiling some of the story, so I won't try. 

It's been a long, long time since I read a book and wished it had been part of a college class or book club, so that I would have the chance to discuss the book with others who had just read it.  This is that kind of book.

So, it's sci-fi.  If you can't handle that, stay away.  But if you can, and you like a novel that makes you think, and challenges your sense of propriety at times, this is a good read.  I want to read more of Banks's books now.