River of Gods

Infobox Book |
name = River of Gods


image_caption =
author = Ian McDonald
cover_artist = Stephan Martiniere
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series =
genre = Science fiction novel
publisher = Simon & Schuster
release_date = 2004
media_type = Print (Hardback, Paperback)
pages = 485 (Paperback 1st edition), 583 (Hardcover 1st edition)
isbn = ISBN 0743256700 (Paperback 1st edition), ISBN 0743256697 (Hardcover 1st edition)

"River of Gods" is a science fiction novel by Ian McDonald. It is one of the first works in popular fiction to imagine a futuristic India, inhabited by ancient traditions as well as artificial intelligence, robots and nanotechnology.

Plot introduction

The sprawling novel follows a number of different characters' viewpoint around August 15, 2047, the centenary of India's partition and independence from colonial Raj. This alternate India has become balkanized into smaller states like Awadh, Bharat and Bangla. The global information network is now inhabited by Artificial Intelligences, called "aeais" in the novel, of varying levels of intelligence.

Aeais higher than 2.5 (able to pass the Turing test) are banned, and their excommunication (destruction) is the responsibility of people like Mr. Nandha, a Krishna Cop. While some pockets of the subcontinent are still steeped in ancient tradition and values, mainstream culture is replete with aeais in tivi entertainment and robotic swarms in defence. During such a time, Ranjit Ray steps down from his control of Ray Power, a key energy company and the responsibility falls on his son Vishram Ray. The playboy Vishram is struggling to make it on his own as a stand-up comedian when he is flown back to Varanasi suddenly to assume this destined role in which he finds himself terribly ill-equipped but effective. He learns that his company is working on harvesting zero-point energy from other universes, and sees the particle collider setup by his father with the help of Odeco, a clandestine investment firm.

The greatest 'soapi' on broadcast is a show called Town & Country, some of whose main stars are not human actors, but aeais. After a prolonged drought, severe water shortage threatens to jeopardize the peace between the subcontinental states. To avert this crisis, governments are melting glaciers and modifying natural systems. To take advantage of the unrest, a Hindu fundamentalist leader named N.K Jeevanji organises a rath yatra on a spectacular juggernaut. He starts releasing key information to the press via Najia Askarzadah, an ambitious Swedish-Afghan reporter with a desire to be part of history as it is being made.

Lisa Durnau notices a apocalyptic crisis brewing in Alterre, a simulated evolution of earth created by AI scientist Thomas Lull, who is currently hiding in a South India coastal village. While Lisa Durnau is sent to space to investigate an asteroid, Thomas Lull runs into Aj, a girl with mysterious powers that allow her to see into people's lives, pasts and futures. He decided to follow her and protect her during her quest to find her own true identity, but it is soon revealed that Aj's powers extend beynd mortals when she brings a robot army to a halt with the raise of a hand.

Tal is a beautiful nute (neutral gender) involved in the designing team of Town & Country, who falls prey to a conspiracy that compromises the career of Shaheen Badoor Khan, Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Sajida Rana, leading to her assassination and fall of the government. All this is leading to riots and fury against Muslims and transsexuals across Varanasi.

Lisa Durnau discovers that at the centre of the asteroid is an 8 billion year old grey sphere, probably a black hole remnant, or an alien artefact from another civilisation. The Tabernacle communicates a message to the scientists, and this leads Lisa to India, to find Thomas Lull who alone can explain this phenomenon.

Explanation of the novel's title

The title refers to the sacred Ganges River which is analogous to the unceasing flow of time in Hindu mythology. Characters visit the river during the novel, and a large portion of the action takes place in the holy city of Varanasi which is traditionally associated with the Ganges, and is the focal point in the story.

Main Characters

Mr. Nandha is a Krishna Cop whose job it is to excommunicate rogue aeais. Parvati is his wife trying to cope with boredom at home and high society class dynamics.

Vishram Ray is an aspiring stand-up comedian who finds himself controlling his father's energy giant Ray Power, after his sudden retirement into sanyas.

Tal is a beautiful nute working as a set designer for India's most ubiquitous tivi soapi - Town & Country, watched by millions.

Shaheen Badoor Khan is a powerful civil servant, and direct secretary to the Prime Minister Sajida Rana.

Shiv and Yogendra are small-time hoodlums caught up in the larger flow of events.

Najia Askarzadah is a Swedish-Afghan reporter who ambitiously jumps into the civil war brewing in the subcontinent.

Lisa Durnau is an physicist who has been sent to an asteroid by the US government, to see what's inside the alien artefact.

Thomas Lull is an AI genius living in exile in India, hiding away his past.

Ajmer Rao is a mystical girl who can see into people's futures, she's looking for her biological parents.

Awards and nominations

* British Science Fiction Association Best Novel winner (2004)
* Arthur C. Clarke Award Best Novel nominee (2005)
* British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (2005)
* Hugo Awards, Best Novel nominee (2005)

Trivia

* An upload of Bill Gates' consciousness, created in an attempt to cheat death, is kept as a servant by the dataraja Ramanandacharya [McDonald, Ian. River of Gods. pg 531]
* Ian McDonald has also written two additional novellas set in same world "River of Gods", they are "The Little Goddess" and "The Dijinn's Wife".
* On seeing the Tabernacle appear at the Ray Research & Development site, Lisa Durnau exclaims, "It's a Boltzmon!" which is an indirect reference to the Boltzmann brain.

Release details

*2004, United Kingdom, Simon & Schuster ISBN 0743256700, Pub date January 2004, Paperback
*2004, United Kingdom, Simon & Schuster ISBN 0743-256697, Pub date June 7, 2004, Hardcover
*2005, United Kingdom, Simon & Schuster ISBN 0743404009, Pub date April 4, 2005, Paperback
*2006, United States of America, Prometheus Books ISBN 1591024366, Pub date March 2006, Hardcover

ources, references, external links, quotations

* [http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue376/books.html Scifi.com] review by Paul Di Filippo
* [http://trashotron.com/agony/reviews/2004/mcdonald-river_of_gods.htm Agony Column] review by Rick Kleffel
* [http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2006/06/river_of_.shtml Strange Horizon] review by Mark Teppo
* [http://scifidimensions.com/May05/riverofgods.htm SciFi Dimensions] review by Carlos Aranaga
* [http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/riverofgods.htm Infinity Plus] review by John D Owen
* [http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/reviews/books/0-7432-5670-0.html Review] by Russ Allbery
* [http://www.zone-sf.com/wordworks/rivergods.html The Zone] review by Jonathan McCalmont
* [http://www.sffworld.com/brevoff/265.html SFF World.com] review by Rob H. Bedford

References