This
is an exceptional SF novel, bristling with innovative ideas. It's set in the
far future, on the planet Fulgor. Yoshiko Sunadomari travels there in the
hope of catching up with her son, Tetsuo. But Tetsuo has got into a spot
of bother, due to his predilection for stealing information, and is thus in
hiding. To add to his woes, his attempted conversion into a Luculenti
appears to be failing, with his sanity at stake.
In her search for her son, Yoshiko is aided by the Luculenti, the
glamorous rulers of Fulgor. However, the Luculenti have an enemy in their
midst: the vampirric Rafael Garcia de la Vega...
This is a highly exciting thriller. It may take a while to adapt to
its style, for many of the scenes are composed of virtual images, which, of
course, can be very difficult to convey on the printed page. My eyes
tended to gloss over the computer speak at first, but once I actually started
to read it properly, it was very rewarding. In this universe, people can
converse by sending images to each other, like an explosion of fireworks to
express that they are ecstatically happy. Incredibly enough, for someone
who has always been interested in SF, this is the first 'cyberpunk' novel that
I have read, so there was quite a lot of new terminology to get used to
(although Stephen Baxter regards To Hold Infinity as 'post'
cyberpunk). What could have made reading a little easier would have the
presence of an index, or an introduction to each of the various factions
involved in this complex plot. Having said that, it can be far more
stimulating to be kept on one's toes.
Gomjabbar
Rating 8/10.
Kevin
Mahoney
