GENESIS


By: Bernard Beckett

Anaximander, Anax for short, lives in an island nation that has survived an apocalyptic plague by constructing a great sea fence and destroying all who approach. The tightly closed society has evolved into a rigid but seemingly benign hierarchy. Anax, hoping to join the Academy—the ruling class of thinkers—must submit to an oral examination regarding her chosen subject, Adam Forde, a hero from the island’s past. It’s tempting to dismiss this novel at first as a fictionalized philosophy dissertation—it unfolds as a transcript of the examination itself, complete with visual aids, and offers us limited access into the minds of the characters. Moreover, there are references to a period when the society called itself Plato’s Republic; characters have philosopher’s names; and some dialogue mimics the Socratic method. But appearances can be deceiving: this slim novel of big ideas (its subject is nothing less than the nature of consciousness) overcomes a slow start to grip the reader in a thrilling combination of action and ideas. And the ending is an absolute mind-blower worthy of sf’s classic texts. TitleWave