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Summerland eBook Hannu Rajaniemi

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Summerland eBook Hannu Rajaniemi

Thought the Quantum Thief novels the best science fiction of the past ten years or so. Bought this the second it came out. Oh no I thought as I began reading. A spy novel. And a fantasy living dead novel. Worse, as I read on, it was clear that it was an attempt at a 'literary' character driven novel. Something no one except maybe Kim Robinson in the first Mars book was ever able to bring off -- that is write a novel where the characters were close to mainstream literary strong but a novel that still had that science fiction sense of wonder that we all crave.

But in the breach I found Summerland a serious page turner. Enjoyable. Easy to get through. Emotionally and politically complex. Enough sheer writing talent to make it work. But still. I hope Mr Rajaniemi gets back to writing core science fiction as I believe he is our very best living practitioner of that craft and James Joyce he will never be.


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Summerland eBook Hannu Rajaniemi Reviews

Hannu Rajaniemi imagines a world that diverged from our own, not into the brass technology of steampunk, but into a world where the dead can be communicated with by Marconi's devices, a world of ectophones, ectotanks, and spirit cages. Take that backdrop and mix it with a pre-WWII tale of espionage, and you have a story that keeps you guessing until the end. The two main characters weave a braided path through the narrative, each commanding the reader's sympathies though often appearing to be on opposing sides. The world of the spy, where nothing is what it seems, is mirrored by the world in which it is set, where our history has been turned on its ear by contact with the land of the dead, yet still manages to play out most of the conflicts that marked our history. The story is told with a minimum of explanation; one of the pleasures and one of the challenges of this book is figuring out how this world works, how it diverged from our own, and how some of our historical figures would have reacted in these game-changing circumstances.
I feel like I wasted $14. This book had a lot of promise in the beginning that seemed to grind to a halt before picking up momentum again. But when the plot regained momentum it was no longer interesting. It had too much pseudo science and made up terminology that bogged it down. The author should have written one interesting main character with a detailed backstory instead of an interesting main character with a bland backstory and a bland  main character with an interesting backstory.

Oh, and the main conflict, that the Summerland is going to be destroyed by a defector, isn't explained. I never found out how that could happen or why. But the whole book harps on it. We are told he's going to destroy it. How? I don't know. But Lennin isn't the only threat to the Summerland. And no one knows how to defeat the real threat. But it's ok because the defector chose to pass valuable information on to the government to save lives.  
Summerland ( Edition) by Hannu Rajaniemi

So, no big deal right? Oh, but let's give some context, as in England in 1938. Also Franco is trying to gain control of Spain. Stalin doesn't want that. And our hero, Mrs. Rachel White, works in intelligence, and deals routinely with agents both living and dead. It's the dead ones that give her the most problems.
For a number of reasons, trying to trap a traitor in her own organization is not easy. And her mother keeps annoying her from the afterlife as well. Her husband is a WWI vet who had a very rotten time of it, and now his nightmares become real and he oozes ectoplasm and stuff when he's upset.
If this sounds like it's very deliciously twisty and layered, it is! The characters (living and dead) are as real as it gets, and the storyline is tight and well done. Pick it up, you will thank me later!
What would the World be like if the scientists in the turn of the 20th century hadn’t discovered atoms and general relativity but aether and connection to dead souls instead? A brilliant parallel universe with its own physics and laws.

In the plot with spies and double agents you can never be sure of who is on who’s side. All characters have their own drivers, goals and aspirations. The book ponders what makes us do the things we do, what kind of decisions and sacrifices we are willing to make, what is our purpose in life and the purpose of life itself.
Thought the Quantum Thief novels the best science fiction of the past ten years or so. Bought this the second it came out. Oh no I thought as I began reading. A spy novel. And a fantasy living dead novel. Worse, as I read on, it was clear that it was an attempt at a 'literary' character driven novel. Something no one except maybe Kim Robinson in the first Mars book was ever able to bring off -- that is write a novel where the characters were close to mainstream literary strong but a novel that still had that science fiction sense of wonder that we all crave.

But in the breach I found Summerland a serious page turner. Enjoyable. Easy to get through. Emotionally and politically complex. Enough sheer writing talent to make it work. But still. I hope Mr Rajaniemi gets back to writing core science fiction as I believe he is our very best living practitioner of that craft and James Joyce he will never be.