Learning the World
by Ken Macleod
science fiction
published 2005
read in November 2012
rating 8: really quite good
An author from Scotland. Writing science fiction. Surely there can't be two of them. Surely I've read another of his books... So I searched through the list of books I've read. And sure enough: The Night Sessions by Ken Macleod...
Is this really the same author? The books are so different! And both are really quite good.
At the start, though, I have a problem... The (first) main character is a bit of a pain. So I think. A whingey boy with silly opinions of other people... Then this character is referred to as "she"... And the character is suddenly much more reasonable.
Interesting, really. Am I so full of stereotype bias?! Is a girl allowed to hate a man -- yet the same hate makes a boy whingey? Oh dear. Oh well...
So I start with a vague dislike of one character. Make a sudden switch to acceptance and liking. Then enjoy the rest of the book.
Not that the book is perfect!
I have a lot of trouble distinguishing the various characters -- especially the humans. The character's names are unusual... interesting... but so unusual that I have trouble remembering them... As I meet a character I think, which one is this? So I may be missing some of plot!
Apart from that... I'm not too fond of the ending...
I always have problems with the multiple universe theories. (Except in Anathem, where out all seems to make sense.)
Okay, the creation of multiple universes is thrown up early on in the book. Then it is used to emphasise the less than perfect role of humans... Okay, point made. Just made -- in my opinion :-) -- a bit too bluntly.
On the other hand... the humans are, indeed, less than perfect. And the aliens are better, in a very straightforward way.
An enjoyable story with a lot of good characters. And a message for humanity, whether or not I agree with it :-)
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Problems ? Solved
